I posted this over at the Community forum and somebody suggested i post here so here goes:

It just feels like EVERY TIME i have a deadline and normally right at the end of the project when it comes the time to render/export, After Effects or Media Encoder finds some new and unique way to give me problems..

If it's not some bizarre installation or authorisation issue, it's AddToMediaEncoder queue doing nothing. Or it launches MediaEncoder and doesn't add to queue. Or it complains DynamicLink isn't working. Or even adding the composition to the queue manually via MediaEncoder looks like it's working but the progress spinner loading composition bar thing just spins and spins and spins. Or some other new way that i haven't hitherto experienced..

And so after navigating my myriad of versions of MediaEncoder and testing each one, i decide to take my life in my hands and open Creative Cloud desktop and and look for an update. But do i update ONLY MediaEncoder, or also AfterEffects - if i update AE i might end up with plugin problems which i don't want.. Okay i decide, i'll try just Media Encoder and see what happens. And then alas, "Holy Christ on a f----ng Bike', i exclaim - there's two f----ng different versions of MediaEncoder and both apparently have updates available - what in the f--- do i do now...

And so i updated both. And.. It appears to have worked AddingToQueue from AfterEffects. Although, it's launched through version 2019.. I apparently have 2020 installed which apparently does nothing useful. Tbh i have no idea which version is which, 12.3.65.23.3.or 15.2.4.3.6.7, or the other one, or which version of AfterEffects actually works with which version..

But i beg - please help me eliminate this pain because i am unsure if i can continue to justify continuing to pay for this on a month to month basis. Tbh i'd be happy to use just one static AE and MediaEncoder version, the 'most recent' feature i use regularly is the Puppet Tool and that's f*****g years old now, i don't need any of these updates.

The only other option i think i have to have a stable AfterEffects->MediaEncoder setup that i know is reliable and will not f---- my sh-- up every time i need it most is to cancel my subscription and install a pirated version. I know any of the little-guy staff members that read this are not going to care about that one way or another. But i just think it's sad that i actually have to consider doing that. And so Adobe, please stop. I don't need this s--t. This is not the first time i've felt complelled to complain but it may be the last.

I would love it if when I press SHIFT (ANYTHING) to a nothing-exposed layer, the selection I choose (Effects, Position, Rotation, etc..) is twirled down. Currently the only way to do this is to REMOVE the SHIFT modifier and just press E, or T, or P, or R, etc... Muscle memory has me always thinking SHIFT should ADD (make visible) the value I'm interested in

If I select a layer that has (for example) Position twirled down or expanded, and then press SHIFT 'R' ... Rotation is added to the twirled down/explanded list of Transforms. SHIFT 'T' to this list adds Opacity. Great. As expected. However, if NOTHING is twirled down, and NO transforms etc are exposed, pressing SHIFT (ANYTHING) does nothing - though in my mind, SHIFT equals "add" .. and you can "add" to zero, or "no" Transforms exposed.

If I add Offset Paths or any other Shapes functions such as Fill, Stroke, Merge Paths, etc... please default to opening up and twirling down the value. Using Offset Paths as an example, "10" is rarely the value I want, so I have to change it. But to change it requires twirling down the triangle to expose the amount value. And because "10" is a default value, rapidly typing "UU" does NOT automatically expand added shape functions - it's only once I've changed the default value to something else that "UU" twirls this amount value down, making it easier to adjust. Multiply that for every time I need to add - and then adjust the value for - a new shape function.

Marc