FAQ: How to install FCPX plug-ins

How to install effects for FCPX.

The method I most strongly recommend is to use Spherico Motion Template Tool which is by far the best available way of kepping everything organised (see below for details.) Otherwise follow these steps.

Download the file and unzip it. Navigate to your User/Movies/Motion Templates folder, inside which you will find folders for Effects, Generators, Titles and Transitions.

Copy the entire folder that you have downloaded (not its contents) into the relevant folder. (If in doubt you can look to see what kind of template you are dealing with by looking inside folder that contains it. Effects will have the suffix .moef, Generators are .motn, Titles are .moti, and Transitions are .motr.)

It will help you to find them inside FCPX if you take the additional step of making another folder inside the destination folder that you give a name of your choosing - e.g. My Downloaded Effects, or whatever.

If you don't have Motion 5 installed, the procedure is as follows:

Inside your User/Movies folder create a new folder called Motion Templates and inside this new folder create the following additional folders:

Compositions
Effects
Generators
Titles
Transitions

From now on you will be able to install your downloaded plug-ins in the same way as described above for users with Motion 5.

Or better still, please check out the new Motion Template Installer from Andreas Kiel:

www.spherico.com/filmtools/

The Motion Template Tool allows to install custom Motion Templates in an easy way for FCPX users.

This tool is helpful for both developers and users. It provides a simple hassle free way to install custom templates, change some installation settings and make backups of the template installations.
One also can create a disk images for backup and/or distribution.

The Motion Template Tool is free of charge as long as you use it for distribution of free Motion Templates or for backup purposes.
A donation though is appreciated.

You freely can distribute or host the installer disk image for free Motion Templates as long the license agreement is supplied and the application is not modified.

Hi, I don't have Motion 5 and therefore tried the way you described in the post (created the folders in the Movies directory).

But when I try to give the new folders the extension ".localised", the computer informs me that I can't start a name with a dot because this is reserved to the system.

Is there any workaround?

Thanks

I obviously didn't make this clear enough! An extension is something you add to the existing folder name - you don't want to be replacing the fodler name with it.

So for example a folder called "This Folder" should be renamed as "This Folder.localised".

I'll update the FAQ to try and make this clearer.

Now I've created the new Movie>Motion Templates.localised folder. Inside it I've created the Compositions, Effects, Generators, Titles and Transitions folders (all .localised), then I downloaded the Adjustment Layer available to download from tap5a...... finally I've put the content of it in the Titles.localised folder......

BUT still, when I open Final Cut Pro X I can't see any Adjustment Layer in the Titles browser...

What did I do wrong?

Tks

The ".localized"extension is unnessisary and should not be done. I've set up several Macs with only FCPX and never did that, never had any problems. I just tested it, and had problems.

Thanks for clarifying - I've updated the FAQ.

I've just been reading your instructions but I must have done something wrong. I have FCPX but not Motion. I found the Motion Templates folder and it has a few folders inside it, one of which is Effects. I dragged by new effect folder into the Effects folder and then opened FCPX. I don't see it the effect anywhere. Can you help?

PS - So sorry - user error. I thought it was an effect but it was a title effect so it belonged in the Title folder and not the Effects folder. I see it now

Also, this tool makes delivery and installation a non-issue. And it's free. "Motion Template Tool"

www.fcp.co/forum/6-motion-5/3990-motion-template-tool

As Ben said, the .localized extension is not necessarily needed. But it could make sense when a free template is localized.

And even if it's a shameless house promotion - my MTT.app does make life easier for FCPX users. The app will take care about the .localized stuff as well.

Andreas

Hi Simon,

Just a short note.

You said:
If you don't have Motion 5 installed, the procedure is as follows: ...

You don't need to have Motion to run my installer app.

Regards
Abdreas

I have the magic bullet looks package and can't figure out how to use it in fcpx... I have tried to add it to the motion folder and the plugins folder but it doesn't show up.

MB has an installer you have to run, I believe.

As Ben says, MB has its own installer that's very easy to use. Simply double-click the MB package you have downloaded and follow the usual instructions.

Don't follow the instructions in this thread as they are not applicable to MB.

Hello all, new to the community and could use a little help here as well. I downloaded three different effects plugins and have tried both the manual and MTT options and I get nothing in FCPX. I downloaded a text plugging from another site and manually installed it and it worked fine. Not sure if theres a file extension on the items in this community or if I'm just missing a step.

With the MTT option I put the folder in, it shows up in the list but when i hit the Show preference it shows the picture but non of the descriptions, then when I go to add another the first one disappears.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Thank you this has been very helpful

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