Visual States PRO — User Guide

Version: 1.28 · After Effects CC 2022 or later

Visual States saves layer visibility snapshots as named ***States***per comp – like quick switches between setups.

Common use cases:

Switch between client layout A/B versions instantly.
Toggle between language versions (English/Spanish).
Show/hide sponsor logos for different deliverables.
Compare layout options during client review.
Any layer combinations you can imagine.

Download Visual States PRO v 1.28

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Try Visual States LITE for free

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What Is Visual States?

Visual States lets you save and recall layer visibility combinations in After Effects — like taking a snapshot of which layers are on and which are off in a composition.

Imagine you have a comp with 20 layers and you need to quickly switch between a “Client A” version (some logos visible, others hidden) and a “Client B” version. Instead of manually toggling layers every time, you save each setup as a named state and switch between them with a single click.

Some everyday examples:

Switch between language versions (English on, Spanish off — and vice versa)
Toggle between day and night versions of a scene
Show/hide different sponsor logos for different deliverables
Compare layout options during a client review

LITE vs PRO

Visual States is available in two editions:

Feature	LITE	PRO
States per composition	3	Unlimited
Multiselect states	✅Yes	✅Yes
Comp Navigator	✅Yes	✅Yes
Duplicate Comp with States	✅Yes (first 3 states only)	✅Yes
Copy States from…	✅Yes (respects 3-state limit)	✅Yes
Render states to Queue	✅Yes (visible states only)	✅Yes
Compatible with PRO files	✅Yes	✅Yes
Visible states from PRO files	First 3 only	✅All
Hidden states indicator	⚠ shown in list	N/A
Open / Merge from file	✅Yes, limited to 3 states per comp	✅Yes
Network sharing (`.visualstates.json`)	✅Yes	✅Yes
Price	Free	Paid

Vistual States LITE

Visual States PRO

Note: LITE can open projects and .visualstates.json files created with PRO, but if a composition contains more than 3 states, only the first 3 are shown. States beyond the limit appear in the list as disabled items with a ⚠ indicator. Importing with Merge or Open is also limited by the same 3-state cap.

Before You Start

There are two things to check before using Visual States for the first time.

1. Allow the script to write files

Visual States saves your states to a file on disk. After Effects blocks this by default, so you need to enable it once:

Go to Edit → Preferences → Scripting & Expressions (Windows) or After Effects → Preferences → Scripting & Expressions (Mac)
Turn on “Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access Network”
Click OK

You only need to do this once. After Effects remembers the setting.