Skip to main content
New Participant
October 20, 2017
Question

.chproj file is 0 bytes, cant import into after effects

  • October 20, 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 2562 views

Hello, I produce a youtube show where I use character animator to animate puppets of a freind and I that provide commentary

heres an example

Sega Racers for DOS - Sega Races to the bottom - Game Pulp Adventures - YouTube

Normally I record the puppet performances in character animator and then import them into after effects to composit them with other elements,  however with the new non beta character animator, the .chproj files that were produced, the ones with our performances, and the ones that I usually import into after effects directly, are now 0 bytes, and after effects simply says 'the project could not be opened'

is there something Im missing here? Has anybody else had this issue?

thank you

This topic has been closed for replies.

4 replies

Jeff Almasol
Adobe Employee
Adobe Employee
March 13, 2018

Did the information in my Oct 19, 2017 reply help? Note that .chproj files are always 0 bytes. It's the Ch Data subfolder next to it that contains the actual project data. A Character Animator project is a folder that contains the .chproj file, Ch Data subfolder, and Ch Media subfolder.

If you're trying to use a CH scene in AE, it's easier to just drag the scene from CH's Project panel into AE's Project panel.

New Participant
March 14, 2018

when i try to encode that .chproj  file in media encoder, its not working. dynamic link error.
while opening .chproj files  in CH files are copying but there's nothing at there.

Jeff Almasol
Adobe Employee
Adobe Employee
March 16, 2018

Do you have the latest installed version of Character Animator and Adobe Media Encoder? If so, from Character Animator, if you open the scene, then choose File > Export > Video via Adobe Media Encoder, it should work that way. No need to try to import the .chproj file directly and select a scene.

New Participant
March 13, 2018

I too have the same problem.All of my files had become 0 bytes. What should we do now.I can't import to CH..

New Participant
March 13, 2018

I also have the same problem. I have 2 project files and all of them became 0 bytes after my computer shutdown unexpectedly.

Jeff Almasol
Adobe Employee
Adobe Employee
October 20, 2017

A Character Animator project is the folder itself that contains the .chproj file and the Ch Data and Ch Media subfolders that contain the actual data. The .chproj file has always been 0 bytes -- it's mainly there so you can double-click or select something when importing. Do you have those Ch Data and Ch Media subfolders next to your .chproj file?

When you import into After Effects (via AE's Import File dialog box or by dragging the .chproj into AE's Project panel), it should initiate a Dynamic Link connection and open the Import Character Animator Scene dialog box so you can select the scene to import.

Do you also have the latest After Effects CC (i.e., version 15.0, Adobe After Effects CC 2018 in the title bar) installed, too?

New Participant
June 23, 2018

Hello, I understand that the .chproj files are 0 bytes, but I'm trying to send them by e-mail, but I can't because for the computer it's "an empty file"

There's any solution?

I tried compessing the file and send it, but the person who received it told me there was nothing on the file.

Jeff Almasol
Adobe Employee
Adobe Employee
June 23, 2018

The project is the entire folder that the .chproj file is in, so you'll need to archive (.zip) the folder that contains the .chproj, Ch Data, and Ch Media subfolders, and send that .zip file. Hope this helps.