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Christian Ludvigsen
Participant
Dec 7, 2023 3:44 PM UTC
Question

Cryptomatte stops working randomly

Having issues with randomly not being able to make cryptomatte selections, the cursor simply doesnt change as it should when cryptomatte effect is selected. This can happen in projects which have worked well for days and suddenly it breaks and then i stays broken.
Furthermore Im having trouble gettin cryptomatte working in already established AE projects - its like I HAVE to make my comp with the cryptomatte effect as one of the first comps in a project - otherwise same issue - cursor doesnt change when cryptomatte effect selected.
My cryptomattes are generated with 3dsmax and vray and Im quite confident they are containing correct data its just the effect inside AE which stops working.
Any ideas how to fix this?

    20 replies

    romantic_friend93ab
    Participant
    Sep 26, 2026 10:17 PM UTC

    The toggle mask and shape visibililty button has to be selected for it to work. Damn it was a headache. no need to update anything

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      Oleg Burinsky
      Participant
      Jun 18, 2025 11:46 AM UTC

      Upping this thread. It's now mid 2025, same issue.

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      Ruper3d
      Participant
      May 15, 2024 3:36 AM UTC
      345 / 5.000
       

      Same problem for me, with my after 2024.4 I updated my video card drivers and Windows drivers and I still have the same problem. Import only the cryptomattes and try to select them and After Effects will stop working. A friend of mine opened the same cryptomattes with his After Effects 2018 and it worked great.

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        fnordware
        Inspiring
        May 17, 2024 4:42 PM UTC

        This usually happens because you've swiched off Show Layer Controls in the View menu, which is the same as the Toggle Mask and Shape Path Visibility button in the comp window. You need it on (and the Cryptomatte effect selected) for the clicks to go through.

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          Christian LudvigsenAuthor
          Participant
          May 18, 2024 11:45 AM UTC

          omg I think you're right - haven't tested my old files where it seemed to be broken - but the behaviour when pressing ctrl+h in a fresh project is exactly what I experienced previously... if this is the case I will send you a MEGAPINT of redwine 🙂

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            RenderKick
            Participating Frequently
            May 14, 2024 10:07 PM UTC

            I'm also encountering this issue. I've found if you double-click the layer it will open a layer preview tab, from which you'll then be able to select your elements as usual (with the cryptomatte cursor). If you then go back to your comp tab and change the cryptomatte effect's output to "Matte Only", you'll see a matte of your selected elements. Weird bug. I've only encountered it since installing the Topaz Video AI plugin but that could just be a coincidence.

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              -stev=o
              Participating Frequently
              May 17, 2024 2:18 PM UTC

              Thanks, @RenderKick. This did help. Although, after trying to open the layer in the footage window and layer window, initially, cryptomatte didn't seem active. However, closing those panels and trying again resulted in the behavior you mentioned without having to import into a new project file. This is using both latest beta and production release (05/17/2024). 16bpc EXR sequences, only 3 additional channels. Zip compression on the EXRs, are you compressing your EXRs as well? I do not use Topaz Video, so I doubt that's it. 

               

              cc @cheryls98988222 @Christian Ludvigsen @nishu_kush @Ruper3d @fnordware 

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              -stev=o
              Participating Frequently
              May 17, 2024 2:19 PM UTC

              also, Windows 11, updated drivers, etc.

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              cheryls98988222
              Participating Frequently
              May 4, 2024 12:11 AM UTC

              I'm having the exact same problem. My cryptomatte files worked great and then just stopped. Now they don't do anything. I can't select or deselect anything. Were you able to resolve your issue?

               

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                Christian LudvigsenAuthor
                Participant
                May 6, 2024 5:24 AM UTC

                only workaround to me is to open a completely fresh ae project, make the cryptomatte in there. import that project into the real project and then it works in the imported projects comps ( until it stops working again at some point 😕😕 )

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                nishu_kush
                nishu_kush
                Legend
                May 8, 2024 12:22 PM UTC

                Do you mind sharing a screen recording that shows the problem? Also, a collected project that repeats the issue would be really helpful for us to reproduce the issue in-house. Feel free to DM me if you don't want to share it publicly.

                 

                Thanks,

                Nishu

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                nishu_kush
                nishu_kush
                Legend
                Apr 19, 2024 11:25 PM UTC

                Are you still having the issue? Let us know.

                I am moving this thread from Bugs to Discussions for now.

                 

                Thanks,

                Nishu

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                cheryls98988222
                Participating Frequently
                May 4, 2024 12:12 AM UTC

                I'm having the exact same problem. My cryptomatte files worked great and then just stopped. Now they don't do anything. I can't select or deselect anything. Were you able to resolve your issue?

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