An AET file is primarily a template version of an AEP, 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.
An AET usually does not carry the actual footage; instead it holds references to external video, audio, and images, which is why template packs often come zipped with an assets/Footage folder and why missing-file dialogs appear if media gets moved, and since AETs may require certain fonts or plugins, opening them on another system can trigger alerts until you install or relink what’s needed, with the added note that file extensions can overlap, so confirming the true source via "Opens with" or the file’s origin folder is the best way to know what program created it.
An AEP file is the standard working file for After Effects, holding all your comps, effects, and imported media, whereas an AET is intended as a template, meaning you reopen an AEP to keep editing but open an AET to form a new project so you don’t overwrite the template.
That’s why AET files are a standard format for motion-graphics template packs (intros, lower-thirds, slideshows): the designer keeps the AET untouched as the master, and you begin each new video by opening it and doing Save As to create your AEP before customizing text, logos, colors, and media, and although both AET and AEP contain the same technical elements—compositions, layers, keyframes, effects, expressions, cameras/lights, and settings—and both refer to external footage, the AET protects the template while the AEP serves as the editable, ongoing production file.
If you are you looking for more information regarding AET file windows look at the webpage. An AET file usually contains 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.
On top of that, the template retains all effects and their settings—color correction, blurs, glows, distortions, transitions, and more—along with any 3D setup such as cameras, lights, 3D layer properties, and render/preview settings, plus project-level organization like folders, label colors, interpretation rules, and sometimes proxies, but it typically does not bundle full footage, images, audio, fonts, or plugins, instead keeping links and dependencies that may trigger missing-asset or missing-plugin warnings on another computer until everything is relinked or installed.
An AET usually does not carry the actual footage; instead it holds references to external video, audio, and images, which is why template packs often come zipped with an assets/Footage folder and why missing-file dialogs appear if media gets moved, and since AETs may require certain fonts or plugins, opening them on another system can trigger alerts until you install or relink what’s needed, with the added note that file extensions can overlap, so confirming the true source via "Opens with" or the file’s origin folder is the best way to know what program created it.
An AEP file is the standard working file for After Effects, holding all your comps, effects, and imported media, whereas an AET is intended as a template, meaning you reopen an AEP to keep editing but open an AET to form a new project so you don’t overwrite the template.That’s why AET files are a standard format for motion-graphics template packs (intros, lower-thirds, slideshows): the designer keeps the AET untouched as the master, and you begin each new video by opening it and doing Save As to create your AEP before customizing text, logos, colors, and media, and although both AET and AEP contain the same technical elements—compositions, layers, keyframes, effects, expressions, cameras/lights, and settings—and both refer to external footage, the AET protects the template while the AEP serves as the editable, ongoing production file.
If you are you looking for more information regarding AET file windows look at the webpage. An AET file usually contains 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.
On top of that, the template retains all effects and their settings—color correction, blurs, glows, distortions, transitions, and more—along with any 3D setup such as cameras, lights, 3D layer properties, and render/preview settings, plus project-level organization like folders, label colors, interpretation rules, and sometimes proxies, but it typically does not bundle full footage, images, audio, fonts, or plugins, instead keeping links and dependencies that may trigger missing-asset or missing-plugin warnings on another computer until everything is relinked or installed.