[Eric Chard]

Yeah, because of the particular nature of the POSITION attribute, and the way the user interacts with masks being ambiguous to the application, locking POSITION out would be nice.

I’m on AE7, so a little behind the times…

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“Putting the HARM in ‘harmonica’ since 2005.”
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[Eric Chard]

Using the eyeball switch makes it very hard to select the mask nodes (it deselects the mask), I think I’ll try using OPACITY at a very low level instead.

[Eric Chard]

Thanks, intriguing ideas.

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“Putting the HARM in ‘harmonica’ since 2005.”
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[Eric Chard]

FWIW, I just did this myself w/AE7 and had no problems.

Verify in a browser that your GIF is valid.

If it is, try bringing it into PS or ImageReady and RE-exporting it.

In PS (CS2) you have to go through the SAVE TO WEB to make an actual animating GIF, otherwise it only saves one frame.

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“Putting the HARM in ‘harmonica’ since 2005.”
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[Eric Chard]

Especially if the user keeps the layers as “Smart Objects” so they don’t lose resolution.

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“Putting the HARM in ‘harmonica’ since 2005.”
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[Eric Chard]

Ha! Answering my own post: Here’s where USERS should bitch and moan to software designers about the little UI things that trip one up:

There’s a VERY easy way to crop using the existing AR, but it is hidden by BAD UI DESIGN. The button is “Front Image” in the Crop Tool options bar.

What this does is expand the crop marquees to the full size of the image, and keeps them in this AR as you size them. Fantastic! Just what I needed! BUT….

The button label sucks. For all I know, Adobe has changed it since PS7, but in PS7 the label gives users very little hint as to the button’s actual function. For one thing “Front”?? That implies there’s a “Rear Image” somewhere (AFAIK, there isn’t).

Anyway, if you consistently and politely call these little things to software producers’ attention, we all get a better product and often you can get beta tester status. So send in those comments! Don’t be shy! If it’s an issue w/you, chances are it’s an issue for somebody else, maybe thousands of users.

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“Putting the HARM in ‘harmonica’ since 2005.”
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[Eric Chard]

Not the issue. These are all the same format, no layers, identical.

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“Putting the HARM in ‘harmonica’ since 2005.”
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[Eric Chard]

When using the options bar and specifiying the dimensions, there doesn’t seem to be a way to TURN OFF THE RESAMPLING. While the crop tool is restricted to the aspect ratio the user enters, the area is resampled to those dimensions.

So, is there a way to turn off the resampling?

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“Putting the HARM in ‘harmonica’ since 2005.”
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[Eric Chard]

Indeed, and thanks!, although it’s pretty FRIKKIN annoying that the IMAGE/CALCULATIONS command is ghosted if two alpha channels are selected. (grrrrrrr)

WUWT, Adobe???

[Eric Chard]

Oh, I see: you can do it IF you make the OM template in the Render Queue window, using the “Make Template” selection in the dropdown list. But the “Edit/Templates/Output Module” main menu doesn’t have a “post render action” choice. Hmmm, bad design, that.

I guess I’ll be making all my OM templates through the Render Queue window.

Thanks dude. Are you at CH.13?