Projects FAQ

After Effects project setup
Analysis issues
- I am having an issue with a file when uploading a project to Plainly. What should I do?
- I’m seeing “Could not read from source.” error, what does this mean?
Plainly project setup

After Effects project setup

Why aren’t my Essential Properties rendering?

Plainly does not support Essential Properties at this time. However, all native After Effects effects and functions are supported.

There is a workaround available. Instead of parameterizing Essential Properties, parameterize the layers directly. This allows you to achieve a similar effect without relying on unsupported features.

Can I dynamically change Wrap Stabilizer?

No, this is not possible to be changed dynamically, since none of the Wrap Stabilizer properties are key-framable, meaning you can’t add expressions to them.

Can shape layers be dynamic?

No, shape layers cannot be dynamic. You can convert shape layers to rasterized layers by pre-rendering them as video files and then using those video files in your project.

Can I use paid plugins?

No, paid, or any third-party plugins are not supported. Plainly only supports native After Effects features and free plugins that are bundled with After Effects.

We suggest that you pre-render the layers that use the third-party plugins as an video file and use them in your project instead.

How should I handle placeholder layers instead of actual layers?

Placeholder layers are not supported in Plainly. Make sure to replace any placeholder layers with actual content before uploading your project, as Plainly won’t be able to process them correctly and determine their actual type.

My project uses non-standard characters (Cyrillic, Scandinavian, special, etc.). Are they supported?

Special characters in composition names, layer names, or file names in After Effects projects may lead to issues during the upload or rendering process in Plainly. We recommend using standard Latin characters (A-Z, a-z), numbers (0-9), hyphens (-), and underscores (_) to avoid potential problems.

Here are some examples that may cause issues:

Rendering composition name: Render comp 😀 (has a special character 😀)
File name: image:file.jpg (has a special character :)

While these are just few examples, it’s best to avoid any non-standard characters to ensure smooth processing of your projects in Plainly.

If you are experiencing issues related to special characters when rendering values in Plainly, check out the FAQ on rendering special characters and explore possible solutions from there.

Are there best practices or requirements when building After Effects templates to ensure more controls show up?

There are no strict requirements except when you’re using expressions. If you’re looking to parameterize effects or properties:

Make sure you’re using Expression Controls on an Adjustment Layer as Plainly won’t recognize them on other layer types.
Follow the parameterization guidelines below to ensure they show up correctly in Plainly.

Read more about effects parameterization in the Effects section.

How can I parameterize effects in my template?

Plainly can parameterize these Expression Controls, when they’re applied to an Adjustment Layer:

Slider Control
Dropdown Control
Color Control
Checkbox Control
Point Control

If you need to parameterize a value from an effect to a standard transform property (or any property supporting expressions or keyframes), you can connect it to a Slider Control and then parameterize that slider in Plainly.

Plainly cannot parameterize transform properties directly.

Read more about effects parameterization in the Effects section.

Am I able to use my own branding in the projects I create?

All of the videos you render will derive from an After Effects template you set up, that means that the branding and dimensions will be the same as you set them up.

Is it possible that Cinema 4D rendered engine in After Effects doesn’t work on the Plainly platform?

Yes, Plainly only supports Classic 3D. However, if you need to use 3D models, you can pre-render them into .mov or .mp4 files with a green screen. That way, you’ll end up with much lighter files - and everything stays compatible.

Is Advanced 3D supported?

No, Advanced 3D is not supported, switch to Classic 3D instead. We advise you to replicate the style using Layer Styles as a workaround.

It’s possible to switch aspect ratios dynamically in Plainly, but it can’t be done with a dropdown or expressions alone. Instead, you can use Plainly’s Layer management script, which exposes properties like width and height - allowing you to change the composition size dynamically.

That said, for it to work properly, the template must be set up to support different aspect ratios. This means using expressions that reposition and scale layers based on comp size, like snapping to corners, locking anchor points, and making text responsive. We’ve covered all of this in a YouTube video and our Expression Library. Links are down below so you can easily follow along.

YouTube Video: Responsive After Effects template

Expressions that might come in handy

Snapping one layer to another or to a comp

This expression doesn’t exist in our Expression Library yet, but it will be added soon.

Lock Anchor Point

Lock anchor point expression


// Fetch the dropdown value
anchorOption = effect("Dropdown Menu Control")("Menu");
// Get the text bounds
rect = sourceRectAtTime((inPoint + outPoint) / 2, false);
top = rect.top;
left = rect.left;
w = rect.width;
h = rect.height;
// Default values
x = 0;
y = 0;
// Anchor point switch
if (anchorOption == 1) {
	// Center
	x = left + w / 2;
	y = top + h / 2;
} else if (anchorOption == 2) {
	// Top Left
	x = left;
	y = top;
} else if (anchorOption == 3) {
	// Top
	x = left + w / 2;
	y = top;
} else if (anchorOption == 4) {
	// Top Right
	x = left + w;
	y = top;
} else if (anchorOption == 5) {
	// Right
	x = left + w;
	y = top + h / 2;
} else if (anchorOption == 6) {
	// Bottom Right
	x = left + w;
	y = top + h;
} else if (anchorOption == 7) {
	// Bottom
	x = left + w / 2;
	y = top + h;
} else if (anchorOption == 8) {
	// Bottom Left
	x = left;
	y = top + h;
} else if (anchorOption == 9) {
	// Left
	x = left;
	y = top + h / 2;
}
[x, y];

Expressions for Responsive Text Layout Based on Composition Width

Responsive text layout expression


// Add to Source Text
textSize = 50;
// Font size
textLeading = 1;
// Line spacing (leading)
originalBoxWidth = 1920;
targetWidth = thisComp.width;
boxScale = targetWidth / originalBoxWidth;
text.sourceText.style.setFontSize(textSize / boxScale).setLeading((textSize * textLeading) / boxScale);
// Add to Scale
targetWidth = thisComp.width;
originalBoxWidth = 1920;
boxScale = targetWidth / originalBoxWidth;
value * boxScale;

Expression for auto-scaling media and backgrounds

This expression doesn’t exist in our Expression Library yet, but it will be added soon.

Auto-Scaling Text Layer with Width Constraints

Auto-scaling text layer expression


textWidth = sourceRectAtTime(time, false).width;
defaultLimit = thisComp.width;
customLimit = effect("Width Limit")("Slider");
widthLimit = customLimit > 0 ? customLimit : defaultLimit;
if (textWidth > 0) {
	scaleFactor = (widthLimit / textWidth) * 100;
	clampedScale = clamp(scaleFactor, 0, 100);
	[clampedScale, clampedScale];
} else {
	value;
}

Analysis issues

I am having an issue with a file when uploading a project to Plainly. What should I do?

If you are having issues with files and the analysis fails, check our existing documentation on unsupported files in a project section for more details. Try to use recommended file formats and codecs.

I’m seeing “Could not read from source.” error, what does this mean?

This error usually means that the video file used as dynamic value for rendering uses an unsupported codec. Make sure to use the following recommended video formats and codecs:

HEVC (H.265) is not supported. Convert it to H.264 before uploading.
Apple ProRes 4444 may also cause problems. Converting to H.264 is recommended in this case as well.

Also check out our unsupported files in a project section for more details.

Plainly project setup

Can I duplicate projects template to create new ones with similar settings?

Yes, you can duplicate project templates to create new ones with similar settings. Check out the Templates section for more details.

Can I duplicate a project?

No, you cannot duplicate a project. You must upload a new project.

Can I use custom scripts in Plainly?

No, custom scripts are not supported, because they can contain any arbitrary code. However, you can contact us with your use case and we can help you to apply your desired functionality.

Is it possible to expose more template parameters beyond text and image replacement?

Yes. In addition to text and image replacement, you can also expose:

Videos, audio, colors and effects
Dynamic timing using our Scripting feature
Individual layer properties using our Layer management script

This gives you much deeper control over your templates.