Render and Replicate are two ways for Templater to turn a row of data into a finished version of your template. Render makes the video file straight out of After Effects. Replicate stops one step earlier, saves a copy of your project with the row’s data already inserted, and leaves the encoding to Adobe Media Encoder. Choose Render when After Effects can already write the file format you need. Choose Replicate when you need an output format After Effects does not include.
What each mode does to your project
Start with what you get at the end, because that is where the two modes diverge. Render produces a versioned video file. Templater takes the target composition, applies one row of data, and outputs the result the same way After Effects would if you had pressed export yourself. If the batch covers fifty rows, you end with fifty videos in your output folder.
Replicate does not produce a video. It produces a project. Dataclay’s FAQ describes it this way: Replicate takes your project file, inserts the data, and saves a copy of that project file to your machine. Adobe Media Encoder then processes that copy. The reason the feature exists is output formats. Dataclay says you can use Adobe Media Encoder to support output format codecs that After Effects does not include. So the choice is not about quality or speed in the abstract. It is about which program does the final encode, and what that program can write.
Mode Comparison
Render finishes in After Effects; Replicate hands off to the encoder
- What do I get at the end?
- RenderA versioned video file
- ReplicateA copy of the project file
- Which program does the final encode?
- RenderAfter Effects
- ReplicateAdobe Media Encoder
- When should I use it?
- RenderAfter Effects can write the format you need
- ReplicateFormat codec not included with After Effects
- Main extra cost?
- RenderShort setup, one application
- ReplicateWatch folder, matching drives and fonts on encoder machine
Render is the shorter path and should be your starting point. Replicate is for the day a required format sends you to Adobe Media Encoder.
Both modes sit behind the same preparation. Templater needs a target composition and a valid data range for any batch operation. The Templater Settings effect has to be on every layer that should change. The column names or property keys in your data source have to match the names of the dynamic layers. And the Batch Assets section of the Templater panel needs a data source, a footage folder and an output folder. None of that changes between modes. What changes is the button you press and where the work goes next.
There is also an edition question, and it affects the decision before you ever reach the settings. Render and Replicate are available in Templater Pro. They are not available in Templater Rig. If a project works in the free trial and then the Render and Replicate buttons turn gray after someone activates Rig, the trial was the reason it worked, because the trial includes every feature. The fix is to upgrade the license. Our licensing guide explains the editions, and the Bot, which can also render or replicate on its own, needs the Bot edition. Whichever mode you pick, the outputs may draw on a QUE Meter account if you run Templater that way. Dataclay’s edition page says spot check, replicate and render each consume one credit per output, so the two modes count the same.
The trial adds one wrinkle that is easy to miss. According to Dataclay, the free trial has all features, with a watermark added to dynamic layers. The other trial limit is about replication. While the trial runs, you can replicate a target composition only when the Send Replicates to Adobe Media Encoder preference is turned on. Once you activate a license, that limit goes away. So if you want to test Replicate during the trial, you test the Media Encoder route.
What Replicate asks of you that Render does not
Render has a short setup, because After Effects does everything. Replicate has a longer one, because a second application is now part of the job. That is the real cost of the mode, and it is worth reading before you commit a large batch to it. Here is the procedure from Dataclay’s help pages, with the reason behind each step.
In the Templater panel, open Preferences. Under Replication, tick Send replicates to Adobe Media Encoder. If Adobe Media Encoder runs on a machine that does not have Templater Rig, Pro or Bot installed, also tick Remove Templater Settings from replica’s layers. The copied project contains the Templater Settings effect, so this option removes the effect from the replica’s layers.
That option has a price, and Dataclay states it plainly. Turning it on slows the replication process, and it fills After Effects’ File, Open Recent menu with paths to the replica projects. There is a second condition that matters more. For a replica to render on another machine, that machine must have the same drive mappings and the same fonts as the machine that created the project. A copy of a project is only a list of references. If it points to a footage drive that the encoder machine cannot see, or to a font the encoder machine does not have, the replica may not render successfully. If one machine does both jobs, you avoid the problem entirely.
Next, set a valid data range under Transport. The start row must be greater than 1 for Google Sheets and tab-delimited files, because row 1 holds the column names. For a JSON object array, the start row must be greater than 0. The end row must be greater than or equal to the start row. Check the range against those rules before you press Replicate.
Then open Adobe Media Encoder and add a watch folder, and point it at the output folder you chose in the Templater panel. This is the handoff. Templater writes replicas into that folder, and the encoder sees them arrive and processes them. One warning from Dataclay deserves emphasis. A cloud-based sync folder can cause errors when Adobe Media Encoder is your render engine, so use a local or networked folder instead. Click Replicate in the Templater panel, then confirm that the encoder is actually picking up the files in the watch folder. That last look tells you the handoff worked.
Replicate Setup
How to send replicas to Adobe Media Encoder
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Turn on the preferenceIn the Templater panel, open Preferences.
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Remove Templater Settings if neededIf Adobe Media Encoder runs on a machine that does not have Templater Rig, Pro or Bot installed, also tick Remove Templater Settings from replica’s layers.
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Set a valid data rangeUnder Transport, set the start row greater than 1 for Google Sheets and tab-delimited files, or greater than 0 for a JSON object array.
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Add a watch folder in Adobe Media EncoderOpen Adobe Media Encoder and add a watch folder, and point it at the output folder you chose in the Templater panel.
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Click Replicate and confirm the handoffClick Replicate in the Templater panel, then confirm that the encoder is actually picking up the files in the watch folder.
There are two side effects to accept going in. During the process, Templater removes replicas from the project folder automatically to save space on your drive. And when it sends replicates to the encoder, Templater removes unused footage references from your project and saves the master project file after each replication. In other words, the master file you started with is not left exactly as you left it. Keep a copy of the project before a large replication run. That advice is general practice and not a statement from Dataclay’s docs, but the behavior it guards against is documented.
One more difference concerns scripts. If you have registered shell scripts on Templater events, Dataclay notes that when compositions go to Adobe Media Encoder, those scripts execute after the target composition is versioned in After Effects, not after the encoder finishes rendering. So a script that runs at the end of a job fires before the video exists. Do not use it to announce that a file is ready. Our page on the two queues goes into how the encoder’s queue and Templater’s relate.
Three questions that settle the choice
You can decide without testing both, if you answer three questions in order. Each one follows from the facts above, so you can check the reasoning against Dataclay’s pages and not take our word for it.
The first question is whether After Effects can write the format you must deliver. If it can, Render is finished before you start, because the reason Dataclay gives for Replicate is output format codecs that After Effects does not include. If you are not sure, run one row through Render and look at the file. A single test answers the question with evidence, where a guess could cost a whole batch. Our guide to rendering versioned video in a batch shows the straight path.
The second question is whether you are willing to run a second application as part of the pipeline. Replicate means Adobe Media Encoder must be installed, and must be watching the right folder. On a studio machine that already runs the encoder all day, that is a small ask. On a rented or shared machine where someone else controls what runs, it can be a real obstacle. Neither answer is wrong. The point is to choose it on purpose.
The third question is whether the machine that encodes is the machine that built the project. If it is the same computer, the drive mapping and font condition costs you nothing, and you may not need the Remove Templater Settings option at all, since Templater is installed where the encoder runs. If they are different machines, you take on the matching drive mappings and fonts, the slower replication, and the crowded Open Recent menu. A team that cannot guarantee identical drives and fonts on both machines should think hard before choosing Replicate. Our page on custom output file names is also worth reading here, because replicated files land in a watch folder, and clear names make it easier to see which row each file came from.
Using either mode with the Bot, and a hypothetical choice
The same choice appears when you automate. In the Bot settings, under Preferences, you choose whether the Bot should Render, Replicate, or Spot Check, and you can tick more than one. For Media Encoder rendering with the Bot, Dataclay lists these steps. Open Adobe Media Encoder and add a watch folder pointing at the output folder from the Batch Assets group. In Templater Preferences, under Bot Settings, tick Replicate, and under Replication tick Send replicates to Adobe Media Encoder. Make sure your data source is connected to the project. Then enable the Bot. The same cloud-folder warning applies. Our page on Bot settings covers the rest of that dialog.
Now a hypothetical example, labeled as such because it is a sketch and not a customer story. A small studio makes recap videos from a spreadsheet, one row per recap, in a handful of languages. Their client’s delivery spec names a codec that the studio’s After Effects install does not offer. The producer’s first instinct is to render everything and convert each file afterward. That works, but it adds a conversion pass for every video. The better fit here is Replicate with Adobe Media Encoder. The studio ticks the two preferences, points the encoder’s watch folder at a local output drive, and runs a small range first. If the sample files arrive in the right format, they run the whole batch. If the copies fail to render because the encoder sits on a different machine, they check the drive mappings and fonts on that machine before blaming Templater.
Now a second studio, same size, whose client accepts a file format After Effects can already write. Nothing in the spec needs the encoder. The right answer for them is Render. They avoid the watch folder, the second application, the drive mapping question and the master-file side effects. Adding the encoder would give them extra moving parts and nothing in return.
Who should look elsewhere? If your real problem is volume, and you need to spread thousands of renders across machines, neither mode is the answer by itself. Parallel rendering means running Templater Bot on several machines against one data source, and campaign management across machines is what Que is for. If your problem is checking that data lands correctly before you commit, the tool for that is a spot check, which we cover in preview and spot check modes. And if you want the encoder walkthrough in full detail, our Media Encoder batch guide is the place. This page is only the decision.
The bottom line is simple. Render is the shorter path and should be your starting point. Replicate is for the day a required format sends you to Adobe Media Encoder, and it costs you a second application, a watch folder that must be local or networked, matching drives and fonts on the encoder machine, and a master project file that changes as it runs. Pick Render until a format requirement tells you otherwise.
That covers the choice itself. Before you set up your first batch, here are the details worth settling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Render and Replicate in Templater?
Render outputs a versioned video file straight from After Effects. Replicate takes your project file, inserts the data, and saves a copy of the project to your machine, which Adobe Media Encoder can then process. Dataclay says you can use Adobe Media Encoder to support output format codecs not included with After Effects, and switching is a matter of using Replicate instead of Render.
Which Templater editions include Render and Replicate?
Render and Replicate are available in Templater Pro. Enable Bot is available in Templater Bot. None of these functions are available in Templater Rig. The free trial includes all features, so the buttons can disappear if you activate Rig after the trial. If you need them, you can upgrade your license to an edition that includes them.
How do I send replicas to Adobe Media Encoder?
In the Templater panel, open Preferences and tick Send replicates to Adobe Media Encoder under Replication. Enter a valid data range under Transport. In Adobe Media Encoder, add a watch folder that points to the output folder you set in the Templater panel. Then click Replicate and confirm the encoder is processing the files that appear in the watch folder.
Can the watch folder be in a cloud sync folder?
Dataclay warns against it. Using a cloud-based sync folder for Templater output can cause errors when Adobe Media Encoder is your render engine. Use a local folder or a networked folder instead. The same warning appears in the instructions for using the Bot with Adobe Media Encoder, so it applies whether you run a batch by hand or let the Bot do it.
When do I need the Remove Templater Settings option?
Tick Remove Templater Settings from replica’s layers when Adobe Media Encoder runs on a system that does not have Templater Rig, Pro or Bot installed. Dataclay notes the cost. It slows replication, it fills the Open Recent menu in After Effects with paths to the replica projects, and the encoder machine must have the same drive mappings and fonts as the machine that created the project.
Does Replicate change my original project file?
It can. When sending replicates to Adobe Media Encoder, Templater removes unused footage references from your project and saves the master project file after each replication. Templater also removes the replicas from the project folder automatically during the process to conserve disk space. Keeping a backup copy of the project before a large replication run is a sensible precaution.
Can I try Replicate in the free trial?
Yes, with one condition. The free trial includes all features, with a watermark added to dynamic layers. During the trial you can replicate a target composition only when the Send Replicates to Adobe Media Encoder preference is enabled. Those limits go away when you activate your license.
