Now that I’ve started posting Free After Effects Animation Presets in the Store, it seemed like a good idea to post some instructions on how to get them working with your copy of After Effects.

For Adobe After Effects CC, CS6, CS5.5 & CS5 (PC Version)

Download the preset ZIP file and unzip it to your local drive. This will give you a folder called Shortformvideo with an .ffx file inside. Copy the Shortformvideo folder into the following directory, replacing XX with either CC, CS6, CS5.5 or CS5, depending on your installed version:

Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects XX\Support Files\Presets

If the Shortformvideo folder already exists in the Presets folder (because you’ve downloaded one of my presets before) then choose the Merge Folder option or just copy the .ffx file into this folder instead.

For Mac users

Download the preset ZIP file and unzip it to your local drive. This will give you a folder called Shortformvideo with an .ffx file inside. Copy the Shortformvideo folder into the following directory, replacing XX with either CC, CS6, CS5.5 or CS5, depending on your installed version:

Applications/Adobe After Effects XX\Presets

If the Shortformvideo folder already exists in the Presets folder (because you’ve downloaded one of my presets before) then choose the Merge Folder option or just copy the .ffx file into this folder instead.

import-presets_smWhen you next boot up After Effects, it’ll scan the Presets folder for new content and will add any new presets to the Effects & Presets panel. They’ll not appear in the main list of Effects, but if you twirl down the *Animation Presets menu at the top, you’ll find the Shortformvideo folder here. Open this and any presets you’ve added can be selected.

 

On a side note, if you’re looking for animation presets that you’ve created yourself, these are stored in a completely different folder. On a PC, look in your Documents folder. You’ll find an After Effects directory for your version in here, and inside that, there’ll be a User Presets folder that contains any personal presets you’ve created.

 

Compatibility

FFX files are not backwards-compatible. So an animation preset in After Effects CC will not work in CS6 or CS5. However, they are forwards-compatible, so a preset from CS5 will work in any later version (unless it’s related to a function that no longer exists in later versions). They are also cross-platform, so presets created on a Mac can be imported into a PC setup and vice-versa.