How to use the Primary Viewer buttom.

[menga11509761]

When I create a new viewer,then I press the Primary Viewer one of them ,noting happen.

[Mylenium]

It's not really clear what you mean. You need to explain better.

Mylenium

[Rick Gerard]

If you set the Active Camera viewer as primary, even when you are on the Front view, your preview will be the active camera. If you set the Front View as primary when you run a preview, even if the Active Camera is selected, the preview will be rendered in the Front View. If you do not choose a primary then the viewer that is active is where the previews will render.

Only Active Camera will render. All other views are ignored when you actually try and render your project. make sure you are always making your final check looking at the Active Camera viewer. This is why the Primary viewer feature was added. Too many of us were being surprised when we rendered because we were in another view.

[Tim Kurkoski · Accepted solution]

Only Active Camera will render. All other views are ignored when you actually try and render your project. make sure you are always making your final check looking at the Active Camera viewer. This is why the Primary viewer feature was added. Too many of us were being surprised when we rendered because we were in another view.

Sorry, Rick, this doesn't describe the Primary Viewer button.

Primary Viewer was added to control which viewer panel (any of Composition, Layer, or Footage viewer, or multiple instances thereof):
1. Plays video through Mercury Transmit (Preferences > Video Preview).2. Plays audio.

These are useful if situations where you have a client or supervisor visiting, they can only see the external monitor being previewed via Mercury Transmit, and you only want to show them a specific composition, not other compositions that you may be tweaking to get the end result.

Primary Viewer is separate, but similar, to the Always Preview This View button. Always Preview This View applies to either a viewer panel, or an individual 3D view within that viewer (which is what Rick was referring to), so that when you start a preview (spacebar, etc.) only that viewer or view is rendered and previewed. You can use them both separately, or in combination. One of my favorite tricks is to keep a separate Composition viewer panel open, but shrunk down very small and docked in a corner, and have both options enabled for that panel so that while I'm working in a sub-composition I always get the main comp previewed on the external monitor.

[Rick Gerard]

Sorry if I was not clear. I was trying to point out that only the Active Camera will render when you make a movie. It's easy to get caught if you are previewing other views. I know it has nothing to do with rendering the movie.

I do know that it is for using accelerated preview and audio and that those previews were the only previews sent to an external monitor when it is turned on. I did not know it was also applicable to other panels or separate compositions. That is a great feature for collaboration.

I wonder if it would work for screen sharing and net meetings. 90% of my collaboration in the last year has been online and they either see my entire AE app or nothing. If I could send them only one composition viewer it would be great. I don't really like to have someone that does not understand AE at all looking over my shoulder when I'm making adjustments. I'll have to see if I can figure it out.