ENDFRAME
Endboard building and delivery for broadcast promos.


INSTALLING
----------

You have two ways in. The .zxp is the normal one.

  A. THE .ZXP  (recommended)

     1. Install it with ZXP Installer (https://aescripts.com/learn/zxp-installer/)
        or Anastasiy's Extension Manager (https://install.anastasiy.com/).
        Drag the .zxp onto the window.
     2. Fully quit After Effects and Premiere Pro (Cmd-Q), then reopen either.
     3. Window  >  Extensions  >  EndFrame

  B. THE .ZIP  (if A gives you a blank panel)

     There is a known Adobe issue where a correctly signed extension can load
     as an empty panel. If that happens, use this instead — same panel, no
     signature involved. The zip carries an installer for each platform.

     ON MACOS
     1. Double-click  INSTALL-EndFrame.command
        macOS may say it is from an unidentified developer. Right-click the
        file, choose Open, then Open again.
     2. Fully quit After Effects and Premiere Pro (Cmd-Q), then reopen either.
     3. Window  >  Extensions  >  EndFrame

     ON WINDOWS
     1. Double-click  Install-EndFrame-Windows.bat
        Windows SmartScreen may warn about an unrecognised app. Click
        "More info", then "Run anyway".
     2. Fully quit After Effects and Premiere Pro, then reopen either.
     3. Window  >  Extensions  >  EndFrame

     Neither installer needs an administrator password. Both only write to your
     own user folder, and both can be undone by deleting one folder (see
     UNINSTALLING below).


YOUR TRIAL
----------

EndFrame runs free for 7 days from the first time you open it. Both halves
(After Effects and Premiere Pro) are unlocked during the trial, so you can try
the whole thing before deciding which half you need.

When the trial ends the panel still opens and everything is still visible —
only the buttons that render, create or export stop. Paste a licence key into
the field at the top of the panel and click Activate to carry on.


FIRST RUN
---------

EndFrame drives YOUR endboard template, not a supplied one, so it needs to be
told which layer in your template holds what. That lives in one file:

    settings.json   (inside the EndFrame folder you just installed)

It ships filled in with a neutral example and commented throughout. The parts
you must change are marked. At minimum:

    comps.<variant>.templateCompName   the exact comp name in your .aep
    comps.<variant>.layers.*           your own layer names, exactly as typed
    promoExport.filenameTemplate       your delivery naming convention
    promoExport.categories             your channel or strand names

A settings screen is coming so this stops being a text file. For now, if you
would rather not edit it yourself, send your template and one sample schedule
and it will be configured for you.


WHAT IT NEEDS
-------------

  After Effects and/or Premiere Pro 2022 or later
  macOS or Windows

The After Effects side builds the boards. The Premiere side preps sequences,
assembles the tail and handles delivery naming and export. They work
independently, and hand off to each other if you have both.


UNINSTALLING
------------

Delete this folder:

    macOS    ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions/com.endframe.tool
    Windows  %APPDATA%\Adobe\CEP\extensions\com.endframe.tool

The only other thing EndFrame writes is a small file recording when your trial
started, at:

    macOS    ~/Library/Application Support/EndFrame/
    Windows  %APPDATA%\EndFrame\

Nothing is uploaded, and the panel does not phone home.


SUPPORT
-------

Reply to the email this came from. Useful details when something is wrong:
which Adobe app and version, and what the panel's own log area said.
