Troubleshooting After Effects

This page provides troubleshooting help for issues you might encounter when installing the After Effects Plugin or using After Effects with You.i Platform.

• Issue: After Effects plugin fails to install
• Issue: Unable to open panels in After Effects
• Issue: Magnets property using the old offset value instead of the new one
• Issue: Unable to preview the correct composition
• Issue: The background of the AE sample files is not clear in the Preview tool

Issue: After Effects plugin fails to install

Affected target platforms: macOS and Windows

Symptoms

After Effects plugin files are not installed in the After Effects Plug-ins and Scripts\ScriptUI Panels folders.

Causes

AE plugin installation failure due to security apps installed by the IT department in your organization.

Corrective Action

Copy and paste the plugin files manually as per the instructions below. These instructions are for macOS, but the steps are similar for other operating systems. Adjust as necessary.

1. Copy the YouiEngine.plugin file from the youiengine/<version>/tools/AEPlugin/Plug-ins folder.
2. Paste the file into the Applications/Adobe After Effects <version>/Plug-ins folder.

1. Copy the You.i Library.jsx and You.i Properties.js files from the youiengine/<version>/tools/AEPlugin/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels folder.
2. Paste the files into Applications/Adobe After Effects <version>/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels within the After Effects application folder.

Issue: Unable to open panels in After Effects

After Effects and plugin appear to install correctly, but error is received when attempting to open panels in After Effects: “Unable to execute script at line 4. File or folder does not exist.”

Cause

The (You.i Engine Support) folder is missing from the ScriptUI Panels folder in the After Effects application files.

Corrective Action

Manually copy and paste the (You.i Engine Support) folder from the You.i Platform installation location. To do so, copy the youiengine/<version>/tools/AEPlugin/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels/(You.i Engine Support) folder, and paste it into the ScriptUI Panels folder within your After Effects application files. See image below.

Issue: Magnets property using the old offset value instead of the new one

The magnets property is not using the latest offset value defined in After Effects. It is still using the old one.

Solution

Whenever you enter a new offset value for a magnet, ensure that you press the Return key on your keyboard. If the issue persists, remove or modify the magnet’s details in the comments section of the After Effects Project panel.

Issue: Unable to preview the correct composition

Selecting Composition - You.i: Preview Current Composition for a composition in After Effects results in the wrong composition getting previewed.

Solution

Make sure that you select a composition that begins with the word ‘Main’, not any other word, before you preview the composition.

Issue: The background of the AE sample files is not clear in the Preview tool

Selecting Composition - You.i: Preview Current Composition on a composition in After Effects displays the preview window of the currently selected composition, but the background is blurry.

Solution

Make sure you press B on the keyboard while the Preview tool is open to cycle through different backgrounds. This makes it easier to preview the composition.