AE CC: Will no longer collect files

Report · Feb 27, 2014

Never ran into this before, started with the most recent update.
Whenever I try to collect files, it inevitably gets to:

After Effects warning: The file...... could not be found.

Then it ends collecting, so whatever is beyond that file is never copied. Incredibly frustrating. I thought at first it may be file names, long paths, etc. but right now I'm looking at a problem with a file named IMAC.png that resides in /(Footage)/Source/images/ - so that can't be it.

I have a RAID setup that I work from, so I also tried collecting to the desktop. Same thing.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks!
Maria

AE 12.2.1.5

10.9.1 Build 13B42

2x2.93 6-Core Xeon

20GB RAM

Report · Mar 08, 2014

I had this happen a long time ago and it was some 3rd party software that was fouling up permissions all over the place. I can't remember what it was, but that's the first place I would look.

Report · Mar 08, 2014

mmh, I went through repairing permissions last week, resetting manual permissions on target folders and it did not help for me. - but it would seem that the real problem is on the new files copied by AE - AE interrupts right after copying a file to the target directory that it then can not find. So it seems either AE is writing files with a permission issue at a random time, or the filesystem is doing something to the files as soon as it is copied and AE looses them. The simple fact that it is completely inconsistent (fail on a different file each time, once in a blue moon will collect without issues) is very puzzling.

Report · Mar 11, 2014

Hi All, I was experiencing the same issue on a MacBook Pro (2011) 2.2 ghz Quad-core i7, 8GB 1333 Mhz DDR3 on OSX Mavericks 10.9.2 and using After Effects CC 12.2.1.5 however I found a work around - I was collecting from a project/ assets stored on an external firewire HD, trying to collect to my local HD. I found that if I collected to the same firewire (where the original assets are stored) and then copied the collected folder over to the internal HD it worked fine. It's defintely a bug - possibly a permissions issue bug - but this worked for me.

Report · Mar 11, 2014

simontubbs, nicolas and everyone else who mentioned permissions issues: sounds like that is the problem. So far, I tried fixing permissions, no luck with that. I also tried copying to local drive, collecting from same drive to same drive to other drive, in just about every combination.

But, what seems to work fine is collecting the same files on my laptop!

Report · Mar 08, 2014

Nope, didnt work

I'll be calling support on Monday.

Report · Mar 17, 2014

I'm having the same issue.

Report · Apr 11, 2014

I've found that deleting any Quicktime or C4D files in my AE scene fixes the problem. Could this be related to the other

Quicktime issues that AE CC is experiencing?

Report · May 17, 2014

I'm having the same problem and it's absolutely killing me having to do silly hours just to manually collect files. The problems started after upgrading to Mavericks. I also purchased a new Macbook Pro with Mavericks pre- installed and hope that I had made a duff upgrade on my other workstation but the problems persist.

In my case It seems like it stops when encountering a mov file (Prores so no funky codecs) but it's very erratic and doesn't consistently do it at the same file so I've ruled out corrupt files.

Somethings definitely broken and I believe Mavericks is the culprit here and I hope there's a fix coming out to rectify this problems VERY soon.

Report · May 27, 2014

I'm also having the same problem. It seems to happen often with illustrator documents broken into layers. If I import the whole document as one footage element, it then works. However, that being said, it does happen to other files too and those I can't work out any sort of rhyme or reason. It's absolutely killing my productivity and is a serious, serious problem as far as I'm concerned.

For what it's worth, I'm on Mavericks and have a separate "Projects" drive from my applications drive. I'm also running Adobe CC. Any other specs that are needed, just let me know.

Report · Jul 14, 2014

Hey everyone:

So, we have been having this issue in our studio, and one of our designers figured out why this is happening. I've tested it several times, and it seems to be the issue.

When you are collecting your files, DO NOT MOVE THE MOUSE. I know how ridiculous this sounds, but it works every time. Just hit enter with the keyboard, and step away. All should be well.

The bigger question is this: Why? I remember when Adobe wasn't bloatware, and everything worked, and worked fast. It seems that as machines get faster, software gets slower and buggier, with Adobe being one of the biggest culprits. How about this, Adobe. Make your bloatware for people who want all the bells and whistles, and then make a streamlined professional version, with only essential tools so I spend more time getting the job done, and less time wrestling with the toolset. This seems like it would make sense given your new subscription-based business model, and relatively easy to implement. Innovation is fine, but not at the expense of productivity. In other words, make me love your software again, please.

</soapbox>

Report · Jul 14, 2014

Wow. This totally worked. Crazy.

Report · Sep 06, 2014

We're also having this issue. To date:

I've been told that permissions where the collections are being written need to be read/write not just for owner and group; but also for everyone (that is, 777) so I modified the launched-user UMASK so that files and folders created by user launched threads are created with the required permissions.
Permissions for the Adobe folder in ~/Documents also apparently has to have the same wide-open permissions
Have spent over an hour and a half with Adobe support working on this issue, ultimately sending them a copy of the After Effects project that refused to respond to any remediation
Cleared caches
Cleared preferences (altering the default preferences to allow scripts to write to the network caused workstations that previously were able to collect to lose that ability; but that option is necessary in order for our Qube render farm to receive work from the artists)
Have found that some workstations are able to collect certain projects that error out on the majority; but have been unable to identify what the difference is, as the plugins used are the same, across the board
The Adobe support case is 0185837757
The artists that I support are on the verge of demanding we revert back to CS5. This has become a huge political hot potato at my work!

Report · Nov 03, 2014

It worked for me too. Absolutely crazy!

Report · Sep 08, 2014

jessepelkey wrote:

Hey everyone:

So, we have been having this issue in our studio, and one of our designers figured out why this is happening. I've tested it several times, and it seems to be the issue.

When you are collecting your files, DO NOT MOVE THE MOUSE. I know how ridiculous this sounds, but it works every time. Just hit enter with the keyboard, and step away. All should be well.

This totally works. Why, Adobe, Why? What an embarrassment.

Report · Sep 30, 2014

HAH! The "DON'T TOUCH THE MOUSE" trick did it!! What a bug. Thanks so much for figuring it out jessepelkey!

Report · Mar 17, 2015

Hello,

I also restarted and then was able to collect? Does adobe plan to fix this?

Thanks

Sean

Report · Jun 03, 2015

Hello Adobe, ANY word from you?????????

No? why not? need more information or something? how about you test it yourself? I cant see Adobe even careing about this very irritating bug, there have been three updates since i first noticed it, as well as many others and even not touching the mouse doesnt always work for me. It will apparently copy all the files, but i still get an error, and if im migrating offices and moving all my work and stripping projects of elements they dont use to lighten the projects you can see the hassle and irritation i am going through.

Seriously, why hve Adobe have not said a thing about this annoying bug that people have noticed for years. WHY????? hello, this happens on ALL of our offices macs, running ANY OSX with After Effects CC. now with yosemite. Was this feature tested at all, does it work for Anyone????

If anyone is from adobe here, could you clarify why no one is even officially talking about this? just the advice of dont move the mouse from other users. lol. i bet they dont fix it in the next update. Ill be checking. Then memes galore are going to come, as this is taking the mick out of paying customers who have invested a lot of money and time into Adobe, and just getting ignored.

Thanks for still not fixing this bug. maybe fourth update?.... no i didnt think so either.

M

Report · Feb 24, 2015

Wow... the don't touch the mouse thing totally solved my problem! Just to test it a did it again, moved my house it a failed! Crazy... these are the kinds of ridiculous bugs that plague all of Adobe software. Too bad, too. They used to be awesome. I haven't been able to use Premiere in 6 months. Crashes overtime I load footage, but that's probably because I'm moving my mouse!

Thanks for the help!

Report · Mar 02, 2015

I was having this problem ever since upgrading to CC14, I'm working with big AEPs usually containing between 60-100 comps per scene and was dropping files every time, making it impossible, but once in a while it works, then I tried not moving the mouse.

IT WORKS EVERY TIME. You sir have saved us a massive amount of time by figuring this out and I can't thank you enough.

I can't believe that something like this is an issue, it seems mad that simply moving the mouse can mess everything up but it's 100% true.

Unbelievable.

Thanks again jessepelkey.

Report · Mar 02, 2015

I can confirm we have now received an acceptance from Adobe that the current version of After Effects is so substandard on Os X that you can cancel your CC membership or receive compensation. I would encourage everyone to contact customer services and ask for whichever option suits them. We have received 3 months free membership on our teams licences. Hopefully it will be working by then!

Report · Jun 12, 2015

1 Year later and the don't move the mouse workaround is still my solution to this! ADOBE?¿? i spent days wondering what server issue was creating this intermittent problem

Report · Jun 12, 2015

I had artists swearing up and down that this was a Mavericks issue (even though they weren't all on Mavericks at the time they made that claim). Would it kill Adobe to at least officially recognize this bug, which appears to have impacted versions of AE dating back to CS5, based on what I've seen on various forums on the web? As it turns out, the real change that caused a marked increase in the rate of this occurring was them getting tablets and trying to hit the collect button with the stylus (try not moving the cursor even one pixel while clicking a button with a tablet and stylus).

Report · Jun 12, 2015

> Would it kill Adobe to at least officially recognize this bug...?

We have, and we've given some updates on our attempts to isolate and fix it, like here:

Re: Cannot successfully collect files on AE CC on Mavericks 10.9.3

It seems to be caused by a change in event handling in Mac OSX v10.9, which we're trying to find the right way to accommodate.

Report · Sep 21, 2015

Don't touch the mouse worked for me. As random as the problem itself.

Report · May 17, 2016

jessepelkey wrote:
Hey everyone:
So, we have been having this issue in our studio, and one of our designers figured out why this is happening. I've tested it several times, and it seems to be the issue.
When you are collecting your files, DO NOT MOVE THE MOUSE. I know how ridiculous this sounds, but it works every time. Just hit enter with the keyboard, and step away. All should be well.

I've been having the worst day & this "fix" just made my day so much better. I think I can feel my blood pressure lowering as I type. THANK YOU SO MUCH for somehow realizing that this was the problem.