i cant seem to open that AE_v3.saxey file with anything.on a mac
Sorry Midi, I didn't catch your post till now. I'm on a Windows PC, btw.
AE_v3.saxey opens as/is a text file which defines labels, color and size of, fonts, block border, and cable, etc.
AE_v3.paxege is a zip-type container file storing the image components, as the gents stated. Back up both files before changing them. Worst case you'd need to reinstall AE if anything goes south.
The images I've changed are the main backgrounds and some of the effects blocks. If you extract the images you want to work on to a folder you can edit them there and copy them right back into the .paxege file. Some images are set as "read only" , so you just need to remove the 'read only' attribute to save your changes while editing. I copy either file I edit as a revision for each significant change I make.
I actually created folders for each different background set I make with those 2 AE files. Then I can just overwrite the main 2 files with these when I want to change AE skins. You'll need to reopen AE to see any changes you make.
NB: Each AE update overwrites the 2 files. I use a file compare program to match and edit the new .saxey file. It changes to follow whatever Cliff's changes are with new AxeFx firmware. The .paxege file doesn't seem to change as much though.
It might seem like a lot of work, but it really isn't once you do it a few times and get a routine going. Depends on how much interest one has in tweaking like this. I'm not a programmer, but I can read and figure things out, generally. And I like things my way when possible.
