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To be able to open a Reason Song (or a Record Song), you need to run Reason in Authorized mode. If you’re using Reason in Demo Mode (unauthorized), the “Open” item on the File menu is removed and replaced by “Open Demo Song”. This allows you to open only the factory made Reason Demo Songs (see “Opening a Reason Demo Song”). See “Running Reason on an authorized computer - or with an authorized Ignition Key hardware” and “Running Reason with Internet Verification” for details on how to authorize Reason.
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If no Song document was open on the Mac OS X version of Reason, Reason temporarily opens an empty Song document to be able to show the Browser. When a Song has been loaded, the empty document closes.
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See “Using the Browser” in the “Sounds and Patches” chapter.
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When you have located the Reason (.reason, .rsndemo, .ree, .reedemo, .rltd, .rns, .rps or .rsb), or Record Song file (.record or .recdemo), select it and click “Open” (or double click the file).
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You can have several Songs open at the same time if you like. This allows you to drag and drop (and copy and paste) patterns, clips and patches between songs. However, all open songs consume some memory and processing power, so you might want to close songs you don’t need for the moment.
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If the song includes samples or REX files, and these have been moved or renamed since the song was saved, the program will inform you that it cannot find all files. You can then choose to either manually locate the missing files, to have the program search for them or to proceed without the missing sounds. For details, see “Handling Missing Sounds” in the “Sounds and Patches” chapter.
When you open a Reason song made by another user, it may have been created with Rack Extension devices that you don't have. All such missing devices in a song will be replaced by generic “Missing Device” placeholder devices. See “About missing Rack Extensions” for more information.
If you run Reason in Authorized mode, it’s also possible to open older Reason (.rns, .rps and .rsb) songs. A Reason Song created in Reason Version 5 or earlier will end up in a separate Song document, just like an ordinary Reason Version 8 Song. All Rack device and sequencer track configuration will be preserved as well as all cable connections. The only things that will be changed are these:
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The Rack device that was connected to outputs 1 and 2 on the Reason Hardware Interface in the old song will now be connected to a new Mix Channel device, below the Master Section device in the Rack.
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Below the Mix Channel devices in the Rack, the devices from the Reason song will appear in a single rack column, just like they did in the earlier version of Reason.
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If you open a Reason Published Song (.rps), you cannot save etc., and the “Export Audio” and “Bounce Mixer Channels” functions will only work if you haven't manually changed anything in the Song document.
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If you want to re-route the instrument devices from the 14:2 Mixer in the old Reason Song to separate Mix Channels in the Reason Version 8 Song, there is kind of a semi-workaround for this, see “About re-routing devices in songs created in Reason Version 5 or earlier”.
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Reason Demo Songs are factory made songs that demonstrate how Reason can be used in various musical projects. If you run Reason in “Demo Mode” (unauthorized), you will only be able to open Demo Songs - but not regular Songs. If you run Reason in authorized mode, the Open Demo Song item is available in addition to the regular Open item.
You could also select “Download more Demo Songs” from the sub-menu. This will open your default web browser and direct you to the Reason Demo Songs page on the Propellerhead web site. On this page you can download additional Reason Demo Songs to your computer. You will then have to use the “Open Demo Song” command from the File menu to open the downloaded Demo Songs.
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You can have several Demo Songs open at the same time if you like. This allows you to drag and drop (and copy and paste) patterns, clips and patches between songs. However, all open songs consume some memory and processing power, so you might want to close songs you don’t need for the moment.
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It’s possible to instruct Reason to automatically open the last Song you worked on each time you launch Reason. You select this on the “General” tab in the “Preferences” dialog.
