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70 views3 pages

ReadMe 1.04 PDF

Uploaded by

locolook
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Un-PreCompose

An After Effects Plug-in by Jesse Toula

What is Un-PreCompose?
Un-PreCompose is a plug-in for After Effects that allows you to select a pre-comp (nested composition)
and extract all of its layers into the parent composition while maintaining each layers effects and other
properties. You are given various options for maintaining or deleting properties from the pre-comp and the pre-
comp itself.

Installing
1. In the .zip file you downloaded, there are four folders, MAC32, MAC64, WIN32 and WIN64. The folders
ending with 64 contain the 64 bit version for those running After Effects CS5 or higher. Open the folder that
corresponds with your operating system and version of After Effects.

2. Right click and copy the BatchFrame folder. (If you already have another Batch Frame plug-in installed,
open the folder and copy the plug-in itself)

3. Go to the After Effects Plug-Ins folder for your version of After Effects:

Mac: ~/Applications/Adobe After Effects YOUR VERSION/Plug-Ins/

Windows: C:/Program Files/Adobe/Adobe After Effects YOUR VERSION/Support Files/Plug-Ins

4. Paste the BatchFrame folder into the Plug-Ins folder.


(If the BatchFrame folder exists, paste the plug-in into it)

5. Start After Effects. After Effects must be started after the plug-in has been installed, otherwise it will not
show up. If After Effects was open, just restart it. Un-PreCompose will show up at the bottom of the Layer
menu.

Using Un-PreCompose?
Using Un-PreCompose is simple. Once it is installed, it will show up at the bottom of the Layer menu. If
you do not have a pre-comp (nested composition) selected, Un-PreCompose will be greyed out and disabled.

To use Un-PreCompose, just select a pre-comp in the timeline panel, then go to Layer>Un-
PreCompose

Un-PreCompose
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Un-PreCompose Options
Un-PreComposed Layer Prefix
This option will help you see which layers came from the pre-comp. Whatever you put into this textbox
will be added to the beginning of each layer that is un-precomposed. If no prefix is desired, just leave
the box empty.

Copy Pre-Comp attributes to layers (Note on this option in the next section)
If you have key frames, effects, etc. applied to your pre-comp and want those attribute to be
maintained, select this option. Each layer inside will then receive the effects from its parent and will be
made a child of a null object that contains the transform attributes. The null object will have the name
||CONTROLLER||.

Discard Pre-Comp Attributes


This option will get rid of any attributes that are applied to your pre-comp. Layers inside the pre-comp
will maintain their current positions and attributes. You may notice a change in position if your pre-
comp is a different resolution then its parent composition.

Delete Source After Un-PreComposing


If this option is selected, once the pre-comp has been un-precomposed, it will be deleted from the
project. This option will not be available if the pre-comp is being used elsewhere in the project. This
option will be disabled if the Keep Pre-Comp in Composition option is selected.

Keep Pre-Comp in Composition


If this option is selected, the pre-comp will remain in the parent composition after the Un-PreCompose
has taken place. The pre-comp will be turned off, but still be a part of the composition. This option will
be disabled if the Delete Source After Un-PreComposing option is checked.

Notes on Copy Pre-Comp Attributes to Layers


1) Masks are NOT copied
For the moment, masks applied to your pre-comp will not be copied over to the extracted layers. This
may change in the future, so keep a look out for any updates to the plug-in

2) Particle Layers
If your pre-comp is a 3D layer that contains particle layers, you may get some issues on running the
plug-in. Particle layers are usually meant to be applied to 2D layers, but if the parent comp is 3D,
every layer inside will be changed to a 3D layer, so you might get some strange results.

Un-PreCompose
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3) Creation of Controller Layer
For now, the, any transform attributes of the pre-comp are applied to the null object, which then
becomes the parent of each extracted layer. If a layer already has a parent, that layer will not be
affected.

General Notes
1. Parenting is maintained within the pre-comp, however if any layers are parented to the pre-comp,
that connection will be broken.

2. If layers inside your pre-comp contain expressions that use random numbers, you may notice a
slight change due to random numbers being based on the layers index, which may be changed
when running an Un-PreCompose.

Questions / Comments
If you have any question, issues or suggestions for improving Un-PreCompose, please leave a
comment on the BatchFrame Blog, or send me an email using the contact form or by emailing contact@
batchframe.com.

Disclaimer
This plug-in is provided AS-IS without any guarantees or warranty.

Although the author has attempted to find and correct any bugs in the plug-in, Jesse Toula and Batch
Frame are not responsible for damages or losses of any kind from the use of this plug-in.

Jesse Toula and Batch Frame are under no obligation to provide any support, service, upgrades or
corrections to this free plug-in.

Un-PreCompose
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