Geoframe Geoframe

Guide

How to use Geoframe.

Workflow, system requirements, and credits. All on one page.

Tutorial

From install to animatable map. Reads in about five minutes.

Step 1

Install Geoframe and activate

Run the Geoframe installer you downloaded after purchase. It also drops a small companion panel into After Effects so the two can talk to each other.

On first launch, paste your license key into the splash screen and click Activate. Or click Start 14-day free trial if you want to try Geoframe before buying.

Step 2

Open the AE bridge panel

In After Effects, go to Window > Extensions > Map Studio Bridge. The bridge panel opens.

Click Connect and pick a folder anywhere on your machine. This is the folder where Geoframe will write its export files. The panel watches that folder and auto-imports anything Geoframe drops into it.

You only do this once. The bridge remembers your folder across AE restarts.

Step 3

Build your map

Open Geoframe. The main window shows a live map with a sidebar of five tabs:

  • Layers: paint countries and US states, add OpenStreetMap administrative boundaries, set fill and border colors.
  • Route: click points on the map to draw a route. Drop origin, waypoint, and destination markers, then style the line.
  • Label: click any spot on the map to drop a city or place label. Style as plain, pill, or boxed.
  • Basemaps: swap between OpenStreetMap, CARTO Voyager, Light, Dark, and satellite imagery. Toggle map labels on or off.
  • Export: send to AE, or download as PNG, SVG, or ZIP.

The dashed rectangle in the middle of the map (the stage frame) is what gets exported. Resize and reposition it to crop your map exactly the way you want it in AE.

Step 4

Send to After Effects

In the Export tab, click Send Bundle to AE. Geoframe writes a basemap PNG plus a small JSX import script to the folder you connected in Step 2.

Within about a second, the bridge panel inside AE picks up the new files and imports everything: basemap, route lines, region fills, OSM boundaries, and labels. Each as its own native AE layer.

If you only want to send part of the scene, use Send Routes or Send Region Fill from the same panel.

Step 5

Animate in After Effects

Everything Geoframe sends arrives as a standard AE shape layer or text layer. That means you can:

  • Use Trim Path to animate routes drawing on.
  • Keyframe Position to slide markers along their routes.
  • Parent regions to a null for grouped scaling and panning.
  • Apply any AE plugin or preset you already use. Looks plugins, motion blur, anything.

No Geoframe plugin needs to be present at render time. The composition is fully self-contained in After Effects, ready to render on any stock copy of AE.

Step 6

Save and revisit

From the Geoframe toolbar, click Save to download your project as a single .json file. Reopen it later with Load and the entire map state comes back: pan, zoom, painted regions, routes, labels, basemap choice, OSM boundaries.

Your AE comp saves separately as a normal .aep file, the same way as any other project.

Tips

A few things worth knowing

  • Multi-layer painting: turn on both World and US States in the Layers tab to paint a country (like the United States) and then individual states on top of that fill.
  • OSM boundaries are precise but heavy. The default detail level (Low) keeps things fast. Switch to Medium or High only when you need extra precision.
  • The bridge panel can be closed. A hidden background extension keeps polling the folder, so the panel only needs to be open when you connect or disconnect.
  • Stuck? Reach out via the contact form. We read every message.

System requirements

Lightweight by design. If your machine runs After Effects, it runs Geoframe.

Operating system

  • Windows 10 (version 1909 or later) or Windows 11.
  • 64-bit only.
  • macOS support is on the roadmap. Sign up for the newsletter to know when it lands.

After Effects

Required only if you want to use the AE bridge (sending maps directly to After Effects). The map editor itself works fine without AE installed.

  • After Effects 2022 (22.0) or later. Tested against AE 2024 and AE 2026.
  • Older AE versions (2021 and earlier) may work but are not officially supported.
  • The installer enables a setting called PlayerDebugMode in your registry so the bridge panel can load. This affects only your user account, not other Adobe extensions.

Hardware

  • RAM: 4 GB minimum. 8 GB or more recommended if you work with large OSM boundaries or many painted regions.
  • Disk space: About 200 MB for the app itself, plus working space for your project files (typically under 50 MB each).
  • Display: 1280x720 minimum. 1920x1080 or higher recommended for a comfortable workspace.
  • Graphics: Any GPU that runs modern Chrome. Geoframe is built on Electron and has no specialized 3D requirements.

Internet

  • First activation: Required briefly so the app can verify your license key.
  • Map tiles: Required when you load new map areas. Already-loaded tiles are cached, so panning around an area you have already visited works offline.
  • Day-to-day use: Once your maps are loaded and your license is active, Geoframe runs fully offline. No phone-home, no telemetry, no analytics.

Credits

Geoframe stands on the shoulders of dozens of open-source projects and open data sources.

Built on

  • Electron MIT license Cross-platform desktop app shell from the OpenJS Foundation.
  • Vue.js MIT license The reactive UI framework powering the editor.
  • Leaflet BSD-2-Clause license The interactive map library by Volodymyr Agafonkin.
  • D3.js ISC license Geographic projections, path generation, and a lot of behind-the-scenes math.
  • Tailwind CSS MIT license The utility-first CSS framework styling the app interface.
  • JSZip, file-saver, html2canvas, topojson-client MIT and BSD licenses Export pipeline plumbing for ZIPs, downloads, rasterization, and topology data.

Map data

  • OpenStreetMap ODbL Basemap tiles and administrative boundary data. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors.
  • Natural Earth Public domain World countries and US state polygon data.
  • CARTO The Voyager, Light, and Dark basemap tile styles.
  • Esri The satellite imagery basemap (Esri World Imagery).
  • Nominatim OpenStreetMap project Boundary search by name. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors.

Tools we use

  • Adobe CEP The Common Extensibility Platform that lets the bridge panel run inside After Effects. Geoframe is independent and not affiliated with Adobe.
  • NSIS The installer system that builds the Geoframe Setup .exe.