After effects CC 2018 BUG: corrupted the .aep project and all the auto-saves after I used "Create Nulls from Path"

[pcalvim_]

Hello, yesterday I just updated the After Effects because the new  "Create Nulls from Paths"  tool would help me to do what I was doing. And helped!

So I worked for 6 hours, saving versions, with the autosave on, and everything was doing ok. Than in a moment a saved the project and closed the software to do another thing. When I tried to open the project again, it started to open, i could see the project window filling with my footages, but when it finished After Effects crashed. And it happened with all the versions and autosaves since I used the new "Create Nulls from Paths" tool.

I tried to import a project to another, tried to open in another computer and nothing, i just lost my projects and my work. The only projects that still opening is before the after effects update, in other words before I used the create nulls from path.

I thought that was a  incompatibility with the "Omino Snake" plugin that i'm using in the project. So yesterday i did a test: i opened the cc2017 project and just applied the  "Create Nulls from Paths"  tool saved and closed. Than I tried to open, and it crashes again. But still testing i started a new project from 0.  The comp just had 2 layers (a solid that was using the Omino Snake Plugin, and the same psd that i'm using as reference for the plugin), i saved and could open the project later. So i got confused and while  I was writing here I did 2 more tests, in this light project just enabled 3d layer in my null objects created by the  "Create Nulls from Path tool" and saved and closed the project. Than the same problem happened again. When I try to open the project it crashes after effects. So I just did a new test, create a new project with a solid and create a mask path to this solid. Applied the "points follow nulls" and transformed the nulls in 3d layers No plugin used, just that. Saved and closed the project than tried to open. Tcharan! The message "Application After Effects has crashed." appeared again. The bizarre that it not crashes when you are using After Effects, it just works, you can use the nulls in a 3d space I do everything you want, but when you close the project you can't open it any more.

So it look likes a incompatibility with the "Point follow null" and the nulls to be a 3d object.

Coming back with my problem. Any light? I really would like to open this project.

Thanks and sorry for my english.

Paulo Alvim

pcalvim.com

[Szalam]

The points follow nulls panel is just a script that applies expressions. So there are two things you can try.

Thing one: try importing a project that's crashing into a brand new project.

Thing two: try copying the expressions that the panel creates and paste them onto the appropriate things in a brand new comp

If Thing one works, don't bother with Thing two.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi Paulo,

Are you still struggling with this issue? Please let us know.

Thanks,
Kevin

[JohnGreenCRA]

I'm having this exact issue on a project. my project also used the new script for parenting shape vertices to nulls. I'm not sure that's relevant. In any case, when I attempt to reopen this project  the footage loads, the open project progress bar reaches 100%, and then AE crashes. This happens on all four machines in our office when we try to open this project.

[Szalam]

Can you import that project into a new project?

[JohnGreenCRA]

Unfortunately, the project also crashes any new project in which you attempt to import it into.

One machine we opened it on returned a message saying that the file was missing data.

[Szalam]

Interesting.

The only things I can suggest are to file a bug report and to contact Adobe support.

Those may seem similar, but they are two very different things.

Filing a bug report (which you can do here) puts your issue directly in front of a member of the AE team. It is the best way to get a problem with AE permanently solved in the long term. Make sure you let them know if you can share a project file with them - maybe even put a shared link from your Creative Cloud account or Dropbox of the offending file. The only downside is that this is essentially only letting the engineers know there's an issue and (hopefully) giving them the information they need to reproduce it on their end so that it can be fixed. This is good and necessary (seriously, please file a report), but it doesn't really help you now and you are unlikely to hear from them as they are mostly engineers and not customer support.

Contacting Adobe support (Adobe.com/support) gets you connected with actual customer support agents. Note: when you go to the support page, don't just click that you need help with After Effects. On the page where you specify what you need help with, CLICK ON CREATIVE CLOUD FIRST. Otherwise it'll assume you're talking about a non-CC version of AE (which will just push you to the forum instead of an actual agent).

[yonatanw16263061]

I have the exact same problem.

[licencia 05o31920057]

I was experiencing the same issue; I decided to let go and restart from the last save, but attempted to replicate the crash.

I used the "Create Nulls From Paths" extension to animate a mask using the DUIK tool. The "opening crash" appeared consistently every time I used "Create Nulls From Paths", regardless of the steps I had taken before (using puppet pins, creating bones, parenting, etc.). Then I noticed, the layers where the mask was applied were 3D layers. I changed them back into 2D layers, and lo and behold, the crashing stopped. It also hasn't happened until now, after I've finished the setup for that part of the rig.

So. The sad news is, I still can't open my original file. Nonetheless, not using "Create Nulls From Paths" mixed up with 3D layers seems to avoid the crash. Also, I haven't tried yet if the crash can be avoided using 3D nulls, and 3D controls, for parenting.

It would be nice if Adobe could allow for a "fail-safe mode" to open projects, and remove conflictive scripts, so as not to lose all of the progress involved, in cases like this.

[Roland Kahlenberg]

AFAIK, Create Nulls from Path work on both 2D and 3D layers. If the problem you encounter is reproducible, then please file a bug and include the AEP.

[jamesh9800259]

I'm having the same problem. AE CC 2019 (up to date as of this post). Create Nulls from Paths script works fine, until the project is closed. Then the project is corrupted, and cant be opened or imported into a new project. It's happened every time I've tried to use it regardless of whether the Nulls were 3D or 2D. The most frustrating thing is that there is not sign anything is amiss until after you have closed AE. So after an 8 hour day of working away at an animation, even the auto-saves are useless. Is there not a way to open the project with all expression disabled so that I can dissect this mess?

[felixw6935089]

I have exactly the same issue. The project files are useless as soon as you 'create paths to nulls'. Please fix this Adobe.

[FactorFiles]

So I can confirm after a frustrating evening that there is a bug still in AFX all the way to the current version CC25.2.2, where if you add a Composition Camera to use with 3d null points using the "Nulls to Paths" script, it will work fine, but crash the next time you try and open the project. This happens on both Mac and Windows (though opening a Windows project on a Mac will work the first time, and then crash after opening from the next save).

Interestingly, it doesn't happen if you open the project up in Safe Mode, and the scripting all works fine. But it will crash the next time you try and open it normally.

Your only solution aside from just working with the project in Safe Mode, is to delete the camera from the composition while you're in safe mode, and then you will be able to open the project again normally.

This was an extremely frustrating problem to troubleshoot, involving creating lots of different projects with different types of files... only for it to turn out to be the mere act of adding a camera to the scene....

[Roland Kahlenberg]

This is a HUGE BUG if indeed you can reproduce this and the issue is indeed caused by the feature which it does to me.

Please file a Bug Report ASAP. Thanks. 

[nishu_kush]

Sorry for the delayed response. I just tested it on my end. After Effects seems to be working fine. Do you mind sharing the project file that crashes on your end? Feel free to share it via DM if you do not want to share it publicly.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,
Nishu

[FactorFiles]

It's a pretty easy bug to reacreate. I just did so successfully on my Macbook.

1. Create a new composition.

2. Draw a straight path.

3. select the path and select "Null Controllers for Path Points" from Keyframe Assistant.

4. Make the 2 Null points 3D, and move them around in 3D space.

------ So far so good. Now he's the bit that breaks AFX ------

5. Add a Camera to the composition.

6. Save the project.

7. Re-open the project - AFX will have a catastrophic crash.

8. To sucessfully open the project, open AFX in Safe moode.

9. Delete the camera from the composition and save.

10. Reopen the project in normal mode - project will load successfully.

I've also attached a project created as above that now crashes AFX, but you should be able to recreate the same following the steps above.

[FactorFiles · Accepted solution]

OK so this is a very anti-climactic solution. I got my collegue to try it on his PC, and he didn't get a crash, whereas both my Mac and PC did. So I became sure it was perhaps a dodgy plugin I had on both of them....

But simply selecting "reset preferences" on both when they loaded up after the crash has fixed the problem. Must be some preferences bug that was carried across from a previous version as I've updated them over the versions....

[nishu_kush]

I agree! It could be a plug-in or corrupted preferences that's causing the issue. I was able to open your project without any issue. Also, I created a project from scratch as per your steps, and that works well too. 

Thanks for updating the thread. Feel free to reach out.

Thanks,
Nishu