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gflick_
gflick_
Participant
May 6, 2026

.Psd import showing offline layers

  • May 6, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 7 views

When importing a .psd file as a composition, I receive the message: "Encountered errors while importing selected items. 1) After effects error: Illegal XML character “” in string “[file path]”. Layers appear offline. When I close and restart app, everything is online. 

Also occurs when right clicking imported psd footage>Create>Convert to Layered Comp.

I already checked that there are no illegal characters in filename of layer names.

Version 26.2.1 (Build 2)

MacbookPro M3 Max, Nov 2023, Sonoma Version 14.6.1

    1 reply

    Nishu Kushwaha
    Community Manager
    Nishu KushwahaCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    May 6, 2026

    Hi there,


    Thanks for writing in. What version of After Effects are you using? Can you check if it's happening with the specific PSD file? Are you importing from an external storage or a cloud folder? Try changing the location of the PSD file and see if that makes any difference.

    Let me know how it goes.


    Thanks,

    Nishu

      gflick_
      gflick_Author
      Participant
      May 6, 2026

      I was using After Effects Version 26.2.1 (Build 2).

      Moving the .psd to the desktop fixed it. I decided to do some more testing and found the problem went away after I did any of the following with the .psd:

      1. imported from desktop
      2. moved to a different folder on external hard drive
      3. CHANGED THE NAME of the folder it was in from “GFX” to “graphics”
      4. CHANGED IT BACK (!!!) to “GFX” -- this caused some missing footage dialog from existing assets even though it was the original name. Perhaps the app was seeing som “invisible” character in the folder name originally?

      Thank you so much for your help on this!

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