I will be using a data from
projects/folder.
XML based project always starts with xml header:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<AfterEffectsProject xmlns="http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects" majorVersion="1" minorVersion="0">Note: neither majorVersion nor minorVersion do not reprensent project or AE version, and they are not related to changes in the project file structure itself.
Following fields most likely represent project settings/metadata. Where first tag svap might be representing the After Effects version, where the project was created in.
<svap bdata="073806b4"/>
<head bdata="005c0006073806b4000000000000003200002caa"/>
<nhed bdata="0002000000000000000101001e100200000004e40000fffa00000000fffffffe"/>
<nnhd bdata="0002000000000000000101000000001e0000001002000000000004e40000fffa00000000fffffffe"/>
<adfr bdata="40e7700000000000"/>
<qtlg bdata="00"/>qtlg tag always remains the same in my case.
CPPl tag contains 0..N instances of some sort of settings as far as i understood. Binary contains some string information about RGB color models.
<CPPl>
<pprf bdata="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"/>
<pprf bdata="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"/>
</CPPl><ProjectXMPMetadata> tag is the most human friendly piece of XML project, it contains infomration about where it was created, which tool was used to do this, history of project file changes, etc.
<Fold> tag is basically main entity point for all composition/asset/layer stuff inside the project. It also can be empty, if you create a project without a single composition:
<Fold>
<fdta bdata="0000000000000000000000000000"/>
</Fold>Is it covered in more details in the Fold document.
The rest of the project is usually quite similar between multiple projects, contains few fields which are different for any project, however i noticed that if you fill those fields with 0s, project will still open quite ok in the AE.
<wsns bdata="0014"/>
<wsnm bdata="41006c006c002000500061006e0065006c007300"/>
<string>All Panels</string>
<fcid bdata="00000000"/>
<oacc bdata="0000"/>
<LSIf>
<AFsi bdata="0007000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000005001000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010000000000000000000000000000000000040066000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000a00150000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001000000000000000000000000000000000006004d0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001000000000000000000000000000000000007003f000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000300000000000000000000000000000000000e0032000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000f00530000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010005300000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000080053000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001100530000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001000000000000000000000000000000000012005300000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010000000000000000000000000000000000130053000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000d004d000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000c0040000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000900fa000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000b00320000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000014004000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"/>
</LSIf>
<LRdr>
<Rhed bdata="00010002000000000000000003de076c00000001"/>
<Rout bdata="00000000"/>
<list>
<lhd3 bdata="00d00bee000000000000000000000001000008c60000000100000001000000010000000000000000000000000000000000000000"/>
</list>
<LItm>
</LItm>
<LSIf>
<ARsi bdata="000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000500100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001000000000000000000000000000000000006002d00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010000000000000000000000000000000000070015000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000800190000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001000000000000000000000000000000000004006200000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010000000000000000000000000000000000090064000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000a0082000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000b0082000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000c005a000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"/>
</LSIf>
</LRdr>
<PTRE>
<ftwd bdata="0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"/>
</PTRE>
</AfterEffectsProject>