Unfortunately Bot must retrieve all the resolved values from a Google Spreadsheet row, and Google's API requires that the entire line get updated when writing back to it in a "row-by-row" manner. As such, this kills the formula. What you can do is make another sheet with the formulas, then reference the resolved values in another worksheet and point Templater Bot to that secondary worksheet. This way the original formulas don't get overwritten. Does this help?
I'm really interested in your product, so I downloaded the demo to test it out on a couple projects.
My first question is the demo a full fledge version of the Final Product with everything working, because every time I try to Replicate an comp I get an error or it looks like the product is replicating but when it finished nothing is there.
one of the errors I did get said "TypeError:null is not an object."
Yes, the trial includes all of the functionality of the full version. Does previewing via the Transport controls work if you set a row range and click the forward or back arrows? What type of data source are you using? If it's a JSON or TSV file, does the file use utf8 character encoding? Are you using a CSV instead of a TSV?
Dataclay Support, The Transport controls do work for my project. Pressing the forward and or backward buttons do work. For the data source, I'm using google sheets.
To troubleshoot the issue, can you please open a support ticket and attach screenshots of the Templater Panel, and the Templater Preferences dialog? It will help us understand what, if anything, could be awry in the setup you have.
https://aescripts.com/contact/?direct=1
I have a project that is using a scrolling sidebar ticker, that displays text data, scrolling from right to left. I want to know if it's possible to use Templater to change out the text data using Google Sheets.
I need the text data to read down the Google Sheets columns instead of rows. The way the project is built, each comp contains 4 text names, First Comp A appear than a couple seconds later Comp B slides from the right, taking the place of comp A.
I can share an AE project or an movie file, if this doesn't sound very clear.
Yes, it's possible to change out the text data. for animating text I recommend either parent the text to a null and animate the null, or precompose the dynamic text and do the animation to the precomp. If you don't do one of those, swapping the data will likely screw up your keyframes.
Using Google Sheets as a data source requires that each row act as the "re-versioning data" for processing the AE project. It will not work to use columns instead of rows-- you will need to format your data so each row changes all of the desired values within your project. For example, if you have 4 text layers each within each comp, your data columns could look like:
And each row would swap all of the text layers, as long as they are tagged to be dynamic by adding the Templater Settings effect to the desired layers and they are explicitly renamed in the Timeline to match the column names in your Sheet.
If you require more flexibility than a Google Sheet can provide, I suggest using JSON as your data source. Sheets have the disadvantage of passing all of the data for all of the columns, even if they aren't relevant to a particular desired output. This can get unwieldy if you have outputs that require variable numbers of data points to be swapped, while JSON can be set up to only outline the relevant data for each individual output.
No matter how I organize my folders, I get the Templater Import Error without fail.
I've tried changing the import files to pictures, videos, it doesn't matter - it always brings up the missing footage dialog.
The google sheet is correct, it's recognizing my layer names. But then it won't find the correct footage. When I "find asset", the dialog brings up my source footage and the file is named exactly the same way.
Have you set the footage source path to the root of your source folder via the Templater panel? If your footage is in C:\projects\company\assets then in your data you would put the relative path (not the full path) to each file that is within that folder. So if you had a subfolder that was "images" and an image named "photo.jpg," in your data you should have the relative path of images/photo.jpg. Let us know if that helps.
Is it possible to change color of shape layers with this? Or use adjustment layers or something to change the color of shape layers? this is really important for my current project I am working on so it will determine if I use this program or not!
Is it possible to change color of shape layers with this? Or use adjustment layers or something to change the color of shape layers? this is really important for my current project I am working on so it will determine if I use this program or not!
Hi Nathaniel,
Yes, there are a few ways you can do it via expressions. You can take this example project that drives the color of a text layer and use the same technique to dynamically apply the color to your shape layers.
Is it possible to change color of shape layers with this? Or use adjustment layers or something to change the color of shape layers? this is really important for my current project I am working on so it will determine if I use this program or not!
Hi Nathaniel,
Yes, there are a few ways you can do it via expressions. You can take this example project that drives the color of a text layer and use the same technique to dynamically apply the color to your shape layers.
Thank you for the fast response! I am going to dig into this tomorrow and try to apply it to my project with the demo version.
To answer your first question: yes, Templater supports replacing layers with pre-comps that exist in the open project file. In your data source, you use the double-brace notation such as {{ICON_EMOJI}}. Then, when Templater sees that it will replace the dynamic layer’s source with the pre-comp named “ICON_EMOJI”. See the documentation here:
http://support.dataclay.com/content/concepts/data/flags.htm
Regarding editing on markers, Templater does not do this out of the box. However, if you know ExtendScript, you can use Templater’s ExtendScript API to manipulate the layer in any way you want directly after it injects new data into the layers. Although, Time Sculpting really does a good job of handling various things you need. You can see a playlist of Time Sculpting techniques that come out-of-the-box with Templater on Dataclay’s YouTube channel.
I'm sorry, I thought I was editing my other comment but instead I deleted it.
I have a good amount of experience with Javascript so that api will come in handy! Does templater allow us to edit multiple comps inside of our project file or is the editing and swapping of footage files just limited to layers? Can I swap footage files and edit the layers inside precomps that are themselves layers of the main comp. Hope I'm not confusing you.
I was watching your tutorial about selecting target compositions and from what I can tell you can only select one target composition?
Would it be possible to edit multiple precompositions by using json and nesting json objects so instead of having one json object that edits the layers inside a composition, I can have multiple json objects that edit multiple precomps inside my main composition?
Can we only edit one composition per Google sheet? It seems you can link and pull data from between Google sheets. Would that help us to edit multiple compositions in one sheet?
Sorry about all the questions. It's really important that I'm able to edit multiple compositions and with what I know thus far, Templater sounds amazing.
Templater digs through all compositions for all layers that are marked with the "Templater Settings" effect that is installed into AE. So, it doesn't matter how deeply nested the compositions are, Templater will find ALL dynamic layers throughout all comps and re-version those with whatever is mapped to those layers.
The target composition just specify which composition you want Templater to output. Each row in a spreadsheet, or object in a JSON object array, equals a single video output. So, if you wanted to output more than one composition, you would need to enter the same data more than once, but then with a different "target" specifier.
The JSON object that Templater reads is flat, and while you can certainly nest data within the JSON object, Templater will only read the root of the data object. However, the data mapping is based on layers, not compositions, so you shouldn't have to be concerned with nested objects within a single JSON object.
Templater can only read from one worksheet within a spreadsheet at any given time.
Have you had an opportunity to test our the trial and take it for a spin? Many of your questions will be answered there. As well, we have excellent documentation on our knowledge base site for the product: http://support.dataclay.com
Hello, I recently decided to purchase Templater Rig, but I had the templater demo before I got that one. How do I uninstall the demo so I can use the full version of templater rig I purchased?
Hello, I recently decided to purchase Templater Rig, but I had the templater demo before I got that one. How do I uninstall the demo so I can use the full version of templater rig I purchased?
If you've downloaded the trial recently (as in, not from two years ago), you can use the key you were assigned at purchase from within your Downloads & Licenses and follow the instructions here to activate your license. If you are using an older version of Templater, you will want to uninstall it first, and install the latest build from your Downloads. The trial version runs on the full installer, so there is no need to uninstall.
Is there any way to put keyframes using templater?? So say I have in the google spreadsheet values from 1-15, I want to have 1 for 3sec and then change to 2 and stay for 3sec and change to 3 for maybe 2sec and so on.
Is this possible to achieve with templater
This is just an example to explain what I'm trying to do. The actual project has over 300 values with keyframes, and I need to change the values of the keyframes for 50 projects.
It’s possible to do this with Templater, but not out-of-the-box. You would need make use of Templater’s ExtendScript API though, which would require you have knowledge of ExtendScript. In essence, you could assign an ExtendScript that you write that manipulates layers marked with the “Templater Settings” effect — you could add keys, change their place in the timeline, etc. You could do this for each re-version that Templater processed by registering that script to an Event that Templater broadcasts.
Here is documentation more information on the Templater ExtendScript API:
Hi there, is there a way to use footage directly from a link? (Not needing to download them to the footage folder)
Thanks.
Yes, you can do this, but the direct link requires a direct download link AND a file extension so that AE can attempt to import it properly. See our knowledgebase article on this topic for more information.
The latest version of Templater does support AE 2020. Also, yes, you can swap fonts via data with AE 2020's new expression access to text properties. The best way to do this is to access the sourceText property of a "control" text layer to set the text properties of other text layers. We've also developed a method for swapping fonts with Templater Bot that will work in any version of AE.
The latest version of Templater does support AE 2020. Also, yes, you can swap fonts via data with AE 2020's new expression access to text properties. The best way to do this is to access the sourceText property of a "control" text layer to set the text properties of other text layers. We've also developed a method for swapping fonts with Templater Bot that will work in any version of AE.
Awesome, on the compatibility tab, it doesn`t mention the CC 2020, I should have checked the version history Tab. Thank you!
one of the errors I did get said "TypeError:null is not an object."
This error occurs when you read a property or call a method on a null object . That's because the DOM API returns null for object references that are blank. An object is expected somewhere and wasn't provided. So, you will get null is not an object error if the DOM elements have not been created before loading the script. In JavaScript , null is not an object; and won't work. You must provide a proper object in the given situation.
We can resolve this type of issues by adding an event listener that will notify us when the page is ready. Once the addEventListener is fired, the init() method can make use of the DOM elements.
Hi. I just want to verify that Templater Rig 2 is a stand alone script, and that subscriptions to Templater Pro or Templater Bot simply extend functionality and automation options. Is that correct? And does Templater Rig allow you to render via Adobe Media Encoder as opposed to within After Effects? Thank you - looks like very useful product!
Hi. I just want to verify that Templater Rig 2 is a stand alone script, and that subscriptions to Templater Pro or Templater Bot simply extend functionality and automation options. Is that correct? And does Templater Rig allow you to render via Adobe Media Encoder as opposed to within After Effects? Thank you - looks like very useful product!
Rig is a perpetual license. Only Pro and Bot are subscriptions. You can check their respective product page for details on each one
I've purchased the Template Rig and I'm having trouble including lines to separate two sentences in my text layers. In the TSV , in one cell I have the following:
Where do you want to go?
Lets go to Tokyo.
But in AE it only shows as :
Where do you want to go?Lets go to Tokyo.
or
Where do you want to go?
How can I include a line between the two lines without separating them into different cells?
Unfortunately, line breaks using a TSV file aren't supported by default but we have found a couple of solutions to this problem. The most simple would be to use Google Sheets or a .json file as your data source. In a Google Sheet, you can create a line break by using CTRL + Enter and in a .json file, you can use "\r" (without quotes). For a TSV, we were able to create an After Effects Expression that's able to process the data into separate lines. You can use this code and apply it to the sourceText of your text layer:
var str = thisLayer.text.sourceText; var splN = str.split("\\n").length; var i; var arr=[]; for (i=0; i < splN; i++) { arr.push(str.split("\\n")[i]+"\r"); } arr.join('')
To split the lines use "\n" (without quotes) to indicate where the line breaks should go. Keep in mind that any spaces before or after the \n mark will be reflected in the generated lines. If you have any other questions, just let us know. Thanks!
Thank you for your quick response. I'm having trouble linking my google sheets account to templater. I have read the help files and watched the youtube video but when I press the Google button in Batch assets I get "After Effects warningThe system cannot find the file specified". If I OK the error box the Google sign up box pops up, then I press the Sign in button, it takes me to google, I give access, I get the code, copy and paste it into the "Auth code" box in Templater and again get a "After Effects warningThe system cannot find the file specified", then below in the status bar it says , Request a Google access token please wait.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the attached .log file came through in the forums here. Could you open a support ticket on the Dataclay website and try sending that over to us through there? Thanks.
Is there a way with Templater Rig to drive some of the settings by expressions/pickwhipping? For instance, I'd like to set the padding value for a bunch of layers via an Expression Control, rather than having to adjust this manually in each layer.
While there isn't support for applying Expressions directly to Templater's settings, it should theoretically be possible to change those settings using the ExtendScript API options in Templater Bot. Essentially, you would need to create a custom script that altered the various layer options and then assign it to run at the appropriate time in the Templater process. Here is some more information on the Templater ExtendScript API:
Another option would be to create multiple comps with the settings adjusted to specific values and then switch between the comps using the target variable within your data source. This wouldn't be quite as flexible as a script, but if you're only going to be switching between a few different layouts this might be preferable to writing a custom script. You can see more info about setting a target composition here:
While there isn't support for applying Expressions directly to Templater's settings, it should theoretically be possible to change those settings using the ExtendScript API options in Templater Bot. Essentially, you would need to create a custom script that altered the various layer options and then assign it to run at the appropriate time in the Templater process. Here is some more information on the Templater ExtendScript API:
Another option would be to create multiple comps with the settings adjusted to specific values and then switch between the comps using the target variable within your data source. This wouldn't be quite as flexible as a script, but if you're only going to be switching between a few different layouts this might be preferable to writing a custom script. You can see more info about setting a target composition here:
Is there a way to get Templater to account for padding when attaching to text layers that have descenders?
(Thanks for answering my question about expressions!)
Hi, Rob. The answer is that it's complicated, because the size of the bounding box for text layers is dependent on text ascenders and descenders. Their existence or abscence will change the padding of any layers that are attached with the Templater Settings layout properties. If possible, it's best to design around those issues (all uppercase, for example), but that's not always feasible. There are two main hypothetical workarounds if this is a significant issue for your intended design. The first is to use AE's Essential Graphics panel to set up the layout and positioning and your padding parameters (using the Templater Settings effect) to account for ascenders/decenders in dummy data in a "parent" comp, but have the text data still coming from Templater in any "child" comps (data accessed through expressions to map one text layer's sourceText to another). The second option is to set up your own expressions-based layout. This is much more complicated by hand, but can also give you the flexibility to set things up the way you want.
Would Templater Rig work to update text in comps with "Master Properties"?
Basically,i've created a text template - would i be able to duplicate the template and update the text in the master properties using this plugin?
Thanks
Yes, that is theoretically possible, though it requires using expressions to map the text layers that Templater is dynamically updating and having those sourceText values updating the Master Properties values that have been exposed into the "child" comp.
Just as a note, this would be limited to working directly within After Effects and not related to using mogrt/Essential Graphics in Premiere. You can still take those child comps and import them into Premiere using the older Dynamic Link method, if that's necessary.
Hi there, I've been excited to see your plugin for Ae!
However, I'm curious how dynamic is it? I'm looking to make an instructional slideshows but each slideshow might have different slide counts. Would this be possible to do in this Templater? Also I see you refer to google docs, would JSON work?
While Templater can't dynamically add slides to your project, it is certainly able to switch between various compositions with different configurations. So it should be possible to set up templates for multiple slideshows and then designate which one you'd like to render using the Target Composition function in Templater. More information about designating a Target Composition can be found here.
As for your second question, Templater can absolutely use a JSON file as a data source. Check out this link to find out more information. If you have any further questions, please just let us know!
You might also want to take a look at this post from our forums, which has further information about integrating Templater functions into a slideshow template.
Just jumping in with the 30 day trial. In testing some text data with attachment options, when preview a data set we notice that it takes clicking to get the data and then refreshing the view to actually get all the attachment parameters to display as specified. In this case we have an initial layer aligning to the comp, a second text bottom edge aligned to that, and subsequent text layers right edge aligned to that.
Are we doing something wrong in needing to double refresh?
While it's not impossible that this issue is being caused by something else, the most common explanation for the behavior you're describing is a logic error in how the Templater layers are set up. Templater processes the layers in a comp from top to bottom, so if the aligning layer you mentioned is at the bottom of the stack, it'll be moved/processed last, which will necessitate another refresh to get the text layer to recognize the layout changes. That's the most common reason for what you're describing, but if you continue to have issues, please feel free to get in touch with us at [email protected]. Thanks!
Sorry for having to ask such a simple question, but I recently purchased Rig and I cannot locate the Dynamic Color feature, which I have seen in some of your YouTube demos. Why does it not show up as a feature for me?
The implementation of the Dynamic Color feature for Templater was changed in a previous revision of the software and no longer requires an option to be checked in the plugin panel. If you're looking to change the color of a solid in a project, you should only have to rename it, apply the Templater effect, and then add the corresponding hex codes to your data source. So if you had a Solid layer named "Color1" (without the quotes), you would add a column to your data source titled Color1 and then add whatever hex codes you wanted to apply to the solid.
Dynamic Colors can also be added to non-solid layers, but the process is a bit more involved. Basically, you'll want to bring in the hex code as a text layer and then use an After Effects expression to apply that data to an appropriate property or Effect on the layer in question. If you'd like more information, I'd recommend checking out this post on our forums for more detailed instructions. However, if you're just planning on changing solid layers, this shouldn't be necessary. Hopefully, that answers your question, but if you have any additional questions, please just let us know! Thanks!
I also have 6 comps in AE with a similar naming convention.
300x250, 300x600, 640x480 etc etc
So I can easily associate the 300x250 precomp with the 300x250 sheet. But how do I associate the other comps to their respective sheets without having to create 5 other AE files? Because as it stands now, once I change which Google sheet is being referenced, it cascades out to all AE precomps.
Templater is designed to monitor only one data source at a time, so it's unfortunately impossible to set up multiple comps to monitor multiple sheets in the same project. If it's necessary for the workflow to keep the various projects separated, you might consider doing a data merge on a master Sheet to consolidate all of the information into one place that Templater can access. I'd also recommend taking a look at this article from our support website on using a JSON file as a data source as that can sometimes provide more flexibility than a Google Sheet. However, it should be noted that only one JSON data source can be monitored by each instance of Templater running.
As for Templater updates "cascading" to unwanted layers, any layer with Templater applied that matches the column name of the data brought into the project will end up being changed once the update is run. If the column data needs to remain the same, but you want to swap between projects, I'd recommend taking a look at this article. It describes a method to switch between .aep files using data in the Google Sheet. If you have any more questions, please just let us know! Thanks!
I have painted myself into a corner. I created a master comp that is properly set up to import 31 fields from a google sheet. And in another comp, I have various text layers and their text properties connected via expressions to the certain text layers in the master comp that is controlled by the spreadsheet. The problem is when I want to adjust a characters baseline (for example, a registration mark), as expressions doesn't have access to any of the character tools (baseline, kerning, etc etc). Anyone run into this problem and figured out an efficient way around this limitation?
If you've downloaded the trial recently (as in, not from two years ago), you can use the key you were assigned at purchase from within your Downloads & Licenses and follow the instructions here to activate your license. If you are using an older version of Templater, you will want to uninstall it first, and install the latest build from your Downloads. The trial version runs on the full installer, so there is no need to uninstall.
Rig is a perpetual license. Only Pro and Bot are subscriptions. You can check their respective product page for details on each one
var splN = str.split("\\n").length;
var i;
var arr=[];
for (i=0; i < splN; i++) {
arr.push(str.split("\\n")[i]+"\r");
}
arr.join('')
Hi Randall,
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the attached .log file came through in the forums here. Could you open a support ticket on the Dataclay website and try sending that over to us through there? Thanks.
Hi Rob,
While there isn't support for applying Expressions directly to Templater's settings, it should theoretically be possible to change those settings using the ExtendScript API options in Templater Bot. Essentially, you would need to create a custom script that altered the various layer options and then assign it to run at the appropriate time in the Templater process. Here is some more information on the Templater ExtendScript API:
http://support.dataclay.com/content/how_to/bot/event_scripts/templater_extendscript_api_reference.htm
Another option would be to create multiple comps with the settings adjusted to specific values and then switch between the comps using the target variable within your data source. This wouldn't be quite as flexible as a script, but if you're only going to be switching between a few different layouts this might be preferable to writing a custom script. You can see more info about setting a target composition here:
https://support.dataclay.com/content/how_to/output/specifying_a_target_composition.htm
If you have any more questions, please just let us know.
Hi Rob,
While there isn't support for applying Expressions directly to Templater's settings, it should theoretically be possible to change those settings using the ExtendScript API options in Templater Bot. Essentially, you would need to create a custom script that altered the various layer options and then assign it to run at the appropriate time in the Templater process. Here is some more information on the Templater ExtendScript API:
http://support.dataclay.com/content/how_to/bot/event_scripts/templater_extendscript_api_reference.htm
Another option would be to create multiple comps with the settings adjusted to specific values and then switch between the comps using the target variable within your data source. This wouldn't be quite as flexible as a script, but if you're only going to be switching between a few different layouts this might be preferable to writing a custom script. You can see more info about setting a target composition here:
https://support.dataclay.com/content/how_to/output/specifying_a_target_composition.htm
If you have any more questions, please just let us know.
(Thanks for answering my question about expressions!)
Just as a note, this would be limited to working directly within After Effects and not related to using mogrt/Essential Graphics in Premiere. You can still take those child comps and import them into Premiere using the older Dynamic Link method, if that's necessary.
Hi there, I've been excited to see your plugin for Ae!
However, I'm curious how dynamic is it? I'm looking to make an instructional slideshows but each slideshow might have different slide counts. Would this be possible to do in this Templater? Also I see you refer to google docs, would JSON work?
Hello Neil,
While Templater can't dynamically add slides to your project, it is certainly able to switch between various compositions with different configurations. So it should be possible to set up templates for multiple slideshows and then designate which one you'd like to render using the Target Composition function in Templater. More information about designating a Target Composition can be found here.
As for your second question, Templater can absolutely use a JSON file as a data source. Check out this link to find out more information. If you have any further questions, please just let us know!
Neil,
You might also want to take a look at this post from our forums, which has further information about integrating Templater functions into a slideshow template.
Are we doing something wrong in needing to double refresh?
John,
The implementation of the Dynamic Color feature for Templater was changed in a previous revision of the software and no longer requires an option to be checked in the plugin panel. If you're looking to change the color of a solid in a project, you should only have to rename it, apply the Templater effect, and then add the corresponding hex codes to your data source. So if you had a Solid layer named "Color1" (without the quotes), you would add a column to your data source titled Color1 and then add whatever hex codes you wanted to apply to the solid.
Dynamic Colors can also be added to non-solid layers, but the process is a bit more involved. Basically, you'll want to bring in the hex code as a text layer and then use an After Effects expression to apply that data to an appropriate property or Effect on the layer in question. If you'd like more information, I'd recommend checking out this post on our forums for more detailed instructions. However, if you're just planning on changing solid layers, this shouldn't be necessary. Hopefully, that answers your question, but if you have any additional questions, please just let us know! Thanks!
John,
Templater is designed to monitor only one data source at a time, so it's unfortunately impossible to set up multiple comps to monitor multiple sheets in the same project. If it's necessary for the workflow to keep the various projects separated, you might consider doing a data merge on a master Sheet to consolidate all of the information into one place that Templater can access. I'd also recommend taking a look at this article from our support website on using a JSON file as a data source as that can sometimes provide more flexibility than a Google Sheet. However, it should be noted that only one JSON data source can be monitored by each instance of Templater running.
As for Templater updates "cascading" to unwanted layers, any layer with Templater applied that matches the column name of the data brought into the project will end up being changed once the update is run. If the column data needs to remain the same, but you want to swap between projects, I'd recommend taking a look at this article. It describes a method to switch between .aep files using data in the Google Sheet. If you have any more questions, please just let us know! Thanks!