An AET file is essentially a master After Effects template, intended for repeated use so you open it, save a new project, and customize that copy, while the template stores the construction plan of the animation including comps, timelines, layers, keyframes, effects, expressions, camera/light settings, render configurations, and all the folder/interpretation organization that holds the project together.

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 renamed, 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 have any kind of inquiries concerning where and the best ways to use AET file format, you can call us at our site. An AEP file represents the evolving project file you edit, whereas an AET is a template designed for reuse, meaning you open an AEP to keep working on that same animation but open an AET to create a new copy without modifying the master template.

That’s why AET files are popular 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 generally stores everything needed to preserve the structure and behavior of a motion-graphics setup but not the raw media itself, keeping all compositions with their resolution, frame rate, duration, nesting, plus the full timeline of layers—text, shapes, solids, adjustments, precomps, and footage placeholders—along with each layer’s properties like position, scale, rotation, opacity, masks, mattes, blending modes, and parenting, as well as animation data such as keyframes, easing, markers, and any expressions that automate motion.

Beyond that, the template includes your effects and their parameters, from color correction and blurs to glows, distortions, and transitions, as well as any 3D configuration with cameras, lighting, and 3D layer options plus render/preview settings, and it also preserves project organization like folders, label colors, and interpretation settings, though it usually doesn’t pack raw media, audio, fonts, or plugins—only file paths—so opening it elsewhere may cause missing-footage or missing-plugin alerts until dependencies are restored.