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AlluringImminence
Inspiring
Feb 3, 2018 2:59 AM UTC
Question

Empty Composition Window in After Effects... Just Grey with Open Options

Whenever I open any After Effects project, I get a grey blank screen in my composition preview window. All I see are the two options to create a new comp, or new composition from footage. Occasionally, if I reset my preferences to default by launching After Effects and holding down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT, it will resolve the problem, however, it may take a couple tries. Resetting the workspace does not work, creating a new workspace does not work, and creating new comps makes no difference. Zooming in to fit the screen to 100% does not work either. So for now, I am just forced to constantly try and restart my AE in different ways through a project file, through administrator, or through resetting preferences and hopefully one of them will work to display my composition.

While this is a work around it takes time and shouldn't be happening to begin with. Any idea what the solution is here? Seems like the 2018 releases of Adobe are pretty glitchy. Premiere Pro is also giving off a weird glitch where if you import certain files within certain bins, your timelines freezes up, and won't respond, but Windows will, and you have to click on a menu item on top of the program to make it work. But that's a whole other issue for a whole other forum post.

Here's a screenshot of what I see in After Effects:

    16 replies

    PhiH
    Known Participant
    Jan 27, 2025 8:57 AM UTC

    Old thread, but had the same problem. Emptying the cache, cleaning the database, and then restarting After Effects was the solution that worked for me.
    (EDIT: Temporarily. Doesn't prevent the issue form reoccuring pretty much every time I work with After Effects. This seems to be a bigger problem.)

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    t.moussa
    t.moussa
    Participating Frequently
    Mar 24, 2021 9:53 AM UTC

    updating to AE last version 18.0.1 solved it for me

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    Milly Mill
    Participant
    Jul 30, 2024 6:53 PM UTC

    Old thread, I know.  But to anyone who, like me, came here and none of these suggestions still worked, here's the solution that did the trick for me. Just remove the extra unnecessary spaces from the project file name.  After trying everything, I was relectuant but gave it a shot. And thank Jesus....voila! So hopefully this blesses someone else.

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    W1ss3l5E3E
    Participant
    Mar 17, 2021 8:35 PM UTC

    Copying my content into a new coposition worked for me.

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      Jelly5FE7
      Participant
      Feb 7, 2021 9:38 PM UTC

      Having the same issue, did you ever find a permanent solution? 

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      Community Expert
      Rick GerardCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      Feb 7, 2021 10:09 PM UTC

      Did you try double-clicking the currently selected workspace, or using Window/Workspace to reset the current workspace? Have you tried changing the workspace?

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      t.moussa
      t.moussa
      Participating Frequently
      Jun 22, 2020 1:46 PM UTC

      I had this issue with Ae and Pr, it was solved by resetting windows and installing a clean after effects and premiere

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      t.moussa
      t.moussa
      Participating Frequently
      Jun 21, 2020 11:16 AM UTC

      I have the same isuue, tried everything on the community and the internet, nothing worked

      this is really frustrating.

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      Whishaw911
      Participating Frequently
      Dec 10, 2018 11:04 PM UTC

      I just underwent this glitch. Empty Disk Cache, quit the project and start again. This seems to clear up a lot of glitches. And there are a lot of glitches. That cleared it up for me.

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        CyreneD
        Participating Frequently
        Jul 16, 2021 9:11 PM UTC

        emptying all the cache was did the trick for me too!.

        Thanks for the post/suggestion. I was worried I'd broken the project file - disaster!

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          Community Expert
          Rick GerardCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          Feb 5, 2018 2:59 AM UTC

          I cannot reproduce your problem on any of the Mac (4 of them) or Windows machines I am working on almost every day. I suggest looking at GPU drivers, trying a clean install, or looking for 3rd party software that may be causing conflicts with your particular system. No comp panel, even if you close it and then re-open it, is not a common bug and without system and os details down to the last decimal point I have no solution that I know will work.

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            AlluringImminenceAuthor
            Inspiring
            Feb 5, 2018 1:21 AM UTC

            No one knows? Guess this truly is a massive glitch/bug on Adobe's part. I'll be reverting back to the old version then :/ ...

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            Kevin J. Monahan Jr.
            Kevin J. Monahan Jr.
            Legend
            Feb 13, 2018 1:14 AM UTC

            Sorry for this frustration, GSmaniamsmart. Kindly contact our agents so that they can assist you with this issue: FAQ: How do I contact Adobe Support?

            Thanks,
            Kevin

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            Kevin Monahan - Sr. Community and Engagement Strategist – Adobe Pro Video and Audio
            t.moussa
            t.moussa
            Participating Frequently
            Jun 22, 2020 1:45 PM UTC

             I had this issue with Ae and Pr, it was solved by resetting windows and installing a clean after effects and premiere

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