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Participant
Nov 15, 2025 3:02 PM UTC
Question

JPG , PNG icons not showing in After Effect

I’m having a strange issue in After Effects. My PNG files are importing correctly, but in the Project panel the PNG icons don’t show — they appear as blank/white file icons (screenshot attached). Compositions show normally, but PNG thumbnails are gone.

I’ve tried:

  • Restarting AE

  • Clearing cache

  • Re-importing PNGs

  • Resetting preferences

  • Updating AE

The PNGs work fine on the timeline — only the icons in the Project panel are missing.
Has anyone experienced this or knows how to fix it?

Thanks!

5 replies

cartooncande
Participant
Mar 30, 2026 2:10 AM UTC

I am having the same issue but with .mov and .mp4:
 

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Nishu Kushwaha
Community Manager
Community Manager
Mar 30, 2026 4:22 PM UTC

In which app do .mov and .mp4 files open if you double-click them in Finder/Explorer? Are you on macOS or Windows?

Let me know.

 

Thanks,

Nishu

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Glenn 8675309
Legend
Nov 15, 2025 5:51 PM UTC

Layer panel options, choose a large thumbnail.

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Participant
Nov 16, 2025 6:08 AM UTC

PNG icons are still showing as blank white files both in the Project panel and the Timeline. 

 

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nishu_kush
Legend
Nov 20, 2025 2:44 PM UTC

It might be a file association thing. Just check that the right app is set to open your PNG and JPG files when you double-click them.

 

Hope that helps!


Thanks,
Nishu

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