# What's new in v2.5?

## New Features in v2.5

{% embed url="<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6r82yg_POk>" %}

### **Pre-Render Groups, Clones & More**

<figure><img src="https://3790197535-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQrCmGZz5honeHZINyR%2Fuploads%2FCqTZGs7vAPrK40VTmAQg%2Fnew-v2_prerender_shadow_crop.png?alt=media&#x26;token=f922acdb-5188-4c60-bd66-e84bfdf90d86" alt="" width="317"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

After *Workflower* tackled *After Effects'* lacking organizational tools, one giant criticism always remained: *'But AE is soooo slow!!11!!1!'* Well, now not anymore: *Workflower v2.5* introduces a feature-rich [pre-rendering system](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/layer-functions/pre-rendering#pre-render), catapulting AE's performance into the 21st century!!

Pre-render groups, layers, *Precomp Clones* as well as precomps, and experience an entirely new way of working in AE! Simply click *Pre-Render* and let *Workflower* handle all the annoying file management for you.

Also: Customize the hell out of it by setting up the render format, proxy, file path and even automatically enabling that dreaded *Preserve RGB* checkbox! Kaboom!

### **Sort Project Items**

<figure><img src="https://3790197535-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQrCmGZz5honeHZINyR%2Fuploads%2Fp7TT1tWgSEfw2qwlbbfV%2Fnew-v2_sort_shadow_crop.png?alt=media&#x26;token=7125c282-d495-427c-86bc-7b77bd78121d" alt="" width="281"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Do you love constantly dragging all your comp project items into that *'Comps'* folder and all those footage items into that *'Footage'* folder? If so, this feature ain't for you! But for everyone who hates cleaning as much as I do, there's now: [*Sort Project Items*](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/main-functions/layout#sort-project-items)!

It'll sort your project items into:

* Clones
* Comps
* Footage
* Imported Projects

And for folks who see something special in some of their project items: You may exclude certain folders from sorting by setting their label to *None*. Sweeeeeet!

### **Link & Parent Masks**

<figure><img src="https://3790197535-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQrCmGZz5honeHZINyR%2Fuploads%2FbCg77gAjRSvBrdjgJYPF%2Fnew-v2_mask_shadow_Crop.png?alt=media&#x26;token=36a4c785-8704-4715-af80-9b3dae790a74" alt="" width="350"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

A long time ago, the *After Effects* *Gods* decreed that masks apply BEFORE the layer's transforms, so if you copy a mask from one layer to another with different transforms, the two masks align at the source but not in the viewer. Engraved deeply into AE’s source code, this law is eternal.

However, in a rebellious act of defiance, I’ve implemented a heretical feature: *Workflower* [links a mask from one layer to another](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/main-functions/connections#adding-linked-masks)... with all transforms intact - no matter the layers' position, even on 3D layers. And since this is done via expressions, it all updates automatically. Oh, AE Gods, have mercy on my soul...

And for those audacious enough to challenge the divine even further, you can also easily [parent a layers' mask](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/layer-functions/matting#creating-linked-masks): Execute *Create Matte* on it and *Workflower* will copy the mask to a new layer and link the old mask to the new mask, allowing you transform and parent it as only the devil himself would dare.

### Show Layer Relationships

<figure><img src="https://3790197535-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQrCmGZz5honeHZINyR%2Fuploads%2F4wq9lTsw8vN2obKhP9zP%2Fnew-v2_relationships_shadow_crop.png?alt=media&#x26;token=996696d6-94db-42c0-a6aa-087226b8fbfe" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

For years, layers have been carrying on secret affairs right under your nose. You thought you knew them - you trusted them. But every time you'd click into those effect controls, it was like finding cryptic texts on your partner's phone. 'Who is this other layer you're referencing? What do they mean to you?'

But now, with [Layer Relationships](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/main-functions/layout#show-hide-layer-relationships), *Workflower* pulls back the curtain on all those clandestine connections. Every romance, every tangled web of dependencies, revealed with brutal honesty right on the timeline.

It might be painful to uncover the truth, but isn't it better to know? Discover who your layers have really been seeing behind your back - and take back control of your timeline!

### Copy Layers across Projects

<figure><img src="https://3790197535-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQrCmGZz5honeHZINyR%2Fuploads%2F7Ca5zPHq1DIbsc6xtFl9%2Fnew-v2_copy-across_shadow_crop.png?alt=media&#x26;token=6695fe8f-0cd5-41a5-ad4f-e16e86ad06d7" alt="" width="248"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

After Effects projects have always lived in isolation, each in its own little universe. But with *Workflower's* [Global Store Comp](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/layer-functions/storing-layers#saving-global-store-comps), you can now defy the laws of AE physics, sending layers through the multiverse of projects.

It's like string theory, but for After Effects! Save layers into one of three *Global Store Comp* slots, jump into a new project, and summon them instantly. Turns out, AE universes were more intertwined than you ever imagined!

### And more!

<figure><img src="https://3790197535-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQrCmGZz5honeHZINyR%2Fuploads%2F1ti8F5yjivgE0KEClQqt%2Fnew-v2_more_shadow_black_crop.png?alt=media&#x26;token=80f525ab-99f4-41b0-a4e3-41d8236ba8ff" alt="" width="233"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

And yet, there's even more, for example:

* [Compatibility with AE 2025](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/system-requirements#software-compatibility)
* [Precompose with all expression references in your project updating](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/layer-functions/precomposing#precompose) to the new comp name
* Create [*Downwards Clones*](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/layer-functions/cloning#downwards-clone) (i.e. *Precomp Clones* grabbing all layers below)
* Quickly create [control layers](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/layer-functions/miscellaneous-layer-functions#trim-layer-to-keyframes-2) (e.g. a null as parent to a layer, or a null to control a point property)

### Full Changelog

For a full changelog, please click [here](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/releases#id-2-1)!

### Tutorial for v2.5 is Coming!

{% hint style="warning" %}
I’m currently tied up with other projects and haven’t had a chance to create a video tutorial yet, but I’ve heard your feedback, and it’s on my radar. While I can’t promise a timeline, I’ll do my best to get to it when I can.

In the meantime, please refer to the [user guide](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/releases#id-2-5) for detailed instructions.
{% endhint %}

## **New Features in older Versions**

* [What's new in v2.0?](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/whats-new/whats-new-in-v2.0)
* [What's new in v1.1?](https://workflower.constantin-maier.com/whats-new/whats-new-in-v1.1)