File Formats

KTPlayer uses three file types. Understanding which is which keeps activation, show prep, and your customizations tidy.

A production license is activated with an activation key (a short text key) in almost all cases. The .kta  activation file is an alternate, used mainly when the machine has no internet connection. Both are covered below.

.ktd : Show file

Definition. The packaged show: every cue, every audio channel, every authored default (tempos, colors, vamps, repeats), produced by KeyboardTEK for one production.

Open with. File > Open File… (⌘O ) in KTPlayer.

Editable in KTPlayer? No, not directly. The .ktd  is treated as read-only from the user's side. Any edits you make in edit view (tempo, pitch, play state, crossfade, color, visibility, quantisation) are saved to a separate .ktd.user  sidecar, not back into the .ktd . The shipped defaults inside the .ktd  are preserved.

For things the .ktd  also locks (cue number, cue name, order, dividers), see Adjusting and altering cues.

Distribution. Delivered via the KeyboardTEK invoice email as a download link.

Notes. Show files can be opened on any Mac running KTPlayer, but cannot be performed without an active production license on that specific machine. See Getting your show file and activating your production license.

.ktd.user : User sidecar

Definition. A sidecar file — a companion file KTPlayer saves and maintains right next to the show file — that holds everything you've customized: edit view changes per cue (Tpo, Tpo %, Pitch, Visible, Color, Play, Xfade, Q), mixer state (output assignments, fader positions), and any show-specific preferences. Created and maintained by KTPlayer automatically.

Filename pattern. <showfilename>.ktd.user . For example, opening AndJuliet.ktd  produces (on first save) AndJuliet.ktd.user .

Where it lives. Always next to the .ktd  file in the same folder. You can't choose a different location.

Open with. Nothing manually. KTPlayer loads the .ktd.user  automatically when you open the matching .ktd . If no .ktd.user  exists, KTPlayer falls back to the shipped defaults from the .ktd .

Editable in KTPlayer? Yes, indirectly. Every change you make in edit view writes here on save. You don't edit the .ktd.user  file by hand.

Distribution. Not delivered by KeyboardTEK: your .ktd.user  is your personal set of customizations and lives wherever your .ktd  lives.

Notes. If you move a show file to a new Mac, bring the .ktd.user  alongside it or your edits won't follow. Deleting the .ktd.user  is a hard reset: the show reverts entirely to its shipped defaults.

.kta : Activation file

Definition. The right to perform a specific show file for a specific time window on a specific machine, delivered as a file. This is the alternate way to activate a production license: almost all productions use an activation key instead (see below). The .kta  file is mainly for machines with no internet connection at the activation step.

Open with. File > Activate a license… in KTPlayer, then select the .kta  file.

Editable? No. Activation files are signed by KeyboardTEK.

Distribution. When issued, delivered separately from the show file, also via KeyboardTEK invoice email.

Notes. Activating with a .kta  does not require an internet connection. Once applied, the activation appears in Preferences > Activations with its start date, end date, and remaining days.

Activation key : The standard activation method

Definition. A 24-character code that activates a production license. This is how almost all productions activate; the .kta  file above is the alternate. It isn't itself a file: it's a short text key included in your KeyboardTEK invoice email.

Use with. File > Activate a license… → enter the key.

Requires. A one-time internet connection to KeyboardTEK's activation server.

Notes. Once activated, no further internet connection is required. The activation behaves identically to one created from a .kta  file.