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.

[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 · Accepted solution]

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

[YamMograph]

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.

[aleksandard]

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

[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

[aleksandard]

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.

[aleksandard]

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.

[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!