
More info and download from Videocopilot's official website. You can then export your selection as jpeg or png to a specified folder. You can access the gallery and select one or more snapshots to compare them in a grid. With a click it will take a snapshot of your active comp at it's current resolution and store it in a gallery. What we are after though is the snapshot functionality it provides. You can assign shortcuts to your favorite effects or assign priority levels so they come up faster when searching. It allows you to search effects and presets, and to apply them in an instant. It's an uninvasive utility that you can spawn with a keyboard shortcut. PLEASE always double check to ensure that the software you are installing comes from reliable sources.įxConsole: This is a free plugin by videocopilot that can noticeably boost your speed when using After Effects. Note: Direct links to each tool are provided below. Now that we have an idea of what we are building, let's familiarise with the tools we need before installing them. Run compression to reduce image JPG size.Run scaling to conform the image to a predefined max width/height.Here are the automated steps we want triggered immediately after the export: In our case, we’ll setup a folder action that will detect and process images added to our folder once they are exported from After Effects. Whenever an item within the folder changes, the folder action is triggered. Notice the file size change after the folder action completes.Ī Folder Action is a powerful OSX feature that allows you to attach tasks to a folder of choice.

Then we'll setup a Folder Action in Mac OSX to automate the scaling and compression of the images once they are exported from After Effects. We’ll cover how to use the free FxConsole plugin (from Videocopilot) to take screenshots of your active comp. By the end you'll have a clear idea of how you can leverage those tools to build your own custom workflows. We'll explore a couple of third party tools and some of the native automation features available in Mac OSX to enhance our productivity.

In this guide we'll look at an efficient way to take screenshots of your work in After Effects, then optimize them for sharing.

Sharing previews for feedback is often part of your daily life as a designer, especially if you are working remote.
