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What CustomEffects are

We all use presets. They are very powerful and handy to use, but sometimes, when there are many expression controls involved it starts to get very messy. And that’s where CustomEffects come in.

Check out this introduction video to get you started.

CustomEffects are standard presets but they look like and behave as standard plugins. After Effects needs to know the definition of presets in order to interpret them correctly. Some time ago I started to publish my heavily expression–based presets as CustomEffects.

Before you install any CustomEffect make sure you have administrator privileges and that the file PresetEffects.xml Read-Only flag is set to off.

Default location of the PresetEffects.xml file on Windows:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects CS3\Support Files\PresetEffects.xml

Default location of the PresetEffects.xml file on MAc:
/Applications/Adobe After Effects CS3/ (Show Package Contents) /Resources/PresetEffects.xml

Please upgrade your Flash Player This is the content that would be shown if the user does not have Flash Player 9.0.115 or higher installed.
Please note that this software requires Adobe AIR Runtime libraries. Click here to download.

CustomEffects Installer has an auto-update feature. Each time you run the application it will check if there is a new version available. If so it will download it and run the update process automatically. This will cause the current instance of the application to close and reopen after the installation is complete.

I have already built a CustomEffect Deployer that creates polyCE files but it is still in beta, therefore it’s not available for download… yet. I hope that polyCE files will become a standard way of sharing expression–based presets. I’m looking forward to hearing your opinions about them.

97 Responses to “What CustomEffects are”

  1. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! i am the first one…. awesome buddy awesome

    Umair said this November 7th, 2007 at 12:43

  2. M, I don’t see the Mac version. Is it a secret?

    Jim W said this November 7th, 2007 at 19:29

  3. It’s all explained on this site. There is no special Mac version, theres only special Win version that one may choose not to use. All you have to do is to “find the PresetEffects.xml and paste the content of my XML provided in the ZIP file along with the FFX at the end of the file - just above its last line.”

    Maltaannon said this November 7th, 2007 at 23:24

  4. umm u say Mac version on both sets of instructions yet i see no mac version….

    Aaron said this November 8th, 2007 at 0:43

  5. Theres no Mac version. Just use the FFX file and paste the content of the XML file into PresetEffects.xml like explained above. Its all in the same ZIP file that you download from tutorial page.

    Maltaannon said this November 8th, 2007 at 1:31

  6. I can’t find the Zip file on the tutorial page either.

    Tudor said this November 8th, 2007 at 8:43

  7. Gotcha. Thnx.

    Jim W said this November 8th, 2007 at 16:11

  8. Well, all of the “custom effects” links above just reload the page. From where can the mentioned files be acquired? I saw some files listed on CCow but are they the most recent? I didn’t see any ColorCorrection preset within.

    Thanks.
    J.

    Jim W said this November 8th, 2007 at 16:15

  9. NM. Found the link at the bottom of the page. Hard to find - didn’t think it was more useful than tapping the RSS though. FYI, the link from the AE/Home pages goes directly to the video.

    Thanks again,

    J.

    Jim W said this November 8th, 2007 at 16:18

  10. hi there i have downloaded zip file which has a pscei.exe which needs the presets to install…i dont seem to find the presets at all in this site….can u give me a link

    Saumin said this November 18th, 2007 at 0:29

  11. Presets and other project files are available under each tutorial details. Click on the tutorial Title (not on the thumbnail) to read the details and get the files you need. If you are confused about this please read this: http://maltaannon.com/how-tos/

    Maltaannon said this November 18th, 2007 at 14:36

  12. Just wanted to say…you’re a genius. I definitely wanna grow up to be like you. I love your tutorials. I see all these remarks, and yet no one has said how wonderful your work is. Keep up the FANTASTIC job.
    And people… common- on this page, I see no praise. Can you actually stop for a minute and thank the man for his knowledge? I mean it seems like you all are using the database and not thanking him.

    A.S. said this November 27th, 2007 at 6:12

  13. Thank you my friend. I really appreciate it. It means a lot to me. Thanks again.

    Maltaannon said this November 27th, 2007 at 13:03

  14. again and again

    25Frame said this December 2nd, 2007 at 22:50

  15. Will the presets work with AE 7 PRO?

    GEO said this December 5th, 2007 at 19:23

  16. Yes, they should. After Effects sees them as regular presets, so if any preset made in CS3 works with AE7, than these CustomEffects will work as well, as long they don’t use any CS3 features (like CE PixelSampler).

    Maltaannon said this December 5th, 2007 at 20:12

  17. Witam, niestety preset jak i projekt nie działa w AE7 Pro. :( Otrzymuję komunikat, że projekt oraz preset zostały utworzone w nowszej wersji AE. Czy mógłbyś przygotować wersje swych CE dla AE7? Z góry dziękuję i pozdrawiam.

    Ryszard said this December 9th, 2007 at 13:59

  18. Project files from CS3 won’t work in CS2, but the presets should. As far as they don’t use any special CS3 features. Try CE ColorCorrector. It should work in CS2 even though it was build with CS3.

    Maltaannon said this December 9th, 2007 at 16:20

  19. I’m totally into you :) Looking fantastic!!! I can’t wait to try out some of your stuff.. wooooooooooww!

    Jimmy said this December 12th, 2007 at 8:44

  20. Great work, learning a lot here!
    As soon as I use something yours on a commercial base, I’ll stop by at the PayPal-logo.
    (We all should, so this guy can dedicate his life to making ours easier…)

    peter said this December 21st, 2007 at 15:43

  21. That’s my goal. I’m glad someone understands it. Thanks my friend!

    Maltaannon said this December 21st, 2007 at 19:30

  22. Hi , I just started with AE and your tutorials are great , I think no book can match to what you are doing for us .

    Fine holidays and thank you for everything . Belgium

    Danny said this December 22nd, 2007 at 12:21

  23. As a beginner to AE i thank you for helping me! This is a very sweet plugin

    John said this December 27th, 2007 at 23:40

  24. First of all, I would like to say you are a master. I work for a cable company in alabama and I have just started using after effects to create a better commercial for our clients. I was having trouble with dropshadows until one of your recent tutorials. I have successfully learned it. I didn’t want to just download your presets, Because I wanted to learn how to do it, instead of just taking it. so I watched it over and over. But, I wanted to know if you can create it the same way for a stroke and if possible can you possibly do a tutorial on the stroke alone, as for as creating it and importing it into after effects. Other than that your tutorials ROCK! Thanks you for the help. Robert

    Robert Brown said this December 28th, 2007 at 23:24

  25. Hi!
    im looking for this plugin for MAC system.
    does it exist?
    thanks!

    lea said this January 9th, 2008 at 1:20

  26. Hi there,

    I think your toutorial and this preset is very helpful and awesome, nevertheless after going thruogh the specified steps mentioned above, when i start up After Effects, and apply 3D Shape Extruder, it doesn’t take effect and there is a warning as follows,

    After Effects Warning: Undefined value used in expression. Could be an out of range arrary subscript? Expression disable

    Would you please help me solving this problem? Very appreciated.

    Moi,Carole said this January 14th, 2008 at 9:10

  27. I wish I could. I have no idea what is causing the problem. Some other people had encountered it as well, but it seems, that when one is doing everything as explained the problem does not occur. Please make sure you have the right version of After Effects, that the CustomEffect is properly installed, and that you’re using it properly.

    Maltaannon said this January 14th, 2008 at 11:57

  28. Really nice !

    But how do you build these presets ?
    I don´t understand how to build all these sliders … into just one layer FX?
    Even If i watch your ffx file, i don´t find a way how to set ranges or multivector attributes.

    It would be really nice to see a tutorial about makin cool presets :)
    Or get some Infos about that stuff

    thanks !

    jamsven said this February 13th, 2008 at 18:46

  29. Oh yes this tutorial is coming soon along with an tool for building CustomEffects for both Mac and PC. Stay tuned. Cheers

    Maltaannon said this February 13th, 2008 at 20:34

  30. OK…I’ve read all the entries and still can’t find the MAC CustomEffects ffx files. I understand your Mac install directions, but can’t find the CustomEffects mac version.

    regards

    Brian McGovern said this February 19th, 2008 at 16:03

  31. It’s included in the regular zip file. You should find polyCE file (for windows) and XML and FFX that are meant for manual installations for Mac. You’d be glad to hear that I’m developing new installation software what will work on both - Mac and PC. Stay tuned!

    Maltaannon said this February 19th, 2008 at 18:02

  32. The only files in my download are a pscei.exe, a zlib.dll file and a read me txt file unless your speaking about the files in the 3DShapeExtruder download.

    Thx

    Brian McGovern said this February 21st, 2008 at 15:48

  33. The file you’ve downloaded is a installer package - a piece of software to install polyCE files. If you want to get some of my CustomEffects you have to download them separately from tutorial detail page.

    Maltaannon said this February 21st, 2008 at 17:44

  34. Hi there,
    I downloaded the file and open it, but i didnt see an XML file in it? i just did it 20 minuets ago?what shell i do than???????
    thanks

    seth said this February 21st, 2008 at 17:52

  35. Oops!
    just read the last message and i understand someone else had my problem. So now i know what to do. Thanks again

    seth said this February 21st, 2008 at 17:59

  36. Are the custom effects mainly for using with AE CS3 or can it be used with older versions?

    Romeo said this February 25th, 2008 at 0:32

  37. They are meant for CS2 and CS3. Did not check it with 6.5, but even if they’d work, I’m making my presets with CS2 or CS3, so I think they wouldn’t open in any other version.

    Maltaannon said this February 25th, 2008 at 0:41

  38. Thanks for these effects - looking forward to see how you make them. I’m getting an error message using the install program “Invalid procedure call or argument” I have downloaded the basic files, that didn’t seem to help. I can install manually, but . . .

    Brian said this March 22nd, 2008 at 16:53

  39. Hey! Please help!! I have a big question…Im woorry about what can happen if I pasted the file “3D ShapeExtruder” in the “PresetEffects.xml” it can affect the program AE CS3????

    aDriAn said this March 23rd, 2008 at 3:11

  40. I wanna use your tool for my presets, how long does it take, till u publish it here on your site ??

    Eassay said this March 30th, 2008 at 23:11

  41. dude im using cs3 after effects. i installed your custom effect pixel sampler manually and when i use it i drag it on to the window to make a new layer. thats fine but when i got to expand the pixel sample field it doesn’t show the boarder of the field the color changes but i cant see the out side of the field to position it.

    Pumpus said this May 5th, 2008 at 14:20

  42. i also downloaded the custom effects installer. i drag a polyce file (pixel sampler) on to it. it boots and then says (9 Subscript out of range) and idea how to fix?

    Pumpus said this May 5th, 2008 at 14:22

  43. hey i read this through a fue time tryed it and still really confused on ho to do this please help me and all so can you do the same thing with illustrator brushes?

    please i feel stupied but can you make it in to a tutorial

    michael said this May 11th, 2008 at 8:18

  44. does this Custom Effects Installer work with Vista? I’ve downloaded the runtime libraries, unRARed it, and when i go to open the program, it crashes and says “Invalid Picture”?? Any help would be appreciated as i’m very confused

    Teri928 said this May 18th, 2008 at 19:37

  45. Uuuu…. sounds strange. Can’t help you with Vista. Vista baaaaaad. But I’ve got some good news. Soon there will be new and cross-platform installer. Be patient. If you want you can test it on Vista. That would help me a lot.

    Maltaannon said this May 18th, 2008 at 21:15

  46. thats cool dude. yes you are right vista blows getting a new computer with xp yay their next os better be good or we wont be able to run the new programs as xp might not be compatible as will be “old”. ahh remember windows 95 them be the days i will try and test the new one out for you

    Pumpus said this May 22nd, 2008 at 0:36

  47. Thanks for the presets buddy. I have downloaded timeshuffle and im going to give it a go now. If I may say, it is pretty complicated to get your way around downloading stuff from this site, as everything is hidden in different places.
    But mostly, THANK YOU!

    cHEECH said this June 5th, 2008 at 13:24

  48. Hey Maltaannon just wanted to say thanks for the killer tutorials and presets, I use them often and they have made my life much easier, dropped some coin in your box, please keep up the fantastic work!

    Also - this is one more request for a tutorial on how you make these presets, I’ve been getting better and better with expressions over the past year and finding an easy way to make some of my custom controllers and expressions based effects more portable would make my life a whole lot easier. Again, thanks man, you rock.

    jiveon said this June 13th, 2008 at 6:10

  49. Thanks for the cool plugin. Unfortunately, I tried to use it with CS2 (AE7) and got the message, “created with a newer version of AE, time to upgrage.” I guess I’ll have to wait to use it.

    Mitch said this June 27th, 2008 at 17:01

  50. Sorry. Most of CEs are build for CS3. But there is a new one coming soon. Will work in CS2 as well.

    Maltaannon said this June 27th, 2008 at 18:00

  51. You’re the ULTIMATE Avatar. GOD BLESSED YOU!!!

    Bowie Presto said this July 9th, 2008 at 22:44

  52. Hey man, 10x! i should have seen that plug sooner! :) but its going to make my work much more creative now.
    take alook of how much it would have helped me on is project.
    http://www.hellanimation.com/SHTIL_master-noend2.wmv
    10x again Amit

    Amit said this July 19th, 2008 at 16:24

  53. YES！I LIKE IT！！I come from china.I use AE CS3,Download your presets,In accordance with the above tips to install CUSTOMEFFECTS,Always unsuccessful….

    CS3 Tips:”Undefined value used in expression.Could be an rang array subscript? Expression disabled.”

    Oh~~My God!!Help me plzzzzzzz~~

    Sorry,My poor English….谢谢您了，帮一下我吧.

    zhaocge said this July 26th, 2008 at 17:32

  54. i need some soft of adobe after affectes plugings

    rafi_shilpe said this July 27th, 2008 at 10:03

  55. YES！I LIKE IT！！I come from china.I use AE CS3,Download your presets,In accordance with the above tips to install CUSTOMEFFECTS,Always unsuccessful….

    CS3 Tips:”Undefined value used in expression.Could be an rang array subscript? Expression disabled.”

    Oh~~My God!!Help me plzzzzzzz~~

    Sorry,My poor English….谢谢您了，帮一下我吧.

    zhaocge said this July 29th, 2008 at 3:04

  56. perfect,great!
    I come frome china,I downloaded your shapeextrude plug-in and
    used AE CS3,I installed CUSTOMEFFECTS above,unsuccessful always,and no option box you metion.
    Error
    :”Undefined value used in expression.Could be an rang array subscript? Expression disabled.”please help me,thanks,
    By the way,what does “CEShapeExtruder.polyCE” work?

    xuli said this July 29th, 2008 at 7:06

  57. Hi Maltaannon sorry for answer, where i can download the package for mac??

    luca said this August 9th, 2008 at 11:57

  58. it was ok
    sorry

    luca said this August 9th, 2008 at 12:00

  59. [...] is new cross-platform version of the CustomEffects Installer available. Now you can easily install custom expression-based presets on both Windows and Mac. Make [...]

    aefreemart : CustomEffects now work on Mac said this August 20th, 2008 at 19:01

  60. i’d be happy to start broadcasting the news about the new standard in preset-deployment! cant wait for the download to be available, since i really dont know how to make these things otherwise.

    keep up the good work!

    Monroe E. "tequilaman2006" said this August 21st, 2008 at 4:46

  61. [...] packed into a single group so it looks like a regular plug-in. For more on CustomEffects click here. posted at 9:02 am by JD [...]

    Motionworks » Polygon Studio releases “Light Wrap” said this August 24th, 2008 at 0:03

  62. Hi really confused just found this site and th extruder is exactly what i need but can’t seemto down load it install it or anything???? i get this ceShapeExtruder which is 2kb but i cant put it anywhere in Aftereffects cs3 ther is no preseteffects.xml file etc what do i do

    Mark said this August 30th, 2008 at 10:08

  63. there is a introduction video on this site. read it, watch it.

    Maltaannon said this August 30th, 2008 at 17:06

  64. tried it with vista. the installer works so I got the customeffects installer running. But when I try to place the CEShapeExtruder polyCE file on the app it gives me the message: Failed: error #2058. Since you’ve build this software can you tell me what this error means? And if it can be solved.

    F.vG said this September 2nd, 2008 at 14:59

  65. I’ve noticed some problems on Vista lately. I’m working on it. Error #2058 stands for “There was an error decompressing the data”. I wasn’t expecting that. First make sure you are running on the Administrator account. This Application unpacks the content of polyCE files to a temporary location. Maybe it has no privileges do to so… I’m just guessing. The issue is being worked on. Sorry for the inconvenience.

    Maltaannon said this September 2nd, 2008 at 15:56

  66. I have a video box not connected to the internet. Is there a downloadable version of your installer available?

    DCB said this September 4th, 2008 at 23:57

  67. [...] You’ll find more information including a video tutorial in which Maltaannon shows how to create a light wrap effect from scratch here. CustomEffects are Adobe After Effects Animation Presets with all the controllers packed into a single group so it looks like a regular plug-in. For more on CustomEffects click here. [...]

    Polygon Studio releases “Light Wrap” : Motionworks said this September 5th, 2008 at 7:31

  68. Hi man, really cool tutorials and plugins… thanks for all the time you invest in this stuff - it really makes a difference!

    I just bought the lightwrap CE and the installer seemed to install fine. When I try and install the CE file it asks me to browse for my after effects installation which I do just like in the video - after effects CS£ folder not support files or anything. I hit OK and it just takes me straight back to the installer, no message, nothing at all happens…? I’m running vista 32bit.

    Any suggestions would be much appreciated

    Keep up the good work…

    Duncan Rudd said this September 18th, 2008 at 21:48

  69. I have the same Error #2058. In Vista I can give a program full privlages by running it by right-clicking it and clicking Run As Administrator. However once I do that I can no longer drag and drop the *.polyCE files. Can you put in an import file menu?

    ThePagemaster said this September 18th, 2008 at 22:22

  70. The installer for the CustomEffects just doesn’t work for me. It keeps saying (from Adobe Flash) “A download error occurred. Try to download again?”.

    Andrew Chan said this September 19th, 2008 at 1:15

  71. Some people have reported the same issue on Vista. Seems like it’s Adobe AIR not being fully compatible with it. I wanted to make everything easier for you guys and it seems like I only made it worse. Sorry for that. This issue is being resolved.

    Maltaannon said this September 19th, 2008 at 2:11

  72. I found the solution. I was messing with the time a few days ago check the date. You MUST set the time CORRECTLY for the installation or it won’t work.

    Andrew Chan said this September 19th, 2008 at 2:49

  73. Please is there a 56k download link without Adobe Air, that i have already installed? Thanks

    yoghi said this October 15th, 2008 at 12:03

  74. Saw your vid and its great..but I donthave the folder to install
    the preset..path sohws this

    C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects CS3\Support Files\Preset\

    When I select this path I get an error that its not the correct folder

    will said this October 17th, 2008 at 15:36

  75. Because it’s not. It should be C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects CS3\

    Maltaannon said this October 17th, 2008 at 19:40

  76. [...] 我们都使用预置。他们是非常强大和易于使用。但有时，当有许多表达参与控制它开始变得非常混乱。所以，CustomEffects 应运而生。 CustomEffects 是标准预置但是它看起来像一个预置插件。 [...]

    Polygon Studio CustomEffects Installer - 微兰空气 said this October 23rd, 2008 at 21:57

  77. I’m having the same issue as Duncan Rudd. Trying to install 3d extruder, select my after effects cs3 folder,and it returns me to the installer….and keeps doing that. If i select a different folder it has an install error, as expected.

    Dennis Leppell said this November 3rd, 2008 at 20:24

  78. Make sure there are read&write permissions set to the Adobe folder and to the file as well. It’s all in the tutorial at the top of this page.

    Maltaannon said this November 3rd, 2008 at 20:33

  79. still doesn’t work. just tell us how to do it manually without adobe AIR, please

    dex said this November 8th, 2008 at 18:30

  80. You can’t do it manually anymore. I had cases like that before. It was always system settings or similar thing that was causing the problem. You can look up Creative Cow. There are few of my CEs there - the old versions that still allow manual installation.

    Maltaannon said this November 8th, 2008 at 20:14

  81. HELP!!!
    when i try the instaler, gets me an error that sais that the air version its older, and ask me to get a newer version…but im pretty shure that i have the latest from adobe air…help!

    qsalas said this November 11th, 2008 at 4:25

  82. Uninstall AIR and install it again. This sometimes happens, if you had AIR beta installed. You might not even know you have, so reinstalling is the best practice.

    Maltaannon said this November 11th, 2008 at 12:20

  83. perfet respectmen

    ruben said this November 11th, 2008 at 21:14

  84. Hi
    Can’t get the installer to work. It stops immediately with an error 2032.
    Any thoughts?

    By the way - your tutorials are really fantastic and it’s a joy to see how you work and the beautiful solutions to complex problems that you come up with.

    Chris Standley said this November 18th, 2008 at 16:07

  85. Regarding my last post. I got this working by reinstalling Java. Installed fine then.
    Thanks again for your great work.

    Chris Standley said this November 20th, 2008 at 21:13

  86. a download error occured !!! ive done all the steps , ive got adobe air and checked my properties for the xml file and there not checked but my xml file is on d: drive if that matters
    help please

    jimmy said this November 23rd, 2008 at 21:08

  87. THE DATE HAS TO BE Current .. i finally got 3d extruder setup correctly
    THanks so much for your great tutorials.

    jimmy said this November 23rd, 2008 at 21:46

  88. Well My time is current up today month and year and minutes. not sure about seconds. anyways it still says AIR is causing a problem.

    John said this November 26th, 2008 at 0:20

  89. If it’s Vista make sure not only the file privileges are correct, but also Adobe folders. That causes problems, but is easily fixed.

    Maltaannon said this November 26th, 2008 at 0:53

  90. Well for me the Custom Effects Installer at the top of the page wont even load. It says I need a newer version of AIR but I know its current.

    John said this November 28th, 2008 at 3:47

  91. What about Adobe folders? I dont even get that far to chose a directory

    John said this November 28th, 2008 at 3:48

  92. for some reason i cant install the plug in i have your installer but everytime i choose OK on the adobe after effects folder the directory box just disappears and nothing happens. any idea on how to fix this?

    dan said this November 28th, 2008 at 10:32

  93. Adobe folders, Adobe folders, ADOBE FOLDERS PEOPLE!…. Phef… I’m ok now. Sorry. There are few things that might help. It’s all in the comments above.
    1) Check your system date. For some reason when it’s incorect AIR fails
    2) Check permissions to the PresetEffects.xml file
    3) Check permissions to the Adobe folder in the Program Files
    4) If nothing else helps uninstall AIR and install it again.

    Maltaannon said this November 28th, 2008 at 10:46

  94. Vista and After Effects CS4:
    When the ceInstaller does not seem to work, try next:
    1) Start ceInstaller as an Administrator.
    2) Fastclick twice on the polyCE file you downloaded to your HD (dragging and dropping does not work).
    3) The button on the ceInstaller will turn to green.
    4) Click on Install, point to the Adobe After Effects CS4 folder and click on OK.
    5) The ceInstaller will install the polyCE file now.

    This worked for me.

    JRS said this December 21st, 2008 at 17:14

  95. Failed Error #3001:
    Applications/Adobe After effects CS3/Adobe After effects CS3.app/Contents/Resources/preseteffects.xml

    am i selecting the right directory?

    sharky said this December 21st, 2008 at 21:26

  96. This is correct path to set the Read/Write privilages for the file, but when ceInstaller asks you “where your AE is installed” please choose /Applications/Adobe After effects CS3/

    Maltaannon said this December 22nd, 2008 at 10:09

  97. Hey maltaannon, just purchased MILG5 great stuff love it, keep up the good work. I was pleased to see the custom effects as a bonus too & finally got there with the installer & Vista :)

    Matt said this December 27th, 2008 at 12:19

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