Error (21::31) starting After Effects after editing the keyboard shortcuts file | Mac OS 10.9 and later

Issue: You receive an error message (21::31) starting After Effects after using TextEdit to edit the After Effects keyboard shortcuts file

If you use TextEdit on Mac OS X 10.9 (or later) to edit the After Effects keyboard shortcuts file, you receive the following error the next time you start After Effects:

After Effects error: preferences file "Adobe After Effects 13.1 Mac en_US Shortcuts.txt" contains an unexpected value on line 142, " "Twirl" = ,Äú(macControl+`),Äú". (21::31)

Solution: Disable Smart Quotes

On Mac OS 10.9 and later, Smart Quotes are enabled by default in TextEdit. With Smart Quotes enabled, TextEdit automatically replaces the double-quotes character (") with the left or right double-quotation marks (“ or ”) as you type; After Effects doesn't recognize these marks as the correct delimiters for entries in the keyboard shortcuts file. 

To solve this issue, do the following:

1. Open the keyboard shortcuts file in TextEdit.
2. Choose Edit > Substitutions and disable Smart Quotes.

You can also disable the Smart Quotes feature for all documents in the preferences for TextEdit.

3. Edit the same line you edited previously to replace any left or right double-quotation mark characters (“ or ”) with the non-directional double-quotes character (").
4. If turning off Smart Quotes does not solve the issue, double-check your entry for correct spelling and formatting.
   

Other typos or incorrect syntax in the keyboard shortcuts file will generate a similar error message.

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