An AET file is typically used as a reusable AE template, acting like a master version of an AEP that you open to create fresh projects without touching the original, and inside it holds the blueprint for the animation such as compositions, timelines, layered elements, keyframes, effects, expressions, cameras, lights, global settings, and the project’s internal organization including folders and interpretation rules.

Because an AET usually skips the raw media, it instead holds paths to video, image, and audio files stored elsewhere, explaining why template downloads often include a zipped assets/Footage folder and why After Effects may report missing files if items get shifted, and since some AETs depend on specific fonts or plugins, opening them on another computer can cause font substitutions until everything is installed, with the reminder that AET is not an exclusive extension, so checking the file’s “Opens with” settings or remembering where it came from helps confirm the correct application and required companion files.

If you cherished this post and you would like to get far more information concerning AET file compatibility kindly go to our internet site. An AEP file is the normal After Effects project you work in, updated as you import footage, adjust comps, and refine effects, while an AET is a template meant as a reusable starting point, so the practical difference is workflow: you reopen an AEP to keep editing the same project, but you open an AET to generate a new project so the template stays untouched.

That’s why AET files are standard choices for motion-graphics template packs like intros, lower-thirds, and slideshows: the creator preserves the AET as the untouched master and you open it only to Save As a separate AEP for each new video, replacing text, images, colors, and logos, and even though both AET and AEP hold the same kinds of data—comps, layers, keyframes, effects, expressions, cameras/lights, and settings—and both normally reference external media, the AET’s job is to safeguard the template while the AEP becomes the project you actively modify.

An AET file mostly keeps the structure and logic of a motion-graphics project but not necessarily its media, holding compositions with their resolution, FPS, duration, and nesting order, and keeping the full layer stack—text, shapes, solids, adjustments, precomps, and placeholders—plus each layer’s settings such as position, scale, rotation, opacity, masks, mattes, blending modes, and parenting, along with all animation info including keyframes, easing curves, markers, and any motion-driving expressions.

It further keeps all applied effects with their settings—ranging from color correction and blur to glows, distortions, and transitions—along with any 3D environment of cameras, lights, and 3D layer attributes, plus render controls and project organization like folders, label colors, and interpretation rules, but it generally doesn’t contain the actual footage, audio, fonts, or plugins, instead relying on paths that may trigger missing-asset or missing-plugin prompts when opened on a different computer.