After Effects 18 - broken GUI

[PGriswold]

I'm sure someone has mentioned this by now, but in case it hasn't come up.  AE 18 has a major problem.  If you switch to more than 1 view, then close AE and restart it, then create a new comp, it keeps the 2+ views but the buttons to go back to a single view disappear and cannot be brought back.

See this screenshot to understand what I'm talking about:

I've tried resetting the workspace.  I've double-checked to see if there's a preference somewhere that's been disabled - I see no way to bring back the single view in this case.  The only solution so far is to delete my preferences and workspaces and start over.

-Paul

[Tim Kurkoski · Accepted solution]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for this post. There is a change in After Effects 18.0 that causes this.

tl;dr - Create a 3D layer (any layer with the 3D layer switch enabled, or a camera or a light), and the View Layout menu will come back. The team is looking at how to make these workflows better.

As part of the improved Composition panel toolbar, 3D controls only appear in the toolbar when there is at least one 3D layer in the comp. This includes the View Layout menu (1, 2, or 4 views), the 3D View menu, the 3D Renderer menu, and the new Draft 3D and 3D Ground Plane buttons.

There's a bit of an unanticipated, sticky problem here that when you create a new comp: the Composition viewer panel for that comp will inherit its view settings from the previous comp. This is how After Effects has worked for a long time, but the change to only show the 3D controls when 3D layers are present brings a new wrinkle. Thus, if you had changed the view layout (as you did) to something other than a single view, the new comp will be showing that same set of views but the controls to change the views won't appear until you make a layer 3D.

We're actively discussing the best way to address this problem.

While I've got your attention, I have a question: the View Layouts are primarily designed for 3D workflows (so you can view top, sides, etc. of 3D layers while working in 3D space). However, because the individual views can all hold different comp viewer settings like alpha channel, transparency grid, etc., they can also be used for 2D work, similar to having 2 independent Composition panels open for the same comp. Are you using the View Layouts only for 3D work or are you also using them for 2D work?

[PGriswold]

I teach a couple of intro-level classes at a university so I'm constantly jumping around in the viewport while I show different techniques.

In this situation, a student had asked about setting up a simple 3D shot & I'd demonstrated it by splitting the view so the student's could all see the top view and understand the relationship between elements.  Then I moved on to another question that had nothing to do with 3D - so I probably either deleted everything in the project window or did a File -> close all.  That led me to the stuck views.  

Even after quitting and restarting, it's stuck (now I know to make a 3D layer to fix it, however).

And, while I've got your attention.... a couple of gripes about AE's 3D environment.  As someone who's used Fusion since the 1990's, I find AE's 3D environment to be painful to use.  For example, to create a projection map (aka camera projection or projector light) in Fusion you plug an image into a projector and you're done.  In AE we have to create a point light, put it near the camera, then make the projection image 3D, move it to the light location, scale it down to a tiny size, mess with the materials so it's transmissive, and on and on and on and on.  That's way too much effort.  Why not just add the ability to project an image to the spotlight and include the controls to match the camera data the user has available?

Beyond that, the viewport is just weird.  Why, when in a view like Top, Left or  Custom (which seriously should be renamed Perspective) are we given a viewport that is like the Active Camera view?  Why is everything cropped off in those views?  I know of no other 3D package (and I include things like Fusion and Nuke in this) that work this way.  It completely slows down the workflow and makes no sense.  Any 3D viewport should look like a normal 3D viewport from any application that handles 3D.  

Thanks for the quick response.  I honestly wasn't expecting to hear anything other than a pre-written form letter.

Paul

P.S. if you're in the SF Adobe office say hello to Brian Yap from me.   He's a great guy and an amazing talent.

[PGriswold]

Following up - here's what I'm talking about.  AE is on the left, Fusion on the right.  Which one is a more logical, useful UI?

[Tom Olsen]

Hi, Paul. Seriously, thank you for your detailed feedback. We are actively looking at a whole host of issues related to 3D; particularly with regard to making AE more consistent with mainstream 3D environments. We do want to understand your pain points. If you have any more suggestions, we would be interested in hearing them. Thanks again. 

[guyb42326098]

I cannot render in H264 in AE CC anymore.Only in AVI, What is the problem?Thanks! I use Windows 7 as usual.

Render in AVI takes hours

I need help

Thanks

Guy

[Blake612]

Yeah, it's 3 years later, and this problem still persists. So if I've magically screwed up my file with 2 views, the only way to go back is to create a 3D layer or camera, etc., and leave it there? If I make a layer 3D (or add a camera, etc), sure, I can get it back to one view. But I don't need or want any 3D stuff in this comp, and if I delete a camera or uncheck the 3D switch, I'm right back at the screwed up 2 view thing. Did y'all just decide it wasn't worth fixing?! This is ridiculous. (This is with version 24.3.0 on Windows, btw.) Please fix! Please?