An AET file is commonly treated as a reusable AE starting project, letting users open it and save a fresh project each time to preserve the template, and it contains the full design of the animation—compositions, timelines, layer structures, keyframes, effects, expressions, cameras, lights, render settings, along with organizational components such as folder layouts and interpretation rules.

What an AET generally doesn’t bundle is the full media; instead it stores links or paths to footage, images, and audio kept elsewhere, which explains why templates are often zipped with a Footage or assets folder and why missing-file prompts appear if media was omitted, plus the fact that AETs can depend on certain fonts or plugins means opening them on a different computer may cause alerts until everything is installed, and since file extensions aren’t exclusive, verifying the file’s "Opens with" setting or checking its source location is the most reliable way to confirm its creator and needed companion files.

An AEP file acts as the main After Effects project for ongoing work, while an AET is a template meant to be reused, so the workflow contrast is simple: edit an AEP directly as it evolves, but use an AET to spin off a new project that preserves the original template.

If you cherished this article and you simply would like to acquire more info regarding AET file information kindly visit our own web site. That’s why AET files are often preferred for template-based motion graphics (intros, lower-thirds, slideshows): the master AET stays unchanged while each new project starts by opening it and doing a Save As to create your AEP, where you modify text, colors, logos, and media, and although both formats include the same elements—comps, layers, effects, keyframes, expressions, cameras/lights, and settings—and both rely on external footage paths, the AET is meant for safe templating and repeatable output, while the AEP is the editable project you keep refining.

An AET file is meant to retain 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.

Beyond that, the template stores 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.