What Are AAE Files? Where Can You Meet AAE Files?

In many ways, an user may come to know about the existence of AAE files like, after importing pictures from iphone to Windows computer, AAE file may be accompanied along with every import. AAE is a special format developed by Apple Inc for changing storage or implementing filters to JPG format images. Where Can You Meet AAE Files? On the MacOS X and iOS Devices like iPhone or iPad.

AAE File is a debate for many users since when Apple introduced the image editing feature in their native iOS Photo app (Camera roll). Officially Apple says to use a limited number of their preferred proprietary application which can support that sidecar XMP – iPhoto 9.5 or later, iPhoto for iOS, Aperture 3 or later, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop Elements, SnapSeed and so on. The .AAE files are not image files. They are sidecar files with metadata.

What Are AAE Files? Basic Details of AEE Files

This format is used together with the JPG images only. For example, such files are created automatically when processing a photo in the Hipstamatic application (Hipstamatic is a digital photography application, other programs of MacOS X, iOS like iPhoto, Aperture, and in the Finder. If you wonder how to open .aae files you may be surprised by the fact it can be easily done with any kind of text editor.

If you remove the .AAE file, then the changes which are carried out with the initial image will be lost. If you remove the initial image, then .aae file becomes useless as there is no object of changes remain.

Such files are used in iOS 8, OS X 10.10 and newer version of iOS. If you transfer a photo with this file from iOS to Windows, then only images of the .JPG format will be transferred.

How To Import A Photo Edited On Your iPhone To Your Computer?

To transfer a photo together with the imposed filters as AAE file to the computer you can just send both directly from phone by mail or to load it to the Google Drive or any other cloud storage service, for example you can use Dropbox (details given below). At the same time if you send JPG-file with already imposed effects without the .AAE file you still will get the filtered image.

If it is required to check the edited version of the photo on the Mac or PC computer which doesn’t import the changed version automatically, perform the following operations.

1. Send yourself the photo by email or to some cloud storage service (like use Dropbox and upload the edited photo via the iOS app, then download on your PC using a web browser or the desktop app)
2. Send using AirDrop
3. Use Darkroom Photo Editor
4. You can also use iCloud.com (if it is supported on your version of Windows PC).

Thus you will get on the computer the copy of the edited version, but it can’t be restored to the initial version without the .aae file.

Why the AAE file Was Chosen for This Format?

This name was given on the behalf of the Adobe After Effect software developed to edit the video content (usually for professional purposes – like editing movies). For now this format is only used by Mac to point out the changes implemented to the edited images.

Actually, AAE file format is more alike the temporary (.tmp) files as it doesn’t contain any independent file or information – it only tracks the changes made to another file. And you can manage the changes on your own from the corresponding .aae file easily.

Is There Any Point in Deleting .aae File?

Well, yes – if you do not have the original image and you need it. Then you can delete .aae file for this purpose. There is no point in deleting this file just because you need some extra space, as it was already stated the file only contains text content which means that its size doesn’t usually exceeds 1 Kb and often it is even less.

However, if you are deleting .aae file you can always restore it using the corresponding software unlike the temporary files.

How AAE Files Looks Like if Opened With Text Editor?

You can open AAE file on any UNIX (like MaOS), UNIX like OS (like GNU/Linux) with text editor like XML file. This is an example content of AAE file when opened with Text Edit :