MoDeck documentation: from MOGRT to finished video

How previews work

The MoDeck online editor is capable of providing live previews of your edits, drag the playhead at the top of the timeline in order to see your edits at that point. To configure previews, select the template in the desktop app and open Template settings → Preview behavior. There you can set its maximum width and height, and show After Effects comp markers in the browser.

Hover over a freshly generated still preview to show boxes around editable text. Click a box to focus and select its text input, then type a replacement. This works in both Sequence and Journey. Hidden inputs and values supplied by a spreadsheet, JSON, or hidden expression are excluded.

Focusing a text input moves the preview to the midpoint of that text layer's in/out range, unless the current preview time is already inside it. Global text inputs use the first linked text layer. Timing becomes available from a generated preview and is approximate for nested compositions; stretching, time remapping, opacity and position animations are not taken into account.

Visible media replacement layers also show bounds on hover, with a Select media button in the center. Click it to open the same media picker as the option panel. This works in Sequence and Journey, including linked global media options; data- or expression-driven inputs remain controlled by their source.

In the advanced Sequence editor, hovering over a fresh still preview also shows targets for editable 2D Number position controls. Drag a target and release it to update its X/Y values and generate a new preview. You can still enter the numbers directly.

In Journey, place a preview comment before the options that should use that frame. Selecting a named preview frame moves the playhead to that moment in its MOGRT and loads it through the same preview system as the scrubber. The frame buttons and Journey frame menu remain shortcuts to those times.

Google Sheet previews may reuse data fetched in the previous 10 seconds. Refresh the sheet manually when you need a change immediately. Final renders fetch the current data again.

Magic Link controls

Each link has its own name, assigned editors, and render-request settings:

• Assigned editors: add more than one email and use the generated password or personalized link to choose who receives the render.
• Requester-provided email: let a visitor enter the delivery address. Your approval is automatically required.
• Review before rendering: keep a request out of the render queue until you approve it in the desktop app or approval email.
• Submission message: show instructions before an editor requests a render.
• Embed code: place the browser editor in an iframe on your own site.

Media replacement

Drag a supported footage or comp layer into Essential Graphics. Replacements keep the bounds of the original layer and follow its Default Scaling setting. To expose audio, precompose the audio layer and add that precomp instead.

Editors can upload or select images, video, and audio; crop images; and trim video or audio. They can also enter a filename from _modk-data/User media or an additional media folder. Use forward slashes for subfolders, including on Windows. Browser uploads are downloaded automatically into a folder for that editor.

Media values can come from the browser, CSV, Google Sheets, or JSON. An HTTPS file URL, or a supported video-platform page such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Instagram, is downloaded by the desktop app before assembly.

Preview clips and thumbnails

MOGRT preview clip

When exporting from After Effects 24.2 or later, enable Include video preview. The browser can play that clip when an editor hovers over the MOGRT.

Template showcase

Place an MP4 with the same name as the template folder beside the folder in the sync root. You can also override an individual MOGRT's online thumbnail from Template logic.

Set up multiple output dimensions

modk-dimensions lets one MOGRT support several output sizes, such as landscape, square, and vertical. Editors can preview a size while working, then select one or several sizes when they request a render. MoDeck produces a separate output for every selected size.

1. Add an Effect → Expression Controls → Dropdown Menu Control to a layer. Open the menu's Edit dialog and add one item for each output size you want to support.
2. Name every menu item using its dimensions. Use widthxheight-name, with width first and height second. For example: 1920x1080-Wide, 1080x1080-Square, and 1080x1920-Story. The text after the first dash is the name shown in MoDeck, so give each size a unique name. If you omit it, the dimensions themselves are used as the name.
3. Expose the menu to Essential Graphics. Drag the Dropdown Menu Control's Menu property into the Essential Graphics panel and rename that exposed property exactly modk-dimensions. MoDeck recognizes it during the next sync and hides the command control from editors.
4. Make the design respond to each shape. During rendering, MoDeck resizes the MOGRT comp and assembled sequence to the selected width and height, then sets modk-dimensions to the matching menu item. Use responsive layout expressions and, when needed, the dropdown value to reposition, resize, or show different layers for each format. The responsive-size expressions below are a useful starting point.

Option-name prefixes

Add specific text at the beginning of your MOGRT option name to alter how that option works.

For a required multi-line or limited text field, put * first, for example *multiline-limit-200-Description.

Useful responsive-size expressions

Apply these to a layer's Scale property when the MOGRT may be rendered at several sizes.

var r = sourceRectAtTime(time);
var sx = thisComp.width / r.width;
var sy = thisComp.height / r.height;
var s = 100 * Math.min(sx, sy);
[s, s];

var r = sourceRectAtTime(time);
var sx = thisComp.width / r.width;
var sy = thisComp.height / r.height;
var s = 100 * Math.max(sx, sy);
[s, s];

var limitW = 500;
var limitH = 500;
var r = sourceRectAtTime(time);
var s = Math.min(
  100 * limitW / r.width,
  100 * limitH / r.height,
  value[0]
);
[s, s];

Useful timing expressions

These help animations survive a duration change. Use the first for an outro or fade that must stay at the end; use the second when all animation should scale across the new duration.

var dur = thisComp.duration;
var lastKeyTime = thisProperty.key(thisProperty.numKeys).time;
valueAtTime(time - dur + lastKeyTime);

var dur = thisComp.duration;
var lastKeyTime = thisProperty.key(thisProperty.numKeys).time;
valueAtTime(time / dur * lastKeyTime);

Create global options

Use the add button below Global options, then choose the option's type, name, and default value. Global options are displayed in their own area in the browser editor and are saved with the edit.

• Available types are dropdown menu, text, multiline text, media replacement, and comment. Comments provide headings and help text rather than a value to link.
• Text, multiline text, dropdown, and media options can be marked required. Use the arrow controls to arrange the order editors see them.
• Use the conditions button on a global option to show or hide that input based on other global values, for example, show “Custom headline” only when a dropdown is set to “Custom.”

Choose who controls the sequence

Under MOGRTs, choose one of the two sequence modes. This is separate from choosing the Sequence or Journey editor: the editor type controls how choices are presented, while this setting controls who determines the scene order.

Link MOGRT options to global options

Open a MOGRT's logic panel with the control at the lower-right of its card. The dialog lists that MOGRT's local options. Use the link button beside an option, then select the compatible global option that should drive it.

1. Create the global option that editors should control.
2. Open each MOGRT that needs to respond to it.
3. Link the relevant local option to the global option.
4. Repeat across as many options and MOGRTs as needed, then save and apply the logic.

Once a local MOGRT option is directly linked, it no longer appears as a separate browser input because its value now comes from the global option. Use Auto link options by name when global and local option names already match. If their values do not map directly, use dropdown mapping or an option expression as explained below.

Control which MOGRTs and options can appear

In the same MOGRT logic dialog, add a show if or hide if rule and compare one or more global options with the values that should keep or remove that MOGRT. Conditions can be grouped with AND and OR rules for more specific behavior.

You can also conditionally show global inputs based on other global values, or show a local MOGRT option based on another local option in that same MOGRT. These input-level rules remove irrelevant questions without changing the sequence itself.

Dropdown mapping

When you link a global dropdown to a local MOGRT option, the link dialog shows one mapping row for every global dropdown choice. Enter the value that the local option should receive for each choice. This is useful even when the local option is not a dropdown, for example, “Light” and “Dark” can map to two colors, checkbox states, media files, or numeric values.

The global and local dropdowns do not need to contain the same choices. For text and multiline-text options, use Populate all with dropdown option names when the displayed dropdown labels are already the text values you need. Save and apply the logic after completing every mapping row.

Option expressions

Use an option expression instead of a direct link when a local value must be calculated from several global options or transformed with more specific rules. Open the MOGRT's logic dialog and choose the expression button beside the local option. The JavaScript expression's result becomes that option's value.

Right-click in the expression editor to insert an available global option, then use Evaluate expression to check the result. The final result must match the local option's expected type, for example, text for a text option or a valid numeric value for a slider.

if (globalOption("Global dropdown").value === "Custom") {
  globalOption("Custom text").value;
} else {
  globalOption("Global dropdown").value;
}

This expects global options named Global dropdown and Custom text. Add a show/hide condition so the custom field only appears when the dropdown is set to “Custom.”

Transitions between MOGRTs

Put the incoming transition at the start of a MOGRT and use modk-overlap so it begins before the previous MOGRT ends. For an outgoing animation on editable-duration MOGRTs, use protected regions with stretch behavior or drive the end keyframes from comp duration. Use modk-index and modk-count when the first or last scene should behave differently.

Base MOGRTs

A base MOGRT sits behind the entire sequence and is useful for a continuous background, music bed, watermark, or other persistent layer. Add modk-base or enable it in the MOGRT settings panel. By default editors can choose the base; always makes it mandatory, stretch time-stretches it, and fixed makes its duration determine the edit duration.

A practical versioning workflow

1. Open or create an edit in the Sequence editor, choose Settings, then add a CSV, blank spreadsheet, Google Sheet, or JSON source.
2. Close Settings and use the data-link button beside a MOGRT or global option.
3. Select the matching column or JSON value.
4. Preview a representative version.
5. Request the render, then open Renders. MoDeck renders each included row and output size, and makes completed files available by row while the rest of the batch continues.

Work with large spreadsheets

The sheet supports searching, editing cells, pasting a tab-separated range, adding rows below the Row column and columns at the right end of the header, and clicking a row number to preview that version. The dialog expands with the sheet up to the screen edges, then scrolls to show additional rows and columns. Double-click a cell to edit longer text. Only the visible rows are drawn, keeping large sheets responsive. Automatic linking preserves your chosen column mappings and explicit none choices when you reopen an edit or render it. This also applies to global options, base scenes, and Google Sheets.

CSV files can be up to 50 MB. Free templates support 3 rows, Pro templates 30, and Enterprise templates up to 100,000. A row may contain up to 256 KB, with at most 1,000 columns and 128 MB of expanded data in a batch. Ambiguous column names and invalid CSV are reported before importing; extra rows are never silently discarded. These are input limits, not a guarantee of render throughput on a particular computer.

Watch and recover a batch

You can open Renders from the editor or by clicking the edit's play button in the template list. While a batch is running, click its rendering indicator to open the same panel.

The batch view lists one item per spreadsheet row: Video 1, Video 2, and so on. Each item groups all selected output sizes and formats, with one status and progress indicator for the row. Expand it to see its source data and choose an output to preview or download. Three rows with three sizes and one format produce three list items, each containing three files. A row completes when all its outputs have been delivered.

Pause after current video preserves remaining work. Resume batch continues it. If a video fails, the other videos continue and Retry failed videos retries the failures using the same captured data. To change source values or edit settings, request a new batch. Cancel stops further videos; files already completed stay available.

If the connection drops or MoDeck restarts, reopen the desktop app on the same render machine and sign in. It resumes from saved row and output-size checkpoints. An interrupted output may render again; verified completed outputs and uploaded file parts are reused. Keep the batch job folder under _modk-data/Temp/Renders intact until the batch finishes. A disconnected batch is not automatically handed to another computer.

Google Sheets and JSON are fetched when a new batch starts. That captured data is reused for retries. Videos that need rendering use the latest local MOGRTs, including on retry. Presets are copied for the run; replacement media is captured when each row is prepared. Completed local checkpoints are retained for seven days, then removed when another batch starts. Incomplete checkpoints are retained for recovery and protected from Clear temporary files. Each job uses a readable template/edit folder with a short suffix; each video and size has one working folder directly inside it. Finished videos are moved individually to the configured Render Output Path, with their filenames and any output subfolders preserved. Batch delivery adds no extra batch/row folders and creates no ZIP, whether cloud upload is enabled or disabled. This lets existing watch-folder ingest workflows pick up the media.

Extracted MOGRT assets are shared by previews and renders in Temp/Assets, with one folder named after each MOGRT plus a short suffix. Updated MOGRTs get a fresh extraction. There are no separate preview or batch asset copies. Save as AEP includes its own asset copies alongside the exported project.

Render settings that matter most

Multiple render machines

Sign in to the same MoDeck account on several computers to distribute separate jobs. The server assigns work to an available app; it does not split one render across machines. Every machine must have compatible After Effects, fonts, media, presets, MOGRT files, template folder names, and the same hidden .modeck file so the folders point to the same online template.

Local font collection

When you add or update a MOGRT, the desktop app collects the necessary locally available font files into _modk-data/Fonts inside your sync folder. Only font names, file hashes, sizes, and scan status are stored with the online template; font files stay on your computer.

If a compatible copy is both installed locally and available through Adobe Fonts, MoDeck prefers the installed copy.

Successful MOGRT font scans are saved in the template's hidden .modeck file and reused after refreshes and app restarts. MoDeck checks the MOGRT's content hash before reusing saved results; changed files are scanned again. Refresh templates still checks for newly available fonts and retries incomplete scans.

To ensure clean font handling, before a preview or render, MoDeck prepares uniquely named copies of the required fonts in Adobe's shared Fonts folder and prepares a local copy of each extracted After Effects project that uses those fonts. Different MOGRTs can use different versions of the same font. Source MOGRTs and your installed fonts stay unchanged. The prepared fonts appear only in Adobe apps, grouped under names beginning with z_modeck. Initial setup may request administrator access once; subsequent font additions normally reuse the folder's saved permissions. See the "Font management" section in the desktop app for details.

Saved AEP exports also reference MoDeck's prepared Adobe fonts. Opening them on another computer requires preparing the same font files there.

Endpoint reference

The examples below place apiKey in the request object. Omit that field when you authenticate with the recommended Bearer header instead.

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE",
  "mogrt": "NAME_OR_PATH_OF_MOGRT"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE",
  "name": "NAME_OF_THIS_EDIT",
  "editId": "OPTIONAL_EDIT_ID",
  "notificationEmail": "editor@example.com",
  "waitForRender": false,
  "mogrtSeq": [
    {
      "name": "MOGRT_NAME",
      "options": [
        {
          "name": "OPTION_NAME",
          "value": "OPTION_VALUE"
        }
      ],
      "duration": 10
    }
  ],
  "globalOptions": [
    {
      "name": "GLOBAL_OPTION_NAME",
      "value": "GLOBAL_OPTION_VALUE"
    }
  ]
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE",
  "size": "OPTIONAL_NAME_OF_SIZE",
  "frame": "OPTIONAL_NAME_OF_PREVIEW_FRAME",
  "mogrt": {
    "name": "MOGRT_NAME",
    "options": [
      {
        "name": "OPTION_NAME",
        "value": "OPTION_VALUE"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "editId": "EDIT_ID"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deckID": "TEMPLATE_ID",
  "editID": "EDIT_ID",
  "requestId": "RENDER_REQUEST_ID",
  "offset": 0
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deckID": "TEMPLATE_ID",
  "editID": "EDIT_ID",
  "requestId": "RENDER_REQUEST_ID",
  "index": 0
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE",
  "editName": "OPTIONAL_NAME_OF_EDIT",
  "editId": "OPTIONAL_EDIT_ID"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "userEmail": "OPTIONAL_EDITOR_EMAIL"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE",
  "filename": "Picture.jpg",
  "filetype": "image/jpeg",
  "userEmail": "OPTIONAL_EDITOR_EMAIL"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE",
  "filename": "Picture.jpg",
  "userEmail": "OPTIONAL_EDITOR_EMAIL"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE",
  "mogrt": "OPTIONAL_NAME_OF_MOGRT"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE",
  "emails": [
    "editor@example.com"
  ],
  "notify": true
}

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "deck": "NAME_OF_TEMPLATE",
  "globalOptions": [
    {
      "name": "OPTION_NAME",
      "type": 13,
      "value": "OPTION_DEFAULT_VALUE",
      "menucontent": [
        "OPTION_MENU_ITEM"
      ]
    }
  ]
}