An AET file is primarily an Adobe After Effects template project, functioning as a reusable starter setup similar to an AEP but meant to be opened repeatedly without overwriting the original, so After Effects treats it like a master you open and then save as a new project, containing the full "recipe" for the animation—comps, timelines, layer stacks, keyframes, effects, expressions, cameras/lights, render settings, and organizational elements like folders and interpretations.
Because an AET rarely includes 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 warnings 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.
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 start 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 store the framework and behavior of a motion-graphics project rather than the footage itself, offering compositions with resolution, frame rate, duration, and nesting, and keeping the entire timeline of text, shape, solid, adjustment, and precomp layers, with properties such as position, scale, rotation, opacity, masks, mattes, blending modes, parenting, and all animation elements including keyframes, easing curves, markers, and optional expressions.
Here's more info on AET file compatibility look into the web page. On top of that, the template stores 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.
Because an AET rarely includes 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 warnings 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.
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 start 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 store the framework and behavior of a motion-graphics project rather than the footage itself, offering compositions with resolution, frame rate, duration, and nesting, and keeping the entire timeline of text, shape, solid, adjustment, and precomp layers, with properties such as position, scale, rotation, opacity, masks, mattes, blending modes, parenting, and all animation elements including keyframes, easing curves, markers, and optional expressions.Here's more info on AET file compatibility look into the web page. On top of that, the template stores 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.