AFTER EFFECTS 2025+ · NOTHING JUMPS, ONE UNDO
Precompose to exactly what your layers cover, in one click.
Select your layers and click once. The new comp fits what they actually cover, plus your padding, and nothing jumps, so you can keep animating instead of fixing comp sizes.
01 / THE CHORE
You wanted a logo-sized precomp. You got 1920×1080.
Pre-compose a shape layer, a line of text or several layers at once, and After Effects makes the new comp the full size of the one you're in. Cropping it by hand means drawing a region of interest, cropping the comp, nudging the precomp layer back into place in the main comp, and scrubbing to check nothing got cut off as it moves. Then again for the next one.
// what you do today, per precomp // Layer > Pre-compose, Move all // attributes: full comp size // open it, draw a region of interest // Composition > Crop Comp to // Region of Interest // back in the main comp, nudge the // layer until nothing has moved // scrub: did anything get cut off? // Smart Pre-Compose crops to what // the layers cover, plus padding, // and sets the precomp layer in place.
02 / HOW IT WORKS
One field, one button.
Select the layers
One layer or several, in the comp you have open. Selected cameras and lights stay in the main comp.
YOU GET
Only what you selected goes inside.
01
Set the padding
Extra room around the layers as a percentage of their size. The default of 10 gives a comp 110% of the content.
YOU GET
Room for strokes and motion, without guessing comp sizes.
02
Click Precompose to Bounds
The new comp is cropped to what the layers actually cover, on whole-pixel edges, and sits exactly where the layers were.
YOU GET
A tight precomp, and nothing jumps on screen.
03
Read what changed
The panel lists anything it had to adjust, such as a parent link it had to cut. A group that includes 3D layers is precomposed at full size instead.
YOU GET
No silent surprises later, and one undo puts it all back.
04
03 / USE CASES
One layer or a whole group.
One animated layer
A logo flies across the frame. Its position, rotation and opacity move onto the precomp layer, keyframes and all, so the comp fits the logo, not the path it travels. If a layer can't be split safely, its movement stays inside instead.
A group of layers
A title, a shape and a null animate together. The crop is measured across their whole animation, not just the current frame. Nulls and guide layers come along but don't make the comp bigger.
Pixels of shift across every in-place test.
Each in-place test reads the layers' corners with After Effects' own toComp(), before and after, so the check doesn't rely on the plugin's own maths. Rotated, scaled, parented and animated layers, and a 3D layer seen through a camera, all came back at 0.0000 px in After Effects 2025.
04 / DETAIL
Built for real comps.
Placement
Nothing jumps
Rotation, scale, parenting and strokes are all taken into account, so layers stay where they were on screen. Position expressions are kept as written.
Strokes
Room for the whole stroke
A 200×100 rectangle with a 20 px stroke gives a 220×120 comp at 0% padding. Stars and drawn paths get extra room for sharp corners.
Pixels
Whole-pixel edges
Crop edges snap outward to whole pixels, so no partial pixel is cut off. When several layers go in, they move by whole pixels only, so pixel-aligned artwork stays on the grid.
3D
3D stays 3D
One 3D layer usually gets a small precomp that still looks through your camera. A group with 3D layers is precomposed at full size and stays in 3D.
Undo
One undo step
The whole run, including any parent links it had to cut, is one undo step: Edit › Undo Smart Pre-Compose.
Notes
It tells you what changed
The panel lists what else changed, such as parent links it cut and expressions on the moved layers that name a layer left behind. It also flags effects and layer styles, like glows and shadows, that may need more padding.
05 / WHAT YOU GET
Everything in one download.
The Smart Pre-Compose panel, as a .zxp installer
A personal licence key for one computer
Free updates for every 1.x version
Direct support: reply to your receipt email
REQUIREMENTS
Does it work with 3D layers?
Yes, with limits. A single 3D layer usually gets a small cropped precomp that stays 3D and still looks through your camera. It's sized at the layer's own scale, so a camera that pushes in close can make it look soft, and extruded text or shapes come out flat. Several 3D layers get a full-size precompose that stays in your 3D scene. Precompose 2D and 3D layers separately. Cameras and lights stay in the main comp.
What happens to parents and expressions?
With one layer selected, the precomp layer usually keeps its parent. With several, or when a single layer can't be split (a track matte or adjustment layer, for example), a parent you didn't select stays in the main comp: the layers keep their place at the current frame but stop following it. The panel lists every parent link it cut and flags expressions on the moved layers that name a layer left behind. Expressions in the main comp that point at the moved layers aren't checked.
Will glows and shadows get cut off?
They can. The crop follows the layers' own bounds, not effects or layer styles that spread past them. The panel names those layers, so you can undo, raise the padding and run it again.
Which versions of After Effects are supported?
After Effects 2025 and newer.
Is it a subscription?
No. You pay once, and every 1.x update is free.
How do I install it?
Install the free ZXP Installer from aescripts, drag in the .zxp file, restart After Effects, and open Window › Extensions › STRAT Smart Pre-Compose. Paste your licence key and click Activate. Moving to a new computer later? While online, click Deactivate this computer in the panel on the old one, then click again to confirm.
What if something doesn't work?
One undo (Edit › Undo Smart Pre-Compose) puts the comp back as it was. Then reply to your receipt email and tell us what happened.
Smart Pre-Compose
Precomps that fit, in one click.
Tight precomps in one click, and one undo if you change your mind.
Get Smart Pre-Compose
$13.99
One-time payment · 1 computer · free 1.x updates · local taxes added at checkout