How to Use Collect Files in Adobe After Effects

Collaborating on Adobe After Effects projects often leads to missing media and broken file paths if assets are stored in disparate locations. The "Collect Files" feature solves this problem by automatically consolidating your project file, linked footage, and an asset report into a single, organized directory. This guide explains how to properly prepare your composition, configure the collection settings, and package your project for seamless handoff to team members, clients, or archival storage.

Preparing the Project

Before archiving or sending files to a collaborator, clean up the workspace to minimize file size and avoid transferring unnecessary media:

  1. Remove Unused Footage: Go to File > Dependencies > Remove Unused Footage. This deletes any media from the Project panel that is not actively used in a composition.
  2. Reduce Project (Optional): If you only need to share a specific composition, select that composition in the Project panel and go to File > Dependencies > Reduce Project. This removes all elements not linked to the selected composition.
  3. Save the Project: Ensure your latest progress is saved via File > Save before opening the Collect Files utility.

Running the Collect Files Feature

  1. Navigate to the top menu and select File > Dependencies > Collect Files....
  2. If prompted, save your project to proceed.
  3. Configure the parameters in the Collect Files dialog box:
    • Collect Source Files: Choose All to gather every asset in the Project panel, or select For Selected Comps to only gather media relevant to the compositions highlighted prior to opening the menu.
    • Generate Report Only: Leave this unchecked to copy the actual media files. If checked, After Effects will only generate a text summary of the assets.
    • Obey Proxy Settings: Keep this checked if you want to honor your existing proxy usage.
    • Reduce Project: Check this box to strip out any unused assets during the collection process automatically.
    • Reveal Collected Project in Explorer/Finder: Check this option to immediately open the finished folder once the process completes.
  4. Click Collect.
  5. Choose a destination folder and name the package in your file browser, then click Save.

What the Collected Folder Contains

After Effects processes the files and generates a new folder at your specified destination. Inside, you will find:

  • The Consolidated Project File (.aep): A newly saved copy of your project with all internal file paths updated to point to the local collected folder.
  • (Footage) Folder: Contains copies of every video, audio track, graphic, and image used in the project, preserving their relative directory paths.
  • Report File (.txt): A detailed log listing all collected assets, missing files, layer names, active effects, and required fonts.

Final Steps for Collaboration

Once the process finishes, the collected folder is entirely self-contained. Compress the root folder into a ZIP or RAR archive before transferring it via cloud storage, a shared network drive, or an external hard drive.

Note that third-party plugins and system fonts are not packaged by Collect Files due to licensing restrictions. Ensure that your collaborators have the necessary third-party plugins installed and access to any custom typefaces listed in the generated report file.