Asset Naming

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Hi,

I have a project that has a group of mp3 files stored in 2 directories. The files are all named similarly between the directories. I have versions which pull the same filename from the two directories. Does Templater maintain the two files, or will it overwrite one when importing, even though they’re from 2 different directories?

Pete

Pete,

As long as the two files are distinct, Templater should keep separate copies of each file in the [TEMPLATER IMPORTS] folder in After Effects. It should not overwrite the file as long as the data source is pointing to different locations. I hope that helps but if you have any more questions, please just let us know.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I ended up renaming the files in one of the folders - 6000.mp3 in one folder, and exactly6000.mp3 in the other folder. Two different audio files with different audio. I’m still getting the same behavior. I see in TEMPLATER IMPORTS that I’m importing both the 6000.mp3 and exactly6000.mp3 files, however, if I click on either one and play them, they both play the track contained in 6000.mp3. If I check the directory where each file is stored, I can verify that they are 2 different files and recordings, but within AE, they maintain different names, but they play the same track. Thoughts on how to troubleshoot?

Pete

Pete,

That’s pretty strange. There could be a problem with the settings left over from before the change was made. I’d recommend removing all of the duplicate audio files from the TEMPLATER IMPORTS folder and double-checking the data set to ensure that Templater is pulling the correct file from the right location. If that doesn’t make a difference, could you try importing and placing both files in After Effects manually and see if they play the same audio when placed on the timeline? If you run into further problems, could you send a copy of the templater.log file so we can see what’s going on in the background? It should be located in the same directory as your project file. Let us know what happens, and we’ll see if we can’t get this sorted out.

Thanks,

Jeff

Can I remove all files from TEMPLATER IMPORTS, and then advance to the next record without messing up my template?

Pete,

If you remove an asset that’s currently in use, it’ll delete that layer from your Template. If adding that layer back in is too much of a pain, what you might try first is pointing that audio layer at a placeholder file in the data set, removing the .mp3s from the TEMPLATER IMPORTS folder, and then switching the data set back. Once you go to preview the line, it should re-import the audio file.

I ended up not deleting any assets from TEMPLATER IMPORTS. I did relaunch AE running as an Administrator. I’m not sure if that was the reason for correcting the issue, but all runs fine now.

Pete

Pete,

Glad to hear it. If you have any other questions, please just let us know!

Thanks,

Jeff

I’m back to having the same issue - 2 different audio assets, from 2 different asset folders, but with identical names - and the asset changes, but on the timeline, it always plays the same audio, regardless of whether a new asset has been brought in by Templater. I tend to think this is an AE issue, and not a Templater issue, since Templater is correctly pulling in the asset to the TEMPLATER IMPORTS. However if I double click on that asset and play, the audio hasn’t been updated. In other words, the filename updates, but the audio contents never change. Any thoughts? I’ve rebooted my system, and am in the process of clearing the Disk Cache in AE.

Pete,

I’m thinking that you’re correct in assuming that this probably has to do with After Effects getting tripped up by the file getting swapped but AE using a cached version of the old file. Unfortunately, this isn’t a super common issue, so we’ll probably need to dive deeper into the specifics. I’d like to know a bit more about where the audio files are stored. Is this local footage, or are they being downloaded from a URL? If the source is remote, could you check and see if the “Allow unique downloads for cloud-based assets” box is checked in the Templater Preferences? If the assets are local, I think that getting access to the templater.log file would probably be the best next step so we can see if there’s something obvious happening behind the scenes.

Thanks,

Jeff