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.
An AET typically doesn’t contain the full source files; 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 missing-effect errors 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 serves as the main editable project file in After Effects, updated as you import footage, adjust comps, and refine effects, while an AET is a template meant as a reusable starting point, so the practical difference is workflow: you reopen an AEP to keep editing the same project, but you open an AET to spawn a new project so the template stays untouched.
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 loved this article and you would like to receive a lot more information relating to AET file extraction kindly stop by our web-site. An AET file normally contains the structural and behavioral blueprint of an After Effects project rather than the actual media, including compositions with resolution, frame rate, duration, and nesting, plus the complete timeline layout with layers for text, shapes, solids, adjustment items, precomps, and placeholders, alongside properties like position, scale, rotation, opacity, masks, mattes, blending modes, parenting, and all animation data—keyframes, easing, markers, and expressions when used.
In addition, the template captures 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.
