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:
- Open the keyboard shortcuts file in TextEdit.
- Choose Edit > Substitutions and disable Smart Quotes.
You can also disable the Smart Quotes feature for all documents in the preferences for TextEdit.
- 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 (").
- 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.
