what is the .AAE extension?

ussafety1029 wrote:

HHate to change The subject but I got a problem with the volume on my iPhone it seems like it's stuck in headphone mode and I can't hear YouTube videos or things like that does anybody know what that could be

You don't get to 'change the subject'. Start your own thread with your own question instead of hijacking someone else's thread.

Is it safe to delete the AAE files? Why would I need them/want to keep them? I'm a newbie to iPhoto; I just want know if I delete them, does that mean that the .jpg image each one refers to will be deleted too? How is the .jpg version related to the AAE one? Thanks for clarifying...

It depends what you mean by "safe." The AAE file has the same name as the associated jpg, but with the aae type. It contains all of the formatting information for the image. So if you edited the image, or rotated it, zoomed it, cropped it, changed the color balance, etc, or you had the camera app do that automatically, and you delete the .aae file you will lose all of this information, and you will have to re-edit the file. The aae file should be copied, along with the image, to whatever photo app you plan to use to managed your photos. Ideally, you will use a photo app to import the image; then you will never need to see the aae file, as it will be managed by the photo app on your computer.

Thanks Lawrence.

By "safe", I mean, if I delete the AAE does that delete the associated .jpg? By the sounds of it, it does not; it only deletes any formatting I've done (I don't tend to edit my photos or videos; I'm an amateur:). I use iPhoto; is this a Photo "App"? If not, I don't think I use a Photo App. I take photos on my iPhone 6 and import them to my external hard drive. That's about all I do. The AAE files that I have all seem to be in my Trash; for every file # there seem to be 2 AAE files associated with it:

Trash:

They also seem to be videos: (under "Kind" it says Slow motion Video Sidecar). *Are* these videos, or photos? Would this suggest I edited the videos? I don't think I did, at least, I've not done so to my knowledge.

If these are in the trash, can I delete them, and assume the "viewable" format (not .jpg but whatever the video extension is for videos)-is in my iPhoto library? Or does the above suggest to you that both formats have been deleted? I only see AAE files in the Trash.

Also-just a quick observation: the file names in my Trash (the # that corresponds to each file: 5195, 5196 etc.) don't necessarily correspond to the files/videos I see in iPhoto library; the same can be said for my .jpg files too). Some do have corresponding "matches" in my iPhoto library, but some do not. Do these numbers (file names)? get changed as files get deleted? I've been trying to look for 5195 in my iPhoto library album, for example, but the numbers I am looking for aren't there. The only 5195 I have is a photo (not video) in my iPhoto library (on external drive); see below:

I'd like to see if it *is* the same file as the AAE but obviously can't view the AAE version. Is it possible the numbers get modified when you delete files, etc? or am I to assume the AEE 5195 file in my Trash *is* the same file as the one in the iPhoto library?

Many thanks.....

LAWRENCE: please read this reply and not the one above: I hadn't finished writing and it wouldn't allow me to continue...this is the final, and good copy:

Thanks Lawrence.

By "safe", I mean, if I delete the AAE does that delete the associated .jpg? By the sounds of it, it does not; it only deletes any formatting I've done (I don't tend to edit my photos or videos; I'm an amateur:). I use iPhoto; is this a Photo "App"? If not, I don't think I use a Photo App. I take photos on my iPhone 6 and import them to my external hard drive. That's about all I do. The AAE files that I have all seem to be in my Trash; for every file # there seem to be 2 AAE files associated with it:

Trash:

They also seem to be videos: (under "Kind" it says Slow motion Video Sidecar). *Are* these videos, or photos? Would this suggest I edited the videos? I don't think I did, at least, I've not done so to my knowledge.

If these are in the trash, can I delete them, and assume the "viewable" format (not .jpg but whatever the video extension is for videos)-is in my iPhoto library? Or does the above suggest to you that both formats have been deleted? I only see AAE files in the Trash.

Also-just a quick observation: the file names in my Trash (the # that corresponds to each file: 5195, 5196 etc.) don't necessarily correspond to the files/videos I see in the iPhoto album where my photos are located; the images *are* however in Finder, sitting under iPhoto library. So, if I go into Finder, and look for the corresponding AAE file # (but as .jpg-not AAE) I can see the same # (5195) as the ones in my Trash. But if I open up the iPhoto App and look in my album for 5195; 5195 isn't there.

Another observation: in iPhoto, the missing file #'s that aren't in my album, *are* in "Photos" under the heading "Library" in the iPhoto App.

So, am I understanding correctly, that if I delete a photo from an album, the corresponding file # will disappear, with the photo, but that the photo remains "live" (it exists) in Photos under "Library"? In other words, the files that are in my Trash, *can* be seen as .jpg's in Photos under "Library" in the iPhoto App, but they are no longer in the album (I think I deleted them from the album as I had many duplicates). Am I correct in thinking that the Photos under "Library" in the iPhoto App correspond to the .jpg's that I see in Finder, that sit directly under iPhoto Library?

This is what I see on my External hard drive....

and:

I'd like to see if the 5195 *is* the same file as the AAE in the Trash, but obviously can't view the AAE version. Is there any way to view the AAE files to check which .jpg's they correspond to, or am I to trust that the # is accurate and corresponds to the .jpg with the same number? Am I to assume the AEE 5195 file in my Trash *is* the same file as the one in the Photos, under "Library"?

Many thanks.....

I'll try to keep it simple. If you use iPhoto it knows about .AAE files and uses them.

If you delete the AAE file you will not delete the photo .jpg, but the image will lose all information about its content. So, for example, if you use the filter option (the little circle in the lower right in the camera), or you take a panorama, all of that information will be lost.

I am mystified about why you would want to delete AAE files? They provide a useful function, and they don't use much memory.

AAE files are in XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format, which is readable. You can view AAE files with any XML editor, or you can just open them with Textedit.

In iPhoto deleting an image from an album just removes it from the album, it does not remove it from your computer. However, I'm not an iPhoto expert (I use Picasa), so you might want to ask in the iPhoto forum here for more detailed information.

Thanks Lawrence. To be honest, I only deleted the AAE files because I thought they were meaningless:). Oops! If I wanted to put them back-where do they belong? I'm on my PC now (at work) and Mac is at home, so once I get onto my Mac my Q. may seem obvious but in case it isn't to me, where do my AAE files belong?

Many thanks...

They need to be in the same folder with the jpg that has the matching file name.

Thanks Lawrence-so, looking at my screen shots above, would they sit under the iPhoto Library (with all the .jpg files)?

iPhoto imports images into its database. Once there it doesn't use the jpg any more. So if you've already imported into iPhoto it may be too late. But yes, if you drag them into the same folder with the jpg files they will actually come before each of the jpgs, because "a" comes before "j" (they will alternate). That doesn't matter, however.

Thanks Lawrence. I'll try to drag them back onto my external drive, where the .jpg's are.....I'm leaving work now so will let you know how I get on a little later...

Or-are you saying it's too late to bring them back in (drag them back in)?

Many thanks!

If I right click on some of the files-I see the option to "Put back", but for some files (those with 13.19.38 at the end) I do not have the option to "put back"-see below. What are *those* files and how do they differ from the ones without the 13.19.38?

I don't know enough about the naming convention, but my guess is they are earlier versions of the file. Either that, or you deleted files twice and the trash manager added a code to know where they go. I would ignore them.

I'm actually wondering: is it possible that the AAE files got deleted when I deleted the .jpg files/images they were associated with? Would it not make sense that the AAE files get deleted with their associated .jpg files? This may be how they got deleted, and so I've been putting back AAE's that I don't need...this is my concern:).

Thanks-that makes sense...many thanks!