An ALE file is most often an Avid-style metadata file used in film/TV post-production as a plain-text, tab-delimited way to pass clip metadata—not the video or audio itself—between systems, carrying details like clip names, scene/take, roll info, notes, and crucially reel/tape names plus timecode in/out, which helps editors import footage already organized and later relink media using identifiers such as reel name and
timecode.
One fast way to tell if your .ALE is from Avid is to open it with a basic text editor like Notepad: if it shows a tidy table-like layout with areas labeled "Heading," "Column," and "Data," and tab-separated rows, it’s almost surely an Avid Log Exchange file; if you see nonsense symbols such as XML/JSON, it’s likely another program’s format, and context matters, plus Avid ALEs are generally tiny, so big files usually aren’t Avid logs.

If you simply want to inspect the file, importing it into Excel or Google Sheets as tab-delimited will display the metadata in columns you can filter or sort, but these apps can strip zeros unintentionally, and for Avid workflows the usual process is to import the ALE to build a metadata-filled bin and then link/relink the clips using reel/tape names and timecode, noting that relink failures often stem from reel-name mismatches or timecode/frame-rate discrepancies.
Most often, an ALE file refers to an Avid Log Exchange file—a small clip-information file designed for professional workflows, similar to a spreadsheet in text form but intended to describe footage, not contain it, storing clip names, scene/take numbers, camera and sound roll markers, notes, and vital reel/tape and timecode in/out data; being plain tabbed text makes it easy for logging tools or assistants to create and send it onward for quick, consistent import into the editing system.
The real value of an ALE comes from how it links raw media to an organized edit, since bringing it into Avid Media Composer creates bin clips already filled with proper labels, eliminating manual entry, and the reel/tape names with timecode then act like a unique ID that helps the system relink to the right source files, meaning an ALE provides context—telling the software what the footage is and how to match it—rather than actual content.
While "ALE" most often refers to an Avid Log Exchange file, the extension isn’t reserved for Avid alone, which means the practical test is to open it in a text editor and check whether it displays as a readable table with headings tied to clips, reels, and timecode; if that fits, it’s almost surely the Avid-type log, but if not, then it may come from a different application and must be understood through its context If you cherished this posting and you would like to obtain a lot more information about
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