.AEP File Extension

After Effects is a Windows and macOS application used to create visual effects and motion graphics for video, often Adobe Premiere Pro video projects (.PRPROJ files). Video editors often use the software in post-production to enhance films, television shows, and video games.

When you save a project in After Effects as an AEP file, the application creates a file with an .aep file extension to store the contents. You can open the project file, modify it, save it, close it, then re-open it to edit it further.

It is important to note that After Effects does not save media imported into an After Effects project in the AEP file. Instead, After Effects saves references to the actual location of the media files imported into the project. If you move media files after importing them, After Effects will not be able to reference the media file for the project, and you will need to relocate the media file to use it in the project.

Different types of After Effects projects

There are several types of After Effects projects. You can save an After Effects project as a local file on your computer or as a team project (hosted on Adobe's server) when collaborating with other After Effects users. If you save a project as a local file, you can choose to save it in one of two formats:

• After Effects Project (AEP) - The main format is a binary format that results in smaller, quicker-to-load files. Adobe recommends this format for most After Effects users.
• After Effects XML Project (.AEPX) - Text-based project format saved in the XML standard that is larger and slower to load than the AEP format but allows you to modify project details with an XML or text editor. Adobe recommends this format for After Effects users looking to save a copy of their project or as an intermediate project for automation workflows.

How to create and save After Effects projects

To create an After Effects Project, select File → New → New Project, then click File → Save or Save As → Save As... to save it as an AEP file. If you want to save it as an AEPX file, select File → Save or Save As → Save A Copy As XML....

If you are working on a project collaboratively, you can create a team project by selecting File → New → New Team Project. Adobe hosts these projects to allow CC enterprise and CC teams users to modify projects in real-time.

NOTE: You can also save projects as templates in After Effects when you want to re-use elements in other projects. You can choose to save templates in the .AET binary format or .AETX XML format.