An AET file is generally an After Effects template master, working like a master AEP that you open to generate new projects while leaving the template intact, and it contains the project’s full structure—compositions, timeline layouts, layered elements, animated keyframes, effects, expressions, camera/light setups, render/project settings, and the internal folder organization and interpretations.
In case you have any issues relating to wherever as well as how you can work with AET file extension reader, it is possible to email us with the web-site. An AET typically does not include the raw media; instead it references external clips, graphics, and audio, which is why these templates are usually distributed as a ZIP with a Footage/assets directory and why After Effects may prompt for missing files if anything was renamed, and because AETs may rely on specific fonts or third-party plugins, opening one on a new computer can lead to missing-effect notices until the required items are added, while remembering that file extensions aren’t exclusive, so the safest way to confirm the correct app is checking "Opens with" or considering where the file originated.
An AEP file functions as the main editable AE file, letting you import assets, edit compositions, and tweak effects over time, whereas an AET is designed as a template to be reused, making the key distinction that you update an AEP directly but open an AET only to build a fresh project based on it without altering the master.
That’s why AET files are a staple 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.
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.
In addition, the template holds all effects and their configured values—whether color correction, blurs, glows, distortions, or transitions—plus any 3D setup involving cameras, lights, and 3D layer controls, along with render/preview preferences and project-level organization such as folders, labels, and interpretation rules, but it usually avoids bundling actual footage, audio, fonts, or plugins, relying instead on linked paths that can produce missing-asset or missing-effect warnings on another machine.