Menu bar (File, Edit, etc) often unresponsive on Windows 11, After Effects 23.1. and above

[Nikjacek]

After Effects Version 23.2.0 (Build 65)

Windows 11 22H2 (Build 22621.1265)

Menu items take a long time to drop down when clicked, sometimes over a minute. The software will hang while I wait. The Composition menu is the least responsive of the menus. This started after I upgraded to Windows 11.

Expected result: click on the Composition menu and see the dropdown instantly

Actual result: click on the Composition menu and After Effects hangs for up to a minute before the menu appears.

Title edited by Mod.

[Motion Fab]

Hi!
While I was beginning to rejoice (naively) that the CC2023 version solved the text selection problem (with the last letter missing), I realize that on this new version, it is the character panel that is the problem : as soon as it is displayed, the slightest command is slowed down! click on a menu, select text, move the playhead in the timeline... In short, each action is handicapped by a delay of 2 to 3 seconds, making the use of After Effects very painful.
The only solution is to close it or not show it in the tabs.

...So I'm going to ask the traditional question on this forum (without any hope of getting an answer from Adobe for weeks, even months...): when can this bug be fixed?

[Mylenium]

Without any system info and other details like your system language and keyboard settings, types and number of fonts installed/ used, font formatting used and so on this is only half as useful as it potentially could be. Point in case: if it was as widespread, we'd already be drowning in post just like with the original selection bug. So it must work for some users at least and the "fix" may just run amok on your system. Even stuff like the mouse and it's configuration could matter. If you can provide more details I'm sure it can help track down the cause and then maybe someone can tell you when it may eventually get corrected in an update.

Mylenium 

[default6umg0hlyy4uu]

Hi!
I'm on Win 11 (ver. 21H2).
French language.

About 6000 Fonts installed.
"Font formatting"...? I don't know what it means.

[JohnColombo]

Hi @Motion Fab,

Thanks for making this report. The scenario you've described sounds like one we are currently tracking, where certain corrupt typefaces or variable typefaces can cause interaction in all of After Effects to lag. If this happens again ( or perhaps is still happening ), please let us know what typeface you currently have selected. 6000 typeface is a lot, but it shouldn't cause After Effects to lag; a specific typeface is usually the culprit.

Cheers,

- John, After Effects Engineering Team 

[default6umg0hlyy4uu]

Thanks for your response @JohnColombo .
Unfortunately, the problem does not occur only when I use a typo in particular. The bug occurs as soon as the character panel is open, whether there is text in the Comp or not.

[JohnColombo]

Thanks @default6umg0hlyy4uu. The issue we're investigating does not require the problematic typeface to be used, simply having the typeface installed is enough to cause performance issues.

There is a common misconception, that exists with plug-ins as well, that a typeface must be used in a project for it to cause issues. For After Effects to recognize that a typeface or plug-in exists, it must read or call that typeface or plug-in in some way e.g. to display a list of available typefaces in the Character panel. This is what may be happening on your system: when the Character panel is opened, it must read and build a list of available typefaces on your system. In doing so, it reads a variable or corrupt font that it must spend a large amount of system resources trying to read, and so slows down the performance of the whole application.

I hope that makes sense and might offer some insight into the possible solutions while we work on correcting the underlying issue.

Cheers,

- John, After Effects Engineering Team 

[Yaman Aldous]

I found an odd solution for my similar menu bar issue.

the issue on my side is : the menu bar is too slow, so when you click on any menu item, AE lags and takes

time to response (around 5-7 seconds) which drives me crazy !

The odd solution : undock the Character Panel ! 

yup, just put it on your second monitor or wherever you want.

so it is not related to how many fonts/scripts/plugins you have installed. 

it is a UI bug on my side, Windows 10 / After Effects 2023 (23.1.0)

[Lee Garcia]

Hi!,

The same is happening to me right now WIN11/AE 23.1.0

YamMograph, seems your "solution" works for me.

Thanks you!

Adobe, please...solve it.

[jibbyp47455127]

That's work for me too. WIN11/AE 23.1.0  Thank you. 

[NickPoznyak]

You are a genius! How did you get it?! It's working for me well on Windows 10.

[Mylenium]

Without exact system info we can't tell you much. Simply sounds like your system is running in quirks mode because the automatic upgrade didn't install all the right drivers. Start by checking your device manager and your Windows Update.

Mylenium 

[Nikjacek]

Hi Mylenium, have checked and the device drivers and Windows Update are up-to-date. The bug report form asks only for 'Version of the app', and 'Platform and OS version', what other system info would help diagnose the problem? In case it helps, the graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, and the processor is an AMD Ryzen 9 5900x

[Nikjacek]

Update, the issue persists after updating to version Version 23.3.0

[nishu_kush]

Hi Nikjacek,

Sorry for your issue.

Are you on a dual-monitor setup? If so, please try disconnecting the secondary one. If that doesn't help, try closing the Character Panel and use After Effects for some time.

Let us know if it brings any change.

Thanks,

Nishu

[Nikjacek]

Closing the Character Panel works — thank you so much. The menus are instant again with no lag.
I didn't try unplugging my second monitor, as the character panel seems to be the issue.

It does lag again when I have the character panel open. So I need to remember to close it before accessing the menus.

[nishu_kush]

Glad to hear that. Thanks for confirming.

We will report it to the engineering team so that it can be fixed.

Thanks,

Nishu

[authentic_Sunshine0D45]

It's unbelievable that this huge bug is unnoticeable in the Adobe team. I'm working on 23.2.1 AE Windows 11; this bug makes AE unusable. I can switch to learn workspace and it works fine but I can't add tools, it slows down immediately. I will try to downgrade AE to 22.0.

[nishu_kush]

Hi aleksandard,

Sorry for the poor experience.

We have filed a bug. The product team is working on a fix.

As of now, closing the Character panel or moving it to the secondary display helps.

Let us know if there are any other questions.

Thanks,

Nishu

[I. Evan R]

I had the same problem, support told me to uninstall all of my plugins which is so annoying. didn't help at all.

YOUR SOLUTION WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WORKS!

Question: how tf is this even a thing???

welp time to reinstall everything again!

[ROSS28505688qd2p]

I have a very powerful HEDT. Latest drivers, AE, etc.

Stripped of extensions.

When I try and access the drop-down menus, the interface becomes unusable - around a 10-second delay.

But if I close the Character window, the problem goes away.

I culled a load of fonts, but still.

Any ideas would be warmly received.

[nishu_kush]

Hi ROSS28505688qd2p,

Check out the workaround above.

Let us know how it goes.

Thanks,

Nishu

[authentic_Sunshine0D45]

Downgrade AE to the first 23. version. This is a bug they have to fix. PS.
It is not just character window that slows down menu bar it's everything. I
had 15-20 seconds freeze window when try to pick anything from the menu bar.

[authentic_Sunshine0D45]

Downgrade AE to the first 23. version. This is a bug they have to fix. PS. It is not just character window that slows down menu bar it's everything. I had 15-20 seconds freeze window when try to pick anything from the menu bar.

[Saeed_R]

Hello, I have been having the same issue; whenever I display the character's panel, the whole interface and menu dropdown slow down drastically; I don't believe it is a specific font issue. I noticed that everything returns to normal when I undock the character panel, and there is no more slowing down instantly—a bizarre issue.    

[Saeed_R]

This issue is only happening on AE 2023. On AE 2022 everything works fine.