An AET file is typically understood as a reusable AE template, designed so you can open it repeatedly and save new versions rather than overwrite the source, with the file storing everything that defines the motion graphic: comps, timeline structure, layer stacks, animation keyframes, effect setups, expressions, cameras/lights, render settings, plus organizational items like folders and interpretation settings.

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 substituted fonts 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 editable AE project you save and revise, 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 launch a new project so you don’t overwrite the template.

That’s why AET files are standard choices for motion-graphics template packs like intros, lower-thirds, and slideshows: the creator preserves the AET as the untouched master and you open it only to Save As a separate AEP for each new video, replacing text, images, colors, and logos, and even though both AET and AEP hold the same kinds of data—comps, layers, keyframes, effects, expressions, cameras/lights, and settings—and both normally reference external media, the AET’s job is to safeguard the template while the AEP becomes the project you actively modify.

An AET file typically preserves 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.

When you cherished this short article and you want to obtain more details relating to best AET file viewer generously pay a visit to the web page. Additionally, the template includes effects and their configurations, such as color correction, blurs, glows, distortions, and transitions, together with any 3D setup—cameras, lights, 3D layer settings—and render/preview preferences, plus project structure like folders, labels, interpretation settings, and proxies, though it usually omits embedding raw media, fonts, or plugins, depending on linked paths that can lead to missing-footage or missing-effect warnings when the file is opened elsewhere.