ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
User Guide
53
Cross-platform project considerations
After Effects project files are compatible with Mac OS and Windows platforms. You can do several things to ease the
process of exchanging projects between platforms.
File systems
If you want to transfer a project that contains footage stored on a server from Mac OS to Windows, be sure to mount
the server by using AppleShare (AFP). If you mount the volume in Mac OS by using Samba (SMB), After Effects can’t
reestablish links to footage files stored on the server when you open the project in Windows.
Project path names
When you move a project to a different computer and open it, After Effects attempts to locate the project’s footage
files as follows: After Effects first looks in the folder in which the project file is located; second, it searches the file’s
original path or folder location; finally, it searches the root of the directory where the project is located.
If you are building cross-platform projects, it’s best if the full paths have the same names on Mac OS and Windows
systems. If the footage and the project are on different volumes, make sure that the appropriate volume is mounted
before opening the project and that network volume names are the same on both systems.
It helps to store footage in the same folder as the project file or in another folder within that folder. Here’s a sample
hierarchy:
c:/newproject/project_file.aep
c:/newproject/source/footage1.psd
c:/newproject/source/footage2.avi
You can then copy the newproject folder in its entirety across platforms, and After Effects will properly locate all of
the footage.
Note: Use the Collect Files feature to gather copies of all the files in a project into a single folder. You can then move the
folder containing the copied project to the other platform. See “Collecting files in one location” on page 598
File-naming conventions
Name your footage and project files with the appropriate file-name extensions, such as .mov for QuickTime movies
and .aep for After Effects projects. Don’t use high-ASCII or other extended characters in file names to be used cross-
platform.Iffileswillbeusedontheweb,besurethatfilenamesadheretoapplicableconventionsforextensionsand
paths.
Resources
Ensure that all resources are available on both systems. Resources can include fonts, effects, and codecs. Such
resources are often plug-ins.
See also
“Plug-ins” on page 66
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