aescripts + aeplugins

Jeremy Romero

Cannot get this to pull from google or any other local file - even tried turning off Antivirius just in case.

Pulling from google:

Authorized

Selected Spreadsheet

No Fancy Names (chars underscores etc)

Selected Next

When I click preview it says

Something about unacceptable row range (yes the layer name and cell 1 match)

Then I look in the log and it says:

2015-10-20 @ 11:19:23 [RANGE VALIDATION]   : Local type is

2015-10-20 @ 11:19:23 [RANGE VALIDATION]   : Using start row

2015-10-20 @ 11:19:23 [RANGE VALIDATION]   : Using end row

Lloyd Alvarez

Cannot get this to pull from google or any other local file - even tried turning off Antivirius just in case.
Pulling from google:
AuthorizedSelected SpreadsheetNo Fancy Names (chars underscores etc)
Selected NextWhen I click preview it saysSomething about unacceptable row range (yes the layer name and cell 1 match)
Then I look in the log and it says:
2015-10-20 @ 11:19:23 [RANGE VALIDATION]   : Local type is2015-10-20 @ 11:19:23 [RANGE VALIDATION]   : Using start row2015-10-20 @ 11:19:23 [RANGE VALIDATION]   : Using end row

Please open a support ticket so we can help you directly on this issue as it looks like it is a conifguration issue specific to your machine.

Eldad Caspi

This is going to revolutionize the templating market. Kudos!

Dataclay Support

Thanks for opening up the support ticket.  Just wanted the resolution to be on the comment thread here.  When you choose "next row" from the "Preview uses" drop down, Templater requires integers in the "Render rows ____ to ____" in the main panel interface.  Once you do that, the range validation error will go away.  If the "Preview uses" drop down is set to "current state" then no integers need to be present in the "Render row ____ to ____" fields because Templater will just apply its layout logic to the layers rather than first grabbing the data from your source.  By default, when you first launch Templater, the "Preview uses" dropdown should be set to "current state".

Glad you got it working, and thank you for being our customer—we appreciate it!

Dataclay Support

@Eldad you're too kind!  Thank you for the kind words—they mean a great deal to us.  We do hope that the template market catches on and begins to integrate Templater into their flow.  We think there is a good deal of value in making After Effects projects dynamic.

Nicholas Quinn

Hello,

Just downloaded the trial version. Wanted to give this a test drive with a view to buying.

Followed the YouTube basic tutorials but have come across a problem.

Signed in with google account and after effects is seeing the spreadsheet. Have matched the text layer titles with the column heading titles in the spreadsheet.

However, the data doesn't change when i click the preview button.

In the status box it says "Unacceptable row range. For spreadsheets, row ranges start at 2 because column header labels exist in row 1"

As far as i can see, i have set out the spreadsheet in the same way as the video.

Does anyone know if there is something obvious I am missing?

Thanks in advance.

Nick

Dataclay Support

Hi Nicholas,

Thank you for trying out Templater.  Have you entered in integers in the render row range?  The error usually comes up with you do not have any integers present in the "Render row ____ through ____" fields on Templater's main panel.  However, you should also verify that you have set an output destination.

Thanks!

ismail elka

hello.

i want to ask about the option dynamic color ...it want work for me, so i want to ask if the option is no longer available or what ?

Dataclay Support

Yes, dynamic color is available by default when you assign the Templater Settings effect to a solid layer.  In previous versions we had the user turn on a switch that said "Dynamic Color", but we found that this was unnecessary and redundant.  Simply assign the Templater Settings effect to a solid, and map hex values to the solid and Templater will change the color accordingly.

ismail elka

Thanks it works !
Is there a way to link the "fill" effect to the Templater sitting ? the idea is to change all element's color with one effect "the fill" effect that we can link to one layer.
Thanks

.

Dataclay Support

Yes, but you need to use expressions.  Essentially it's done by creating a text layer in your composition and map your color data to that text layer.  Then, drive the fill color effect by setting up an expression that references the .sourceText() property of the text layer you mapped with Templater.  You will likely need to use something like parseInt() to turn the .sourceText() property into an integer if that is needed.  That's the general idea.

ismail elka

Thank you so much ! i'll give it a try and come back to you.

dongsoo han

Hi, 

Is there any sample project file to get more clear understanding ?

Thanks

ismail elka

Hi,
i have mapped the color data to a text layer, but i failed to link it to the color value, i used this script to get the text value.
parseInt(thisComp.layer("color").effect("Fill")("Color")) 

what seem to be the problem is the inability to convert the hex value to 4 parameters in the color values.
can you please past any line to help with that or any sample project. 
Many thanks !

Dataclay Support

Yes, you can convert hex to RGB values.  This expression assumes that there is a text layer named "templaterColorReadout" that is getting the hex value from the Templater Settings effect.  In addition, this assumes that "templaterColorReadout" text layer is in the same comp with another layer with a "Fill" effect applied.

Use this expression the color value of the Fill effect.

function hexToColor(theHex) {

    var r = theHex >> 16;

    var g = (theHex & 0x00ff00) >> 8;

    var b = theHex & 0xff;

    return [r/255,g/255,b/255,1]

}

hexToColor("0x" + thisComp.layer("templaterColorReadout").text.sourceText);

This solution is adapted from code found at this thread on the Adobe After Effects Scripting forum.

https://forums.adobe.com/message/5680721#5680721

ismail elka

i tried that script but i needed that last line !

Thank you so much !!! 

ps : a screenshot for those who need a pic of it !

Dataclay Support

@dongsoo Yes, we just got started, but you can download some pre-rigged projects on our GitHub account.  We'll be adding more projects in the future that demonstrate concepts.

dongsoo han

Sample Project file is very helpful to understand Templater Ring. I can change text and image successfully.

I have some question for using this tool.

 

1. How to change Audio/Video file.

 I fail to change audio file. Is there any guide  how to change audio and video file ?

2. "Incorporate data from any web API into a data source" feature.

  Where can I get the instruction about this feature ?

3. When I use demo Templater Ring, I can use Render button in Templater 2 pannel. But, after activating Templater Ring, I can't use this button.

   How do I render based on data source with Templater Ring version ?

Thanks

Dataclay Support

@dongsoo han: thank you for your questions:

1.  You can make audio / video footage layers dynamic in the same way you change image based footage.  However you must be sure that the footage (audio or video) is supported by After Effects.  You should also be careful to note that there would be no dialogs or errors that could show up upon importing the file in AE.  We will put up another project showing how to swap audio files in the repository—hopefully by the end of next week.

2.  There is no direct way to answer this question except that you would need some software / web development skills to grab the API data you need.  Because Templater supports Google Sheets, you can write Google Apps Scripts that allow you to create functions to pull in external data into spreadsheet cells in a Google Sheet document.  You can also use any programming / scripting language to pull down data from any web api, and conform that data into a local JSON file that works with Templater.  You can see more information about setting up a JSON text file to work with Templater on our support site.

3.  The features that come with each Templater edition are outlined very clearly on Templater Rig's product page.  Please note that the following are only available to Templater Pro and Templater Bot editions:  

• Batch replicate compositions
  
• Batch render compositions
  
• Batch render with Adobe Media Encoder
  
• Custom output naming
  

Also, below the table outlining the edition features, you can read:  "The trial lets you explore Templater Rig and Templater Pro features. It adds watermarks to dynamic layers, and allows for up to six previews and renders—comp replication is disabled. Customers who own a Templater Rig license are eligible for a one month trial of Templater Bot. Please submit a help ticket to request a Templater Bot trial."

Dataclay Support

@dongsoo  We have now updated our rigged-projects repository with an After Effects project file that is already prepared with dynamic audio files.  Here is the link again.  https://github.com/dataclay/rigged-projects

dongsoo han

Hi Dataclay,

It is very helpful for me. I have one problem to use Templater Bot. Please let me know how to solve it.

1. When I click "replicate" in templater 2, Comp name become adio_FINAL_RENDER_cal_a  (or field_trip_1 according to output) and I can show that in render queue also. There is no problem.

2. When I click "render" button, new Comp name with {{FINAL_RENDER}} is created and there is warning such as

"The name of selected output module already in use. Please choose another name." Can't proceed render procedure.

But, When I send replicated to Adobe Media Encoder, there is no problem. 

Please see below screenshot.

P.S. I'd like to get 2 kinds of Output format type such as AIFF and lossless or lossless and photoshop. How do I handle it ?

Dataclay Support

When using the Render function, you might need to remove all the contents of your render queue.  It sounds like there is some kind of conflict with an output module id.  What happens if you first clear your render queue before you click render?  Do you still get that error?

You can create new output modules of any sort by going to AE's main menu.  Use Edit > Templates > Output Modules....  Create your output modules for .aiff and lossless, etc.

Then, in Templater's main panel, click the "Refresh" button to load all available output modules.  If you use Adobe Media Encoder, you will need to create the output presets that you want and let Adobe Media Encoder apply those presets by default.  When you setup your watch folder in Adobe Media Encoder, you can set the items that it loads to a preset that you want.

dongsoo han

I hope to tell Dataclay thank you for  support.

I have 2 questions.

1. Based on your comment, I can set output module. I want to get thumbnail image during rendering. But, it seems that it is hard to set it with template 2. Can you advise how to do ?

2. When I try to use on-bot-disable-win.php script, I can't find "smtp.conf.php". Please let me know how to get this file.

3. I want to use email address from spreadsheet to send result in on-bot-disable-win.php. Is there any way to get spreadsheet item in event script ?

Thanks.

Dataclay Support

@dongsoo Here are some answers below, however, for more specific questions, please feel free to open a support ticket.

1.  In your project, create a composition with a work area with one frame duration.  Then, set your output module to be any of the still image types.  In your data source target the composition with a work area of one frame and each time Templater processes a job, you'll get a single images.

2.  As stated in the header of the on-bot-disable.php script, likely won't work for you because your server needs to have the PHP Swift mailer package installed, and the smtp.conf.php is just a file that resides—securely—in your PHP server's include path which would contain all the details of your mail server like the address, port, username, and password.  You can create it.

3.  In Templater's preferences, ensure that you have the checkbox ticked with the label "For all commands, use job details as arguments".  Note that it is advisable to use a Batch script (Windows) or Bash script (OSX) within the fields labeled "After each job", "After all jobs", and "On disable" and then call your PHP / NodeJS / Ruby / Python script from within that shell script.  The repository shows the on-bot-disable.bat script that calls on-bot-disable-win.php with arguments.  In the comments header of on-bot-disable.bat you'll note the available arguments to the script.  Unfortunately all the details from the specific job in the spreadsheet are not included in the "On disable" event.  All job details from the spreadsheet are available for the "After each job" and "After all jobs" events.  The details are available in a JSON file—passed in as an absolute path—that gets stored in your AEP project directory.  We have added the request to support job details in the "On disable" event, but am not certain when it will be released—thank you for your patience.

Jared Bohlken

Hi Dataclay!

Is there any way to pass formatting information into AE using Templater? Say I have the following text, as it would ideally appear in After Effects:

"Today has been a great day."

Is there anyway to specify a certain word to be bold, italics, etc... while still passing it in the same string?

Thanks,

Jared

Dataclay Support

There's no way to "markup" certain words or characters from your data source, but you can use the "Attachment" technique. Break up your text layer into three separate layers that are each styled a certain way. Then, in your data source you could have each of those layers mapped to different columns. Here's more information on how to handle attaching layers as their data changes:

http://support.dataclay.com/content/how_to/attaching_layers.htm

Alexander Holthaus

Hi Dataclay,

Is there any way to adjust the duration of replicated comps based on spreadsheet information?

Thanks
Alex

Dataclay Support

Hi Alex,

Timeline manipulation features is not available in 2.1.7, but it will ship when we do a release towards the end of the summer.  We are targeting an August 2016 release date.  Thank for your patience as we continue to innovate for our customers!

Dirk Sommer

Hey Dataclay,

i've got a specific question i couldn't find answered so far in the comments or your Videos. I want to display animated data - in one Video a rate might be 20% in the next one 50%. I'd love to do an animation for those values.

It uses universal expressions to control the animation. In that project, the animation is controlled via two key frames. Is there any chance, to manipulate these via templater? So you'll get the right animation for 20% and for 50% according to your spreadsheet?

Thank you in advance for the help!

Dataclay Support

Hi Dirk,
Yes, you can do that. You need to setup a text layer that will retrieve the percentage value found in the spreadsheet. You should turn off the visibility of that layer in you composition. Then, in your expression, you need to capture the .sourceText property of the hidden text layer into a variable—for example a variable called "myTextNum". Once you have that stored in a variable, you can use something like parseInt(myTexNum) to convert the string into an integer so the expression can make use of it.

If you have a more specific question, please open a support ticket.

Thanks!

Dirk Sommer

Hey Dataclay,

thank you for very much for your fast reply! I would love to talk about that topic in detail with you - how can we get in touch? I used your contact form a few days ago, but still waiting for a reply.

Thanks again for your support!
Dirk

Lloyd Alvarez

Dirk Sommer said:

Hey Dataclay,

thank you for very much for your fast reply! I would love to talk about that topic in detail with you - how can we get in touch? I used your contact form a few days ago, but still waiting for a reply.

Thanks again for your support!
Dirk

Please open a support ticket https://aescripts.com/contact/?direct=1

ashambe ahsambation

Does it support RTL text, more specifically Arabic language?

Dataclay Support

It does support RTL, but not Arabic script. We are working on a solution specifically for Arabic scripts, but the date of release is unknown. Thanks!

Markus Rutledge

Is there a way to cancel a batch render? My current method is to move or rename files to force an error response, but that only works on renders requiring a referenced media file. This would be a great feature, if not obvious.

Dataclay Support

You can cancel a batch process from within the After Effects render queue panel while it is operating. You can click "Stop" and that will cancel Templater's batch rendering. Make sure that the render queue panel is visible in the ui before clicking render in Templater's panel. In some cases, depending on the speed with which the rendering happens, you may need to click the "Stop" button multiple times to have the click register with AE. Unfortunately, you cannot do any of this when you invoke Templater's batch replication process. We do have a feature for this in our queue, but no hard date on when it will be implemented.

Markus Rutledge

Hmm... for me, once I click the "Render" button in Templater (not replicate, etc) the process full takes over all After Effects UI. Nothing is clickable, except repositioning the entire application window/minimizing. This has been the case for me in every version since I bought it v.2.1.5, as well as upgrading my machine in that time. Currently I'm running on a MacPro trashcan and the most current after effects.

 Any thoughts?

Dataclay Support

When AE renders via the render queue, AE has control and should give the user the ability to stop a render by allowing them to click the "Stop" button in the render queue panel.  We have seen that in some cases, if the speed of the rendering is too fast, AE doesn't allow for user interaction.  Feel free to open up a support ticket if you need more help with this specific issue.

Thanks!

Markus Rutledge

Thanks for the quick replies! I'll open a support ticket because my renders are by no means fast. The weird thing is that I've used it on three different machines and two different OS versions, and have always experienced this. I had just assumed it was a by-product of all the amazing voodoo you guys are conjuring to make this life-saving plugin work. Either way, I'm not complaining.

Jago Kosolosky

Hi there, is a subscription to Templater Pro or Bot necessary to use Rig or does the one time cost cover all the functionalities in the video?

Dataclay Support

@Jago Thank you for your interest in Templater and for your question.  The one-time cost of Templater Rig will allow you to map your data to your composition layers and iterate through previews how the data looks in your layers.  However, to do any output automation, you'll need Pro.  Bot gives you even more flexibility in that you can control versioning of AE projects via a command-line interface or through a "watch mode" where Templater watches for new data and reacts to that new data (i.e. kicks of a render, replicates a project file, etc.)  You do not need a subscription to use Rig, but you need Rig for any of the subscription products.  By purchasing any subscription product, you are entitled to Rig at no cost.

Joshua Ball

Does Templater support variable length data? For instance, I want to create a slide show template, but one render might contain 10 images, while another contains 15. The second should produce a longer video than the first. In your screencast called "Slideshow Footage", it looks like every row in the google spreadsheet must have the same number of columns.

Dataclay Support

Hey Joshua,

Thanks for your interest in Templater.  All of our timeline manipulation features are slated for a Q4 release, which is very soon.

At the moment, there is no way to "build" a composition from the data source, but we do have some plans on how to approach that in 2017.  However, what users are doing is creating multiple compositions in their project files, and then specifying the "target" composition int their data source.  So, they might have a :10, :15, :30, :60 version of their template as separate comps, then they specify which comp to re-version and render through the data sources "target" column.

Todd Cassetty

Hi, first of all, thanks for an amazing product! I've been waiting for something like this for years! I excitedly bought the Templater rig without reading all the details and after setting up all the spreadsheet data and connecting to the comps was pretty sad to realize that I couldn't render without the pro version. I've read that the rig comes free with the Pro version so now I'm wondering if its possible to get the Pro subscription version at a discounted rate since I just bought the rig a couple days ago?

I also have a question about the functionality. Is there a way to append a string to text data from the spreadsheet inside After Effects? For example, I have a song name column where the data is entered without quotation marks in the spreadsheet, but I need the quotes in the final presentation. Is there a way to add those quotes inside After Effects? Another example, I have an artist name column, but the final presentation should show "by Artist Name". How could I add the word "by" inside After Effects without changing the spreadsheet data?

Dataclay Support

Hi Todd,

Many thanks for the kind words about Templater, we are as excited about this type of technology as your are

Please submit a support ticket via your aescripts account to resolve the question about the bundle deal.

The short answer to your technical questions is to use layer expressions together with hidden text layers that are mapped to the values.

After mapping the data to a hidden text layer, another text layer's .sourceText property can reference the hidden layer's .sourceText.  Apply an layer expression that reads the .sourceText property of the hidden text layer into a variable that can then be manipulated with some basic code inside the visible text layer.

To handle sibling layers' positioning, use the Attachment parameters.  More than likely you would want the "by" layer to target the "name" layer, and attach to the left edge, or you can do it vice versa.

Thanks again for your business!

Sha Zh

Hello! company i`m working for bought Templater rig to try it out. Is that normal to have a cross over dynamic layers that has to be changed? when we render cross still remains. Will it be gone after we`ll upgrade to Templater Pro or Bot?! Also sad that you guys dont have more tutorials. Is it possible to change the position of columns from horizontal to vertical as it`s easier to organize data. When we do it in google spreadsheet Templater can`t read it anymore. Please respond! we`ll very appreciate your help!:)

Lloyd Alvarez

Saniya Zhandossova said:

Hello! company i`m working for bought Templater rig to try it out. Is that normal to have a cross over dynamic layers that has to be changed? when we render cross still remains. Will it be gone after we`ll upgrade to Templater Pro or Bot?! Also sad that you guys dont have more tutorials. Is it possible to change the position of columns from horizontal to vertical as it`s easier to organize data. When we do it in google spreadsheet Templater can`t read it anymore. Please respond! we`ll very appreciate your help!:)

The cross is a watermark for the trial version. Once you enter a valid license code it will be removed. And there a tons of tutorials on the product page under "Templater Screencasts" midway down on the page: https://aescripts.com/templater/ For your issue with google sheets please open a support ticket: https://aescripts.com/contact/?direct=1&sku=DCTS-SUL

Graham Nix

I asked a question yesterday but it must not have gone through. My company is very interested in your product but after looking at it I want to get a gauge of how long it will take to render some scenes and if I'll need a new computer for just this purpose or if it works fast enough for me to just use my current machine. 

We have a few thousand clients and want to give the top 100 specialized reporting in a video so pulling a picture into a comp along with some other numbers from a spreadsheet. I'm just making sure that this won't take days upon days to render. Do you think you could give me an estimate on something like that? 

Lloyd Alvarez

Graham Nix said:

I asked a question yesterday but it must not have gone through. My company is very interested in your product but after looking at it I want to get a gauge of how long it will take to render some scenes and if I'll need a new computer for just this purpose or if it works fast enough for me to just use my current machine. 

We have a few thousand clients and want to give the top 100 specialized reporting in a video so pulling a picture into a comp along with some other numbers from a spreadsheet. I'm just making sure that this won't take days upon days to render. Do you think you could give me an estimate on something like that? 

It all depends on your project but the recommended workflow is to pre-render any non-dynamic elements in your comp so that the render is as fast as possible. So from your description, it should only be a 2-3 layer composite which should be super fast to render.   

Graham Nix

Appreciate you response Lloyd, one more question, does it work at all with scripts? Say I wanted to have a script run with every job that was automated without me having to sit there and hit the button to run it myself. 

For example, the comp in question is Ray Dynamic color 2 and I would like it to pull a hex number in and change all the layers in the comp. (There are over 800 solid layers to change from one color to another.)