About projects



An After Effects project is a single file that stores compositions and references to all of the source files used by footage items in that project. Compositions are collections of layers. Many layers use footage items (such as movies or still images) as a source, though some layers—such as shape layers and text layers—contain graphics that you create within After Effects.

A project file has the filename extension .aep or .aepx. A project file with the .aep filename extension is a binary project file. A project file with the .aepx filename extension is a text-based XML project file.

The name of the current project appears at the top of the application window.

A template project file has the filename extension .aet. (See Template projects and example projects.)

XML project files

Text-based XML project files contain some project information as hexadecimal-encoded binary data, but much of the information is exposed as human-readable text in string elements. You can open an XML project file in a text editor and edit some details of the project without opening the project in After Effects. You can even write scripts that modify project information in XML project files as part of an automated workflow.

For a video tutorial about the XML project file format, go to the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4065_ae.

Elements of a project that you can modify in an XML project file:

  • Marker attributes, including comments, chapter point parameters, and cue point parameters

  • File paths of source footage items, including proxies

  • Composition, footage item, layer, and folder names and comments

    Note: Footage item names are exposed in string elements in XML project files only if the names have been customized. Footage item names derived automatically from the names of source files and solid color names are not exposed in string elements

Some strings, such as workspace and view names, are exposed as human-readable strings, but modifications made to these strings are not respected when After Effects opens the project file.

Important: Do not use the XML project file format as your primary file format. The primary project file format for After Effects CS4 is the binary project file (.aep) format. Use the XML project file format to save a copy of a project and as an intermediate format for automation workflows.
To save an XML project (.aepx) file as a binary project (.aep) file, choose File > Save As and enter a file name ending with .aep, without the x. (See Save and back up projects.)

Project links embedded in QuickTime, Video for Windows, FLV, and F4V files

When you render a movie and export it to a container format, you can embed a link to the After Effects project in the container file. Container formats include FLV, F4V, QuickTime (MOV), and Video for Windows (AVI).

To import the project, import the container file, and choose Project from the Import As menu in the Import File dialog box. If the container file contains a link to a project that has been moved, you can browse to locate the project.