Check the queue first
A plain click only queues. The render shortcuts first add the targeted comps, then act on the project’s eligible render queue items. That can include items already waiting before you clicked Dispatch.
Click the number on the main button to show the Render Queue. Review its enabled items before starting a render or a Media Encoder handoff.
Hold a modifier before clicking. The main button changes its label and plane mark to show the action. On macOS, Alt is the Option key.
The same modifiers work when you dispatch through a preset chip or a preset in Dispatch with. The full modifier table is in the controls reference.
Render in After Effects
- Select the comps to add, or open the comp you want when none are selected in the Project panel.
- Hold Alt/Option. The main button reads Render now.
- Click Dispatch or the preset you want.
Dispatch queues the comps with that preset and starts After Effects’ Render Queue. Rendering is a separate action from the queue addition. Undo does not remove files that have been rendered.
Send to Adobe Media Encoder
Hold Shift and click to Send to AME. Dispatch queues the comps in After Effects, then asks After Effects to send the queue to Media Encoder without requesting an immediate encode.
Hold Shift and Alt/Option together and click to Encode now. This asks Media Encoder to start encoding as well.
Dispatch does not provide a separate Media Encoder preset picker. Check the jobs and encoding settings in Media Encoder after the handoff. Sent N comps to Media Encoder confirms the handoff request, not completion of the encoded files.
If the handoff fails
If Media Encoder is unavailable, or starting a render fails, the newly added items remain in After Effects’ Render Queue. The message ends with N comps wait in the Render Queue. Open the queue and continue there after fixing the problem. Clicking Dispatch again adds another batch.