Content Vanishing from Extension Panels

[tutkut28614458]

We faced a persistent issue in our recent project that involved several extension panels. Closing one extension panel window occasionally caused the content in another active extension panel to vanish.

(Ref: https://youtu.be/8icV1-ORiLU )

We investigated this issue and found that it is exclusive to Windows . After spending several hours of debugging, we found out the pattern. The issue applies to all the extensions that exist. Closing an earlier opened extension panel causes the content in the most recently opened panel to vanish. We confirmed this bug persists across several After Effects versions (from 2019 to 2024) on Windows 10.

(Ref: https://youtu.be/c-c1G9ALV0E)

To replicate this issue, follow these steps:

1. Open one extension panel (A).
2. Open another panel (B).
3. Close panel A.
4. Notice the content in panel B disappears

Our project relies heavily on using multiple panels, and this bug could frustrate users. Hope you can find a solution for this.

[matthazz]

I'm on an M1 Max MacBook Pro, running the latest After Effects and MacOS Sonoma. I, too, have this bug with an extension: the content of the pane disappears. I have to resistall the extension to get it to come back.

[Gustavo26844737v98u]

I'm on a MacBook Pro with After 24.1.0 (Build 78) on Sonoma 14.5. Similar bug here — MoBar panel got empty, closed it and when trying to make it appear again by choosing it on Window > Extensions, nothing happens.

[martin_6576]

Having the same issue here, no solution yet. It leaves me unable to use several extensions

[max2012181555]

I posted the same issue on March 4, 2024, here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/after-effects-discussions/strange-behavior-in-after-effects-ui-when-c..., but haven't received any helpful responses.

[tutkut28614458]

Hey Max, same here. Even identifying the exact source of the problem and pointing out where to look, no one bothered to reply. It’s really frustrating being ignored.

@JohnColombo 
@Kevin-Monahan 
@nishu_kush
@Jessica McMillan 

[JohnColombo]

Thank you for the ping @tutkut28614458 and my apologies for the delay in response. I've forwarded this thread to our CEP panel team for further investigation.

Cheers,

- John, After Effects Engineering Team 

[tutkut28614458]

Hey @JohnColombo I wanted to check if there are any updates on this issue. I also realized that changing layouts triggers the problem, which makes it quite unproductive as it causes the extension panels to lose their content.

[JohnColombo]

@tutkut28614458 Our CEP team has been made aware of this issue, but there aren't any updates at this time. There is a potential workaround documented here, with options for both end users and panel developers: https://github.com/Adobe-CEP/CEP-Resources/blob/master/ZXPSignCMD/KnownIssue2024.md.

- John, After Effects Engineering Team