Opening an AAE File

The AAE file type is primarily associated with Photos.

AAE	File extension: AAE
	File type:	image editing data file

What is an AAE file?

AAE files mostly belong to Photos by Apple. AAE files are created by the Photos App present on Apple's iOS devices.

Main Use: AAE files are native to the iOS operating system (iOS 8 and over and Mac OS 10.10 onwards). The iOS-based Photos App is equipped to edit the existing JPG images present on the device. All these edits are saved in an AAE file in the same location as that of the original image and with the same file name suffixed with the AAE file extension. The data in an AAE file is stored in an XML format. If the AAE file were to be deleted by mistake, only the edits made onto the original image are lost but the original remains intact. Even if one were to rename the JPG or the corresponding AAE file, the edits are temporarily lost until the names are matched again. In order to make sure that the edited AAE file information is forever embedded into the image, the iOS device's settings can be changed to apply any changes made on the image file onto itself. Another way is to export the modified image using email or social media applications. If social media applications are being used, it is important to note that the image resolution and size might be altered in the process.
Adoption: iOS devices are the only devices capable of using AAE files. Windows, Linux, or Android devices cannot use them. Although Windows software such as Notepad is able to open the data saved in an XML format within the AAE files, it is not particularly useful as the image edits are unreadable on Windows' Photo Viewer applications.

How to open an AAE file

You need a suitable software like Photos from Apple to open an AAE file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your AAE file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a AAE file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online AAE Text Viewer

Choose your .aae file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to extract texts from AAE files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

If you want to extract texts from AAE file or capture a screenshot, you can use our free Online AAE File Viewer:

Just click the "Choose your .aae file to view" button on this page.
After your file is opened in browser,
click "Save as..." in the menu.
Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
Download the converted file.

AAE file format:

Why is it important to know the file format? This is the only way to find out which program to use to open the file. The first characters in a file identify the file format, for example, HTML files start with the bytes <html>. If the file extension does not match the file format, double-clicking on the file will cause an error upon opening. So a detailed analysis of a file is vital in order to determine the format and the associated program. Below you will find our evaluation of the AAE files:

You will often come across the AAE file type. This predominantly uses a uniform format. The following file formats are most commonly found in AAE files:

98% of all AAE files are Apple Sidecar data files, which are using the popular XML file format. The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple text-based format for representing structured information: documents, webpages, data, configuration, books, transactions, invoices, and much more. XML defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. The contents of these files can even be read by a human. The files are often between 770 bytes and 3 KB in size. It is a modern file type. The keywords <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">, <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>, <dict>, <key>adjustmentBaseVersion</ and <plist version="1.0"> are typical for these files.

The remaining 2% of all AAE files are files with no common format. Drag & drop your file here to see the file format and a preview of your AAE file!

Technical Data for AAE File Extension

File classification:

Data

Related files:

aee, aaa, ae, jpg, mov, aap, heic, eea, photo database, aat, aaf, q1q, cool, aac, aa, hevc, aar, png, aam, xml, ithmb

Mime type:

application/octet-stream

an aae image editing data file is a special file format by Apple and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with AAE files

Associate the AAE file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open image editing data files. Because only the current version supports the latest AAE file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Apple manufacturer website after an available Photos update.
To make sure that your AAE file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .AAE file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.