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J
JCG29203758
Participant
May 20, 2026
Question

Why remove mask functions from effects?

  • May 20, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 17 views

I’m not totally sure what the new masking function is supposed to do, but I know it is clunky for what it used to do. Again, I’m sure it has some kind of use, but this isn’t it. Please make sure when you R&D that you are not causing confusion and need to make workarounds when you deploy new things. 

    2 replies

    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil Haugen
    Legend
    May 20, 2026

    Yea, it’s screwy until you read up on it. The Mask icon on the toolbar of the Timeline panel has a pop-up dialog that takes you right to the bit about it. Not a long read, thankfully.

     

    Most things a mask is used for, the new system is a vast improvement … but again, only after you figure out what the hay this weird thing is doing. A couple things it is slightly slower for.

     

    And being ticked by a sudden unexpected change isn’t at all selfish … just normal. We all do that. No worries there.

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil Haugen
    Legend
    May 20, 2026

    Have you read the documentation on the new masking system, as it is a completely new system that is actually more aligned with AfterEffects and far more capable overall than before.

     

    Is it different? Yup.

     

    Is it better and actually faster? For many things, yes.

     

    But you won’t figure it out until you read the documentation.

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
    J
    JCG29203758Author
    Participant
    May 20, 2026

    Forgive my selfish outburst. I have not seen any documentation on this tool and indeed didn’t even know it had been deployed until I couldn’t find it where it had previously been. My first attempt to use it with the crop tool was unsatisfactory, I believe due to an ID-10T error on my end.

    Even so, it is a hard sell. Any new tool that does many things faster and better, if those things are not functions I needed perfomed, is not useful to me. This is especially true if the new tool comes at the expense of something I was using.

    All that having been said, I’ll RTFM as you suggest.

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