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T
thatswede123
Participant
July 5, 2014
Answered

How to make a Mac after effects file compatible with windows?

  • July 5, 2014
  • 4 replies
  • 58178 views

I have made a intro template for my subs on my youtube channel. I made it in after effects with my mac and have tried to test out the template to see if it works by giving it to my friends. Theyre on pc and whenever they try to open it theres an error about it being made on macintosh and they arent able to open it. If anyone knows how to fix this plz help me thanks!

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Tim Kurkoski

    After Effects project files are not OS dependent. Most likely the message they are getting is a notification that they are using a different version of After Effects than you are. This message includes which version of After Effects, and on which OS, the file was created.

    So the question you should be asking is: what version of After Effects do you have and what version do your friends have?

    If your friends have a newer version of After Effects than you do, all they need to do is click OK and the project file will open.

    If your friends have an older version of After Effects than you do, the situation is slightly more difficult. After Effects projects are not backwards compatible. But you can use the File > Save As > Save a Copy As CC (or CS6, CS5.5, etc.) to save one version back. If your friends are using a version of After Effects that is more than one version older, you'll need to do this progressively through multiple older versions.

    Since you are making a template, note that when you save as a previous version, any functionality that is new in a given version will be stripped out when you save it as a previous version. For example, compositing options and masks for effects are new in After Effects CC 2014 (13.0) and won't be present in a copy of the file saved as After Effects CC (12.0).

    Note that if your project uses source footage files, your friends may need to use the Replace Footage command in After Effects to locate the files, since file paths are different on Mac OS than they are on Windows. Tip: using the Collect Files command before you send the project will bypass this problem.

    If your friends continue to have issues with your project file, please post more details to this forum, or better yet have them post here.

    Makes sense?

    4 replies

    F
    Fiber Mnr
    Participant
    April 8, 2020

    Hello Adobe e customer service, i have a question, is the ae templates works with ae on a mac? i know about the same versions about adobe, but i mean, about the files ( template) will work with ae on apple mac?

    V
    vperquia
    Participant
    March 19, 2019

    Hi.

    I have a PC with AE 15.1.2.

    I received a file from an agency. They have a Mac with AE 16.0.1.

    I'm trying to update my AE, but 15.1.2 lokks like the newest I can download...

    Where can I find the 16.0.1. ?

    Can't open the AE files and that's definitely not good for my business right now...

    Thanks

    Vincent

    Dave_LaRonde
    Dave_LaRonde
    Inspiring
    March 19, 2019

    If you can't download it,  it means it won't work with your operating system.  What are you running?

    V
    vperquia
    Participant
    March 19, 2019

    PC, Windows 10

    R
    Community Expert
    Rick GerardCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 5, 2014

    If the PC user has a version of AE that is the same or newer than the Mac used to create the original then the files will open. There may be incompatibility if you used video footage that is saved in a format that only a Mac will read (there are very few of these) but only the incompatible video footage will not open on the PC, the project should open just fine. Check the versions of AE on both machines. If you still have problems then tell us how you are making your AET files and exactly what kind of footage you have in the template.

    D
    DivyaChaturvedi
    Participant
    December 17, 2016

    Hello Sir,

    My video is a motion graphics project.

    There are no footage. There are characters and element drawn on Photoshop and illustrator CS6.

    The After effect is CC. Will I still have the issue ?

    Should I save all the elements ( footages ) in older PS and Ai

    and then replace them in current Ae file

    and then save Ae file in older versions.

    Roei Tzoref
    Roei Tzoref
    Legend
    December 17, 2016

    The After effect is CC. Will I still have the issue ?

    older version of Ae cannot open project files that were made in newer versions of Ae no matter and unrelated to the content inside the project file.

    Should I save all the elements ( footages ) in older PS and Ai

    and then replace them in current Ae file

    and then save Ae file in older versions.

    No, just save the Ae project file as CS6 if you plan to send it to a workstation with Ae CS6. if they plan to edit the images themselves in Ps and Ai then it could be important to match the version in these Apps as well but it depends on the specific elements inside.

    Tim Kurkoski
    Adobe Employee
    Tim KurkoskiCorrect answer
    Adobe Employee
    July 5, 2014

    After Effects project files are not OS dependent. Most likely the message they are getting is a notification that they are using a different version of After Effects than you are. This message includes which version of After Effects, and on which OS, the file was created.

    So the question you should be asking is: what version of After Effects do you have and what version do your friends have?

    If your friends have a newer version of After Effects than you do, all they need to do is click OK and the project file will open.

    If your friends have an older version of After Effects than you do, the situation is slightly more difficult. After Effects projects are not backwards compatible. But you can use the File > Save As > Save a Copy As CC (or CS6, CS5.5, etc.) to save one version back. If your friends are using a version of After Effects that is more than one version older, you'll need to do this progressively through multiple older versions.

    Since you are making a template, note that when you save as a previous version, any functionality that is new in a given version will be stripped out when you save it as a previous version. For example, compositing options and masks for effects are new in After Effects CC 2014 (13.0) and won't be present in a copy of the file saved as After Effects CC (12.0).

    Note that if your project uses source footage files, your friends may need to use the Replace Footage command in After Effects to locate the files, since file paths are different on Mac OS than they are on Windows. Tip: using the Collect Files command before you send the project will bypass this problem.

    If your friends continue to have issues with your project file, please post more details to this forum, or better yet have them post here.

    Makes sense?

      T
      thatswede123Author
      Participant
      July 5, 2014

      Ok yeah my friend sent me the error message it said it couldnt open becuase im using version 12.2.1 and hes using 11.0.4 so if i save it as a cs6 it should work?

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