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sigug
Known Participant
June 25, 2018
Answered

Automatic filename change in Media Encoder (sent from AFX)

  • June 25, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 2392 views

Hi there,

when I have a composition in AFX titled for example "composition15.0_test" and I send that to render to Media Encoder, the output filename automatically changes to "composition15-0" (hyphen instead of dot). Why and how can I disable this? Thank you.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Warren Heaton10841144

Don't use periods other than immediately before the file type extension.

3 replies

Crylam
New Participant
July 13, 2024

Did anyone ever find a solution to this? Still encountering it in 2024 with AME Version 24.5. Only happens when it's sent from AE, not from Priemere. I name all my files for versioning with a suffix, ie: "_2.1" and AME always changes it to "_2-1".

Warren Heaton10841144Correct answer
Community Expert
July 13, 2024

Don't use periods other than immediately before the file type extension.

Community Expert
September 29, 2018

While a period changing into a dash is unexpected, it's probably worth mentioning that unless you have a closed post production workflow (that is, your files remain internal from start to finish) that special characters of any kind should be avoided (including periods).

 

And, yes, as long as the period is not at the beginning or the end of the filename it shouldn't cause any trouble, but I would not allow it to be used in any workflow that I oversee.

 

The following would also be off limits:

  • # pound
  • % percent
  • & ampersand
  • { left curly bracket
  • } right curly bracket
  • \ back slash
  • < left angle bracket
  • > right angle bracket
  • * asterisk
  • ? question mark
  • / forward slash
  •   blank spaces
  • $ dollar sign
  • ! exclamation point
  • ' single quotes
  • " double quotes
  • : colon
  • @ at sign

 

One disclaimer: For Mac based workflows, I allow blank spaces.

 

miorota, I know this is probably more than you wanted to see in a response.  I wrote this more for others who might read the post.

New Participant
July 26, 2023

"special characters of any king should be avoided"
Why? 
What problems will they create? 

Community Expert
July 28, 2023

@Ilya30094237361g 

The best explanation of this I've seen is in the Final Cut Pro 7 User Manual:

 

Apply Valid Filenames

Proper filenaming is one of the most critical aspects of media and project management. The following sections present several issues to consider when naming clips and their media files, and describe how to create custom name formats.

Avoiding Special Characters

The most conservative filenaming conventions provide the most cross-platform compatibility. This means that your filenames will work in different operating systems, such as Mac OS X and other UNIX-based operating systems, Mac OS 9, and Windows. You also need to consider filenaming when you transfer files via the Internet, where you can never be certain what computer platform your files may be stored on, even if temporarily.

 

 




 

 

The list of operating systems from above can be expanded to include iOS, iPadOS, and AndroidOS.

sigug
sigugAuthor
Known Participant
July 18, 2018

Hello? Anyone?

Kevin-Monahan
Community Manager
Community Manager
September 28, 2018

Miorota,

That sounds odd but I can definitely reproduce it. Can you file a bug here? After Effects: Hot (895 ideas) – Adobe video & audio apps

Sorry about that.

Thanks,
Kevin

Kevin Monahan - Sr. Community &amp; Engagement Strategist – Pro Video and Audio
Stan Jones
Community Expert
September 29, 2018

I confirmed that this does not happen when queuing to AME from Premiere Pro (2018.1.2). And AME will happily process the original filename once you edit it back.