After Effects Interface

Report · Jun 15, 2023

Hi there! My name's Emma, and for the past two or so months my After Effects app has been messed up badly. I cannot interact with the interface like at all, (Can't left click, interact with drop boxes, etc)

I'm an editor, and utilised After Effects as my editing app, so it's very unfortunate I can't use it. If anybody can help, please do.

Report · Jun 16, 2023

Without any system info and a screenshot we realyl can't tell you anything. Start by resetting the workspace and/ or deleting the relevant prefs and configuration files externally so they get rebuilt with defaults. Anything more will require proper info.

Mylenium

Report · Jun 16, 2023

Hi Emma,

I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue. I have moved this thread to the Discussions section to investigate and troubleshoot. Could you share your system specifications (OS, OS version, CPU, GPU, RAM) and After Effects version (Help > About After Effects)? Are you using any tablets or controllers? We're here to help. Just need some more info.

Thanks,

Ishan

Report · Jun 27, 2023

Hi! Sorry for the late reply, I completely forgot about my posting on this topic. Also solutions I have already tried are: switching workspaces, resetting preferences, re-opening After Effects, re-installing After Effects, and so on. I've even uninstalled all of my plugins but still have issues. Hopefully the information below can help out! Also, I don't use a controller or tablet.

My After Effects version is 22.0

I'm on a Windows laptop, here is my laptop information on settings:
Device name DESKTOP-PJGNG7U
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 4500U with Radeon Graphics 2.38 GHz
Installed RAM 8.00 GB (7.39 GB usable)
Device ID F20A2CE0-CE6C-47EE-A549-89895B0C55A4
Product ID 00325-81951-68075-AAOEM
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Pen and touch Pen and touch support with 10 touch points

Report · Jun 28, 2023

Thanks for sharing the details. Is there any specific reason you're using an older After Effects version? Do you also see this issue with After Effects 23.5? Could you share a screen recording with us? A recording of the problem can help us better understand the issue.

Report · Jun 28, 2023

I had no idea 22.0 was an old version, my apologies! I left After Effects sit for a month or so before using it and when I came back it was broken, I suppose maybe I didn't update it? Let me go on my laptop and record a video real quick.

Report · Jun 28, 2023

Here, I just updated my After Effects to the recent version but nope, still have my problem! Also, ignore me having the mac dock and bar, I'm still on Windows, it's just because I like the look of Mac Os, but It doesn't change my laptop at all besides add those two things.

Report · Jul 05, 2023

Hi, just following through that this still doesn't work. Mind continuing to provide assistance?

Report · Jul 09, 2023

Could you share more details on the macOS theme you've installed? A link to the websites you sourced it from could help. Please go to Edit > Preferences > Startup and Repair > Start in Safe Mode, restart After Effects (keep the disable 3rd party plugins option unchecked) and let us know if you still see the issue. Please also check if any OEM updates are available for your integrated GPU.

Report · Jul 10, 2023

Hi, I have MANY themes installed (though not all in use), so it'll be nearly impossible to identify and send links to all. Though, the main one of them all is called Dockfinder, which is available on Steam.

Anywho, I did so the safe mode restart and now it gives me the dropdowns, but it's only up and down arrows. (Image provided below)

No OEM updates are available to my knowledge, by the way.

Report · Jul 13, 2023

If it's not too much trouble, could you temporarily disable your themes and check if you still see the problem? If you do, could you create a screen recording of the issue? That will help us better understand the issue, and we'll have something to share with the engineering team if we run out of troubleshooting options. Thanks for being so patient with us!

Report · Jul 14, 2023

Hi, thanks for replying back! Unfortunately as I mentioned earlier, I have so many themes and uninstalling all of them would be a real hassle, especially reinstalling every one of them. Are you possibly able to just keep giving me troubleshoot options? Apologies for not being able to go through with it, but I've been real short on time lately so it would take me a while to do.

Report · Jul 17, 2023

Sure, the themes might be causing the issue. Let's try something else, assuming that's not the case. Please go to C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\After Effects\23.5\, and move this folder's contents to a folder on your Desktop. Ensure that the 23.5 folder is empty. Launch After Effects 2023 and check if you still see the issue.

Report · Jul 18, 2023

Hello! I went on to do this and seemingly the problem is fixed, thank you for your assistance and if I ever need anymore help I'll be sure to open another post. Have a lovely day, and thank you so much again.

Report · Jul 19, 2023

Okay well, supposedly I found the issue. The dropboxes all work until I add a video or something to the composition. Then everything goes grey, the arrows popup / it basically becomes unusable. Does this hint towards a possible answer? Since using videos is what I need to use it for.

Report · Jul 19, 2023

Yikes! I'm sorry to hear that my steps didn't work for you. Would you like me to arrange a callback from a technician? They can access your system remotely to better understand the problem. Please send me a private message to get started. If that doesn't work for you, we can continue troubleshooting here. In that case, let me know if it's a specific type of video that you're having this issue with or if it's with all types of videos.

Report · Jul 20, 2023

Hi, if a "callback" sounds like what it means in the name and refers to doing a phone/video call of some such I'd be unavailable to do so, with my super busy schedule and being unable to sit down and talk to someone one on one. I believe its just any type of videos, and it probably also happens when I add a photo to the composition, but I can check tomorrow and get back asap with info.

Report · Aug 08, 2023

Hello, I tried out multiple file types and all of them resulted in a broken AE. Can I get some further help or advice on how to fix this, please?

Report · Jun 16, 2023

Sometimes switching workspaces fixes these kind of issues:

You can change to any workspace, and then change right back (recommend saving first as this can also crash AE)

Report · Jul 17, 2023

After Effects is not a video editing app, it never was designed to edit movies. AE is a visual effects, compositing, animation, and motion graphics app designed to create shots or make transitions you cannot make in an NLE like Premiere Pro. Most of your comps should be a single comp, at the most, a single short scene. The timeline should not have cuts in it. Every time you make a cut, make a new composition. Most of my comps are under 7 seconds because most shots in a movie are less than seven seconds long. I render the effects and then edit in Premiere Pro, where the audio mixing and color correction tools are much better. That is what all the major studios do no matter what kind of software they use to create effects, composites, and motion graphics.

Slowdowns can come from having the Media and Disk cache set to a huge value so it takes a long time to purge and robs the system of resources. Mine is set to 40GB, which is plenty for a 4K comp previewed with the comp resolution set to Auto and the Magnification ration set to 50%. You should also check the Memory and Performance section and set the RAM available to other applications to an even multiple of 4 (that's 4, 8, 12) because the data pipeline for most modern applications can be that wide, and sharing the pipeline between apps slows things down.

Let us know if any of these suggestions work.