Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 595

Collect files in one location
The Collect Files command gathers copies of all of the files in a project or composition into a single location. This is
useful as a step before rendering, for archiving, or for moving a project to a different computer system or user
account.
When you use the Collect Files command, After Effects creates a new folder in which it saves a new copy of the
project, copies of the footage files, proxy files as specified, and a report describing the files, effects, and fonts
necessary to recreate the project and render the compositions.
After you collect files, you can continue making changes to a project, but be aware that those changes are stored with
the original project and not with the newly collected version.
Choose File > Collect Files.
1
2 In the Collect Files dialog box, choose an appropriate option for Collect Source Files.
Collects all footage files, including unused footage and proxies.
All
Collects all footage files and proxies used in any composition in the project.
For All Comps
Collects all footage files and proxies used in compositions currently selected in the Project
For Selected Comps
panel.
Collects all footage files and proxies used directly or indirectly in any of the compositions with
For Queued Comps
a Queued status in the Render Queue panel.
Copies the project to a new location without collecting any source footage.
None (Project Only)
Select other options, as appropriate:
3
Selecting this option does not copy the files and proxies.
Generate Report Only
Use this option with compositions that include proxies to specify whether you want the copy
Obey Proxy Settings
to include the current proxy settings. If this is selected, only the files used in the composition are copied. If this is not
selected, the copy contains both proxies and source files, so you can later change proxy settings in the collected
version.
Note: If you choose For Queued Comps in the Collect Source Files dialog box, After Effects uses the proxy settings from
the render settings, not the composition.
Removes all unused footage items and compositions from the collected files when the following
Reduce Project
options are chosen in the Collect Source Files menu: For All Comps, For Selected Comps, and For Queued Comps.
Change Render Output To
folder. This option ensures that you have access to your rendered files when you're rendering the project from
another computer. Note that the rendering status must be valid (Queued, Unqueued, or Will Continue) for the
output modules to render files to this folder.
Enable 'Watch Folder' Render
then initiate watch-folder rendering over a network. After Effects also includes a render control file called [project
name]_RCF.txt, which signals to watching computers that the project is available for rendering. After Effects and any
installed render engines can then render the project together across a network. (See "Set up watch-folder rendering"
on page 620.)
Maximum Number Of Machines
you want to allocate to render the collected project. Below this option, After Effects reports how many items in the
project will be rendered using more than one computer.
Use to redirect the output modules to render files to a named folder in the collected files
You can use the Collect Files command to save projects to a specified watch folder and
Use to specify the number of render engines or licensed copies of After Effects that
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