Current Version

2.12.7.101

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I log into the PFS App?

You can log into the PFS App with the same email and password you use to log into the site. Alternatively, if you have signed up for an account with the Log in with Apple or Google option you will have a link code on your user dashboard on the site. You can use this link code to log into the PFS App as well.

How can I view all of the products I have purchased?

Click “My Products” on the left side of the PFS App to view all of your products. Please note after the first installation of the app, you may have to quit and restart the app for the Products from your account to load. If you are not seeing your products appear here you can navigate to the Settings of the PFS App at the bottom left of the app and press the “Clear Cache” button. This will refresh your account purchases. Wait for the refresh and then once done go back to the “My Products” section and you should see your purchases load.

How do I view all of the downloads from my purchased Mega Packs?

Navigate to the “My Products” section of the app, then click the arrow icon next to the Mega Pack or Suite name to the left. This will allow you to view all downloads that come with your Mega Pack, including any installable tools and/or composite footage files.

Where do I find my installed products in Final Cut Pro?

Once you have installed a product from your My Products section in the PFS App you will notice below each product name there are a set of icons. These icons indicate the library or libraries that the product is installed to. From left to right the library icons are Titles, Generators, Effects, Transitions, and Composites. When an icon is highlighted blue that indicates the product is installed into that location in Final Cut Pro. A white library icon indicates the plugin does not install to that location.

You can confirm that a product is installed by locating the product folder in your Motion Templates folders. In finder the path is:

Macintosh HD > Users > Your User > Movies > Motion Templates > (Effects, Generators, Titles, Transitions)

* Please note that composites are not directly installed into Final Cut Pro. Instead video composite files download to a folder called PFS Composite in your Movies folder path.

Macintosh HD > Users > Your User > Movies > PFS Composite

These video files can then be imported to your project this location. You can also reveal the PFS Composite folder by locating a Composite download in your My Products section and pressing the button to the right of the Install button. This will give you the option to reveal the download in Finder.

How do I download Composite Footage through the App?

If you have purchased a product that contains composite footage you will see an arrow icon to the left of the product name in the My Products section of the PFS App. When you press the arrow icon it will expand to show all downloads for that product bundle.
Composite footage is indicated by a blue film strip icon next to the name of the download in the PFS App. To download Composite Footage, click the Install button next to the composite footage icon in the PFS App. When you download a composite through the PFS App, it will download to a folder called PFS Composite in your Movies folder. You can access it by clicking the three dot button to the right of the Downloaded option and then click “View In Finder.” You can then import the composites into your projects and use them as desired.

How do I know what version of the PFS App is installed?

When your PFS App is open, click “Account Settings” at the bottom left of the App. Under “PFS App Version” you will be able to see what version of the app you have installed.

What are PFS Rewards and how do I earn them?

Whenever you make a purchase you earn points towards rewards coupons that can be used toward future purchases. Rewards are calculated from your PFS account total purchases starting from the very first time you have purchased from us! For every $100 spent on our website, you will earn a new coupon, starting at $10 OFF and going up to $100 OFF. Rewards can be earned up to $1000 in total purchases on your PFS account. Each coupon is good for 1 time use on an order that does not contain any sale items, is 4 or less items total, and carts with a total value of at least $1 over the coupon value before VAT (if applicable.) Only 1 coupon can be applied to an order at a time.

How do I use my Rewards Coupons?

Click the Rewards section of the PFS App and click the Copy button next to your coupon. Then at checkout, go to the Coupon section of the checkout, and paste in the code. Please make sure you are logged into your PFS Account before purchase, your order is at least $1 over the value of the coupon before VAT (if applicable), your order is 4 items or less, and your order does not contain any items on sale in order to successfully use a PFS Rewards coupon. Only 1 coupon can be applied to an order at a time.

Why are some plugins missing from my account on the App?

If a new purchase is missing from your “My Products” section of the App, go to the “Account Settings” tab at the lower left of the app and click “Clear Cache.” Then restart the App.

If an old purchased plugin is still missing from the PFS App, it may mean that the product has been discontinued. Only plugins that are currently live on our website will appear in the My Products section of the PFS App.

To verify this, please check your Account Downloads page on the website. If the plugin does not have a product box, order number, or email validation information, and does not appear when using the search function of the website, that means the product has been discontinued and is no longer live or for sale.

Should you have a product that is not appearing in the PFS App please feel free to reach out to our customer service team at support@pixelfilmstudios.com if you have any questions.

How can I update products on the PFS App?

When a plugin has an update, a red dot will appear above the button with 3 dots next to the product on the right side of the app. To update, click the button and select “Update” from the dropdown that appears. The plugin will automatically begin downloading and installing the update after you click the button.

Do I need to update a plugin?

The only reasons you would need to download instead of updating is if the plugin is either not installed currently or the version of the plugin you have installed currently is not compatible with your current MacOS and/or Final Cut Pro version.

How can I update the PFS App?

When your PFS App is open, click “Account Settings” at the bottom left of the App. Under “PFS App Version” you will be able to see what version of the app you have installed. If an update is available, you can click the “Update Available” button to perform an update on the PFS App.

Do I have to have the PFS App for installation?

Yes! Going forward our plugins will only be available for download through the PFS App. While we do currently have individual installers for most plugins available currently we will be discontinuing individual installers in the future making the PFS App the one and only way to install purchases from your account.

How do I activate my device?

Some plugins like AI Clarity and AI Colorize require you to activate your device in the Settings of the PFS App.

In the Settings section of the PFS App there is a section called Device Activation. Here you can Activate your device with the button that says Activate.

If successfully activated you will get a message that says “Activation Successful” and you will see Devices Activated out of 3 increased by 1.

If you are seeing a button that says checking please first make sure that your PFS App is up to date. If it is not please update the PFS App and restart. If you are on the latest version of the PFS App please close it and relaunch it and go back to the settings panel. The button should switch from Checking to Activate within a few seconds.

Why can I hear a video playing in the background while using the App?

The FCPX Tutorials tab of the App, which includes our full playlist of FCPX Tutorials,  will automatically play the first video when the tab selected. Navigate to this tab and press pause on the Video to stop any background noise.

Troubleshooting

Why is my PFS App is not working correctly?

There are a number of reasons that your PFS App could be having trouble operating:

  • You could be running an older version of the PFS App that is no longer supported.
  • Your Finder and/or permissions need to be reset.
  • Your Pixel Film Studios folder has not been generated in your Applications folder
  • The Motion Templates folder and subfolders (Effects, Generators, Titles, Transitions) do not exist in your Movies folder or are not localized.
Please check the steps in the drop down options below for more information.

I open the PFS App but it closes immediately?

The PFS App relies on a folder structure with proper permissions that is set up by default when opened by an Administrator user on the Mac.

Please first make sure you are the admin on your Mac. If you are not the admin we have a solution for you, but it will require having a member of your IT department there to input the Admin password so the appropriate changes can be made.

Step 1

First, login to the Admin User on the Mac. Once logged in try to open the PFS App from the Applications folder and check to see if it opens and prompts a log in screen. If the PFS App does open and show the login screen this means the correct path in Finder [Macintosh HD > Applications > Pixel Film Studios > (Log, PFS-Download, Plugins)] has been generated. Please proceed to Step 5.
* If the PFS App does not open and closes instantly please proceed to Step 2.
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Step 2

Inside the Applications folder look for a folder called Pixel Film Studios. In the event you do have the Pixel Film Studios folder please verify that you have the exact path below:

Macintosh HD > Applications > Pixel Film Studios > (Log, PFS-Download, Plugins)

*If you have this EXACT path shown above please proceed to Step 4. 
*If you don’t have this path please check the options in Step 3.
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Step 3

Please confirm which of these applies to your situation:

  • A) You have the Pixel Film Studios folder and only a Plugins folder inside of it that contains apps and are missing the other two folders (Log and PFS-Download). We recommend backing up the contents of the Plugins folder to a folder on your Desktop to place back into the new Plugins folder later. Please then delete the Pixel Film Studios folder in your Applications folder and proceed to Step 4.
  • B) You have a Pixel Film Studios folder in this location but it is empty. Delete the Pixel Film Studios folder and proceed to Step 4.
  • C) You don’t have a Pixel Film Studios folder at all in this location. Please proceed to Step 4.

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Step 4

Create a folder and name it Pixel Film Studios. Inside this Pixel Film Studios create three more folders and name them exactly as follows:
Log
PFS-Download
Plugins

Next, place the Pixel Film Studios folder inside of the Applications folder and then proceed to Step 5.
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Step 5

Once you have confirmed the path Macintosh HD > Applications > Pixel Film Studios > (Log, PFS-Download, Plugins) exists right click on the Pixel Film Studios folder and press Get Info. In the Get Info panel we need to make sure both the main user and the admin user both have Read and Write privileges. To start, scroll to the bottom of the Get Info panel for the Pixel Film Studios folder and press the lock icon on the bottom right corner and enter the admin password. It should appear as an unlocked icon after this. Next, press the + icon to the bottom left of the Get Info panel and add the admin user and your user if not already present. On both users (admin and secondary users) make sure to select Read and Write.
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Step 6

The next step is to apply these privileges to all enclosed folders. Press the arrow Icon to the right or the “+” and “–” Icons. The drop down will give you the option to Apply to Enclosed folders. Once that is done both users Read and Write permissions should be applied to the entirety of the folder structure. You can now lock the folder by clicking on the lock Icon at the bottom right once more to lock all changes.

With this done, you should be able to open the PFS App on the admin and/or main user and install your plugins. Once opened you can log in and we usually recommend just quitting the app and relaunching at this step after getting logged in. You should now be able to install your plugins!

Please note that you will have to restart the PFS App after your first log in to have the program finish loading all the products from your account. You will also want to make sure that you have activated your device in the Device Activation section of your Settings in the PFS App.

The plugins aren't installing through the PFS App?

The PFS App relies on a folder structure with proper permissions that is set up by default when opened by an administrator user on the Mac.

Please first make sure you are the admin on your Mac. If you are not the admin we have a solution for you, but it will require having a member of your IT department there to input the admin password so the appropriate changes can be made.

In order to install a plugin the PFS App needs to be able to Read and Write to your Motion Templates folder and nesting folders (Effects, Generators, Titles, Transitions). If you have this structure on your system already it will be under the following path in Finder:
Macintosh HD > Users > Your User > Movies > Motion Templates > (Effects, Generators, Titles, Transitions)

These folders should be created by default, however, in the event that you do not have these you will need to create them with the proper naming conventions as well as make sure they have the necessary permissions to Read and Write to.

If these folders do not exist you will need to create them. Please note these folders are very specific and must have the correct spelling and letter case:

  1. In your Movies folder create a new folder and name it:
    Motion Templates.localized
  2. Inside the Motion Templates folder create four more folders and name them as follows:
    Effects.localized
    Generators.localized
    Titles.localized
    Transitions.localized
  3. Once you have created this path select the Motion Templates folder and right click on it. In the menu that appears press the Get Info option. In the Get Info panel we need to make sure both your user and the admin user both have Read and Write privileges. To start, scroll to the bottom of the Get Info panel for the Motion Templates folder and press the lock icon on the bottom right corner and enter the admin password. It should appear as an unlocked icon after this. Next, press the + icon to the bottom left of the Get Info panel and add the admin user and your user if not already present. On both users (admin and secondary users) make sure to select Read and Write.
  4. The next step is to press the arrow Icon to the right or the “+” and “–” Icons. The drop down will give you the option to Apply to Enclosed folders. Once this is done, both users Read and Write permissions should be applied to the entirety of the folder structure. You can now lock the folder by clicking on the lock Icon at the bottom right once more to lock all changes.

With this done, you should be able to open the PFS App and install your plugins.

Please note that you will have to restart the PFS App after your first log in to have the program finish loading all the products from your account. You will also want to make sure that you have activated your device in the Device Activation section of your Settings in the PFS App.

Am I running the most recent version of the PFS App?

Firstly, if you have an older version of the PFS App called either PFS Installer or AppStoreRe please quit and delete these older versions of the app and re-download the latest version of the PFS App from this page.
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To verify that you are using the latest version of the PFS App launch the PFS App from your Applications folder and navigate to the Settings at the bottom left of the PFS App. The version will show here in the Settings panel. If your version is older than what is listed on this page as the current version you can either update the PFS App from the Settings panel or delete the PFS App from your Applications folder and re-download the latest version from this page.

How can I do a clean install of the PFS App?

  1. Quit the PFS App in the top toolbar of the computer.
  2. Delete the PFS App from the Applications.
  3. Re-download the PFS App from this page and reinstall it.
  4. Open the PFS App and verify that you are now using the latest version in the Settings panel of the PFS App.
  5. Install a plugin from the “My Products” to test and verify the PFS App is installing your plugins. If an issue persists please contact our Customer Support.

How do I reset my permissions?

First, open your Terminal. To do this easily, press Command Space to bring up your Spotlight Search and type Terminal. Launch the Terminal window and paste the following command.

tccutil reset AppleEvents

Then press enter.

The tccutil command manages the privacy database, which stores decisions the user has made about whether apps may access personal data. Resetting this will require the user to grant permissions once more when running an installer or allowing a download. The permissions are required in order for the software to be written to the correct directories on your computer.

Why are updates not appearing even though I received an email saying there was a product update?

First, verify that the PFS App is updated to the latest version. The installer will know there is an update based on if you already have a product installed and there is a newer version available. The installer is looking for the exact name of a plugin so if it can’t see the exact name of the file in your Motion Templates as it appears in the name of the downloaded folder it will just say Install in the PFS App. For this reason, we do not recommend users rename the motion template folders of the plugin.

Example:

Let’s say you have the FCPX Social Mega Pack installed. In your Motion Templates, under the Titles, Generators, and Effects libraries you will see the plugin listed under PFS – FCPX Social Mega Pack. If the plugin is renamed to just FCPX Social Mega Pack the PFS App will no longer be able to detect that the PFS – FCPX Social Mega Pack is installed and will instead prompt the user to Install the plugin instead of Updating the plugin.