After Effects Troubleshooting: After Effects Preview Not Working

As a video creator, animator, or designer, you likely rely on software like Adobe After Effects to bring your ideas to life. However, nothing disrupts the creative process more than your tools deciding to play up.

It can be frustrating when you run into issues with your After Effects preview not working—particularly if you’re an After Effects beginner or still learning the ropes of video editing.

Thankfully, troubleshooting can be easy if you know the steps to take. Whether you’re facing slow playback, error messages, or a complete lack of preview, follow our simple tips, and you’ll be back to editing your video in no time.

Is your After Effects preview slow or not playing? This can be very frustrating, especially if you’re on the clock or approaching a deadline. Let’s look at why you might be experiencing this issue and the best ways to resolve it.

Check your system requirements and graphics card compatibility: The power of your computer (i.e., the processor, memory, or graphics card) can impact the overall performance of After Effects. So it’s a good idea to check your computer has all the proper requirements for the program to run smoothly.

Adjust the preview settings: After Effects has a list of preview settings under the Preview tab that can affect your playback. Experiment with the resolution, quality, and frame skipping to find the optimal settings for your computer.

Clear the cache and turn off third-party plugins: Cache files or conflicting plugins can sometimes impact the performance of After Effects. You can clear your cache by selecting Edit and Purge. Or try temporarily turning off your third-party plugins to see if they’re causing the issue.

Try previewing in a different viewer: After Effects offers several other preview viewing options. These include the RAM Preview, Draft Preview, or Wireframe Preview. Switching between these can help to resolve preview-related issues. You can find the viewer options under the View menu.

Update or reinstall After Effects: Software updates often include bug fixes, so ensuring you have the latest version of After Effects installed is a good idea. If that doesn’t do the trick, then a good old delete-and-reinstall is worth ensuring a clean installation.

Seek help from Adobe support or forums: If you’ve tried the above solutions and still have problems with your After Effects preview, contact the support team. Adobe provides its users various customer support services, including live chat and community forums, where you can find answers from experienced After Effects pros or representatives.

Another common issue that can affect your After Effects experience is a cached preview error. You might be thinking, “What in the jargon?” Before we jump into troubleshooting, let’s look at what this means.

Whenever you work on something in After Effects, the program will save video files to your computer – otherwise known as cache files. Cache files mean your preview isn’t regenerated each time but is instead based on memory, reducing preview load times and displaying your work much more quickly.

You might experience issues with this type of preview for one of several reasons. Here are the most common causes and how to fix them:

Clearing the cache to fix errors and improve performance: Manually removing the cache will give After Effects the go-ahead to generate a newly saved version of your work. Go to the Edit menu, select Purge, and choose the appropriate cache option.

Adjusting cached preview settings for optimal performance: Each computer has different capabilities, so it’s essential to customize your cache settings to reflect this. Go to the Settings menu, then Media and Disk Cache. You can change the disk cache size, location, and more here.

Troubleshooting solutions for persistent cached preview errors: If you’re still experiencing cached preview errors, try moving the cache to a different drive. To do this, go to After Effects, navigate to Settings, then Media and Disk Cache. Select Choose Folder and pick a new folder on a different hard drive.

You can also experiment with different disk cache sizes to find the best balance between performance and storage usage. To do this, follow the steps above to navigate the Media and Disk Cache window. Then, select the number next to Maximum Disk Cache Size and input the size you want to try.

Seeking help from Adobe support or forums: If you’ve tried all the above troubleshooting options and the errors remain, it’s a good idea to ask for help. You can contact Adobe support or consult the After Effects community forums, where the support team and fellow users can often provide insights and solutions tailored to your situation.

Now you’re across how to fix the After Effects cached preview error, let’s recap any best practices you can follow to avoid this type of error in the future:

Troubleshooting After Effects preview issues doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By following the tips and solutions outlined above, you can tackle preview issues head-on and get back to reviewing your work in real-time.

But first, remember to always back up your projects before trying out any troubleshooting steps. Lost work is the last thing you need. And if the issues persist – don’t be afraid to seek help or resources, such as Adobe support or online forums.

Are you looking for more on After Effects? Explore the Top 10 After Effects Templates for customizable designs to make your online content sing. Or look at the pros and cons of After Effects vs. Premiere Pro to better understand when and how to use each program. And be sure to check out the massive selection of professional After Effects templates on Envato Elements.