Prefs Property Keys

Table 2: Property keys in templater-options.json for adjusting Templater preferences

Key Name	Type	Default	Description	Notes
default_target	String	empty	The name of the composition to version and process for output
fix_layer_exp	Boolean	`false`	Sets whether Templater fixes references in layer expressions when replicating comps	Depending on the complexity of your project, setting this to `true` could slow down the versioning process.
missing_footage	Integer	`3`	Specifies how Templater handles faulty footage references made in the spreadsheet Values for this key can be any of the following: 0 - "ask me what to do" 1 - "let me find the footage asset" 2 - "skip the row" 3 - "use my branded placeholder" 4 - "cancel the process"	Integer values correspond to the position of the choices in the drop down menu in the preferences dialog within the Footage group. To avoid interruptions, do not set to 0 or 1. See Handling Faulty Footage References and Missing Footage for more information. By default, Templater uses a branded placeholder that ships with its installer.
placeholder_audio	String	empty	Specifies an absolute path to an audio file to be used when Templater cannot import a footage reference. Required when missing_footage is 3.	If your project contains audio layers mapped to footage references in your spreadsheet, use this to maintain the integrity of your batch output tasks.
placeholder_visual	String	empty	Specifies an absolute path to a video file to be used when Templater cannot import to an image or video source file referenced in the data source	If your project contains image or video layers mapped to footage references in your spreadsheet, use this to maintain the integrity of your batch output tasks.
replica_comps_to_ame	Boolean	`false`	Specifies whether Templater saves a copy of the current After Effects project file when a target comp is versioned and replicated with data	Copies of the project file get stored in the location found in Templater's output location field. You can add that path as an Adobe Media Encoder (AME) watch folder to have it handle rendering. See Rendering a Batch of Replicas Using Adobe Media Encoder for more information.
replica_comps_to_queue	Boolean	`false`	Specifies whether Templater should load a replicated composition into the After Effects render queue
remove_templater_effects	Boolean	`false`	Specifies whether or not to remove the Templater Settings effects from all dynamic layers within an AEP file that is replicated if the property `replica_comps_to_ame` is `true`.	Previously, property was `remove_replicas_ame` in Templater 2 (property now deprecated). This property is renamed in Templater 3. Can be used to render AEP replicas in conjunction with Adobe Media Encoder or the command line `aerender`.
import_data_as_json	Boolean	`false`	Specifies whether or not to import Templater's job and batch data as JSON footage files within the After Effects Project panel.	Warning: this is an experimental feature. Enabling this option will cause an error dialog that requires user interaction to dismiss if the structure of the imported JSON file changes from job to job. See warnings on Using Templater Data in Expressions (Referencing data parameters from Templater's JSON footage).
tsv_from_excel	Boolean	`false`	Specifies whether the TSV (tab-separated value) file read by Templater was exported from either Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers	If you are seeing unexpected results in your text layers, change this setting to see if it fixes the issue.
suppress_ae_dialogs	Boolean	`true`	Specifies whether Templater suppresses any notice, warning, or error dialogs that After Effects might assert during use	This should be left alone unless you are troubleshooting issues you are encountering with Templater. Further, this setting only helps troubleshoot issues you might encounter within the graphical user interface of After Effects.
use_engine_layout	Boolean	`true`	Specifies whether Templater uses its internal layout engine logic.	When set to false Templater's layout logic will not execute. Use this to rely on expression-based layouts.
use_engine_time	Boolean	`true`	Specifies whether Templater uses its internal Time Sculpting logic.	When set to false Templater's Time Sculpting rules will not execute.
purge_caches	Boolean	`false`	Specifies whether Templater should purge all caches after each job it processes	Set this to true if you are finding that during batch processing Templater consumes too much RAM over time.
silence_logging	Boolean	`false`	Specifies whether Templater should silence all logging output	This should normally never bet set to true. You should really only use this if you are processing large batches and want Templater to skip logging in order to speed up processing.
unique_downloads	Boolean	`false`	Specifies if Templater should download cloud-based footage references to unique files	Turn this on to ensure you will get a unique download for every footage reference listed in the data source.
empty_is_faulty	Boolean	`true`	Specifies how Templater should regard empty or null cell values when mapped to footage layers	If enabled, empty cell and null values are treated as faulty footage references if the data is mapped to a footage layers. Enabling this invokes the selected action found in the "missing_footage" property above.
bot	Object	{...}	A group of keys used for configuring The Bot for Templater. See Bot Property Keys for details on specific properties.	The keys in this group refer to the "Bot Settings" area of the Templater Preferences panel.
spot_checking	Object	{...}	A group of keys for setting up Templater's Spot Checking feature
spot_checking.spot_samples	Integer	`3`	The number of Spot Checks you want Templater to render when no markers exist in a target composition	Higher numbers mean more spot checks are exported for each job.
spot_checking.on_render	Boolean	`false`	Specifies if Templater should export spot checks when batching rendering
spot_checking.on_replicate	Boolean	`false`	Specifies if Templater should export spot checks when batch replicating
spot_checking.render_settings	String	`"Best Settings"`	The AE render settings template used when exporting spot checks
spot_checking.output_module	String	`"Photoshop"`	The AE output module template used when exporting spot checks	For single-frame timeline markers, it is preferable to use sequence output modules like Photoshop, PNG, TIFF, JPG, etc. For timeline markers with duration, use video output modules like .MOV or .AVI.
que	Object	{...}	A group of keys for setting up Templater's integration with Dataclay QUE. See Property Keys for details on specific properties.	You can control Campaign Job filter settings and satellite settings. See Que Property Keys for more documentation.
remote_json	Object	{...}	A group of keys for setting up Basic Authentication and additional headers for remote JSON data sources
remote_json.username	String	empty	The user name for a remote JSON data source that is secured with Basic Authentication.
remote_json.password	String	empty	The password for a remote JSON data source that is secured with Basic Authentication
remote_json.headers	Object	{}	A group of keys that specify any additional headers needed for access a remote JSON data source	You can add any header to the request that Templater makes to a server that responds with a properly formatted JSON object array. Enter the header name for any property key, and the header content for that property's value.