Feature Requests

I would love it if there was an option to pin a layer (or multiple layers) on top of a stack of other composition layers. Benefit? If I worked with any of the layers below, I would still have as visible reference audio waveform, markers, keyframes etc.I've attached a quick demonstration of the desired behavior. 

The Mode and Track Matte colums in the timeline panel currently resize together, which can lead to a lot of unused space if trying to show longer layer names. Showing full layer names can be useful, as sometimes trying to parse them based on layer index can be harder, depending on the comp setup and number of layers. I'd like to suggest that either the two columns are individually resizable, or perhaps that the Mode column reads whatever the longest transfer mode name is in the UI language, and then stops at that point when the columns are being dragged out. That way the user could resize the Track Matte column to whatever they needed, and the Mode column would stop when it reached the widest it needed to be. Up until that point they behaviour could be the same as it is now. I understand that this is a non-trivial change to make - it would be nice from a UI point  of view 🙂 Cheers!

It would be helpful to have additional shortcuts (eg. Shift + [ and Shift + ]) to move layers as a selection group. Currently, if a selection of layers have different inPoints, and you press [, the inPoint of every layer is set to the CTI. It would be incredibly helpful to be able to add a modifier this shortcut, so that the earliest inPoint of the selection is set to the CTI, and all other inPoints remain relative to that earliest inPoint. Same with the outPoint, based on the latest outPoint.  Even better if this could also work for inPoint/outPoint trimming: if Shift is held (eg. Shift + Alt + [), inPoints/outPoints are trimmed with relative time, based on the earliest inPoint or latest outPoint.

I very rarely experience out-of-memory errors (other than AE's occasional self-imposed 2GB per frame limit, but that's a different issue) but when I'm using CC Power Pin with large images/video, an out of memory error during render is almost guaranteed. I am currently rendering a comp, which includes CC Power Pin, using Software Only (during render, AE gobbles up ALL of my 128GB RAM) because using GPU acceleration fails because my GPU has "only" 24GB VRAM, and the render exceeds this. The comp (it is an imported Photoshop 5-layered image) that causes the issue is 5464x10000 - a large comp but by no means insanely huge - dropped into a 4K 16:9 comp with CC Power Pin added. I'd have thought that 24GB VRAM should be enough to calculate the corner pin effect, but apparently not. May I suggest that either/both Corner Pin and CC Power Pin are updated to be more efficient?

Yes, I've been using Stream Deck devices that have dials for a while. I can use them to scroll through the timeline, move layers in the timeline, zoom in and out of the timeline. There are a lot of possibilities and these types of devices help a lot in my work.Currently, turning the dial works by pressing shortcuts. This is slow and unresponsive.Zooming is abrupt and very imprecise.You move the Time Indicator differently with the mouse cursor and differently by turning the dial.It seems to me that it is high time to introduce support for this type of device. 

As in the title. I can't believe that this feature hasn't received its keyboard shortcut for so many years.

I know it's partly my fault, but by 2024 I would have thought that AE would have an auto save feature running in the background from the second that a new project is created. If only for idiots like me who work on something for hours without creating that initial save, only for something to crash the project then realise that I never actually saved the project in the first place.Davinci has this built in, no saving ever. All aplications that use Apples API for auto save has this.I'm only getting older, and forgetting more things, so the chances of this happening more often is increasing!

Diese Fehlermeldung ergibt sich, wenn ein Redering ausgeführt wird, in der eine Json-Date verwendet wird, die dynamisch geändert werden kann resp. muss.Leider ist es seit Jahren bei Adobe After Effects nicht möglich diese zu deaktivieren.Diese Fehlermeldung macht absolut keinen Sinn.Das grösste Problem ist, dass der Rendervorgang unterbrochen wird und alles still steht, bis die Warnung quittiert wird. Somit werden alle anstehenden Rederaufträge nicht ausgeführt. ;-(

Right now copying and pasting layers is dependant on selection order. So if I select my layers from bottom and up, then pasting them will result in them being pasted in reverse order. I would like an option in the preferences to say 'Always paste layers in layer order' or something, so that copying and pasting never happens based on selection order and layers are always pasted in the order they are already in my timeline. Hope it makes sense. Thanks.

I had a conversation with some other people last night about how we wish there were an implementation of OpenType alternates in After Effects. I've been using the feature in Photoshop and Illustrator for years, and it's been very useful. I'd love to have the same ability in After Effects. With the right font and access to expressions to easily randomize the glyphs used, you could quickly create something like the LOKI season 1 opening. Here's a video of how it works in Illustrator from a demo of why I think it's cool in some fonts I've been working on. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ou4n7r9dy19vafao8h9jm/NoSys-Outlaw-Book-Condensed-Demo.mp4?rlkey=zu4riibraroyfdg31yjzvyz1i&dl=0 

I'm sure this is a burning question for most users, but Ai Generative Fill for AE seems like a no brainer.  Features could include:Object Removal ( Generate Clean Plates)Object inclusion ( Blend Objects into plates and generate correct perspective, ie, Drone shot of a winding road, add video of a vehicle of similar view onto clean plate, generate> Adds vehicle to that road correctly.Perfect object tracking using AI and correct blending/perspectiveBlending/transitioning two clips together with prompts  Those are what I could think of off the top of my head in the moment but I'm absolutely sure there are many other use case instances people can think of.  Please add more ideas in the comments for Ai generative fill for After Effects. Please upvote for visibility. Thanks 

I am writing to request improvements to the zoom, scroll, and potentially screen rotation functionality in After Effects when using Apple's Magic Trackpad or the built-in trackpad on MacBooks. Currently, zooming in After Effects feels clunky and not as smooth as it should be, which makes it difficult to use effectively.It's important to note that other Adobe applications such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro already support smooth trackpad interactions. The inconsistency in After Effects' trackpad behavior compared to these other applications creates a disjointed experience within the Adobe ecosystem.In addition to improving the smoothness of trackpad interactions, it would be highly beneficial if pressure-sensitive touch input could be assigned to various tools within After Effects. This would greatly enhance the user experience and provide more intuitive control over the application.Improving the trackpad behavior in After Effects would significantly enhance its usability,

Dear Adobe people,I have worked a lot with people acting in low budget green screen studios and of course, that is always a pain when you finally come to compositing. I was wondering: would it be possible that After Effects understands a moving entity compared to a still backgrond? Like, when you put a camera on a tripod and a dancer is moving in front of it in several takes, and you put all the takes below each other in the time line, select all and push 'cut moving entity from background'? I know there is the rotoscope tool, but that means a lot of waiting on rendering and frame-te-frame editing. But if the feature would see, through all imported footage, the consequent still parts (of a background) compared to the inconsequent parts (which would be the moving object or entity) it should be possible to have a perfect composite - i think? thank you for considering, i am sure you would help the lot of the community a lot!

Dear Adobe Development Team,I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with a simple yet impactful feature request: the addition of customizable background indexing options in Adobe AfterEffects, Media Encoder and Premiere Pro.Currently, the background indexing process, while essential, can sometimes disrupt user workflows, particularly when it includes scanning unnecessary file types like bundles such as keynote files.By incorporating customizable indexing options, users would have the ability to define exclusions based on their preferences, such as the ability to exclude specific folders or file types from indexing, akin to popular features like Spotlight. This enhancement would not only offer users greater control and satisfaction but also aligns with the standard behavior of many Adobe applications regarding data location.I believe implementing this feature would significantly enhance the user experience and productivity within Adobe apps. Thank y

Look at this: What about adding the Line Caps and Line Joints options here? Yes I know, it's an amazing idea... Instead of digging through all the layer properties or keeping the properties panel open, which is a waste of space for some.And you could go even further and add many more things here, all about strokes. Dashes, taper, wave...

CC Ball Action with displacement is great! What's not great is that I want to displace based on a different layer. I'm using Depth Scanner to get a depth matte, which works great with CC Ball Action's displacement. But without being able to point it to a second layer, I can't use a depth pass AND see my original image's colors.

Often when working with the Dropdown Control effect, I'll have more options than can be shown in the default height of the Dropdown Menu edit window. I can of course resize that window to be taller, to show more options. However, if I were to close and later re-open this (or any other) edit window, it reverts to the default height, meaning that I have to repeatedly resize it to be able to work efficiently. It would be helpful if the previously set height of this window is remembered, and used when next opened. 

HiI've just started a project where we shot everything on the new Arri Alexa 35.We used a mix of both ProRes4444 XQ and ARRIRAW.The ProRes files plays back with no problem in both Premiere and After Effects (+DaVinci Resolve)ARRIRAW works fine to.Problem is that we used the Arri/Codex workflow with High Density Encoding (ARRIRAW HDE) that reduces the file size by 50% but maintaining the RAW data.https://help.codex.online/content/high-density-encoding But it seems like Adobe isn't supporting the HDE format.Everything works great in DaVinci Resolve and that's why we felt comfortable deleting the original ARRIRAW-RAW files.So grade/online is no problem but I'm doing all cleanup in After Effects and can't import the HDE-clips.I can transcode via Resolve but it's an annoying extra step. So, I'm wondering if support for HDE in Adobe applications is on the horizon?Would be awesome since the Alexa 35 really produces superb images and we have several projects comin

Animated AVIF is a modern replacement for gif supported by Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Samsung Internet browser. It supports background opacity, which is very useful. You can read more about it here. I would really like to be able to export After Effects videos as animated AVIF.

In 2024 the emoji supported was added, however after effects mogrts still don't support emoji  

Hi, I'm looking for a way to switch from "sourceName" to "layerName" via scripting.I think it could be in the CompItem, like the field "time".              I build plugins on AE and I take screenshots automatically of the interface to document the user-scenarios.This feature would help in avoiding to use overkill and non-optimal alternatives (like sending click event to Windows...). Best regards

I was using AE22 before my laptop got damaged. I don't have the money to fix or get a new one so I am currently using a very old laptop with weak specs and can only run Adobe CS6. Such a downgrade, right? But the problem is most of my old files were in 2022 version, Most files from Envato Elements is also from 2019 upwards. So it's really a chore doing projects from scratch all over again. Would be nice to be able to open newer versions AEP on older versions.

I suppose this could be classed as a bug, but I'm being nice and saying "I have an idea": If I click on a number in a layer's Transform properties, and that number is large or has many decimal places, the text field is really tiny and does not expand into all that available, unused space to the right, so the number is truncated and I can only see a tiny portion of it. Why can't those text fields expand to fill all that empty space to the right?In this example, the x and y scale values are the same: 65.3018%, but you wouldn't know it from clicking on the x value! 

I'd like to be able to choose default settings for Material Options for 3D layers - at least basic options like Cast Shadows, Accept Shadows and Accept Lights. When I work on a project that is full of 3D layers, I have to repeatedly set these options for each layer or copy them between each other.

I've been playing with the unreal engine server plugin in Nuke and it is really useful. You can link to unreal engine and render passes from the nuke interface as well as update camera lights etc and then comp. Really useful and would be great to have in after effects. Thanks