I have a number of old After Effects project that I would like to open and render. I currently own AE CS6, which will not open the old AE projects I would like to use. When I try to open the projects, depending upon the age of it, I will get an on-screen error message that informs me that AE CS6 will not open the project and that I should use AE4.1, 5.1 or 5.5, depending on the project. I created these projects while working for a company that is now out of business, so I do not have access to earlier versions of AE to install on my computer.
Is there a way to obtain versions of AE that old? Does Adobe have them in some archives somewhere? I have read that AE 7 may be the version to get that could open up AE projects that were produced around 2000-2003.
The reason I am trying to access those old projects is that I am now a graphic design instructor at a college in California. I am teaching a Motion Design class in the fall, which is basically an After Effects class. I would like to show my students some of my past work as instructional examples. The projects include national broadcast design, national commercials, documentaries that were produced for Discovery Channel, and animation tests for feature films.