There is now -30% discount, but the discounted price is $69, which is around what used to be the regular price. Is the plan to pump up the price to $99 and basically instead of an "regular discount" this is chance to get WORKFLOWER with the old price for a moment.
There is now -30% discount, but the discounted price is $69, which used to be the regular price. Is the plan to pump up the price to $99 and basically instead of an "regular discount" this is chance to get WORKFLOWER with the old price for a moment.
Hi Miika,
yes, so the price will be raised with the release of v1.1 (there are tons of new features included). However, to ease the transition, I decided to offer Workflower for 69$ as a sale, so you can still get it at pretty much the old price.
Such an amazing script. Been using it since the new version launch. I’m confused about what comps/groups or clones i can simply past into a totally unrelated composition.
Will it cause any issues.
I have watched your tutorials 10 times over but just confused about that part.
I’ve done it & it worked but I don’t want to break the script or ruin a clone. (Yes i duplicated clone 1st, deleted the FX & performed both resets so it becomes a (d)ependant clone).
Just confused if they are still linked or not?
And yeah just copy & pasting normal groups or group precomps into unrelated comps?
Such an amazing script. Been using it since the new version launch. I’m confused about what comps/groups or clones i can simply past into a totally unrelated composition.
Will it cause any issues.
I have watched your tutorials 10 times over but just confused about that part.
I’ve done it & it worked but I don’t want to break the script or ruin a clone. (Yes i duplicated clone 1st, deleted the FX & performed both resets so it becomes a (d)ependant clone).
Just confused if they are still linked or not?
And yeah just copy & pasting normal groups or group precomps into unrelated comps?
Ugh, there seems to be some kind of character limit here, so I split my answer into two parts:
FIRST PART OF MY ANSWER:
Hey Stephen,
that’s great to hear! I’m glad the script has been useful so far.
Just by reading your message, it seems like you’ve done it all the correct way. But let me just explain it a bit so it’s clear to you:
Yes, you can just copy and paste a group from one comp to another. Just make sure to execute 'Select Group' on the group, so all shy’d layers are selected as well. Then paste it into the other comp and execute 'Refresh Layout', so that the indent gets updated (if necessary) and potential 'Group Linked Adjustment Layers' or 'Group Mattes' get updated as well.
When a 'Precomp Clone' is part of your selection and you paste it into another comp, then yes - remove the effects and execute 'Refresh Layout' to make it a 'Dependent Clone'. That way, it won’t be a 'Unique Clone' and the content of this clone will only be determined by the 'Precomp Clone' layer of the original comp.
However, there’s something to be aware of: Unfortunately, when you copy and paste layers in AE, layer references in effects are being set to 'None' even if the referenced layer is included in the selection. That also means that all references on a 'Precomp Clone' would get removed since Workflower will remove all 'Clone Layer' effects on a 'Precomp Clone' when they are set to 'None'. So when copied and pasted, 'Precomp Clones' will always become 'Dependent Clones’, no matter whether you remove the effects on them yourself or not. (Yet I don’t recommend not removing the effects because the 'Precomp Clone || Settings' effect would still be on it and you would always get an error message when executing 'Refresh Connections' on it.) Now, unfortunately, the same goes for a 'Group Precomp Clone' as well - even though you might think that it could theoretically still know which layers to grab from the group it is in. But since all layer references that are set to 'None' will get removed, the 'Group Precomp Clone’ will be turned into a 'Dependent Clone' immediately. If you want to have a unique 'Group Precomp Clone' in the new comp, your only option is to let the clone be turned into a 'Dependent Clone', then move it out of the group and create a fresh 'Group Precomp Clone' for then group. Now copy potential attributes like masks, effects, etc. from the old clone (the now 'Dependent Clone') to the new 'Group Precomp Clone' and then delete the 'Dependent Clone'. Oh well, sorry that this is so complicated. I hope this makes sense?!
Such an amazing script. Been using it since the new version launch. I’m confused about what comps/groups or clones i can simply past into a totally unrelated composition.
Will it cause any issues.
I have watched your tutorials 10 times over but just confused about that part.
I’ve done it & it worked but I don’t want to break the script or ruin a clone. (Yes i duplicated clone 1st, deleted the FX & performed both resets so it becomes a (d)ependant clone).
Just confused if they are still linked or not?
And yeah just copy & pasting normal groups or group precomps into unrelated comps?
SECOND PART OF MY ANSWER:
However, to make it even more complicated, the whole thing is totally different when you duplicate a comp (instead of copy/pasting layers into a comp). In that case, AE *will* update all layer references - so in a duplicated comp, all 'Precomp Clones' will become 'Unique Clones' instead of 'Dependent Clones' once you execute 'Refresh Connections' on them. Note that this needs 'Refresh Connections' and not just 'Refresh Layout'. (Btw: You can also just deselect all layers in the duplicated comp and execute 'Refresh Connections' to update all clones at once.) If you want 'Precomp Clones' in a duplicated comp to become 'Dependent Clones', it is mandatory that you remove all clone-related effects so that they don’t become 'Unique Clones'.
Since AE’s copy/paste behavior removes layer references on effects, you also have to be careful when copy-pasting 'Linked Adjustment Layers' into another comp. Now with 'Group Linked Adjustment Layers', it’s not so critical since, upon refreshing, Workflower will then still know which layers to grab from the group to update the 'Group Linked Adjustment Layer' (unlike 'Group Precomp Clones' as mentioned above). However, when you copy-paste a regular 'Linked Adjustment Layer', you would have to add these layer references back onto the 'Linked Adjustment Layer'. (This, of course, as mentioned above, would not be necessary if you have a duplicated comp.)
Too bad the AE’s copy/paste behavior works like this. Maybe it would be a good idea for the future to implement a copy/paste function in Workflower which will retain layer references when pasting so that you can have 'Unique Clones' in the new comp when you want to have them. Or have a 'Linked Adjustment Layer' with retained references for that matter. Let’s see - I’ll put it on my to-do list.
(One related workflow-enhancement tip: when you just want to duplicate a 'Precomp Clone' within your comp, you can also just select the 'Precomp Clone' layer and execute 'Duplicate Group' - this will not duplicate the group (you would need the group header selected for this) but it will duplicate the clone and turn it directly into a 'Dependent Clone', hence eliminating the need for removing the clone-related effects yourself. On the other hand, when you have the 'Precomp Clone' layer *as well as* all the contained layers of the clone selected and you execute 'Duplicate Group', this will automatically create a 'Unique Clone', hence eliminating the need for relinking all 'Cloned Layer’ effects to the duplicates and having to execute 'Refresh Connections' on it afterwards.)
Oh well, that answer got longer than expected.^^ I hope this clears things up a bit for you. If something still isn’t clear, please let me know!
Hi, I searched for clue but I have a problem that I can't find the solution. I think I miss some font o something like it, because I have a lot of square with an x inside, typical font miss, instead of the symbols of the indent etc.
Hi, I searched for clue but I have a problem that I can't find the solution. I think I miss some font o something like it, because I have a lot of square with an x inside, typical font miss, instead of the symbols of the indent etc.
How I can fix it?
Thank you
Hi Franceso. This is weird. Can you please open up a support ticket and send along a screenshot of the issue as well as info about your OS + AE version you're using? https://aescripts.com/contact/?direct=1&sku=CMRW-SUL
Just purchased. Trying to assign shortcuts I get this message.
Shortcuts can only be assigned to the first 20 script items.
The workflower File "---workflower.jskbin is at position 2436 within your after effects script folder
Please rename your other scripts, so that the workflower file is within your first 20 script items...
Any thoughts? Thanks
Reading about all of this in the manual now. Workflow is at the top of my script stack with the exception of the folders that sit above it. Going to try some other solutions. I'll keep you posted. lol
Just purchased. Trying to assign shortcuts I get this message.
Shortcuts can only be assigned to the first 20 script items.
The workflower File "---workflower.jskbin is at position 2436 within your after effects script folder
Please rename your other scripts, so that the workflower file is within your first 20 script items...
Any thoughts? Thanks
Reading about all of this in the manual now. Workflow is at the top of my script stack with the exception of the folders that sit above it. Going to try some other solutions. I'll keep you posted. lol
PC, AE 2021
Yeah, can't get this figured. Let me know what else I can try.
Just purchased. Trying to assign shortcuts I get this message.
Shortcuts can only be assigned to the first 20 script items.
The workflower File "---workflower.jskbin is at position 2436 within your after effects script folder
Please rename your other scripts, so that the workflower file is within your first 20 script items...
Any thoughts? Thanks
Reading about all of this in the manual now. Workflow is at the top of my script stack with the exception of the folders that sit above it. Going to try some other solutions. I'll keep you posted. lol
PC, AE 2021
Yeah, can't get this figured. Let me know what else I can try.
Hi Dion,
hm, that's weird, I haven't heard about this issue before. Did you make sure to put the Workflower file into the "Scripts" folder and NOT the "ScriptUI Panels" folder? This is necessary for the script to work. However, if you did it the correct way, please open up a support ticket and let me know there: https://aescripts.com/contact/?direct=1&sku=CMRW-SUL
We might have to do a little bit of troubleshooting then but I'm confident we'll be able to figure it out!
Such an amazing script. Been using it since the new version launch. I’m confused about what comps/groups or clones i can simply past into a totally unrelated composition.
Will it cause any issues.
I have watched your tutorials 10 times over but just confused about that part.
I’ve done it & it worked but I don’t want to break the script or ruin a clone. (Yes i duplicated clone 1st, deleted the FX & performed both resets so it becomes a (d)ependant clone).
Just confused if they are still linked or not?
And yeah just copy & pasting normal groups or group precomps into unrelated comps?
SECOND PART OF MY ANSWER:
However, to make it even more complicated, the whole thing is totally different when you duplicate a comp (instead of copy/pasting layers into a comp). In that case, AE *will* update all layer references - so in a duplicated comp, all 'Precomp Clones' will become 'Unique Clones' instead of 'Dependent Clones' once you execute 'Refresh Connections' on them. Note that this needs 'Refresh Connections' and not just 'Refresh Layout'. (Btw: You can also just deselect all layers in the duplicated comp and execute 'Refresh Connections' to update all clones at once.) If you want 'Precomp Clones' in a duplicated comp to become 'Dependent Clones', it is mandatory that you remove all clone-related effects so that they don’t become 'Unique Clones'.
Since AE’s copy/paste behavior removes layer references on effects, you also have to be careful when copy-pasting 'Linked Adjustment Layers' into another comp. Now with 'Group Linked Adjustment Layers', it’s not so critical since, upon refreshing, Workflower will then still know which layers to grab from the group to update the 'Group Linked Adjustment Layer' (unlike 'Group Precomp Clones' as mentioned above). However, when you copy-paste a regular 'Linked Adjustment Layer', you would have to add these layer references back onto the 'Linked Adjustment Layer'. (This, of course, as mentioned above, would not be necessary if you have a duplicated comp.)
Too bad the AE’s copy/paste behavior works like this. Maybe it would be a good idea for the future to implement a copy/paste function in Workflower which will retain layer references when pasting so that you can have 'Unique Clones' in the new comp when you want to have them. Or have a 'Linked Adjustment Layer' with retained references for that matter. Let’s see - I’ll put it on my to-do list.
(One related workflow-enhancement tip: when you just want to duplicate a 'Precomp Clone' within your comp, you can also just select the 'Precomp Clone' layer and execute 'Duplicate Group' - this will not duplicate the group (you would need the group header selected for this) but it will duplicate the clone and turn it directly into a 'Dependent Clone', hence eliminating the need for removing the clone-related effects yourself. On the other hand, when you have the 'Precomp Clone' layer *as well as* all the contained layers of the clone selected and you execute 'Duplicate Group', this will automatically create a 'Unique Clone', hence eliminating the need for relinking all 'Cloned Layer’ effects to the duplicates and having to execute 'Refresh Connections' on it afterwards.)
Oh well, that answer got longer than expected.^^ I hope this clears things up a bit for you. If something still isn’t clear, please let me know!
Such an amazing script. Been using it since the new version launch. I’m confused about what comps/groups or clones i can simply past into a totally unrelated composition.
Will it cause any issues.
I have watched your tutorials 10 times over but just confused about that part.
I’ve done it & it worked but I don’t want to break the script or ruin a clone. (Yes i duplicated clone 1st, deleted the FX & performed both resets so it becomes a (d)ependant clone).
Just confused if they are still linked or not?
And yeah just copy & pasting normal groups or group precomps into unrelated comps?
SECOND PART OF MY ANSWER:
However, to make it even more complicated, the whole thing is totally different when you duplicate a comp (instead of copy/pasting layers into a comp). In that case, AE *will* update all layer references - so in a duplicated comp, all 'Precomp Clones' will become 'Unique Clones' instead of 'Dependent Clones' once you execute 'Refresh Connections' on them. Note that this needs 'Refresh Connections' and not just 'Refresh Layout'. (Btw: You can also just deselect all layers in the duplicated comp and execute 'Refresh Connections' to update all clones at once.) If you want 'Precomp Clones' in a duplicated comp to become 'Dependent Clones', it is mandatory that you remove all clone-related effects so that they don’t become 'Unique Clones'.
Since AE’s copy/paste behavior removes layer references on effects, you also have to be careful when copy-pasting 'Linked Adjustment Layers' into another comp. Now with 'Group Linked Adjustment Layers', it’s not so critical since, upon refreshing, Workflower will then still know which layers to grab from the group to update the 'Group Linked Adjustment Layer' (unlike 'Group Precomp Clones' as mentioned above). However, when you copy-paste a regular 'Linked Adjustment Layer', you would have to add these layer references back onto the 'Linked Adjustment Layer'. (This, of course, as mentioned above, would not be necessary if you have a duplicated comp.)
Too bad the AE’s copy/paste behavior works like this. Maybe it would be a good idea for the future to implement a copy/paste function in Workflower which will retain layer references when pasting so that you can have 'Unique Clones' in the new comp when you want to have them. Or have a 'Linked Adjustment Layer' with retained references for that matter. Let’s see - I’ll put it on my to-do list.
(One related workflow-enhancement tip: when you just want to duplicate a 'Precomp Clone' within your comp, you can also just select the 'Precomp Clone' layer and execute 'Duplicate Group' - this will not duplicate the group (you would need the group header selected for this) but it will duplicate the clone and turn it directly into a 'Dependent Clone', hence eliminating the need for removing the clone-related effects yourself. On the other hand, when you have the 'Precomp Clone' layer *as well as* all the contained layers of the clone selected and you execute 'Duplicate Group', this will automatically create a 'Unique Clone', hence eliminating the need for relinking all 'Cloned Layer’ effects to the duplicates and having to execute 'Refresh Connections' on it afterwards.)
Oh well, that answer got longer than expected.^^ I hope this clears things up a bit for you. If something still isn’t clear, please let me know!
Best wishes,
Constantin
Absolutely this is a great response and thanks so much. The more complicated the learning the more the product can do for you. Why wouldn't we all invest a full day practicing non stop as this will save us countless days working in AE
Absolutely this is a great response and thanks so much. The more complicated the learning the more the product can do for you. Why wouldn't we all invest a full day practicing non stop as this will save us countless days working in AE
Haha, happy to help! Yeah, well, unfortunately most of the reason why the answer is so complicated is because of AE's copy/paste behavior. And it also just applies when you want to create 'Unique Clones'. When you just want your clones to be 'Dependent Clones', there are no issues and you can just copy/paste them to another comp without worrying about that stuff.
If there are any more questions, just let me know!
This is simply the most intelligent and useful toolsets I have seen in decades. Well worth the considerable effort required to learn the shortcuts and remember the immense functionality.But like I say, this one is worth that effort, and trying to forget the muscle memory of old ways.
One considerable advantage in that whole process is to incorporate the Streamdeck interface and make a custom array of switches (which I'm building now, using icons that are close enough from the Materials library). This also allows you to create Macros — for when it's necessary to Refresh after an action — you can build it so that one button does the action AND then the Refresh.
One thing I am seeing, is when I use the WF to UNprecompose a WF precomposition that was originally created with Layer Sizes + margin of 5%, the layers then jump to the top left of the parent group (?) and don't stay where they're supposed to.
If I Precompose using Comp Size, then all is well, and the layers unprecompose in place.
This is simply the most intelligent and useful toolsets I have seen in decades. Well worth the considerable effort required to learn the shortcuts and remember the immense functionality.But like I say, this one is worth that effort, and trying to forget the muscle memory of old ways.
One considerable advantage in that whole process is to incorporate the Streamdeck interface and make a custom array of switches (which I'm building now, using icons that are close enough from the Materials library). This also allows you to create Macros — for when it's necessary to Refresh after an action — you can build it so that one button does the action AND then the Refresh.
thanks so much! Very happy to hear the script is useful to you. And yeah, unfortunately, it may take a while to get used to all the shortcuts but great to hear it's worth the effort.
Your Stream Deck solution sounds interesting! I'm not familiar with Stream Deck, so I have to ask, how are you able to call all the Workflower functions? Since they're not otherwise exposed, I imagine you somehow are able to call the functions through KBar?
One thing I am seeing, is when I use the WF to UNprecompose a WF precomposition that was originally created with Layer Sizes + margin of 5%, the layers then jump to the top left of the parent group (?) and don't stay where they're supposed to.
If I Precompose using Comp Size, then all is well, and the layers unprecompose in place.
Any ideas?
So the "Un-Precompose" function is a very simple process. It will just copy all layers out of the precomp and that's it. All position data on the layers will remain the same and if the precomp has a different size than the main comp, position values - relative to the main comp - will be off. If you want the layers to remain at the same position, you will have to select "Convert Precomp to Group" instead of "Un-Precompose" on Workflower's "Precompose" dialog. "Convert Precomp to Group" will not just copy all layers out of the precomp but also parent them to the group header and thereby correct/adjust all position values.
Does this work for you or do you want to use "Un-Precompose" specifically because you don't want those layers to be grouped? Theoretically, "Un-precompose" could be rewritten to better account for different transforms. But I were to rewrite it, it will only be able to account for correct transforms at the current time. So if the precomp were to have keyframes or were to be parented to a moving layer, this cannot be replicated because layers will just be copied out of the precomp and not be parented (but it still might be useful in a lot of circumstances).
EDIT: So what you can do, as of now, if you don't want the layers to be grouped: First convert the precomp to a group (so that transforms are correctly adjusted) and then simply execute "Dissolve Group" so you can get rid of the group.
EDIT: So what you can do, as of now, if you don't want the layers to be grouped: First convert the precomp to a group (so that transforms are correctly adjusted) and then simply execute "Dissolve Group" so you can get rid of the group.
That's just fine. No problem at all. I was just worried it was a bug, or I was using it incorrectly.
Your Stream Deck solution sounds interesting! I'm not familiar with Stream Deck, so I have to ask, how are you able to call all the Workflower functions? Since they're not otherwise exposed, I imagine you somehow are able to call the functions through KBar?
Elgato dot com for the three sizes of Streamdeck units. I find them absolutely invaluable, across all my software uses. There's also a company called sideshowFX dot com that publishes HUGE libraries of icons and pre-built keyboard commands for all the main programs, most especially AE and C4D, Resolve, FCPX etc etc. Couldn't live without them.
As far as recalling Workflow functions, if it has a keyboard shortcut at all, I can create a button for it. If it's an action that always requires a refresh, I can layer actions under one button to make a Macro — including pauses between actions as necessary. I've only had Workflows for 48hrs, so only setup the main actions so far. It's going to take some time before I get my head around clones etc.
But, I can attest to the Streamdeck working perfectly, and with SO MANY shortcuts to remember across so many programs, I need all the visual cues I can get. If I'm away from AE for a week, I don't want to have to relearn stuff.
Can't submit support ticket as only running trial to test at moment. Script seems a beast, I'm guessing the only way to get around layer names being hidden inside other plugins expressions - so workflower can't update the expressions layer names upon grouping - is to run expressions mode so the grouping doesn't rename? There is a video here showing conflict with rubberhose, incase I didn't explain well: . Not really an issue just wondered what best approach was?
sure you can open up a support ticket even if you're just running the trial. However, since you posted it here, let me just answer you quickly:
You're correct, generally Workflower will update layer names in expressions when changing the layer's indent. However, certain scripts (like RubberHose) reference certain layer names "statically", so there's no way for Workflower to update those expressions. But there's something you can do:
If you just have a few layers that you want to keep from indenting (as with RubberHose), you can just select those layers, open up Workflower's main menu and Ctrl/Cmd-click on the "Rename Layer/s" button. This will execute "Exempt Layer Name from Alteration" and add a marker with "NNN" onto those previously selected layers. If a layer has a marker with "NNN", its name will not be altered by Workflower in any way.
In case you would have to exempt too many layers, you can also either use "Expression Mode" or "Non-Indented Layout" (which might be preferable over "Expression Mode" since it will still display Workflower's icons).
Elgato dot com for the three sizes of Streamdeck units. I find them absolutely invaluable, across all my software uses. There's also a company called sideshowFX dot com that publishes HUGE libraries of icons and pre-built keyboard commands for all the main programs, most especially AE and C4D, Resolve, FCPX etc etc. Couldn't live without them.
As far as recalling Workflow functions, if it has a keyboard shortcut at all, I can create a button for it. If it's an action that always requires a refresh, I can layer actions under one button to make a Macro — including pauses between actions as necessary. I've only had Workflows for 48hrs, so only setup the main actions so far. It's going to take some time before I get my head around clones etc.
But, I can attest to the Streamdeck working perfectly, and with SO MANY shortcuts to remember across so many programs, I need all the visual cues I can get. If I'm away from AE for a week, I don't want to have to relearn stuff.
your Stream Deck solution sound great! Seems like a very elegant way to press a shortcut but at the same time not having to remember it or having to press too many buttons at the same time.
And your setup concerning creating macros to execute refresh after various functions isalso very clever. This got me thinking. Might be a good idea to implement something like this for people who do not own a Stream Deck. I'm thinking of some ScriptUI panel where you can configure buttons to execute certain functions (native or by some other script/extension/etc.) and automatically execute "Refresh Layout" afterwards. We'll see, I'll put it on my to-do list.
As for getting your head around clones, etc. Yeah, might take a while to do this as it changes the way you work potentially quite a bit. If any questions come up, just let me know!
EDIT: So what you can do, as of now, if you don't want the layers to be grouped: First convert the precomp to a group (so that transforms are correctly adjusted) and then simply execute "Dissolve Group" so you can get rid of the group.
That's just fine. No problem at all. I was just worried it was a bug, or I was using it incorrectly.
Okay, just to let you know: I just released v1.1.2 which offers the ability to adjust the transforms correctly when un-precomposing layers. Let me know whether there are any issues with it.
Hello, author, I am using AE with Chinese interface, the plug-in cannot be used correctly, could you please fix it?
Hi,
I need a little bit more info: So, in general, are you able to use the shortcuts and this dialog only comes up once in a while? Or does it always come up?
The default shortcut mode ('Single Script Mode') sometimes can produce this error. But restarting your computer often fixes this issue. Have you done that? Does the issue come up again?
If the issue persists, it might be due to your OS language. I wasn't aware yet that this was an issue on Chinese machines but it might be the same issue Japanese users have. On those machines, the default shortcut mode ('Single Script Mode') does not work due to a bug in the Adobe scripting environment (I have reported this to Adobe but it's unlikely they're going to fix that anytime soon). To get around that, you need to switch the shortcut mode to 'Individual Scripts Mode'. Please do the following:
1. First make sure to run AE as an administrator.
2. Then open up Workflower by going to 'File > Scripts > --- Workflower ---.jsxbin'.
3. Now go to Workflower's settings, click on 'Shortcuts' and change the 'Shortcut Mode' to 'Individual Scripts (Advanced)'.
4. Now click on 'Set Shortcuts for Current Layout'. Workflower's shortcuts panel will come up. If the shortcuts are not set, click on 'Reset to Default' which will set all shortcuts to their default. Now click on 'Save'.
5. Shortcuts should be applied now and you should be able to use them. (From now on you don't need to run AE as an administrator anymore.)
Please be aware that if you're running 'Individual Scripts Mode', you can only use a maximum of 20 shortcuts within Workflower.
Also, Japanese users cannot set custom shortcuts on Workflower's shortcuts panel (maybe it's the same for Chinese users?). There's a workaround, however: You need to temporarily switch your OS language to US or similar in order to set custom shortcuts. For more info on this, please read up here:
Can you let me know whether any of this works for you? If not, we will have to do a bit of troubleshooting but I'm confident we'll be able to figure it out! When you respond to me, can you please do so by sending a support ticket and not via this comment section (it'll be easier to help you that way). Here you can send a support ticket:
Does the project file I worked with Workflower work normally in the another AE which doesn't have Workflower installed ?
Hi Seungmin,
yes, you can open up a project that was created in Workflower even if you don't have the script. However, the indented comp layout of Workflower might make it a bit difficult to continue to work in these comps. That's why Workflower offers the ability to remove all indent in your project before handing it over. Please read the this F.A.Q. section on this for further information:
Also, you might want to take a look at this section of a tutorial about Workflower where I cover the function that lets you batch-convert all of your comps in order to create an exchangable project file:
Is there a specific reason you didn’t want the toolbar to be dockable? Love the plug-in; hate having it floating about…
The reason behind this is performance. When creating Workflower, I discovered that dockable panels seem execute functions way slower than "regular" scripts. And I mean way, way slower, something like 10 times slower or more. (Don't ask my why this is, my best guess is that dockable panels somehow don't access cached data but I could also be very wrong about this.) For most other scripts I don't think that performance difference matters that much but what Workflower does is quite expensive. Even "Refresh Layout" does so many checks on every layer within the comp that the performance loss as a dockable panel got so bad that it was simply unacceptable to work like this. That's why I came up with the idea of making the main menu into a dialog. I understand it's not the optimal way of working but it's better than always having to wait 10 seconds or more just for the "simple" refresh function to process.
With all that being said, I know a dockable panel is one of the most requested features, that's why I came up with a (hacky) solution in the meantime. This will involve a dockable panel executing the regular script file instead of executing a function itself. I already started working on it, so I know it works but as everything is based around the main menu as a dialog at the moment I will still have to rewrite larger parts of the code for this to be implemented properly. But it's the number 1 thing on my agenda and will be included in v1.2. I plan for this to be released in around 2 months.
If you want to execute functions from a dockable panel right now and you have KBar, you can already create buttons for pretty much for all Workflower functions. Since Workflower v1.1.3, which was released around 2 weeks ago, you can also batch-create all Workflower buttons in KBar. This will replicate the entire main menu of Workflower as a KBar toolbar. (I implemented this as a transition until I've made a native dockable panel work.) Great thing is since KBar also just calls the actual script and does not execute a function itself, the performance will similar to the regular script. More on how to this:
And I see that the Comments column is made off-limits to the user, yes?
Yeah, unfortunately, AE's layer and comp comments become unusable since Workflower has to store necessary information in them. In principle, you can make line-breaks in those comments but as of now Workflower does not take advantage of that. So even if you make a line-break before the Workflower data, Workflower will always overwrite this. It's on my to-do list to rewrite the script insofar that you can make line-breaks in order to put in your own comment and as long as you don't remove the Workflower information, those comments won't get overwritten. But it will be quite a feat to rewrite the code for this because the comment data is being read and written to in so many places of the code. And since I haven't heard yet that this is a user request, I put this task rather low on my agenda. However, if you say now that it would be very useful to you, I can move it further up.
However, if you say now that it would be very useful to you, I can move it further up.
Best wishes,
Constantin
Thanks for the speedy reply.
I could hardly sleep last night having realized that maybe I could use the Workflower paradigm to simplify and rationalize (visually) the process of ACES linear color management in my projects... so, creating a Workflower group for every clip,for instance, that needed to be converted from ARRI Log C to ACEScg; putting a linked Adjustment layer at the top of that group; refreshing connections and then, going forward, everything added to that group and refreshed would have the linked conversion automatically applied, without having to laboriously set EVERY piece of footage to the right conversion.
It works. But then to add color correction — to a second, linked adjustment layer, every time I refresh connections (and you show this in your in-depth tutorial I think), the effects (which have to be sandwich between color conversions so they work in LOG) are re-ordered per footage layer (where they've been copied and linked via expressions to the adjustment layer), and the whole system falls apart.
I know that's very specific, but I can't see way round it as yet.
The goal — the dream — would be to have a WF group for each of the conversion types, with linked adjustment layers applying the conversions, so that new elements could be just dropped into those groups and refreshed. What a joy. I doubt I've explained it well enough, but let me know what you think.
However, if you say now that it would be very useful to you, I can move it further up.
Best wishes,
Constantin
Thanks for the speedy reply.
I could hardly sleep last night having realized that maybe I could use the Workflower paradigm to simplify and rationalize (visually) the process of ACES linear color management in my projects... so, creating a Workflower group for every clip,for instance, that needed to be converted from ARRI Log C to ACEScg; putting a linked Adjustment layer at the top of that group; refreshing connections and then, going forward, everything added to that group and refreshed would have the linked conversion automatically applied, without having to laboriously set EVERY piece of footage to the right conversion.
It works. But then to add color correction — to a second, linked adjustment layer, every time I refresh connections (and you show this in your in-depth tutorial I think), the effects (which have to be sandwich between color conversions so they work in LOG) are re-ordered per footage layer (where they've been copied and linked via expressions to the adjustment layer), and the whole system falls apart.
I know that's very specific, but I can't see way round it as yet.
The goal — the dream — would be to have a WF group for each of the conversion types, with linked adjustment layers applying the conversions, so that new elements could be just dropped into those groups and refreshed. What a joy. I doubt I've explained it well enough, but let me know what you think.
Great product.
Hi Trevor,
well, that's a tricky one. Right now, unfortunately, I can't think of a solution to this. The way it works at the moment is, as you correctly say, that you can add effects to the layer either before or after all effects from linked adjustment layers. And all linked adjustment layer effects will always be moved after each other.
I think it would be interesting to implement a feature that would add a dropdown to the linked adjustment layer. On it, you can select how the linked adjustment layer effects should be ordered:
- Before Layer Effects
- After Layer Effects
- In Between Layer Effects
I think this can be beneficial in a lot of circumstances, not just your specific case.
Also, another thing I'm noticing about the second linked adjustment layer you're mentioning: Now, I don't know exactly how your setup is but you can only create one group linked adjustment layer per group. So, unfortunately, there's no way for the second linked adjustment layer to dynamically react to new layers added to the group (you will have to add these layer references to the linked adjustment layer yourself). And this leads me to another thing I always wanted to implement: Right now, you can only reference layers directly on the linked adjustment layer but I think it would be a good idea to be able to target other linked adjustment layers too. So given I've implemented these features, the workflow in your case could look like this:
1. Create a group linked adjustment layer, set the effects order to "Before Layer Effects", add ACES conversion effect and refresh.
2. Create a regular linked adjustment layer, set it to target the group linked adjustment layer and set the effects order to "After Layer Effects". Now add the color correction and refresh.
Something like this should work for you, right?
I will have to think about how to implement this but it's certainly doable. Of course, all of that is not helping you right now but it's on my list now. Maybe I can already do this for the v1.2 release...
However, if you say now that it would be very useful to you, I can move it further up.
Best wishes,
Constantin
Thanks for the speedy reply.
I could hardly sleep last night having realized that maybe I could use the Workflower paradigm to simplify and rationalize (visually) the process of ACES linear color management in my projects... so, creating a Workflower group for every clip,for instance, that needed to be converted from ARRI Log C to ACEScg; putting a linked Adjustment layer at the top of that group; refreshing connections and then, going forward, everything added to that group and refreshed would have the linked conversion automatically applied, without having to laboriously set EVERY piece of footage to the right conversion.
It works. But then to add color correction — to a second, linked adjustment layer, every time I refresh connections (and you show this in your in-depth tutorial I think), the effects (which have to be sandwich between color conversions so they work in LOG) are re-ordered per footage layer (where they've been copied and linked via expressions to the adjustment layer), and the whole system falls apart.
I know that's very specific, but I can't see way round it as yet.
The goal — the dream — would be to have a WF group for each of the conversion types, with linked adjustment layers applying the conversions, so that new elements could be just dropped into those groups and refreshed. What a joy. I doubt I've explained it well enough, but let me know what you think.
Great product.
Hi Trevor,
well, that's a tricky one. Right now, unfortunately, I can't think of a solution to this. The way it works at the moment is, as you correctly say, that you can add effects to the layer either before or after all effects from linked adjustment layers. And all linked adjustment layer effects will always be moved after each other.
I think it would be interesting to implement a feature that would add a dropdown to the linked adjustment layer. On it, you can select how the linked adjustment layer effects should be ordered:
- Before Layer Effects
- After Layer Effects
- In Between Layer Effects
I think this can be beneficial in a lot of circumstances, not just your specific case.
Also, another thing I'm noticing about the second linked adjustment layer you're mentioning: Now, I don't know exactly how your setup is but you can only create one group linked adjustment layer per group. So, unfortunately, there's no way for the second linked adjustment layer to dynamically react to new layers added to the group (you will have to add these layer references to the linked adjustment layer yourself). And this leads me to another thing I always wanted to implement: Right now, you can only reference layers directly on the linked adjustment layer but I think it would be a good idea to be able to target other linked adjustment layers too. So given I've implemented these features, the workflow in your case could look like this:
1. Create a group linked adjustment layer, set the effects order to "Before Layer Effects", add ACES conversion effect and refresh.
2. Create a regular linked adjustment layer, set it to target the group linked adjustment layer and set the effects order to "After Layer Effects". Now add the color correction and refresh.
Something like this should work for you, right?
I will have to think about how to implement this but it's certainly doable. Of course, all of that is not helping you right now but it's on my list now. Maybe I can already do this for the v1.2 release...
Best wishes,
Constantin
I think everything you've just listed would be remarkable. It's already fantastic, this would take it to the next level.
I think everything you've just listed would be remarkable. It's already fantastic, this would take it to the next level.
Alright, I see what I can do! Just thinking about it, I feel it would take quite a bit of work, so I might not be able to do it for v1.2 because I want to get the dockable panel to people asap, but if not, I'll get to it for the release after that.
I recently wrapped up a very large project where I had 3 animators working on different animation 'modules' for a series. I had each artist working in their own project file using a templated AE project that contained a library of pre-assembled photos, vector art, and pre-comped animations that I had already created. On some occasions, one artist would import the final comp (and all its associated pre-comps) from one of the other artists. Then they would make use of the other artists' new pre-comps to create new animations of their own. As you can imagine, it got messy fast.
Now that the project is over, I'm merging their AE project files together to reduce redundancies between the three of them and keep things clean for archival. After merging the projects together, I'm able to use "Consolidate All Footage" so I don't have multiple references to the same photos and vector art, but I now have 3 exact copies of all the pre-comps I originally gave them or the pre-comps they borrowed from each other. As far as I'm aware, my only option to remove pre-comp redundancies is to manually go in and alt-drag replace every instance of every pre-comp which would likely take up a full day or more to do.
Does Workflower have something to help with fixing all of these redundant pre-comps?
I recently wrapped up a very large project where I had 3 animators working on different animation 'modules' for a series. I had each artist working in their own project file using a templated AE project that contained a library of pre-assembled photos, vector art, and pre-comped animations that I had already created. On some occasions, one artist would import the final comp (and all its associated pre-comps) from one of the other artists. Then they would make use of the other artists' new pre-comps to create new animations of their own. As you can imagine, it got messy fast.
Now that the project is over, I'm merging their AE project files together to reduce redundancies between the three of them and keep things clean for archival. After merging the projects together, I'm able to use "Consolidate All Footage" so I don't have multiple references to the same photos and vector art, but I now have 3 exact copies of all the pre-comps I originally gave them or the pre-comps they borrowed from each other. As far as I'm aware, my only option to remove pre-comp redundancies is to manually go in and alt-drag replace every instance of every pre-comp which would likely take up a full day or more to do.
Does Workflower have something to help with fixing all of these redundant pre-comps?
Hi Don,
that's sounds like a really messy and complicated situation you have there. Unfortunately, I don't see how Workflower could be of much help with the problem you're describing. I guess, generally you can say Workflower reduces the need for pre-comps quite a bit, so the advantage of Workflower certainly would be that the pain of replacing pre-comps would be less (just because there'd be less pre-comps). Other than that, I'll have to say that Workflower unfortunately wasn't meant to solve the issues you're talking about.
Hm, I also don't know whether I can recommend anything else to you. The only thing that comes to mind is "BAO Dynamic Comp 2" here on AEScripts. I haven't used it and it might very well not be applicable to your situation but it seems to link to external comps (+ nested comps) instead of having to import them. Maybe this can be of use for you? Not sure how it behaves when trying to merge your projects, though...
Maybe there's also some script out there that automatically merges identical pre-comp structures? However, there's nothing that comes to mind off the top of my hat.
that's sounds like a really messy and complicated situation you have there. Unfortunately, I don't see how Workflower could be of much help with the problem you're describing. I guess, generally you can say Workflower reduces the need for pre-comps quite a bit, so the advantage of Workflower certainly would be that the pain of replacing pre-comps would be less (just because there'd be less pre-comps). Other than that, I'll have to say that Workflower unfortunately wasn't meant to solve the issues you're talking about.
Hm, I also don't know whether I can recommend anything else to you. The only thing that comes to mind is "BAO Dynamic Comp 2" here on AEScripts. I haven't used it and it might very well not be applicable to your situation but it seems to link to external comps (+ nested comps) instead of having to import them. Maybe this can be of use for you? Not sure how it behaves when trying to merge your projects, though...
Maybe there's also some script out there that automatically merges identical pre-comp structures? However, there's nothing that comes to mind off the top of my hat.
Best wishes,
Constantin
Much appreciated for the quick response! No worries - I had a feeling that would be the case. I'll give BAO a look-see. I'll also snatch up Workflower to make sure future projects have less pre-comping required to help prevent (or at least curb) this sort of issue in the future.
Much appreciated for the quick response! No worries - I had a feeling that would be the case. I'll give BAO a look-see. I'll also snatch up Workflower to make sure future projects have less pre-comping required to help prevent (or at least curb) this sort of issue in the future.
Thanks again for your thorough response!
-Don
Alright, I hope you'll find a solution. Good luck!
If you decide to try out Workflower and you have any more questions about it, just let me know!
After Effects 2023 just has been released which features a fantastic new feature called Selectable Track Mattes. Unfortunately, though, this new track matte system is mostly incompatible with Workflower's current matting tools (Group Mattes, Merge Mattes, etc.). For the last time I've been working on an update for Workflower's tools to conform to the new system, however, it's not finished yet and it will take a little bit more time since large parts of the code have to be rewritten for this. I'm planning for the new version to be released in mid-DecemberFebruary (ahem, sorry)maybe February but probably March (ugh, sorry again I guess?...). For the time being, you will unfortunately have to stick with After Effects 2022 or below if you want to use Workflower.
Now, you *may* use the current Workflower version with AE 23 if you exclusively use Grouping (without Group Mattes) and Adjustment Layers (Clones will, unfortunately, cause issues too). However, use it at your own risk since I cannot guarantee it'll work in all circumstances.
The good news is that the new system will make Group Mattes and Multi-Layer Mattes many times faster which has been one of Workflower's bottlenecks so far.
Workflower's new version has been in the works for several months now and it will also feature a ScriptUI panel, the ability to relabel keyframes, easier ways to learn Workflower (with extended tooltips for example), the ability to tag layers and groups in order to perform actions on them, and more!
Please bear with me here - I'm coding as fast as I can!
Received an error when launching Workflower for the first time after installing. It was when going through the prompts to set up short-cuts. I clicked the option to set them but received an error that shortcuts couldn't be set for the default After Effects keyboard shortcut profile. Is this normal?
I was brought to the keyboard shortcut menu and created a "custom keyboard shortcut" profile, saved, then went back to Workflower to continue the setup process. The next workflower menu I clicked "save" and was then told to restart After Effects.
Looking for verification that my setup installed everything successfully, or if that error I received may have messed something up.
Received an error when launching Workflower for the first time after installing. It was when going through the prompts to set up short-cuts. I clicked the option to set them but received an error that shortcuts couldn't be set for the default After Effects keyboard shortcut profile. Is this normal?
I was brought to the keyboard shortcut menu and created a "custom keyboard shortcut" profile, saved, then went back to Workflower to continue the setup process. The next workflower menu I clicked "save" and was then told to restart After Effects.
Looking for verification that my setup installed everything successfully, or if that error I received may have messed something up.
Thanks!
Hey Geoffrey,
seems like you've done everything correctly. Workflower cannot set shortcuts with AE's default shortcut file selected, that's why you have to create a custom shortcut file before installing Workflower's shortcuts.
Are you able to use Workflower's shortcuts? If so, everything's installed successfully. If not, let me know and we'll find a solution!
I just wanted to update you all on the progress of the new Workflower version:
Now, this has been quite a ride for me. I thought I could get the update for AE 23 done so much faster. But it just proved to be way more difficult. The new track matte system broke so much - I had to rebuild literally hundreds of sections within the code. But now there's finally a working version with just a few small bug fixes left, I've already written all new user guide pages and at the moment I'm preparing to record the tutorials and edit the promo trailer.
I aim for a release sometime next month, however, my February will be extremely busy with other things, so I don't know whether I can make it. If not, it'll be in March. Sorry for the delay...
Unfortunately, since this was so much more work than expected, I cannot offer this upgrade for free as I originally planned. Now, there will be, of course, a discount to upgrade, and for everyone who bought Workflower after the release of AE 23 (October 18th), there will be an even bigger discount. This includes everyone who bought it during the Cyber Week Sale. People who bought it and will buy it this year will get the upgrade for free.
In addition to being AE 23 ready, check out these other new features included in Workflower v2:
TAG LAYERS & GROUPS: There's now the ability to tag layers and groups, and perform various actions on those 'Tag Groups', like enabling/disabling, soloing, selecting, etc.
EXPAND/COLLAPSE GROUPS BY DOUBLE-CLICKING
MAIN MENU AS SCRIPTUI PANEL
EASIER WAYS TO LEARN WORKFLOWER, with extended tooltips on every button as well as pop-up tips when first executing one of the major functions (Mostly useful for new users, however, I think even advanced users might be able to learn a thing or two)
RELABEL KEYFRAMES using the relabel panel
FASTER MATTING TOOLS: Due to conforming to AE's new matting system, Workflower's matting tools, especially group mattes, perform many times faster now
As well as a bunch of other small handy features, like the ability to trim a layer to its keyframes or to another layer
And one more thing: Going forward, I'm looking for someone to help me with producing promo videos and/or tutorials for Workflower. I love working on Workflower, however, my time is really limited, and producing all the things aside from coding eats so much of my time and also leads to later release dates that I'd love to deliver earlier. Just send me a message either as a support ticket or at [email protected] if you'd be interested in helping me.
I'm so sorry but yeah, you're right, unfortunately, I won't be able to make it this month... However, the release of Workflower 2 is so close. It's truly just the last fine-tuning of the promo trailer that I still need to do. I'm deeply sorry for disappointing all of you with my promises I couldn't keep. I try to get everything in this script to be as good as it can be. This often requires to put in put more time than I expected. But it's also not cool to promise you things I can't keep. I'll do my best to learn from this and not give you false hopes in the future.
yes, so the price will be raised with the release of v1.1 (there are tons of new features included). However, to ease the transition, I decided to offer Workflower for 69$ as a sale, so you can still get it at pretty much the old price.
Bes wishes,
Constantin
https://aescripts.com/contact/?direct=1&sku=CMRW-SUL
Hi Dion,
hm, that's weird, I haven't heard about this issue before. Did you make sure to put the Workflower file into the "Scripts" folder and NOT the "ScriptUI Panels" folder? This is necessary for the script to work. However, if you did it the correct way, please open up a support ticket and let me know there:
https://aescripts.com/contact/?direct=1&sku=CMRW-SUL
We might have to do a little bit of troubleshooting then but I'm confident we'll be able to figure it out!
Best wishes,
Constantin
Absolutely this is a great response and thanks so much. The more complicated the learning the more the product can do for you. Why wouldn't we all invest a full day practicing non stop as this will save us countless days working in AE
Hey everyone,
After Effects 2023 just has been released which features a fantastic new feature called Selectable Track Mattes. Unfortunately, though, this new track matte system is mostly incompatible with Workflower's current matting tools (Group Mattes, Merge Mattes, etc.). For the last time I've been working on an update for Workflower's tools to conform to the new system, however, it's not finished yet and it will take a little bit more time since large parts of the code have to be rewritten for this. I'm planning for the new version to be released in mid-December February (ahem, sorry) maybe February but probably March (ugh, sorry again I guess?...). For the time being, you will unfortunately have to stick with After Effects 2022 or below if you want to use Workflower.
Now, you *may* use the current Workflower version with AE 23 if you exclusively use Grouping (without Group Mattes) and Adjustment Layers (Clones will, unfortunately, cause issues too). However, use it at your own risk since I cannot guarantee it'll work in all circumstances.
The good news is that the new system will make Group Mattes and Multi-Layer Mattes many times faster which has been one of Workflower's bottlenecks so far.
Workflower's new version has been in the works for several months now and it will also feature a ScriptUI panel, the ability to relabel keyframes, easier ways to learn Workflower (with extended tooltips for example), the ability to tag layers and groups in order to perform actions on them, and more!
Please bear with me here - I'm coding as fast as I can!
Best wishes,
Constantin