CAROUSEL PRO 2.5 - After Effects CEP Panel (77 styles, 12 ratios)

INSTALL
1) Copy the "CarouselPro" folder to:
   Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\
   Mac:     /Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions/
2) Enable unsigned extensions (one time) for your CSXS version.
3) Restart After Effects -> Window > Extensions > Carousel Pro.

USE
- Search or filter the animated style gallery, select a style, then choose Customize.
- Add multiple images/videos in one selection. Drag thumbnails to reorder or remove them individually.
- Tune easing, direction, looping, item rotation, ring spacing, scale, and motion intensity.
- Choose output ratio and timing, then click Create in Timeline.

NEW IN 2.0
- Count-aware 360-degree orbit engine: every selected item is equally spaced around the complete ring. Four images sit exactly 90 degrees apart.
- Unlimited practical item count (the panel no longer imposes the old 30-item limit).
- 10 new motion presets: Perfect 360 Ring, Ellipse Orbit, Vertical Orbit, Depth Ring, Helix Flow, Wide Cinema Orbit, Portrait Halo, Tilted Ring, Micro Orbit, and Grand Wheel.
- 8 existing circular styles upgraded to use the same exact full-ring math.
- Multi-file import, thumbnails, drag reorder, remove, clear, search, categories, and pauseable previews.
- New easing, direction, loop, rotation, spacing, scale, and intensity controls.

NEW IN 2.1
- Nine reference-matched carousel presets with purpose-built geometry and masking.
- Fashion Wing: dominant rounded center portrait with compressed wing panels.
- Product Bend: balanced three-card product stage with bent side perspective.
- Sneaker Showcase: staggered outlined product frames with layered depth.
- People Flower: seven overlapping circular portraits in a complete flower ring.
- AE Card Stack: dominant center tile with staggered rear cards.
- Travel Coverflow: wide seven-card depth arrangement with a prominent center card.
- Monument Accordion: full center landscape with narrow accordion side strips.
- Easy Portrait Orbit: eight tilted rounded portraits around an open center.
- AE Icon Orbit: six rounded orbit tiles around a persistent center badge.
- Each reference preset automatically starts at its demonstrated media count.

NEW IN 2.2 (carousel build fixes)
- Rings are now TRUE circles in every ratio (9:16, 16:9, 4:5 ...). Before, x used the comp width and y the comp height, so rings became ovals.
- Orbit motion follows the real arc. Easing and arcs are baked into keyframes (before: straight lines between 4 corner keyframes).
- Reference styles (Fashion Wing, Sneaker Showcase, AE Card Stack, Travel Coverflow, Monument Accordion): the CENTER card was shifted sideways. Now centered.
- Every card uses ONE shared frame (same size, same crop, "cover" fit). Pictures of any size/ratio line up and match the preview.
- Cards are never stretched: narrow/wide cards are a mask crop, so rounded corners and circles stay perfectly round.
- Layer order (which card is in front) now matches the preview for every style.
- Items that wrap from one end to the other fade out/in instead of flying across the screen.
- "Reverse" now only reverses the spin; it no longer mirrors the item order.
- Rotation: "Style default" keeps each style's own tilt (Card Fan, Pendulum ...). Old default flattened them. "Keep upright" forces 0.
- Preview and AE share js/styles.js. After editing it run: node tools/build-host.js
- Not in AE yet: the colored outline of Sneaker Showcase (preview only).

NEW IN 2.5 (Continuous spin mode)
- Motion tab > Animation mode: "Step - hold each image" (as before) or "Continuous spin - rotate, then stop".
- Continuous spin: the carousel starts at 0 degrees, rotates without pausing and stops when done. Works with every style.
  For ring/orbit styles 1 rotation = one full 360 degrees, so the last frame equals the first.
- Spin duration (s) and Rotations (360 degrees each, e.g. 1, 2, 0.5) are selectable. Easing sets the feel: Linear = constant speed,
  Smooth / Ease in & out = gentle start and stop. Direction (Forward/Reverse) sets which way it spins.
- In spin mode the comp length = spin duration (Hold / Transition are not used).

NEW IN 2.4 (3D Portrait Coverflow)
- New style "Reference · 3D Portrait Coverflow" (category: Depth). Tall rounded portrait cards: a dominant center card, side cards turned
  inward in real 3D perspective, and a second row of cards peeking out from behind them. Starts at 7 items.
- Engine: poses can now carry "ry" (Y rotation). Styles with persp:true get an After Effects camera ("Carousel Camera", zoom = camera distance,
  cpCamDist() in js/styles.js) so the preview and the AE render use the same perspective maths. Other styles are unchanged (no camera, no 3D tilt).
- New style option frameAR / frameH: a fixed card proportion (here 0.62 = 5:8 portrait) instead of the default near-square frame.
- If the side cards turn AWAY from the center in your After Effects version, set CP_RY_SIGN = -1 in tools/ae_part.jsx and run: node tools/build-host.js
- Not included: the soft floor reflection from the reference picture (it would need a duplicate, flipped layer per card).

NEW IN 2.3 (Look tab)
- Roundness: Style default, or Custom 0-100% (0 = sharp corners, 100 = fully round/circle). Applies to images and videos, preview + After Effects.
- Stroke: Style default / On / Off, with width (% of card size) and color. In After Effects it is a Stroke effect on the card's mask,
  so it follows the rounded shape and the card's size.
