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After Effects
- New
Visual States
Manage multiple versions of the same comp by saving and loading named layer visibility states. It also includes tools for navigating comps, editing layers across multiple states, duplicating comps with their saved states, copying states between comps, importing or merging States JSON files, and batch rendering each version.
🎬 Visual States PRO
Visual States saves layer visibility snapshots as named States per comp, like quick switches between setups.
If you work in After Effects with multiple versions of the same comp (client variations, language alternates, logos, or layout options), manually toggling layer visibility gets old fast.
Visual States PRO lets you save and recall layer visibility setups as named states, so you can switch between versions in one click instead of rebuilding them by hand every time.
Unlimited states, unlimited possibilities.
📖 Full User Guide — for detailed instructions, workflows and technical reference.
It does one thing and does it well: it saves and restores which layers are visible in a composition. Eye icons on or off, captured as a named snapshot you can recall instantly. No keyframes, no expressions, no complexity. Just a reliable way to stop toggling layers manually every time you need to switch between versions of a comp.
Each setup gets a name. You build your list of states as you work, like "Version A", "With Logo", "Clean Plate," and jump between them in seconds without touching a single layer manually.
What you can do with PRO:
- Save unlimited states per composition – no artificial cap
- Load states instantly with one click or double-click
- Select multiple states at once with Ctrl+Click / Shift+Click
- Delete multiple states in one step
- Include / Exclude Layers – turn selected layers on or off in specific states (or all of them) without reloading
- Active state indicator – see at a glance which state is currently applied
- Enter to save and auto-name suggestion for faster state creation
- Comp Navigator — click the active comp name to browse all comps with saved states in your project and switch between them without touching the Project panel
- Duplicate Comp with States — duplicate a comp and carry all its states automatically to the new comp
- Copy States from… — copy states from another comp in the project into the active one; detailed summary shows how many layers matched per state
- Send states to the Render Queue automatically with Render All or Render Sel.
- Store states in a plain .visualstates.json file next to your .aep
- Share those states across shared drives and team folders – perfect for collaborative workflows
- Rename layers, reorder them, or rename comps without breaking saved states
- Import states from other projects with Open or Merge (full merge dialog with overwrite control)
- Use it as a fully dockable panel inside After Effects
- Open projects and state files created with Visual States LITE (LITE files work instantly in PRO with no data loss)
Why PRO? The free LITE edition is limited to 3 states per comp, which is great to try the workflow. PRO removes that limit completely, so you can build as many layout variants, language versions, or client options as you need – and manage them all from one clean panel.
Who is this for:
Motion designers and animators who work with versioned deliverables, multi-language graphics, client alternates, or any project where you need to switch between visibility setups quickly and reliably — especially in a team or agency environment.
What's included:
- VisualStatesPRO130.jsxbin — ready to install, works on Windows and macOS
- Full User Guide in English
Requirements: After Effects CC 2022 (v22.0) or later.
📖 Full User Guide — for detailed instructions, workflows and technical reference.
✨ What's new in v1.30
- Automatic alphabetical sorting – states are now listed in A-Z order, making it much easier to find the right setup in comps with many states. The JSON file is not modified.
- Include / Exclude Layers – modify selected states directly from your layer selection. Turn layers on (Include) or off (Exclude) in one or multiple states at once. New layers are automatically added to all states with the opposite visibility.
- Active state indicator ◄ – the last loaded state is marked with a ◄ symbol in the list, so you always know which setup is currently applied.
- Enter to save – just type a name and press Enter to save a state instantly.
- Auto-name suggestion – after saving, the text field suggests the next available name (State 2, State 3…).
- Visual feedback on Include/Exclude – after editing states with Include/Exclude, the active comp immediately reflects the modified state, even if it wasn't the active one before.
- All improvements from previous versions (Comp Navigator, Duplicate Comp with States, Copy States from…, safer JSON parsing, etc.) are included.
Try the free LITE edition first.
Discussions
Want to talk about it?
Head over to r/aescripts to chat with fellow users about this product.
Need Support?
Please open a support ticket to be connected directly with the author of this product
Version History
1.30.02 -
Jun 25, 2026
Include Layers / Exclude Layers — update the visibility of specific layers across one or many saved states in bulk, without loading them one by one.
Active state indicator — the last loaded state is now marked in the list for easier tracking.
Enter / Return = Save — pressing Enter in the name field now triggers Save and auto-loads the new state so you can see it instantly.
Auto-load after save — newly created or overwritten states are instantly applied, selected in the list, and marked with the active indicator.
Auto-suggest next name — after saving, the name field suggests the next available name (State 2, State 3…), speeding up sequential saves.
Alphabetical list order — states are always displayed A–Z regardless of creation order.
Improved:
Include / Exclude Layers now provides immediate visual feedback — if the active state is among those modified, it reloads; otherwise the first modified state is loaded automatically.
Copy States from… — no longer lists compositions that were deleted from the project, avoiding confusion.
New layers behavior — new layers added after previous states were saved are now automatically registered across all existing states, keeping visibility consistent.
The name field now updates correctly every time you load a state.
The states list handles the active-state marker more reliably without interfering with other list items.
Compatibility
After Effects
2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
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