Only previewing one frame ahead instead of the entire project

[Cyan_Galaxies]

every time i press space to preview the preview instead of playing all of my footage it only plays one frame ahead and then freezes

[Rick Gerard · Accepted solution]

It looks to me like you have created a fairly complex composition without taking any time to figure out how AE works. Ram Preview depends on available resources. If you are not getting a decent preview purge everything, change comp resolution to Auto instead of setting the resolution in the Comp Panel and set the Magnification Factor to 50% or even less.

AE is not an editing app. 90% of my comps are one shot and under 7 seconds. Your comp looks to be several minutes long and it looks like you are trying to edit in AE. Source video format can also have a tremendous effect on AE's ability to preview. I'm guessing that there is nothing wrong except your expectations and lack of experience.

[Adithya25673800fnlx]

its not like after effects is having a hard time rendering the video in the timeline.. when i scrub through the timeline it shows the frames without any problem but instantly deletes the cached previews and when i press spacebar it only previews the one frame it has cached cause it keeps deleting the other ones i think this is a glitch and needs to be fixed

[JerRS16]

I've used AE to edit videos for years.  It hasn't been until recently that these issues have occured.  I used to be able to edit 20 minute videos with ease.  Now it's hard to get a few frames to render.

[Ian37473471hcyn]

What the hell? Just answer the question dude, no need to insult someone looking for help. Your tips are helpful but i genuinely don't want to use them just because you were such an ass at the beginning and end of your response.

[starglazed]

Actually, AE is an editing app—it’s designed for motion graphics, compositing, and even some nonlinear editing. While it’s not a traditional NLE like Premiere Pro, plenty of professionals use it for extended compositions, cinematic sequences, and full scene edits. Performance issues aren’t just about comp length but depend on workflow optimizations like caching, proxies, and media formats. Their approach isn’t the problem—your rigid perspective is.

[Angelica Roja23263379d9xh]

Same here! I tried everything. the comps is only 8 sec, I deleted many layers and still same problem

[Miran25767759l5x6]

i have the same problem, did you find the solution yet ? 

[JerRS16]

Someone suggested disabling Cache Frames when Idle and that resolved my issue.  Try that and see if it works.

[Angelica Roja23263379d9xh]

After trying many things, this worked for me:

Here is how you can reset the preferences:

Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while launching After Effects. You can release the Alt or Option key when the splash screen appears.

To reset preferences and plug-in cache at the same time, hold downControl-Shift-Alt (Windows) or Command-Shift-Option (Mac OS)while the application is starting. Release the keys when the splash screen appears.

Link here -

It also reset my plugins

[cocoua]

HI! thanks this is the correct answer! 🙏