AE dialogs
The common file import command in AE is accessible from the menu, or the Ctrl+I key. If the PatchMaker plug-in is installed, you can use this command to import any PatchMaker project file with *.pmp extension. You can see in the Format field below how this file type is recognized:
When you have finished importing a PatchMaker project file, a new composition with due number of layers is created in your current project.
Reading transformations from file
If you activate a layer in the composition, the AE menu command will display a dialog:
In the text field you can type the path for a PatchMaker project file, or choose it with the Browse... button. After that, the Apply command applies transformations from the indicated file to the active layer.
Dialog of the transformation application progress
Exporting transformations from PatchMaker or exporting the entire project displays the dialog “Application of transforms to layer…”, which show what portion of the export is done at the moment:
Sometimes, the export occurs almost instantly, so you don't notice the dialog at all. However, if you export a plenty of data for lengthy episodes, the export process may become time consuming. You can stop an erroneous export operation by clicking the Cancel button.
Transformations are defined in AE by a series of key frames for several layer properties. The numbers displayed in the dialog are the number of key frames added, and the total number of key frames. The AE versions below 6.0 require much time for insertion of coordinate key frames. Hence, at the beginning, when the Position series is generated, the exporting speed may be significantly lower than average. For the same reason, application of transformations with the Corner Pin effect is the slowest for AE versions below 6.0.
In the simplest case, the number of key frames equals to the product of the duration of the PatchMaker transformation layer and the number of parameters, which depends on the current mode of applying transformations. However, this number can be decreased, if the motion is smooth enough, and the value of Export|Inaccuracy property of the composition is not zero.
