Feature Requests

The direct SVG-to-Shape Layer conversion does strange things under-the-hood and it’s messing up my Bake Shape to Individual Shape Layers. I now actually have to convert the SVG to Adobe AI in order to get a native SVG to bake nicely in AE, after first having to import the converted SVG-to-Adobe AI into AE.  

Shape layers could really use some love. I propose that the same way we add selectors and properties to Text Layer animations, should be used for Shape Layer Repeaters. Draw a square, repeat it 10 times, now add a range selector with position and scale. think of the cool mograph type effects you could create with that system, The best part, is that Shape Layers and Text Animators are practically cousins, so I don't think it would be to hard to implement. Bonus would be to also have the same path options that Text layers have as well, imagined if you could repeat along a path!!!!! so many possibilities. Also wiggly and expression selectors would open up so many new doors. Visual: https://i.imgur.com/wEQELHo.jpg

I work in blender. I've basically abandoned AE for anything but color and some moderate masking in post. Tracking can't be taken out of AE, or imported, and that leaves AE's once-great-now-subpar tracking toolset orphaned by an overly strict environment. As a 1st step in VFX that needs to be there till the end, it just can't fit in a workflow that is not 100% AE.

It's 2025 and Ae still doesn't have basic spell check functionality - Adobe please make this a top priority. It's embarrassing that we still don't have such a basic and important feature in the program.I can confidently speak on behalf of countless professional artists and editors that this is needed and many awkward mistakes could have been easilty fixed without this. No one ever wants to have to explain to a client that "sorry that mistake went unnoticed in the edit, my professional motion design tool doesn't have spell check"(it's quite ironic that when writing this forum post I discovered that even this Adobe community page doesn't have spell check when writing a forum post...)

It would be handy if After Effects could have a gradient fill option for text layers.I would imagine options for whether the gradient would map from the top to the bottom of each letter, from the maximum possible letter height to the minimum possible (so that it’s even across a whole line), or across the entire existing block of text - even with multi lines.The big difference between this and applying a gradient effect would be that the gradient would move with each letter as it animates with text animators. Right now, there is no good way to do this.

Basic sound edition like pan and volume in form of a bezier curves on a waveform view. We have it in Audition and it was in the Sony Acid Pro. Why launch Audition for one track when all I need is basic volume control change channel. or 

You wanna play with the big boys in VFX? Good. This would be a nice step up to the plate. AE has no support for deep images, and its 3D is atrocious. You would need to fix a lot of the issues just to get this working, let alone usable.

It's on the tin. Raw formats and image sequences need proper import and handling via options that are readily accessible, as well as LUTs, color management, and colorspace transforms. How am i supposed to import linear raw EXR from blender without converting to log or rec709 or AgX? Why aren't there standard LUT import and exports?

 AE's 3D tools are stuck in 1996 because they are a discreet effect and controlled as such. Proper 3D VFX workflows require a good deal of flexibility, an entire monitor full of options, shaders, baking, export forms, VFX standards adherence, 3D data I/O, etc. Worst of all, AE isn't even true 3D. It's 2.5D, and the decrepit codebase can't really be changed without essentially building a new software.Heck, Adobe owns substance 3D now, but to my knowledge has no software that really integrates with it, and instead has left it a messy toolbox of loosely related software with similar UI, and each has one main feature that most 3D software just put together to speed things up. instead of trying to jam 3D into compositing software, make 3D VFX a new software, and make importing the renders, or rendering linked data, very robust. We're talking better handling for image seuences, color space transforms, LUT's, EXR handling, deep image format, 3D track export, the works. Maybe something that ca

It's pretty cumbersome to have expressions work with dropdowns because currently you can only get the number value of a dropdown. Here's an example:if (thisEffect("dropdown").value == 1) value = 13;else if (thisEffect("dropdown").value == 2) value = 50;else if (thisEffect("dropdown").value == 3) value = 100;Now let's say you use the dropdown to control 12 properties. Then you make some mistake or you decide to change the values of this dropdown. Have fun.SOLUTIONA solution would be to have a .textValue property of dropdowns. Here's how that would work with the example:if (thisEffect("dropdown").textValue == "Style 1") value = 13;else if (thisEffect("dropdown").textValue == "Style 2") value = 50else if (thisEffect("dropdown").textValue == "Style 3") value = 100Now the code is a LOT more readable and easier to work with.

Currently with scripting, Dropdown Menu controls are write-only, by using setPropertyParameters() with a text array to change the list of options. It would be helpful to have something like getPropertyParameters() to output the existing control options as a text array, so that the controls are read/write.

Every time I update After Effects, I have to remember to go back into the Application folder and restore the scripts that were previously in the 'Scripts' and 'Script UI Panels' folders, which is very inconvenient.   I'd like to request that updating After Effects doesn't remove files from these folders (or at least offers this as an option).

Hi, I would like to suggest an evolution of Expression Controls and Pseudo Effects.Currently, the only way to attach custom, user-defined parameters to a layer is by relying on effects such as Expression Controls or Pseudo Effects. This approach has several limitations.Certain layer types do not support effects at all (cameras, lights, advanced 3D layers), and in other cases effects can cause rendering issues, especially with collapsed 3D compositions or 3D vector layers. From a scripting standpoint, defining custom controls is cumbersome, as Pseudo Effects cannot be generated or customized dynamically at creation time and require an external .ffx file as an intermediary.I would therefore like to suggest a new feature:Native custom properties integrated into the Properties panel.These custom properties would:be attached directly to the layer, independently of the Effects stackbe exposed and managed in the Properties panelsupport the same level of customization as Pseudo Effects or Esse

Currently AE will pop into the forground and take application focus whenever a render, project collect, or anything else is completed. This is extremely distracting since quite often AE is being used in tandem with other applications, and when AE pops into the foreground and takes mouse/keyboard focus it can break what is currently being worked on in other applications. It would be wonderful if there was an option to stop AE from popping into the foreground for any reason.Thank you!

Can't believe this is not an assignable short function.

If you like this Idea, please upvote it!Imagine How it will be easy to navigate effects controls inside after effects if you could add colors to it!Just see by your eyes.temp2.png it will make it very easy to manage many effects for a layer!

Can the devs look at the responsiveness of searching in the project panel for Windows? I have a large project and when I work on a Win machine the response while typing is very slow, maybe half a second to update per search querry update (typing another letter). It feels very laggy and disruptive. When I work with the same project on a Mac, the search responsivenes is instant.  Not sure if OS limitations have to do with this but feels like it shouldn't be.   Thanks.

It does not belong in the Noise submenu.

The context menu of Layer Styles in the timeline doen not bring any context sensitive items. Please add the items that live in the context submenu of the layer Name>Layer Styles. The menu of Layer StylesThe menu of the Layer name

Currently when recovering from a Crash four options are presented.Can we have an option to Quit?Currently under MacOS there is no ability to Quit except do a force quit.Adobe-Crash-Repair.jpg   [Moved by moderator to the Ideas sub-forum]  

Can we have the ability to have the gradient follow the path of the stroke? The current gradient stroke is mediocre at best.  Feels like a basic thing to include tbh.  

It would be super rad if AE has the ability to have Project Tabs.A lot of other software, like Cinema 4D for example, allows multiple projects to be open at the same time, making switching between projects more seemless and allows for a quicker workflow.Is this something After Effects is able to handle on the backend? Would greatly depreceate the time it takes to close and open between projects, especially when working between multiple projects during the day. I think a majority of users will appriciate this new feature! Thanks!

It would be helpful to have a way to swap X and Y values of two-value properties such as Scale or a shape's Size.   RobBarrett_2-1767810031228.png   For example, if I have a landscape comp containing a rectangle of size 1920x1080, and I want to duplicate the comp to create a portrait version with matching shape layer, I need to unlink the dimensions of the shape's Size property, retype as 1080x1920, and then relink.   If it were possible to, say, hold Cmd and click (or double-click) one of the X/Y property values and have them swap over, it would be a big time saver.   (On three-value properties, like Scale on a 3D layer, I would still imagine that the most expected outcome would be to swap the X and Y values and leave the Z value as-is.)

Direction Blur Effect - Add repeat edge pixels.Simple as that. Any chance the effect could be edited to repeat the edge pixels?

It would be helpful to be able to perform math operations in the timecode field (top-left of the timeline panel), in the same way that these can be performed in property values.   For example, if I'm at 130 frames, and want to move to 200 frames later in the composition, I could simply type "130+200" in the timecode field.   RobBarrett_0-1764936669534.png