Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

Open newer projects in older After Effects.

Pick the version you have, drop your project files, and download copies it can open.

Every copy is read back and checked before you can download it.

How it works

  1. 1

    Pick your version

    Choose the After Effects that will open the project.

  2. 2

    Drop your files

    Add .aep projects or .ffx presets. The version stamp is rewritten, and layer records are shortened when an older version needs it.

  3. 3

    Download the copies

    Each copy passes a self-check first. Take one file or all of them as a ZIP.

0 bytes uploaded. Conversion happens in this tab.
Checked A copy that fails its self-check is never offered.
No guessing Files from versions without a real sample are refused.

Versions we know

Every number below comes from a real project file. A version counts as tested only once a converted file has been opened in it.

Release Read from real files Writes Presets Open test

Questions

How do I open an After Effects 2025 or 2026 project in After Effects 2022?

Pick 2022 in the converter, drop the .aep file, and download the copy. Open the copy in After Effects 2022. Keep your original file: the copy is a new file, and versions stay marked untested until a converted project has been opened in them.

Can't After Effects save as an older version itself?

Only two versions back. After Effects 2026's Save a Copy As offers 25.x and 24.x. To go further you have to open the copy in each older version you have installed and save again. Undoyear converts straight to the version you pick.

What changes in the file?

The version number in the header is rewritten to the one your After Effects writes. Projects from 2023 or later going to 2022 or older also get every layer record shortened by four bytes. That field links a layer to its track matte; older versions always use the layer directly above as the matte. Everything else stays byte for byte the same.

Are my files uploaded?

No. The file is read and converted inside this browser tab, and the copy is created on your computer. The page makes no network requests while converting.

Is it free?

Yes. There is no account and no watermark. Files can be up to 1.5 GB each, and you can convert as many as you like.

Why is every version marked untested?

The converter is built from real files, but a version is only marked tested once a converted project has actually been opened in it. Until then, converting is for testers: switch on untested versions in the converter.

What won't it do?

It refuses files from builds it has no real sample of, rather than guessing. Presets (.ffx) convert for After Effects 2022 and 2024 so far, the versions real presets have been checked from. XML projects (.aepx) aren't supported. Features an older version doesn't have, like 3D model layers, can't be brought back. The report lists what to check.

Where does the format knowledge come from?

From py-aep by Fortiche production (MIT licence): its file-format notes and its sample projects from After Effects 2018 to 2026.