Project creation

Create your project in After Effects as you normally would — no special requirements or setup needed. You have full control over the look and behavior of your template.

If you are just getting started we recommend checking our After Effects best practices to make your project easier to manage, edit and reuse.

Few things to keep in mind:

Maximum length and dimensions of the template are determined by your subscription.
You can use any fonts you like. We support OTF, TTF, and TTC font formats.
You can use 3D layers and any native After Effects effect.
You can’t use paid plugins or third-party plugins.
You can’t have more than 2,000 asset files in your project.
An asset file name should not include any non-supported chars: < (less than), > (greater than), : (colon), " (double quote), / (forward slash), \ (backslash), | (pipe) and ? (question mark).
Any hidden file in a project ZIP will be ignored.
The compressed size of a project should not exceed 1GB.
The uncompressed size of a project should not exceed 4GB.

Plainly currently supports After Effects versions from 2023 to 2025, and it will automatically detect the version of the project you are trying to upload. In case you upload a project in a version that is not supported, the auto-upgrade process will start, trying to convert the project to the latest supported version.

Upload project to Plainly

The first step to using your After Effects project in Plainly is packaging it with all the required files. You can do this by using the Plainly Videos plugin in After Effects or by manually collecting the project files.

Once your project is packaged, the second step is to upload it to Plainly.

Packaging

To upload your project, you need to package it into a zip file. This zip file should contain all the necessary files, including the After Effects project file, any assets used in the project, and any fonts used in the project.

The zip file should have the following structure:

- project.aep
- - assetUsed.png
  - anotherAssetUsed.mp4
- - Poppins-Medium.ttf

We recommend using the plugin to package your project. It will automatically gather all the necessary files, fonts and assets and create a zip file for you. This is the easiest and the most reliable method.

Package via plugin

Packaging your project via the plugin is the easiest way to do it. The plugin will automatically gather all the necessary files, fonts and assets and create a zip file for you. Follow the instructions in the plugin section.

Plugin also supports direct upload to Plainly. Giving you the option to skip the packaging step.

Package via Collect Files

If you are not using the plugin, you will need to package your project manually. This involves collecting all the necessary files and creating a zip file.

Collect files in After Effects

In After Effects, go to File > Dependencies > Collect Files. This will open the Collect Files dialog similar to the one below.

Click on Collect button. Select the folder where you want to save the collected files. This can be any folder on your computer.

Collect fonts

Collect all fonts used in the project. Copy and paste them into the newly created folder with the collected files.

Once the collection is complete, your folder structure should look similar to the one below:

- project.aep
- - assetUsed.png
  - anotherAssetUsed.mp4
- - Poppins-Medium.ttf

Create a zip file

Select all the files and folders in the folder you just created and compress them into a zip file.

Font management

As stated in Terms of Service, any content you upload, including the fonts, must be your own, or you must have the right to use it. Plainly is not responsible for any copyright infringement.

In order for Plainly to render your text layers correctly, you need to include all used fonts in the .zip that you upload.

You should be aware of the following rules and limitations:

Only fonts in .ttf or .otf formats are supported, as well as font collection .ttc files.
Variable fonts are supported.
Fonts used in non-visible or guide layers are not required to be included in the .zip file.

Once you upload a project .zip file to Plainly, we will analyze the project and check if all fonts are included correctly. In case of a missing font, the analysis will fail. The failure message will contain the list of missing fonts, in order to help you fix the issue.

Extra fonts

You can also include extra fonts in the zip file. These fonts will then be available for you to use with Layer management script, allowing you to change the font of any text layer in your project. This is useful if you want to use a different font for a specific text layer during rendering, without having to change the font in the After Effects project.

Font references

You can also reference fonts from URLs when invoking a render. This is useful if you are using a font that is hosted on a CDN or a font service like Google Fonts. In this case, you don’t need to include the font in the zip file. Just make sure that the font is available at the URL you are referencing.

Read more about usage of the font and fontUrl parameters in the Layer Management section.

Uploading

Once you have packaged your project into a zip file, you can upload it to Plainly. There are three methods to do this: via the plugin, API or on the platform.

Upload via plugin

The easiest way to upload your project is via the plugin. The plugin will automatically upload your project to Plainly, and you can start using it right away. Follow the instructions in the plugin section to upload your project.

Upload using the web app

Head over to the Upload project page in the Plainly. Fill in the project details and select the zip file you just created. Click on the Upload button to start the upload process. Once the upload is done, you will be redirected to Project details page.

Upload via API

You can also upload your project using the Plainly API. This is useful if you want to automate the upload process or if you are using a custom tool to manage your projects. Check out the API documentation for more information on how to do this.

FAQ

What’s the easiest way to upload a project?

Using the Plainly Videos plugin is the easiest and most reliable method. It automatically gathers all necessary files, fonts, and assets and uploads them for you.

Can I use any fonts in my After Effects project?

Yes, you can use any fonts you like. We support OTF, TTF, and TTC font formats. All font files should be included in the project zip file you upload.

Are 3D layers and After Effects effects supported?

Yes, 3D layers and all native After Effects effects are fully supported by Plainly. However, Cinema 4D and Advanced 3D is not supported.

Can I use third-party or paid plugins in my project?

Third-party and paid plugins are supported on our enterprise plans. You need to contact us first so we can check if plugin is compatible.

For all other plans, we recommend using native After Effects effects and features.