To illustrate the problem: Imagine you are working on a TV promo. You have a main composition that contains dozens of smaller pre-comps—one for the intro logo, one for each text lower third, and several for video clips. Normally, when you duplicate the master comp to create a version for Episode 2, the text in the lower thirds and the video clips remain connected to the original episode. Changing the text for Episode 2 would inadvertently change Episode 1. Fixing this manually requires digging through the project panel, finding every single sub-comp, manually duplicating them, and then meticulously replacing the layers inside the new comp. This process is extremely tedious, time-consuming, and prone to errors.
To solve this, motion designers rely on , a legendary script created by scriptwriter Mike over at Astute Graphics (originally hosted on Aescripts + aeplugins). This script duplicates a composition along with all of its nested pre-compositions, automatically updating the expressions and links so everything remains independent. True Comp Duplicator Script Free Download
If you find yourself repeatedly fighting with linked comps in your daily workflow, installing this script will be one of the best quality-of-life improvements you can make for your editing setup. To illustrate the problem: Imagine you are working
Ensure that the "Update Expressions" box was checked before you clicked duplicate. If your expressions use highly complex, non-standard string methods to find layer names, the script might occasionally miss them, requiring a manual fix. Changing the text for Episode 2 would inadvertently
Download your copy, install it, and start streamlining your workflow today.
: Creates a complete copy of a composition and all its nested sub-comps. Any changes made to the duplicate will not affect the original version. Smart Reference Handling