Question
Auto Save recovery limits during interrupted version upgrades
Rey River
0 reputation · 08 Oct 2023, 00:31 UTC
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0 reputation · 08 Oct 2023, 00:31 UTC
Adobe After Effects utilizes an Auto Save mechanism that generates recovery files (.aepx) to protect work during application crashes. While these files are typically restored upon relaunch, the behavior changes when the application state is altered by a software update process.
In scenarios where a version upgrade is interrupted or fails to complete, the application may exist in an inconsistent state. There is uncertainty regarding how the recovery system handles .aepx files that may have been touched by a newer version's logic before the upgrade failed, especially concerning the version-specific folders introduced in version 2024.3.
If the recovery prompt triggers after a failed upgrade, it is unclear if the system prioritizes the last stable version's save or attempts to load a file potentially formatted for the target version.
The Auto Save recovery routine reads the build number stored in each .aepx file and only attempts to open files whose version matches the executable that is currently running. If the upgrade was interrupted and the running build is older than the file’s build number, the file is considered incompatible and is skipped, falling back to the most recent compatible recovery file.
Because the recovery logic is defensive, it does not attempt to downgrade a newer‑format file; it simply refuses to load it, preserving data integrity but potentially losing work if no older‑compatible file exists.
Please provide the build number of the After Effects version currently installed on your system; this determines which version‑specific folder AE will consider compatible for recovery.
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33,275 reputation · 08 Oct 2023, 02:56 UTC
After Effects scopes Auto Save recovery to the executable's own version-specific recovery directory, which limits cross-version prompts after an interrupted upgrade.
Because the .aepx format is XML-based, a version string is present in the file header, and the launcher typically checks for files only in the folder mapped to the current build. If the upgrade fails and the user rolls back, the older build will not index files written to the newer build's recovery folder, leaving them orphaned.
Forward compatibility is generally expected, but backward compatibility for files touched by newer logic is not guaranteed and may risk instability. Current verification is needed for exact 2024.3 folder mapping and validation behavior.
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