Manual duplication breaks expressions that reference specific layer names or composition names. True Comp Duplicator reads the code inside your expressions, identifies references to the old composition names, and rewrites them on the fly to match your new composition names. 3. Keeps Project Panels Spotless
Download it today at aescripts + aeplugins and stop worrying about nested composition links!
: Updates expressions within the duplicated layers to ensure they refer to the new, duplicated compositions rather than the old ones. Hierarchy Preservation
The legend of the True Comp Duplicator began in the dimly lit offices of an overworked motion designer named Elias. Elias was trapped in "Pre-comp Purgatory"—a recursive dimension where changing a single text layer in one composition broke forty others simultaneously.
To get the absolute most out of True Comp Duplicator, keep these quick tips in mind:
If you're interested, I can compare this tool with other .
Managing complex compositions in Adobe After Effects often leads to a major bottleneck: duplicating a composition does not duplicate the pre-compositions inside it. If you change a text layer or a color in the duplicated comp, it changes in the original comp too.
Choose how many levels deep the script should look for pre-comps.
For many professionals, the True Comp Duplicator is considered the "best" because it seamlessly integrates into a high-efficiency workflow. It is invaluable for visual effects and motion graphics, or for efficiently creating episode-based deliverables from a master template. Its ability to automate the tedious process of manually linking and unlinking nested assets can save hours or even days on a large project.
: You can choose to preserve your existing project folder structure or have the new comps placed into a dedicated folder. Pricing and "Free" Status
Do you need to automate changes across , or just a few?
It removes the need for manual, tedious re-naming and re-linking of nested comps.
A true comp duplicator is a plugin or script designed to accurately duplicate compositions in Adobe After Effects. This means that it can replicate all the layers, settings, and properties of a composition, allowing you to create multiple versions of a comp with ease. This can be incredibly useful for various applications, such as:
The you are building (e.g., templates, character animation, UI mockups) Any other bottlenecks slowing down your current workflow
Go to Format and ensure the file is set to "Plain Text".
At its heart, After Effects has a logic that is both a strength and a source of frustration. When you create a project, you often build pre-comps —nested sequences that contain all the details of a specific element, like a text placeholder or a logo animation. When you want to create a variation (e.g., version two of a commercial), you naturally duplicate the main composition. However, this does not truly duplicate the pre-comps. All your new versions will still reference the same original assets. This means changing text or colors in one version will instantly break all the others, forcing you to manually rebuild the nested structure from scratch for every new version. This is a well-known pain point that can lead to error-prone and laborious manual work.
