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rd: Pre-compose
Version: 0.96 Sign up to be notified by email when a new version of this script is posted
This script displays a dialog box for pre-composing one or more layers (like the built-in Pre-compose dialog box), but adds the ability to trim the pre-comp to the selected layer’s duration, with optional trim handles.
Known issue:
- Using the ‘Leave all attributes’ option on a single selected negatively stretched layer doesn’t trim the layer correctly.
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- rd_Pre-compose UI
Originally requested by Gary Jaeger.
Version History
| v0.96 | 15-nov-2010 | Added batch mode (when moving attributes) to pre-compose each layer, and an option to use the layer name as the pre-comp name. |
| v0.91 | 20-feb-2008 | Removed some code that confused the script if you tried to run it from the ScriptUI Panels folder. |
| v0.9 | 7-oct-2007 | Initial pre-release. Requires AE CS3. |
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How does this differ from Precomp-ToLayerDuration.jsx? The ability to add head and tails?
Hi Navarro… Doing some quick tests with one of my projects, it seems Chris Zwar’s script doesn’t have head/tails support, doesn’t trim to exact duration (it places the precomped layers at the start of the nested comp), doesn’t have a “Leave all attributes …” option, and doesn’t seem to handle negatively stretched layers correctly. There might be others, but that’s what I’m noticing so far.
I’m also working on an update that allows you to precompose each layer separately (basically, a batch mode), but that’s still farther out.
Awesome script. Thank you. Just curious, why does it disappear every time I use the script? I select it from the window and it appears and works as advertised, but once the script has been activated the pallet goes blank and I have to deselect from the Window menu then reselect to make it reappear. The pallet needs to be reset for each use.
Hi Syd… This script’s UI is a modal dialog box, not a dockable panel, so it’s not intended to be installed in the Scripts/ScriptUI Panels folder or to be run from the Window menu. Just run it from the File > Scripts > Run Script File command or, if you’ve installed it in the Scripts folder, from the File > Scripts submenu. Hope that helps.
hello,
a suggestion: modify the script to make it possible to pre-compose multiple layers separately: a trimmed composition for each layer!
thank you for the useful script!!!
hi marco… it’s been a popular suggestion for a batch mode. i’ll add your name to the existing request. thanks!
Any news on the feature requested by marco? It has been a pain so far selecting each layer individually and running the script (selecting corresponding boxes aswell) in a composition containing 100s of layers. I tried using different versions @ http://www.aenhancers.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=51. But none trimmed the layer + the parent composition accordingly as Pre-compose does.
Nevertheless excellent script. Thank you very much!
hi angelo… unfortunately, nothing new at this time. work’s been quite busy lately, so haven’t had much free time.
Very useful script. Thank you! This is saving me so much frustration. It makes you wonder why Adobe didn’t think of this.
CS5 ready?
hi navarro… should be. are you on CS5 and seeing something wrong?
:jeff
In CS5 doesn’t work. It opens a tiny, tiny window with no possibilities of clicking nothing due to its size…
In fact, I must force quit from After…
hi jose… i think what you’re seeing is a problem with some scripts (not just mine) that open on Mac as a short, thin window. you should be able to resize the window by clicking/dragging the lower part of this short window to the lower-right. it might take a few tries to hit the window’s edge.
i think by making the window non-resizable it’ll fix it, but i’ll see if i can find a better workaround. (i’m away from my Mac for a few days, though.)
thanks.
IS this script cs 5 compatible?
yeah, should be. just forgot to add the CS5 icon to the page. i’ll ping lloyd about that. thanks.
thank you for the batch option. lovely
Previously I’ve been able to launch this script with a hotkey using Keyed Up, but suddenly it no longer works. I’ve tried reinstalling the latest versions both of rd_Pre-Compose and of Keyed Up, but can’t seem to be able to launch it with a hotkey any longer. Anyone have any ideas why this might be?
hi dustin… the only way to launch scripts via keyboard shortcut (at least natively within AE) is if you assigned a shortcut to the Run Script #n commands in KeyEd Up, and made sure the script that you wanted to launch is in the Scripts folder (not Scripts/ScriptUI Panels subfolder) and named such a way that it’d appear in the first, second, third, etc. slots of the File > Scripts submenu. maybe some other script got installed and moved into the previous place that this script existed in the submenu? that’s all i can think of.
Hi, I just installed this and tried to run it but nothing happens. Tried several times using various options in the dialog but nothing makes any difference. I just selected several layers File>Scripts>rd_precompose. I’m on Mac OS X 10.6.6 with CS5. Am I doing it wrong or something?
hi erik… sounds like you’re doing everything correctly. one thing to try is double-click the comp in the Project panel to make sure it’s Composition panel is the frontmost panel, then try the script again. also, just to confirm, are you running the script from the File > Scripts > Run Script File menu command?
I’d like to see this script have the option to work as I would normally work when trimming pre-comps. When Move all Attributes is selected in the regular AE pre-comp window, a pre-comp is made the length of the composition. I’ll then trim that pre-comp to be the length of my original layer(s). Now, when I jump in to that pre-comp, I stay in the same place in time as the original comp.
The way this script works, it creates a pre-comp that starts at frame 0 (and you can see the start and end marks on the pre-comp, instead of the comp being the actual length of the composition, but just trimmed down). So when you jump in to the pre-comp, you are no longer at the same place in time as the original comp. This is not as useful usually.
Any way this option could be added?
Thanks!
Dave
hi dave… if i understand correctly, you want it to behave just like “Move all attributes” does manually, but just trim the precomp layer to match the original layer’s in/out points?
if so, i’ll investigate how difficult it’d be to add that option.
Jeff -
Yes, that’s exactly what I was trying to say. That would be great thing. Hope it can be done.
Thanks!
Dave