Set the range

Open the composition and set its work area to the section you want. Both GIF and MP4 start at the work area’s beginning, regardless of the playhead position. Roomy format buttons also show the work area’s duration.

Make a GIF

  1. Choose GIF.
  2. Open the sliders button, or right-click Yoink.
  3. Adjust the GIF options if needed. The defaults are 50%, 15 frames per second, Loop forever on, Dither off and Global palette.
  4. Close the options by clicking outside them or pressing Escape.
  5. Click Yoink and wait for the saved-file notification.

A one-second work area in a 1920 × 1080 comp produces 15 frames at 960 × 540 with the default size and frame rate. GIF frame delays use hundredths of a second, so playback timing can differ slightly from the requested rate.

Choose size and color quality

Start by shortening the work area or reducing Size when the file is too large. Lower Frame rate to reduce the number of frames. It accepts 10 to 30 fps.

Global uses one color palette for the whole GIF. It can also reduce file size by storing unchanged pixels efficiently. Try Per frame when the colors change substantially through the shot. Turn on Dither to soften visible color steps in gradients, with a possible increase in file size.

Choose Max in the drawer to scale down from the full comp width using Max width. It never enlarges the image. See the settings reference for all defaults and limits, including how this works with a crop.

GIF uses the composition background color wherever the rendered image is transparent.

Make an MP4

  1. Choose MP4.
  2. Click Yoink.
  3. Wait for the saved-file notification, or check Adobe Media Encoder if Yoink shows In AME.

MP4 uses the composition’s frame rate and full size. GIF settings do not affect it. Pixel dimensions are rounded down to even numbers where necessary for H.264. Alt-click can crop the output.

Yoink tries an available H.264 output template, preferring one whose name begins with H.264 and includes 15. Its encoding settings come from After Effects’ available template. Yoink does not offer a bitrate or audio control.

If After Effects cannot use H.264 directly but can queue to Adobe Media Encoder, Yoink sends the render there and shows Rendering in Media Encoder with the filename. Check completion and any encoding errors in Media Encoder. This path does not add a tray entry or copy the finished file to the clipboard automatically.

If neither route is available, No H.264 appears with H.264 isn’t available in this After Effects. Use PNG or GIF, or make H.264 rendering available before trying MP4 again.

Yoink preserves existing render queue items and temporarily excludes queued items from its MP4 render. If the queue is already rendering, it refuses the grab with Queue busy. Wait for the render to finish before trying again.