BCC FX Browser

Category: BCC Browser

Tool Name: BCC FX Browser™

The BCC FX Browser™ is a graphical preset browser that lets you preview your preset library over moving host video (not just static frames). There are two ways to use the FX Browser in Continuum: Integrated and Standalone.

Browser Types

Integrated FX Browser™

The Integrated FX Browser is available inside every classic BCC effect and provides preview and application of presets for the currently applied effect.

• Launch from any classic BCC effect by clicking the FX Browser button in the effect’s control pane.
• Apply applies the selected preset back to your clip in the timeline.
• Cancel returns to the timeline without applying a preset.
• Apply and Cancel are located in the bottom-right of the browser window.

Standalone FX Browser™

The Standalone FX Browser is applied as a separate effect found under the BCC Browser category. It allows browsing presets from every effect in the full BCC library.

• Use Standalone when you want to freely explore presets across the entire Continuum library.
• Unlike the Integrated browser, most hosts do not allow applying presets directly back to the timeline from Standalone.
• If you only see Close (and no Apply option), your host does not support direct apply in Standalone.
• In that case: note the preset you want, close the browser, then apply the preset from the chosen effect directly.

UI Overview

The FX Browser UI is divided into four main panes plus a standard menu bar and a bottom bar.

Bottom Bar

• Close / Cancel / Apply: Buttons located in the bottom-right corner of the browser window.
  • Close: Exits the browser (Standalone).
  • Cancel: Exits the Integrated browser without applying any presets.
  • Apply: Exits the Integrated browser and applies the selected preset back to the host. If the host supports animated presets and you apply an animated preset, you may be prompted about how its timing should be interpreted in your timeline.
  • Reset: Located in the bottom-left. Returns you to the main/root preset folder for the current effect if you’ve navigated elsewhere (for example, browsing presets from a desktop folder).

  Main Menu Bar

  • File: Exit provides an alternate way to close/cancel out of the browser without applying any presets.
  • Edit: Standard text editing controls.
  • Window: Controls which panes are visible and manages workspace layouts.
    • Workspaces: Save/load custom workspace layouts, or reset to factory defaults.
    • History / Presets / Previews / Folders: Toggle which panes are open.
    • Note: Integrated and Standalone have different default workspaces. Integrated typically hides the Folder pane because it only needs the current effect’s preset folder.
  • Help: Register, contact Technical Support, or view help files for the FX Browser or an individual effect.

  Preview Pane

  Displays a preview of the currently selected preset applied to your footage. When playing back over live footage, frames may skip on the first playback pass but should play at full speed once cached.

  Timeline and Playback

  • Timeline: Mini-timeline for previewing results over moving video.
  • Playback Controls: Start/Stop/Step/Rewind; spacebar toggles playback.
  • Current Time Indicator (CTI): Vertical blue line shows the current frame.
  • Play Range: Bars above the timeline set Start and End range to preview a subset of the clip.

  Compare Mode

  • Compare Off: Displays only the rendered effect.
  • Compare Side By Side: Two images side by side; left is unfiltered, right is filtered. You can drag either view to pan and inspect.
  • Compare Split: Full image with a vertical dividing line; left is unfiltered, right is filtered. On-screen controls can move the split point.

  Tip: Quickly switch compare modes using keyboard shortcuts: 1 = Compare Off, 2 = Side By Side, 3 = Split.

  Preview Info

  • FPS: Current playback frames-per-second.
  • Zoom: Monitor zoom percentage (may change when resizing the browser window).
  • Dimensions: Preview resolution dimensions.
  • Time: Current displayed frame/time.
  • Duration: Total duration of the clip.
  • Render Resolution: Changes preview resolution. Lower resolutions can improve playback performance.
  • Background: Sets the preview background when alpha is present:
    • Black: Solid black background.
    • Checkerboard: Checkerboard transparency preview.
    • Background: Custom background behind the animation.

  Warning: Background options are only visible in the filter version of the Preset Browser.

  Presets Pane

  Displays thumbnail previews of available presets. Selecting a preset refreshes the Preview pane with that preset applied.

  • Use the text search field to filter presets by keyword.
  • Adjust thumbnail size as needed.
  • Toggle between thumbnail view and detail view.

  History Pane

  Shows thumbnails of recently accessed presets. Selecting a history item displays a full preview in the Preview pane.

  • Adjust thumbnail size.
  • Toggle between thumbnail view and detail view.

  Folders Pane

  Folder navigation tree for browsing preset locations on disk and (in Standalone) choosing which effect or category is shown in the Presets pane.

  • Standalone: Use Folders to choose which effect/category presets appear in the Presets pane.
  • Integrated: Defaults to the preset folder for the currently applied effect. The Folder pane is hidden by default but can be opened to browse other directories (for example, presets shared by another user).
  • Use text search to filter folders by name (for example, “Rays” or “Wipe”).

  Usage Notes

  Preview Gamma

  The FX Browser displays pixel levels exactly as extracted from the host application without additional gamma correction. In hosts that can process in linear space while displaying a gamma-corrected view (for example, some configurations in After Effects or Vegas), previews may appear darker in the FX Browser because they are shown as raw, uncorrected values.