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Setting preferences


    When you start After Effects for the first time, the default settings are used. You may want to change some of these default settings so that each time After Effects is opened, it uses your selections instead of the standard defaults. After changing settings, you can easily restore the default settings at any time. All After Effects default settings are stored in a single file.

    After Effects saves the location and type of each open window with the project. Palette positions are saved in the After Effects Preferences file, which applies to all projects. You can also save custom workspaces; see Customizing the workspace.

To open a preferences dialog box:

  1. Choose the preferences command you want from the Edit > Preferences submenu.
  2. To switch to another dialog box, do any of the following:
    • Choose an option from the menu at the top of the dialog box.
    • Click Next to display the next dialog box in the menu list; click Previous to display the previous dialog box.

    For information on a specific option, see the index.

To restore all preferences to their default settings:

  1. Make sure that After Effects is not running. If it is, choose File > Exit (Windows) or File > Quit (Mac OS).
  2. Do one of the following:
    • (Windows) Search for the "Adobe After Effects 5 Prefs" file (use quotation marks to narrow the search) and delete it or move it to another folder.
    • (Mac OS) Use the Finder to locate the "Adobe After Effects 5 Prefs" file in the Preferences folder in your System folder and delete it or move it to another folder.

    When you start After Effects again, it creates a new preferences file.