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acertik
acertik
Inspiring
March 12, 2019
Answered

Change language without reinstalling?

  • March 12, 2019
  • 6 replies
  • 130775 views

Hello:

Does anyone know if there's a way to change the default language of After Effects without uninstalling and reinstalling? I've found tons of articles on how to do it with older versions, but none of them are current.

Thank you.

    Correct answer acertik

    Hello:

    Thank you. I tried that, but unfortunately that only affects MacOS/Finder, but not After Effects. I just re-installed after all. I tried searching everywhere for a different solution, but it seems that there's no way to change the language in CC like you used to be able to in CS. Oh well. Re-installing wasn't that bad. I was just trying to avoid the hassle, but it worked out okay.

    Thank you for your help.

    6 replies

    D
    doudouceur
    New Participant
    October 8, 2025

    Wow! This is so simple and yet it worked! Thank you so much (Windows User)

    D
    doudouceur
    New Participant
    October 8, 2025

    Sorry meant to reply to another comment

     

    Roland Kahlenberg
    Roland Kahlenberg
    Brainiac
    July 29, 2025

    In AE Beta 25+ - https://community.adobe.com/t5/after-effects-beta-discussions/improved-ui-language-support-in-ae-beta-25-4x5/m-p/15309195

    Very Advanced After Effects Training | Adaptive & Responsive Toolkits | Intelligent Design Assets (IDAs) | MoGraph Design System DEV
    Y
    Yassine5C81
    New Participant
    December 15, 2020

    Hi,

     

    There is another trick i ytry it in my computer and it work as well

    1. GO to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects CC 2017\Support Files\AMT
    2. Edit the file application.xml with notepad++ 
    3. Replace the install languages to language you want (key="installedLanguages">en_EN)
    4. Restart your adobe effect CC

    Don't forget to like 😉

      M
      mr.filili
      New Participant
      November 14, 2020

      sorry for necroposting, but I think someone might find it useful in the future.

      actually, there's another way to change AE language without reinstalling.

      if you're on Windows, go to the installation folder of your AE (like C:/Program Files/Adobe/After Effects CC 2018)

      - then navigate to Support Files---Dictionaries

      - find the .DAT file with your current language (mine was like after_effects_ru_RU.dat). it may be inside the folder with your current language (mine was in the folder ru_RU)

      - rename it to your desired language (like after_effects_en_US.dat)

      - restart AE

      - enjoy!

      No reinstalling needed.

        R
        rs-21
        New Participant
        December 2, 2020

        WOW, perfect!!

        ToolfarmJP
        ToolfarmJP
        Community Expert
        March 14, 2019

        Hello,

        You just change the order of the language to set it. You move Italian or German up to the top.

        https://9to5mac.com/2018/08/09/mac-how-to-change-language-and-region/

        acertik
        acertikAuthorCorrect answer
        Inspiring
        March 14, 2019

        Hello:

        Thank you. I tried that, but unfortunately that only affects MacOS/Finder, but not After Effects. I just re-installed after all. I tried searching everywhere for a different solution, but it seems that there's no way to change the language in CC like you used to be able to in CS. Oh well. Re-installing wasn't that bad. I was just trying to avoid the hassle, but it worked out okay.

        Thank you for your help.

        thatsmauri
        thatsmauri
        Community Expert
        March 14, 2019

        Indeed. The only way to change the language of an CC app (that is already installed on your computer) is by reinstalling it:
        » Change the language setting of your Creative Cloud apps

        ToolfarmJP's trick only works for 'Creative Suite' apps.

        ToolfarmJP
        ToolfarmJP
        Community Expert
        March 13, 2019

        Hello,

        If you are a Windows user and want to switch any languages to English, you create an empty text file and save it named ae_force_english.txt into My Docuument folder.

        If you are a Mac user, you switch the language in System preferences -> Language & Region.

          acertik
          acertikAuthor
          Inspiring
          March 13, 2019

          Thank you. I'm on a Mac, and my After Effects is in English already. I'm trying to temporarily change it to either Italian or German.

            Olivié Charbonneau
            Olivié Charbonneau
            Participating Frequently
            October 19, 2023

            ae_force_italian.txt in Documents ? 

            ae_force_german.txt in Documents ? 

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