Watch folder not processing

Have you tried the Watch Folder workflow in the 2020 versions of the apps? I just tried this and was able to successfully encode an After Effects project. Just like Premiere, it will only encode comps in the root level of the project; and while it did take longer to show up in the Queue panel than a regular would via a Watch Folder, it did show up and encode.

Sorry for the delay, but I have some info. I've been told by some folks at Adobe that this feature should be working, and if it isn't there is a bug. You can file a bug on the UserVoice website where it can be seen by the AE team. https://adobe-video.uservoice.com/forums/911311-after-effects

It might be a good idea to file this on both the AE and PR UserVoice sites.

My mistake, sorry for the bad information. I did some more digging into this and it's confusing to say the least. As I originally mentioned, it would be a bad idea  if AME automatically processed every single comp or timeline in a project so I thought maybe the ones you want to process need to be in the root (top-level) of your project. It turns out this is how it's supposed to work for Premiere, but not for After Effects. I found this older video that explains the process and the limitations: https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/how-to/render-video.html (the one at the very bottom).

It confirmed that Premiere sequences need to be in the root of your project to be recognized by a Watch Folder, but even when I tested that in CC 2019 it didn't work. After Effects operates differently and the video shows that you have to mark a comp in a way that doesn't even exist anymore. I'll ask around and see if I can get some answers here.

Watch folders only work with video files, not project files. In almost every case you wouldn't want it to work with a project file because it would encode every single comp or sequence you have, which would include pre-comps, nested sequences, old versions, etc.