After Effects Scripting Guide

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Copyright	All content is copyright Adobe Systems Incorporated.

After Effects Scripting Guide¶

This repo hosts the After Effects Scripting Guide community docs.

This initially came from the Adobe After Effects CS6 Scripting Guide, and has been added to and adjusted to reflect the current state of scripting within AE.

Navigating the Guide¶

If you're not sure where to start, take a look at the Overview for how scripting works in After Effects, or Changelog for updates to the scripting API over time.

Contribution¶

This endeavour is primarily community-supported & run; contributors are welcome and encouraged to suggest fixes, adjustments, notes/warnings, and anything else that may help the project.

For specific information on how to contribute & best practices, see the Documentation Contribution Guide.

Licensing & Ownership¶

This project exists for educational purposes only.

All content is copyright Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Introduction ↵

Overview¶

Introduction to scripting in After Effects¶

A script is a series of commands that tells an application to perform a series of operations. You can use scripts in most Adobe applications to automate repetitive tasks, perform complex calculations, and even use some functionality not directly exposed through the graphical user interface. For example, you can direct After Effects to reorder the layers in a composition, find and replace source text in text layers, or send an e-mail message when rendering is complete.

Although both the After Effects expressions language and the After Effects ExtendScript scripting language is based on JavaScript, the expressions features and scripting features of After Effects are separate and distinct. Expressions cannot access information from scripts (such as variables and functions). Whereas a script tells an application to do something, an expression says that a property is something. However, because the After Effects expression language and ExtendScript are both based on JavaScript, familiarity with either one is very helpful in understanding the other.

The heart of a scriptable application is the object model. When you use Adobe After Effects, you create projects, compositions, and render queue items along with all of the elements that they contain: footage, images, solids, layers, masks, effects, and properties. Each of these items, in scripting terms, is an object. This guide describes the ExtendScript objects that have been defined for After Effects projects.

The After Effects object model is composed of a project, items, compositions, layers, and render queue items. Each object has its own special attributes, and every object in an After Effects project has its own identity (although not all are accessible to scripting). You should be familiar with the After Effects object model in order to create scripts.

Note

JavaScript objects normally referred to as "properties" are consistently called "attributes" in this guide, to avoid confusion with After Effects' own definition of a property (an animatable value of an effect, mask, or transform within an individual layer).

Nearly all of what scripting can accomplish replicates what can be done by means of the After Effects graphical user interface. A thorough knowledge of the application itself and its graphical user interface is essential to understanding how to use scripting in After Effects.

The ExtendScript language¶

After Effects scripts use the Adobe ExtendScript language, which is an extended form of JavaScript used by several Adobe applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. ExtendScript implements the JavaScript language according to the ECMA-262 specification. The After Effects scripting engine supports the 3rd Edition of the ECMA-262 Standard, including its notational and lexical conventions, types, objects, expressions, and statements. ExtendScript also implements the E4X ECMA-357 specification, which defines access to data in XML format.

ExtendScript defines a global debugging object, the dollar ($) object, and a reporting utility for ExtendScript elements, the ExtendScript Reflection interface.

File and Folder Objects¶

Because pathname syntax is very different in different operating systems, Adobe ExtendScript defines Extendscript File and Extendscript Folder objects to provide platform-independent access to the underlying file system.

ScriptUI User Interface Module¶

The ExtendScript ScriptUI module provides the ability to create and interact with user interface elements. ScriptUI provides an object model for windows and UI control elements that you can use to create a user interface for your scripts.

Tools and Utilities¶

In addition, ExtendScript provides tools and features such as a localization utility for providing user-interface string values in different languages and global functions for displaying short messages in dialog boxes (alert, confirm, and prompt).

External Communication¶

ExtendScript provides a Socket object that allows you to communicate with remote systems from your After Effects scripts.

Interapplication Communication¶

ExtendScript provide s a common scripting environment for all Adobe applications, and allows inter-application communication through scripts.

The ExtendScript Toolkit (ESTK)¶

After Effects includes a script editor and debugger, the ExtendScript Toolkit (ESTK), which provides a convenient interface for creating and testing your own scripts.

To start the ESTK, choose File > Scripts > Open Script Editor.

If you choose to use another text editor to create, edit, and save scripts, be sure to choose an application that does not automatically add header information when saving files and that saves with Unicode (UTF-8) encoding. In many text editors, you can set preferences for saving with UTF-8 encoding. Some applications (such as Microsoft Word) by default add header information to files that can cause "line 0" errors in scripts, causing them to fail.

For detailed information on the ExtendScript Toolkit, see the JavaScript Tools Guide.

The .jsx and .jsxbin file-name extensions¶

ExtendScript script files are distinguished by the .jsx file-name extension, a variation on the standard .js extension used with JavaScript files. After Effects scripts must include the .jsx file extension in order to be properly recognized by the application. Any UTF-8-encoded text file with the .jsx extension is recognized as an ExtendScript file.

You can use the ExtendScript Toolkit to export a binary version of an ExtendScript file, which has the extension .jsxbin. Such a binary file may not be usable with all of the scripting integration features in After Effects.

Activating full scripting features¶

The default is for scripts to not be allowed to write files or send or receive communication over a network. To allow scripts to write files and communicate over a network, choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > General (Mac OS), and select the Allow Scripts To Write Files And Access Network option.

Any After Effects script that contains an error preventing it from being completed generates an error message from the application. This error message includes information about the nature of the error and the line of the script on which it occurred. The ExtendScript Toolkit (ESTK) debugger can open automatically when the application encounters a script error. This feature is disabled by default so that casual users do not encounter it. To activate this feature, choose Preferences > General, and select Enable JavaScript Debugger.

Loading and running scripts¶

When After Effects starts, it searches the Scripts folder for scripts to load. Loaded scripts are available from the File > Scripts menu.

To run a loaded script, choose File > Scripts > [script name].

If you edit a script while After Effects is running, you must save your changes for the changes to be applied. If you place a script in the Scripts folder while After Effects is running, you must restart After Effects for the script to appear in the Scripts menu, though you can immediately run the new script using the Run Script File command.

Running scripts using File > Scripts > Run Script File¶

To run a script that has not been loaded, choose File > Scripts > Run Script File, locate and select a script, and click Open.

Running scripts from the command line, a batch file, or an AppleScript script¶

If you are familiar with how to run a script from the command line in Windows or via AppleScript, you can send a script directly to the open After Effects application, so that the application automatically runs the script.

To run a script from the command line, call afterfx.exe from the command line. Use the -r switch and the full path of the script to run as arguments. This command does not open a new instance of the After Effects application; it runs the script in the existing instance.

Example (for Windows):

afterfx -r c:\script_path\example_script.jsx

You can use this command-line technique—together with the software that comes with a customizable keyboard—to bind the invocation of a script to a keyboard shortcut.

Following are examples of Windows command-line entries that will send an After Effects script to the application without using the After Effects user interface to execute the script.

In the first example, you copy and paste your After Effects script directly on the command line and then run it. The script text appears in quotation marks following the afterfx.exe -s command:

afterfx.exe -s "alert("You just sent an alert to After Effects")"

Alternatively, you can specify the location of the JSX file to be executed. For example:

afterfx.exe -r c:\myDocuments\Scripts\yourAEScriptHere.jsx afterfx.exe -r "c:\myDocuments\Scripts\Script Name with Spaces.jsx"

How to include After Effects scripting in an AppleScript (Mac OS)¶

The following are three examples of AppleScript scripts that will send an existing JSX file containing an After Effects script to the application without using the After Effects user interface to execute the script.

In the first example, you copy your After Effects script directly into the Script Editor and then run it. The script text appears within quotation marks following the DoScript command, so internal quotes in the script must be escaped using the backslash escape character, as follows

tell application "Adobe After Effects CS6"
    DoScript "alert(\"You just sent an alert to After Effects\")"
end tell

Alternatively, you could display a dialog box asking for the location of the JSX file to be executed, as follows:

set theFile to choose file
tell application "Adobe After Effects CS6"
    DoScriptFile theFile
end tell

Finally, this script is perhaps most useful when you are working directly on editing a JSX script and want to send it to After Effects for testing or to run. To use it effectively you must enter the application that contains the open JSX file (in this example it is TextEdit); if you do not know the proper name of the application, type in your best guess to replace "TextEdit" and AppleScript prompts you to locate it.

Simply highlight the script text that you want to run, and then activate this AppleScript:

(*
This script sends the current selection to After Effects as a script.
*)

tell application "TextEdit"
    set the_script to text of front document
end tell

tell application "Adobe After Effects CS6" activate
    DoScript the_script
end tell

Running scripts automatically during application startup or shutdown¶

Within the Scripts folder are two folders called Startup and Shutdown. After Effects runs scripts in these folders automatically, in alphabetical order, on starting and quitting, respectively.

In the Startup folder, you can place scripts that you wish to execute at startup of the application. They are executed after the application is initialized and all plug-ins are loaded.

Scripting shares a global environment, so any script executed at startup can define variables and functions that are available to all scripts. In all cases, variables and functions, once defined by running a script that contains them, persist in subsequent scripts during a given After Effects session. Once the application is quit, all such globally defined variables and functions are cleared. Be sure to give variables in scripts unique names, so that a script does not inadvertently reassign global variables intended to persist throughout a session.

Attributes can also be added to existing objects such as the Application object to extend the application for other scripts.

The Shutdown folder scripts are executed as the application quits. This occurs after the project is closed but before any other application shutdown occurs

Scripts in the ScriptUI Panels folder are available from the bottom of the Window menu. If a script has been written to provide a user interface in a dockable panel, the script should be put in the ScriptUI folder. ScriptUI panels work much the same as the default panels in the After Effects user interface.

Instead of creating a Window object and adding controls to it, a ScriptUI Panels script uses the this object that represents the panel. For example, the following code adds a button to a panel:

var myPanel = this;
myPanel.add("button", [10, 10, 100, 30], "Tool #1");

If your script creates its user interface in a function, you cannot use this as it will refer to the function itself, not the panel. In this case, you should pass the this object as an argument to your function. For example:

function createUI(thisObj) {
    var myPanel = thisObj;
    myPanel.add("button", [10, 10, 100, 30], "Tool #1");
    return myPanel;
}
var myToolsPanel = createUI(this);

You cannot use the File > Scripts > Run Script File menu command to run a script that refers to this. To make your script work with either a Window object (accessible from the File > Scripts menu) or a native panel (accessible from the Window menu), check whether this is a Panel object. For example:

function createUI(thisObj) {
    var myPanel = (thisObj instanceof Panel) ? thisObj : new Window("palette", "My Tools",
    [100, 100, 300, 300]);
    myPanel.add("button", [10, 10, 100, 30], "Tool #1");
    return myPanel;
}
var myToolsPanel = createUI(this);

Stopping a running script¶

A script can be stopped by pressing Esc or Cmd+period (in Mac OS) when the After Effects or the script's user interface has focus. However, a script that is busy processing a lot of data might not be very responsive.

Elements of basic JavaScript relevant to After Effects scripting¶

Javascript Variables¶

Scripting shares a global environment, so any script executed at startup can define variables and functions that are available to all scripts. In all cases, variables and functions, once defined by running a script that contains them, persist in subsequent scripts during a given After Effects session. Once the application is quit, all such globally defined variables and functions are cleared. Scripters should be careful about giving variables in scripts unique names, so that a script does not inadvertently reassign global variables intended to persist throughout a session.

Keywords and Statement Syntax¶

Keyword/Statement	Description
`break`	Standard JavaScript; exit the currently executing loop.
`continue`	JavaScript; cease execution of the current loop iteration.
`case`	Label used in a `switch` statement.
`default`	Label used in a `switch` statement when a `case` label is not found.
`do...while`	Standard JavaScript construct. Similar to the while loop, except loop condition evaluation occurs at the end of the loop.
`false`	Literal representing the Boolean false value.
`for`	Standard JavaScript loop construct.
`for...in`	Standard JavaScript construct. Provides a way to easily loop through the properties of an object.
`function`	Used to define a function.
`if/if...else`	Standard JavaScript conditional constructs.
`new`	Standard JavaScript constructor statement.
`null`	Assigned to a variable, array element, or object property to indicate that it does not contain a legalvalue.
`return`	Standard JavaScript way of returning a value from a function or exiting a function.
`switch`	Standard JavaScript way of evaluating a JavaScript expression and attempting to match the expression's value to a `case` label.
`this`	Standard JavaScript method of indicating the current object.
`true`	Literal representing the Boolean true value.
`undefined`	Indicates that the variable, array element, or object property has not yet been assigned a value.
`var`	Standard JavaScript syntax used to declare a local variable.
`while`	Standard JavaScript construct. Similar to the do...while loop, except loop condition evaluation occurs at the beginning of the loop.
`with`	Standard JavaScript construct used to specify an object to use in subsequent statements.

Javascript Operators¶

The following tables list and describe all operators recognized by the After Effects scripting engine and show the precedence and associativity for all operators.

Description of Operators¶

Operators	Description
`new`	Create new object instance.
`delete`	Delete property from an object.
`typeof`	Returns data type.
`void`	Returns undefined value.
`.`	Object member.
`[]`	Array element.
`()`	Function call.
`++`	Pre- or post-increment.
`--`	Pre- or post-decrement.
`-`	Unary negation or subtraction.
`~`	Bitwise NOT.
`!`	Logical NOT.
`*`	Multiply.
`/`	Divide.
`%`	Modulo division.
`+`	Add.
`<<`	Bitwise left shift.
`>>`	Bitwise right shift.
`>>>`	Unsigned bitwise right shift.
`<`	Less than.
`<=`	Less than or equal.
`>`	Greater than.
`>=`	Greater than or equal.
`==`	Equal.
`!=`	Not equal.
`&`	Bitwise AND.
`^`	Bitwise XOR.
`\|`	Bitwise OR.
`&&`	Logical AND.
`\|\|`	Logical OR.
`?:`	Conditional (ternary).
`=`	Assignment.
`+=`	Assignment with add operation.
`-=`	Assignment with subtract operation.
`*=`	Assignment with multiply operation.
`/=`	Assignment with divide operation.
`%=`	Assignment with modulo division operation.
`<<=`	Assignment with bitwise left shift operation.
`>>=`	Assignment with bitwise right shift operation.
`>>>=`	Assignment with unsigned bitwise right shift operation.
`&=`	Assignment with bitwise AND operation.
`^=`	Assignment with bitwise XOR operation.
`\|=`	Assignment with bitwise OR operation.
`,`	Multiple evaluation.

Operator Precedence¶

Operators (highest precedence to lowest)	Associativity
`[]`, `()`, `.`	left to right
`new`, `delete`, `-` (unary negation), `!`, `typeof`, `void`, `++`, `--`	right to left
`*`, `/`, `%`	left to right
`+`, `-` (subtraction)	left to right
`<<`, `>>`, `>>>`	left to right
`<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`	left to right
`==`, `!=`	left to right
`&`	left to right
`^`	left to right
`\`	left to right
`&&`	left to right
`\|\|`	left to right
`?:`	right to left
`==`, `/=`, `%=`, `<<=`, `>>=`, `>>>=`, `&=`, `^=`, `\=`, `+=`, `-=`, `*=`	right to left
`,`	left to right

Javascript Classes¶

Class Inheritance¶

This is section gives you a brief overview in oriented programming and inheritance. If you already know about this, you can skip this section.

In Javascript/Extendscript, Class Inheritance is the idea that you can define some properties or methods for a given object, and then create a subclass (or "child class") that inherits all of those properties & methods and adds more, further refining it.

For example, "automobile" could be one base class, with "cars" being a subclass of the "automobile" base class, with "sedan" and "convertible" being two subclasses of the "car" base class. Any properties or methods from "automobile" are also accessible by "convertible," because there's a direct inheritance from "automobile" -> "car" -> "convertible".

Class Inheritance in After Effects¶

As a script developer, this is useful to know because many elements in the After Effects scripting environment follows this pattern.

As a user, you can see this in After Effects layers; every layer exists in the timeline, has a Name and Index and Label Color, but some types of layers have different properties than others - for example, Audio layers can't be enable/disabled, and Camera and Light layers can't have effects. They share the base "Layer" features, but are each subclasses with their own properties.

The same idea exists in After Effects scripting. Many API-accessible elements are part of class hierarchies that inherit and refine properties & methods. This lets the After Effects developers use existing structures to create new API-accessible components, and it allows script developers to use this same hierarchy to work with the After Effects DOM.

For the same example above, Layer object (itself a subclass of PropertyGroup object) is the base class for AVLayer object, CameraLayer object, and LightLayer object. This means that CameraLayer inherits everything from the Layer object, which inherits everything from the PropertyGroup object, which inherits everything from the PropertyBase object.

This is why you won't see the name property on the Layer page, but you can still use layer.name in your script; name is inherited from PropertyBase.name.

Warning

In a few specific cases, properties & methods are removed with inheritance, not just added. Those cases are noted on the relevant object page.

Checking Classes¶

Typically in Javascript, you can use instanceof to check whether any given element matches an expected object type.

Keep in mind that you will need to check against the most specific class possible; an AE Text Layer will only return true for layer instanceof TextLayer, and false for all parent classes (layer instanceof AVLayer, layer instanceof Layer, etc.)

With that said, there exist some elements in the API that are only base classes for other classes; they exist to hold inherited properties & methods, but no DOM element is exactly of this type.

When checking object instanceof {class} with these classes, AE will either throw an error that {class} is undefined or return false, depending on how the class was implemented. The list below documents which base-only classes report which behaviours.

Changelog¶

What's new and changed for scripting?

After Effects 25¶

After Effects 25.0 Beta build 26 (August 2024)¶

Scripting methods and attributes added:
Added: CharacterRange.pasteFrom()
Added: FontObject.hasGlyphsFor()
Added: FontObject.otherFontsWithSameDict()
Added: FontsObject.getCTScriptForString()
Added: FontsObject.getDefaultFontForCTScript()
Added: FontsObject.setDefaultFontForCTScript()

After Effects 24¶

After Effects 24.6 (August 2024)¶

Scripting methods and attributes added:
Added: FontsObject.favoriteFontFamilyList
Added: FontsObject.fontsDuplicateByPostScriptName
Added: FontsObject.freezeSyncSubstitutedFonts
Added: FontsObject.mruFontFamilyList
Added: FontsObject.substitutedFontReplacementMatchPolicy
Added: FontsObject.pollForAndPushNonSystemFontFoldersChanges()
Added: TextDocument.boxAutoFitPolicy
Added: TextDocument.boxFirstBaselineAlignment
Added: TextDocument.boxFirstBaselineAlignmentMinimum
Added: TextDocument.boxInsetSpacing
Added: TextDocument.boxOverflow
Added: TextDocument.boxVerticalAlignment

After Effects 24.5 (May 2024)¶

Scripting methods and attributes added:
Added: Project.replaceFont()
Added: Project.usedFonts

After Effects 23¶

After Effects 23.0 (October 2022)¶

Scripting methods and attributes added:
Added: AVLayer.setTrackMatte()
Added: AVLayer.removeTrackMatte()
Added: AVLayer.trackMatteLayer
Scripting attributes updated:
Updated: AVLayer.trackMatteType
Updated: AVLayer.isTrackMatte
Updated: AVLayer.hasTrackMatte

After Effects 22¶

After Effects 22.6 (August 2022)¶

Scripting methods added:
Added: Property.keyLabel()
Added: Property.setLabelAtKey()

After Effects 22.3 (April 2022)¶

Scripting methods added:
Added: Layer.doSceneEditDetection()

After Effects 22.0 (October 2021)¶

Scripting methods added:
Added: Layer.id
Added: Project.layerByID()
Added: Property.essentialPropertySource
Scripting Access to Render Queue Notifications:
Added: RenderQueue.queueNotify
Added: RenderQueueItem.queueItemNotify
Scripting Access to Multi-Frame Rendering, Maximum CPU Percentage Overrides:
Added: app.setMultiFrameRenderingConfig()

After Effects 18¶

After Effects 18.0 (March 2021)¶

Scripting methods and attributes to support Media Replacement:
Added: AVItem.isMediaReplacementCompatible
Added: AVLayer.addToMotionGraphicsTemplate()
Added: AVLayer.addToMotionGraphicsTemplateAs()
Added: AVLayer.canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate()
Added: Property.alternateSource
Added: Property.canSetAlternateSource
Added: Property.setAlternateSource()
Added relevant match names
Added match name for Essential Properties property group.

After Effects 17¶

After Effects 17.1.1 (May 2020)¶

Scripting access to Shape Layer Stroke Taper, Stroke Waves, Offset Paths Copies, Offset Path Copy Offset:
Added relevant match names
Fixed an issue to allow negative values for CompItem.displayStartTime:
Added CompItem.displayStartFrame
Now matches the valid range allowed when setting the Start Timecode in the Composition Settings Dialog (-3:00:00:00 to 23:59:00:00).

After Effects 17.0.1 (November 2019)¶

Scripted creation and modification of Dropdown Menu Control items:
Added: Property.isDropdownEffect
Added: Property.setPropertyParameters()

After Effects 16¶

After Effects 16.1¶

Scripting access to ViewOptions object guide and ruler booleans:
Added: ViewOptions.guidesLocked
Added: ViewOptions.guidesSnap
Added: ViewOptions.guidesVisibility
Added: ViewOptions.rulers
Scripting access to add, remove, and set existing guides:
Added: Item.addGuide()
Added: Item.removeGuide()
Added: Item.setGuide()
Scripting access to additional EGP property attributes:
Added: CompItem.motionGraphicsTemplateControllerCount
Added: CompItem.getMotionGraphicsTemplateControllerName()
Added: CompItem.setMotionGraphicsControllerName()
Added: Property.addToMotionGraphicsTemplateAs()

After Effects 16.0 (October 2018)¶

Scripting access to marker label and protectedRegion attributes:
Added: MarkerValue.label
Added: MarkerValue.protectedRegion
Scripting access to additional project color management settings:
Added: Project.workingSpace
Added: Project.workingGamma
Added: Project.listColorProfiles()
Added: Project.linearizeWorkingSpace
Added: Project.compensateForSceneReferredProfiles
Scripting access to the expression engine attribute:
Added: Project.expressionEngine
Added project method Project.setDefaultImportFolder(), which sets the folder that will be shown in the file import dialog.
Added app property app.disableRendering, which disables rendering via the same mechanism as the Caps Lock key.

After Effects 15¶

After Effects 15.1 (April 2018)¶

Project.autoFixExpressions() will now fix expression name references in single quotes (ex., ('Effect Name')), as well as double quotes.
Fixes CompItem.exportAsMotionGraphicsTemplate() not returning a boolean as expected

After Effects 15.0 (October 2017)¶

Scripting Access to motion graphics templates:
Added: CompItem.motionGraphicsTemplateName
Added: CompItem.exportAsMotionGraphicsTemplate()
Added: CompItem.openInEssentialGraphics()
Added: Property.addToMotionGraphicsTemplate()
Added: Property.canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate()

After Effects 14¶

After Effects 14.2.1 (CC 2017.2) (June 2017)¶

Buttons in ScriptUI panels have been reverted to the rectangular appearance seen in After Effects 14.1 and previous releases.
The AVItem.setProxyToNone() scripting method no longer fails with an error message, "After Effects error: AEGP trying to add invalid footage".
The System.callSystem() scripting method now waits for all tasks called by the command to complete, instead of failing when the command takes a long time to complete.

After Effects 14.2 (CC 2017.1) (April 2017)¶

Scripting Access to text leading:
Added: TextDocument.leading
Scripting Access to Team Projects (Beta):
Added: Project.newTeamProject()
Added: Project.openTeamProject()
Added: Project.shareTeamProject()
Added: Project.syncTeamProject()
Added: Project.closeTeamProject()
Added: Project.convertTeamProjectToProject()
Added: Project.listTeamProjects()
Added: Project.isTeamProjectOpen()
Added: Project.isAnyTeamProjectOpen()
Added: Project.isTeamProjectEnabled()
Added: Project.isLoggedInToTeamProject()
Added: Project.isSyncCommandEnabled()
Added: Project.isShareCommandEnabled()
Added: Project.isResolveCommandEnabled()
Added: Project.resolveConflict()
Drop-down menus in ScriptUI panels are no longer clipped on HiDPI displays on Windows.
The appearance of buttons, sliders, disclosure triangles ("twirly arrow"), scroll bar, progress bar, radio buttons, and checkboxes in ScriptUI embedded panels have been updated to match the appearance of After Effects native controls.
After Effects no longer crashes when the AVLayer.compPointToSource() scripting method is used with a 3D text layer.
The match name of the Fast Box Blur effect is "ADBE Box Blur2". The older match name "ADBE Box Blur" will continue to work: when used to add the effect, "ADBE Box Blur" will apply the Fast Box Blur effect, but with the older name "Box Blur"; the Iterations parameter will be set to the new default of 3.

After Effects 14.0 (CC 2017) (November 2016)¶

Scripting Access to Tools:
Added: Project.toolType
Scripting Access to Composition Markers:
Added: CompItem.markerProperty
Scripting Access to Queue in AME:
Added: RenderQueue.queueInAME()
Scripting Access to Available GPU Acceleration Options:
Added: app.availableGPUAccelTypes

After Effects 13¶

After Effects 13.8 (CC 2015.3) (June 2016)¶

Enable GPU effect rendering via scripting:
Added: Project.gpuAccelType
New Gaussian Blur effect added w/ matchname ADBE Gaussian Blur 2

After Effects 13.6 (CC 2015) (November 2015)¶

Scripting access to text baselines:
Added: baselineLocs
New scripting method to generate random numbers:
Added: generateRandomNumber()
Using the copyToComp() scripting method no longer causes After Effects to crash when the layer has a parent.
The valueAtTime() scripting method now waits for time-intensive expressions, like sampleImage, to finish evaluating before it returns the result.
ScriptUI panels now display and resize correctly on high-DPI displays on Windows.
After Effects no longer crashes when you click OK or Cancel buttons in a scriptUI dialog with tabbed panels.

After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2) (December 2014)¶

Scripting improvements for text layers (read-only):
Returns boolean value:
- Added: fauxBold
- Added: fauxItalic
- Added: allCaps
- Added: smallCaps
- Added: superscript
- Added: subscript
Returns float:
- Added: verticalScale
- Added: horizontalScale
- Added: baselineShift
- Added: tsume
Returns array of ([X,Y]) position coordinates (paragraph text layers only):
- Added: boxTextPos
Layer space / comp space conversion:
Added: sourcePointToComp()
Added: compPointToSource()

After Effects 13.1 (CC 2014.1) (September 2014)¶

Scripting improvements for text layers (read-only):
returns string:
- Added: fontLocation
- Added: fontStyle
- Added: fontFamily
"Use Legacy UI" toggle implemented

After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014) (June 2014)¶

Scripting access to render settings and output module settings:
Added: RenderQueueItem object getSetting, setSetting methods
Added: RenderQueueItem object getSettings, setSettings methods
Added: OutputModule object getSetting, setSetting methods
Added: OutputModule object getSettings, setSettings methods
Fetch project item by id: Project.itemByID()
CEP panels implemented

After Effects 12¶

After Effects 12.0 (CC) (June 2013)¶

Access to effect's internal version string:
Added: Application effects object's version attribute, see app.effects
Ability to get and set preview mode:
Added: ViewOptions.fastPreview
Access to layer sampling method (see samplingQuality)
Changed preference and settings methods (see Settings object)
ScriptUI is now based on the same controls as the main application.

After Effects 11¶

After Effects 11.0 (CS6) (April 2012)¶

Added: Access to Viewer object object and controls:
Added: app.activeViewer
Added: AVLayer.openInViewer() to open a layer in the layer viewer
Added: CompItem.openInViewer() to open a composition in the composition viewer
Added: FootageItem.openInViewer() to open a footage item in the footage viewer
Added: Property.canSetExpression
Added: AVLayer.environmentLayer
Added: MaskPropertyGroup.maskFeatherFalloff
Access to Shape Feather properties via scripting:
Added: Shape.featherSegLocs
Added: Shape.featherRelSegLocs
Added: Shape.featherRadii
Added: Shape.featherInterps
Added: Shape.featherTensions
Added: Shape.featherTypes
Added: Shape.featherRelCornerAngles

After Effects 10¶

After Effects 10.5 (CS5.5) (April 2011)¶

Added to the Project object object:
Project.framesCountType
Project.feetFramesFilmType
Project.framesUseFeetFrames
Project.footageTimecodeDisplayStartType
Project.timeDisplayType
Removed from the Project object object:
timecodeDisplayType attribute
timecodeBaseType attribute
timecodeNTSCDropFrame attribute
timecodeFilmType attribute
TimecodeDisplayType enum
TimecodeFilmType enum
TimecodeBaseType enum
Added: CompItem.dropFrame
Added support for Paragraph Box Text:
Added LayerCollection.addBoxText()
Added TextDocument.boxText
Added TextDocument.pointText
Added TextDocument.boxTextSize
Added LightLayer.lightType

After Effects 9¶

After Effects 9.0 (CS4) (September 2008)¶

Added: app.isoLanguage
Added: MarkerValue.duration
Added: OutputModule.includeSourceXMP
Added: Project.xmpPacket
Added the following Property methods and attributes related to the Separate Dimensions feature:
Property.dimensionsSeparated
Property.getSeparationFollower()
Property.isSeparationFollower
Property.isSeparationLeader
Property.separationDimension
Property.separationLeader
Added TextDocument object access, including:
Added: TextDocument.applyFill
Added: TextDocument.applyStroke
Added: TextDocument.fillColor
Added: TextDocument.font
Added: TextDocument.fontSize
Added: TextDocument.justification
Added: TextDocument.resetCharStyle()
Added: TextDocument.resetParagraphStyle()
Added: TextDocument.strokeColor
Added: TextDocument.strokeOverFill
Added: TextDocument.strokeWidth

The After Effects Object Model¶

As you look through this reference section, which is organized alphabetically by object, you can refer to the following diagrams for an overview of where the various objects fall within the hierarchy, and their correspondence to the user interface.

After Effects Object Model Hierarchy diagram of the main After Effects scripting objects

Note that the Extendscript File, Folder, and Socket objects are defined by ExtendScript, and are documented in the JavaScript Tools Guide.

ExtendScript also defines the ScriptUI module, a set of window and user-interface control objects, which are available to After Effects scripts. These are also documented in the JavaScript Tools Guide.

The hierarchy of objects in scripting corresponds to the hierarchy in the user interface.

After Effects User Interface

The application contains a Project panel, which displays a project. The project contains compositions, which contain layers. The source for a layer can be a footage file, placeholder, or solid, also listed in the Project panel. Each layer contains settings known as properties, and these can contain markers and keyframes. The renderqueue contains render-queue items as well as render settings and output modules. All of these entities are represented by objects in scripting.

Note

To avoid ambiguity, this manual uses the term "attribute" to refer to JavaScript object properties, and the term "property" or "AE property" to refer to After Effects layer properties.

Object summary¶

The following table lists all objects alphabetically, with links to the documentation page for each.

Object	Description
Global functions	Globally available functions that allow you to display text for script debugging purposes, and help convert time values between seconds and frames.
Application object	A single global object, available by its name (app), that provides access to objects and application settings within the After Effects application.
AVItem object	Represents audio/visual files imported into After Effects.
AVLayer object	Represents those layers that contain AVItem objects (composition layers, footage layers, solid layers, text layers, and sound layers).
CameraLayer object	Represents a camera layer within a composition.
Collection object	Associates a set of objects or values as a logical group and provides access to them by index.
CompItem object	Represents a composition, and allows you to manipulate it and get information about it.
FileSource object	Describes footage that comes from a file.
FolderItem object	Represents a folder in the Project panel.
FootageItem object	Represents a footage item imported into a project, which appears in the Project panel.
FootageSource object	Describes the file source of some footage.
ImportOptions object	Encapsulates options for importing files into After Effects.
Item object	Represents an item in a project that appears in the Project panel.
ItemCollection object	Collects items in a project.
KeyframeEase object	Encapsulates keyframe ease values in an After Effects property.
Layer object	A base class for layer classes.
LayerCollection object	Collects layers in a project.
LightLayer object	Represents a light layer within a composition.
MarkerValue object	Encapsulates marker values in an After Effects property.
MaskPropertyGroup object	Encapsulates mask attributes in a layer.
OMCollection object	Collects output modules in a render queue.
OutputModule object	Represents an output module for a render queue.
PlaceholderSource object	Describes a placeholder for footage.
Project object	Represents an After Effects project.
Property object	Represents an After Effects property.
PropertyBase object	A base class for After Effects property and property group classes.
PropertyGroup object	Represents an After Effects property group.
RenderQueue object	Represents the After Effects render queue.
RenderQueueItem object	Represents a renderable item in a render queue.
RenderQueueItem object	Collects render-queue items in a render queue.
RQItemCollection object	Provides access to application settings and preferences.
Shape object	Encapsulates the outline shape information for a mask.
ShapeLayer object	Represents a shape layer within a composition.
SolidSource object	Describes a solid color that is the source of some footage.
System object	Provides access to the operating system from the application.
TextDocument object	Encapsulates the text in a text layer.
TextLayer object	Represents a text layer within a composition.
Viewer object	Represents a Composition, Layer, or Footage panel.

After Effects Class Hierarchy¶

This section lists the class hierarchies for relevant AE API elements. For a primer on what this means, see Javascript Classes

When using this guide, any objects that exist as part of a class hierarchy will note whether they exist as a subclass or base class (or both) of another object.

As it can be useful to see all available class hierarchies in one place, we've created this list below.

Note that some classes exist only as base classes, and demonstrate unexpected behaviour when type checking via instanceof, as noted in the table below. Classes with no symbol behave as expected.

Symbol Legend¶

Symbol	Definition
⚠	`instanceof` is always `false`
❌	Class is undefined; `instanceof` will throw an error

Project Items¶

Item object ❌
AVItem object ❌
- CompItem object
- FootageItem object
FolderItem object

Footage Item Sources¶

FootageSource object ❌
FileSource object
PlaceholderSource object
SolidSource object

Collections¶

Collection object ❌
ItemCollection object
LayerCollection object
OMCollection object
RQItemCollection object

Ended: Introduction

General ↵

Global functions¶

Description¶

These globally available functions that are specific to After Effects. Any JavaScript object or function can call these functions, which allow you to display text in a small (3-line) area of the Info panel, to convert numeric time values to and from string values, or to generate a random number.

Global function	Description
`clearOutput()`	Clears text from the Info panel.
`currentFormatToTime()`	Converts string time value to a numeric time value.
`generateRandomNumber()`	Generates a random number.
`getEnumAsString()`	Converts an Enum value to it's string name.
`timeToCurrentFormat()`	Converts a numeric time value to a string time value.
`write()`	Writes text to the Info panel, with no line break added.
`writeLn()`	Writes text to the Info panel, adding a line break at the end.
`isValid()`	When `true`, the specified object exists.

Additional global functions for standard user I/O (alert, confirm , and prompt) and static functions for file I/O, are defined by ExtendScript; for detailed reference information, see the JavaScript Tools Guide.

Methods¶

clearOutput()¶

clearOutput()

Description¶

Clears the output in the Info panel.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Nothing.

currentFormatToTime()¶

currentFormatToTime(formattedTime, fps[, isDuration])

Description¶

Converts a formatted string for a frame time value to a number of seconds, given a specified frame rate. For example, if the formatted frame time value is 0:00:12 (the exact string format is determined by a project setting), and the frame rate is 24 fps, the time would be 0.5 seconds (12/24). If the frame rate is 30 fps, the time would be 0.4 seconds (12/30). If the time is a duration, the frames are counted from 0. Otherwise, the frames are counted from the project's starting frame (see Project.displayStartFrame).

Parameters¶

Parameter	Description
`formattedTime`	The frame time value, a string specifying a number of frames in the project's current time display format.
`fps`	The frames-per-second, a floating-point value.
`isDuration`	Optional. When `true`, the time is a duration (measured from frame 0). When `false` (the default), the time is measured from the project's starting frame.

Returns¶

Floating-point value, the number of seconds.

generateRandomNumber()¶

generateRandomNumber()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.6 (CC 2015)

Description¶

Generates random numbers. This function is recommended instead of Math.random() for generating random numbers that will be applied as values in a project (e.g., when using setValue).

This method avoids a problem where Math.random() would not return random values in After Effects CC 2015 (13.5.x) due to a concurrency issue with multiple CPU threads.

Returns¶

Floating-point, pseudo-random number in the range [0..1].

Example¶

// change the position X of all layers with random number

var myComp = app.project.activeItem;
var x = 0;

for (var i = 1; i <= myComp.numLayers; i++) {
  // If you use Math.random(), this does not work
  // x = 400 * (Math.random()) - 200;
  // use new generateRandomNumber() instead

  x = 400 * generateRandomNumber() - 200;
  var currentPos = myComp.layer(i).property("Position").value;
  myComp.layer(i).property("Position").setValue([currentPos[0] + x, currentPos[1]]);
}

getEnumAsString()¶

getEnumAsString()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

Returns the string value of an Enum.

Parameters¶

Enum.

Returns¶

String.

Example¶

// Returns: "BlendingMode.ADD"
alert(getEnumAsString(5220));

isValid()¶

isValid(obj)

Description¶

Determines if the specified After Effects object (e.g., composition, layer, mask, etc.) still exists. Some operations, such as PropertyBase.moveTo(), might invalidate existing variable assignments to related objects. This function allows you to test whether those assignments are still valid before attempting to access them.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Description
`obj`	The After Effects object to check for validity.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Example¶

var layer = app.project.activeItem.layer(1); // assume layer has three masks
alert(isValid(layer)); // displays "true"
var mask1 = layer.mask(1);
var mask2 = layer.mask(2);
var mask3 = layer.mask(3);
mask3.moveTo(1); // move the third mask to the top of the mask stack
alert(isValid(mask1)); // displays "false"; mask2 and mask3 do as well

timeToCurrentFormat()¶

timeToCurrentFormat(time, fps[, isDuration])

Description¶

Converts a numeric time value (a number of seconds) to a frame time value; that is, a formatted string thatshows which frame corresponds to that time, at the specified rate. For example, if the time is 0.5 seconds, andthe frame rate is 24 fps, the frame would be 0:00:12 (when the project is set to display as timecode). If the framerate is 30 fps, the frame would be 0:00:15. The format of the timecode string is determined by a project setting. If the time is a duration, the frames are counted from 0. Otherwise, the frames are counted from the project's starting frame (see Project displayStartFrame attribute).

Parameters¶

Parameter	Description
`time`	The number of seconds, a floating-point value.
`fps`	The frames-per-second, a floating-point value.
`isDuration`	Optional. When `true`, the time is a duration (measured from frame 0). When `false` (the default), the time is measured from the project's starting frame.

Returns¶

String in the project's current time display format.

write()¶

write(text)

Description¶

Writes output to the Info panel, with no line break added.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Description
`text`	The string to display. Truncated if too long for the Info panel.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Example¶

write("This text appears in Info panel ");
write("with more on same line.");

writeLn()¶

writeLn(text)

Description¶

Writes output to the Info panel and adds a line break at the end.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Description
`text`	The string to display.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Example¶

writeLn("This text appears on first line");
writeLn("This text appears on second line");

Application object¶

app

Description¶

Provides access to objects and application settings within the After Effects application. The single global object is always available by its name, app.

Attributes of the Application object provide access to specific objects within After Effects. Methods of the Application object can create a project, open an existing project, control Watch Folder mode, purge memory, and quit the After Effects application. When the After Effects application quits, it closes the open project, prompting the user to save or discard changes as necessary, and creates a project file as necessary.

Attributes¶

app.activeViewer¶

app.activeViewer

Description¶

The Viewer object for the currently focused or active-focused viewer (Composition, Layer, or Footage) panel. Returns null if no viewers are open.

Type¶

Viewer object object; read-only.

app.availableGPUAccelTypes¶

app.availableGPUAccelTypes

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.0 (CC 2017)

Description¶

Use this in conjunction with app.project.gpuAccelType to set the value for Project Settings > Video Rendering and Effects > Use.

Type¶

Array of GpuAccelType enums, or null if no viewers are open; read-only. One of:

CUDA
Metal
OPENCL
SOFTWARE

Example¶

The following sample code checks the current computer's available GPU acceleration types, and sets it to Metal if available.

// app.availableGPUAccelTypes returns GPU acceleration types available on the current system.
// You can use this to check before setting the GPU acceleration type.
var newType = GpuAccelType.METAL;

// Before trying to set, check which GPU acceleration types are available on the current system.
var canSet = false;
var currentOptions = app.availableGPUAccelTypes;
for (var op in currentOptions) {
    if (currentOptions[op] === newType) {
        canSet = true;
    }
}

if (canSet) {
    // Set the GPU acceleration type.
    app.project.gpuAccelType = newType;
} else {
    alert("Metal is not available on this OS.");
}

Type¶

Array, with each element containing the following properties; read-only:

Property	Type	Description
`displayName`	String	A string representing the localized display name of the effect as seen in the Effect menu.
`category`	String	A string representing the localized category label as seen in the Effect menu. This can be `""` for synthetic effects that aren't normally shown to the user.
`matchName`	String	A string representing the internal unique name for the effect. This name does not change between versions of After Effects. Use this value to apply the effect.
`version`	String	Effect's internal version string. This value might be different than the version number the plug-in vendor decides to show in the effect's about box.

Example¶

var effectName = app.effects[12].displayName;

app.exitAfterLaunchAndEval¶

app.exitAfterLaunchAndEval

Description¶

This attribute is used only when executing a script from a command line on Windows. When the application is launched from the command line, the -r or -s command line flag causes the application to run a script (from a file or from a string, respectively).

If this attribute is set to true, After Effects will exit after the script is run; if it is false, the application will remain open. This attribute only has an effect when After Effects is run from the Windows command line. It has no effect in Mac OS.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

app.exitCode¶

app.exitCode

Description¶

A numeric status code used when executing a script externally (that is, from a command line or AppleScript).

In Windows, the value is returned on the command line when After Effects was launched on the command line (using the afterfx or afterfx -m command), and a script was specified with the -r or -s option.
In Mac OS, the value is returned as the AppleScript DoScript result for each script.
In both Mac OS and Windows, the value is set to 0 (EXIT_SUCCESS) at the beginning of each script evaluation. In the event of an error while the script is running, the script can set this to a positive integer that indicates what error occurred.

Type¶

Integer; read/write.

Example¶

app.exitCode = 2; // on quit, if value is 2, an error has occurred

app.fonts¶

app.fonts

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

Returns an object to navigate and retreive all the fonts currently available on your system.

Type¶

Fonts object; read-only.

app.isoLanguage¶

app.isoLanguage

Description¶

A string indicating the locale (language and regional designations) After Effects is running.

Tip

$.locale returns the operating system language, not the language of the After Effects application.

Type¶

String; read-only. Some common values include:

en_US for English (United States)
de_DE for German (Germany)
es_ES for Spanish (Spain)
fr_FR for French (France)
it_IT for Italian (Italy)
ja_JP for Japanese (Japan)
ko_KR for Korean (Korea)

Example¶

var lang = app.isoLanguage;
if (lang === "en_US") {
  alert("After Effects is running in English.");
} else if (lang === "fr_FR") {
  alert("After Effects is running in French.");
} else {
  alert("After Effects is running not in English or French.");
}

var ver = app.version;
alert("This machine is running version " + ver + " of AfterEffects.");

Methods¶

app.activate()¶

app.activate()

Description¶

Opens the application main window if it is minimized or iconified, and brings it to the front of the desktop.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Nothing.

app.beginSuppressDialogs()¶

app.beginSuppressDialogs()

Description¶

Begins suppression of script error dialog boxes in the user interface. Use app.endSuppressDialogs() to resume the display of error dialogs.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Nothing.

app.beginUndoGroup()¶

app.beginUndoGroup(undoString)

Description¶

Marks the beginning of an undo group, which allows a script to logically group all of its actions as a single undoable action (for use with the Edit > Undo/Redo menu items). Use the app.endUndoGroup() method to mark the end of the group.

beginUndoGroup() and endUndoGroup() pairs can be nested. Groups within groups become part of the larger group, and will undo correctly. In this case, the names of inner groups are ignored.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`undoString`	String	The text that will appear for the Undo command in the Edit menu (that is, "Undo")

Description¶

Menu Commands in the GUI application have an individual ID number, which can be used as the parameter for this method. For some functions not included in the API this is the only way to access them.

The app.findMenuCommandId() method can be used to find the ID number for a command.

These web sites have more information and lists of the known numbers:

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`id`	Integer	The ID number of the command.

Returns¶

None.

Example¶

// calls the Convert to Bezier Path command
app.executeCommand(4162);

app.findMenuCommandId()¶

app.findMenuCommandId(command)

Description¶

Menu Commands in the GUI application have an individual ID number, which can be used as a parameter for the app.executeCommand() command. For some functions not included in the API this is the only way to access them.

It should be noted that this method is not reliable across different language packages of AE, so you'll likely want to find the command ID number during development and then call it directly using the number in production.

These web sites have more information and lists of the known numbers:

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`command`	String	The text of the menu command, exactly as it is shown in the UI.

Returns¶

Integer, the ID number of the menu command.

Example¶

app.findMenuCommandId("Convert To Bezier Path")

app.newProject()¶

app.newProject()

Description¶

Creates a new project in After Effects, replicating the File > New > New Project menu command. If the current project has been edited, the user is prompted to save it. If the user cancels out of the Save dialog box, the new project is not created and the method returns null.

Use app.project.close(CloseOptions.DO_NOT_SAVE_CHANGES) to close the current project before opening a new one. See Project.close()

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

A new Project object, or null if no new project is created.

Example¶

app.project.close(CloseOptions.DO_NOT_SAVE_CHANGES);
app.newProject();

app.open()¶

app.open()
app.open(file)

Description¶

Opens a project.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`file`	Extendscript File	Optional. Project file to open. If not supplied, the method prompts the user to select a project file.

Returns¶

A new Project object for the specified project, or null if the user cancels the Open dialog box.

Example¶

var my_file = new File("../my_folder/my_test.aep");
if (my_file.exists) {
  var new_project = app.open(my_file);
  if (new_project) {
    alert(new_project.file.name);
  }
}

app.openFast()¶

app.openFast(file)

Warning

This method/property is officially undocumented and was found via research. The information here may be inaccurate, and this whole method/property may disappear or stop working some point. Please contribute if you have more information on it!

Description¶

Opens a project faster than app.open() by skipping some checks.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`file`	Extendscript File	Project file to open.

Returns¶

A new Project object for the specified project.

Example¶

var projectFile = new File("someFile.aep");

$.hiresTimer;
app.openFast(projectFile);
var fastEnd = $.hiresTimer / 1000;

app.project.close(CloseOptions.DO_NOT_SAVE_CHANGES);

$.hiresTimer;
app.open(projectFile);
var normalEnd = $.hiresTimer / 1000;

app.project.close(CloseOptions.DO_NOT_SAVE_CHANGES);

alert( "The difference is " + parseInt(normalEnd-fastEnd) + " ms" +
       "\n\nFast: " + fastEnd + " ms" +
       "\nNormal:" + normalEnd + " ms" );

app.parseSwatchFile()¶

app.parseSwatchFile(file)

Description¶

Loads color swatch data from an Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE) file.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`file`	Extendscript File	The ASE file to parse.

Returns¶

The swatch data, in this format:

Property	Description
`data.majorVersion` `data.minorVersion`	The ASE version number.
`data.values`	An array of Swatch Value.
`SwatchValue.type`	One of "RGB", "CMYK", "LAB", "Gray"
`SwatchValue.r` `SwatchValue.g` `SwatchValue.b`	When `type = "RGB"`, the color values in the range `[0.0..1.0]`. `[0, 0, 0]` is Black.
`SwatchValue.c` `SwatchValue.m` `SwatchValue.y` `SwatchValue.k`	When `type` = "CMYK", the color values in the range `[0.0..1.0]`. `[0, 0, 0, 0]` is White.
`SwatchValue.L` `SwatchValue.a` `SwatchValue.b` `SwatchValue.value`	When `type = "LAB"`, the color values. `L` is in the range `[0.0..1.0]`. `a` and `b`are in the range `[-128.0..+128.0]`. `[0, 0, 0]` is Black. When `type = "Gray"`, the `value` range is `[0.0..1.0]`. `0.0` is Black.

app.pauseWatchFolder()¶

app.pauseWatchFolder(pause)

Description¶

Pauses or resumes the search of the target watch folder for items to render.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`pause`	Boolean	`true` to pause, `false` to resume.

Returns¶

Nothing.

app.purge()¶

app.purge(target)

Tip

This functionality was updated in After Effects 24.3 to allow the ALL_CACHES enumerated value to clear both the RAM and disk cache, with the ALL_MEMORY_CACHES enumerated value added to purge only the RAM. In versions prior to 24.3, ALL_CACHES will only clear the RAM cache.

Description¶

Purges unused data of the specified types. Replicates the Purge options in the Edit menu.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`target`	`PurgeTarget` enum	The type of elements to purge from memory. One of: - `PurgeTarget.ALL_CACHES`: Purges all data that After Effects has cached to both RAM and disk cache. - `PurgeTarget.ALL_MEMORY_CACHES`: Purges all data that After Effects has cached to RAM. (new in 24.3) - `PurgeTarget.UNDO_CACHES`: Purges all data saved in the undo cache. - `PurgeTarget.SNAPSHOT_CACHES`: Purges all data cached as composition/layer snapshots. - `PurgeTarget.IMAGE_CACHES`: Purges all saved image data.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`folder_object_to_watch`	Extendscript Folder	The folder to watch.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Example¶

var theFolder = new Folder("c:/tool");
app.watchFolder(theFolder);

Project object¶

app.project

Description¶

The project object represents an After Effects project. Attributes provide access to specific objects within the project, such as imported files or footage and compositions, and also to project settings such as the timecode base. Methods can import footage, create solids, compositions and folders, and save changes.

Attributes¶

Warning

This method/property is officially undocumented and was found via research. The information here may be inaccurate, and this whole method/property may disappear or stop working some point. Please contribute if you have more information on it!

Description¶

true if the project has been modified from the last save; otherwise false.

"Dirty" projects will have an * in the project window title.

Type¶

Boolean; read-only.

Project.displayStartFrame¶

app.project.displayStartFrame

Description¶

An alternate way of setting the Frame Count menu setting in the Project Settings dialog box to 0 or 1, and is equivalent to using the FramesCountType.FC_START_0 or FramesCountType.FC_START_1 enumerated values for the framesCountType.

Type¶

Integer (0 or 1); read/write.

Project.expressionEngine¶

app.project.expressionEngine

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.0 (CC 2019)

Description¶

The Expressions Engine setting in the Project Settings dialog box, as a string. One of:

extendscript
javascript-1.0

Type¶

String; read/write.

Project.feetFramesFilmType¶

app.project.feetFramesFilmType

Description¶

The Use Feet + Frames menu setting in the Project Settings dialog box. Use this attribute instead of the old timecodeFilmType attribute.

Type¶

A FeetFramesFilmType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

FeetFramesFilmType.MM16
FeetFramesFilmType.MM35

Project.file¶

app.project.file

Description¶

The Extendscript File object for the file containing the project that is currently open.

Type¶

File object or null if project has not been saved; read-only.

Project.footageTimecodeDisplayStartType¶

app.project.footageTimecodeDisplayStartType

Description¶

The Footage Start Time setting in the Project Settings dialog box, which is enabled when Timecode is selected as the time display style.

Type¶

A FootageTimecodeDisplayStartType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

FootageTimecodeDisplayStartType.FTCS_START_0
FootageTimecodeDisplayStartType.FTCS_USE_SOURCE_MEDIA

Project.framesCountType¶

app.project.framesCountType

Description¶

The Frame Count menu setting in the Project Settings dialog box.

Type¶

A FramesCountType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

FramesCountType.FC_START_1
FramesCountType.FC_START_0
FramesCountType.FC_TIMECODE_CONVERSION

Warning

Setting this attribute to FramesCountType.FC_TIMECODE_CONVERSION resets the displayStartFrame attribute to 0.

Project.framesUseFeetFrames¶

app.project.framesUseFeetFrames

Description¶

The "Use Feet + Frames" setting in the Project Settings dialog box.

true if using Feet + Frames; false if using Frames.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Project.gpuAccelType¶

app.project.gpuAccelType

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.8 (CC 2015.3)

Description¶

Get or set the current projects GPU Acceleration option. see app.availableGPUAccelTypes

Type¶

A GpuAccelType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

GpuAccelType.CUDA
GpuAccelType.Metal
GpuAccelType.OPENCL
GpuAccelType.SOFTWARE

Example¶

// access via scripting to Project Settings -> Video Rendering and Effects -> Use

var currentGPUSettings = app.project.gpuAccelType; // returns the current value
var type_str = "";

// check the current value and alert the user

switch (currentGPUSettings) {
   case GpuAccelType.CUDA:
      type_str = "CUDA";
      break;
   case GpuAccelType.METAL:
      type_str = "Metal";
      break;
   case GpuAccelType.OPENCL:
      type_str = "OpenCL";
      break;
   case GpuAccelType.SOFTWARE:
      type_str = "Software";
      break;
   default:
      type_str = "UNKNOWN";
}

alert("Your current setting is " + type_str);

// set the value to Metal
app.project.gpuAccelType = GpuAccelType.METAL;

Type¶

A TimeDisplayType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

TimeDisplayType.FRAMES
TimeDisplayType.TIMECODE

Project.toolType¶

app.project.toolType

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.0 (CC 2017)

Description¶

Get and sets the active tool in the Tools panel.

Type¶

A ToolType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

ToolType.Tool_Arrow: Selection Tool
ToolType.Tool_Rotate: Rotation Tool
ToolType.Tool_CameraMaya: Unified Camera Tool
ToolType.Tool_CameraOrbit: Orbit Camera Tool
ToolType.Tool_CameraTrackXY: Track XY Camera Tool
ToolType.Tool_CameraTrackZ: Track Z Camera Tool
ToolType.Tool_Paintbrush: Brush Tool
ToolType.Tool_CloneStamp: Clone Stamp Tool
ToolType.Tool_Eraser: Eraser Tool
ToolType.Tool_Hand: Hand Tool
ToolType.Tool_Magnify: Zoom Tool
ToolType.Tool_PanBehind: Pan Behind (Anchor Point) Tool
ToolType.Tool_Rect: Rectangle Tool
ToolType.Tool_RoundedRect: Rounded Rectangle Tool
ToolType.Tool_Oval: Ellipse Tool
ToolType.Tool_Polygon: Polygon Tool
ToolType.Tool_Star: Star Tool
ToolType.Tool_TextH: Horizontal Type Tool
ToolType.Tool_TextV: Vertical Type Tool
ToolType.Tool_Pen: Pen Tool
ToolType.Tool_Feather: Mask Feather Tool
ToolType.Tool_PenPlus: Add Vertex Tool
ToolType.Tool_PenMinus: Delete Vertex Tool
ToolType.Tool_PenConvert: Convert Vertex Tool
ToolType.Tool_Pin: Puppet Pin Tool
ToolType.Tool_PinStarch: Puppet Starch Tool
ToolType.Tool_PinDepth: Puppet Overlap Tool
ToolType.Tool_Quickselect: Roto Brush Tool
ToolType.Tool_Hairbrush: Refine Edge Tool

Examples¶

The following sample code checks the current tool, and if it is not the Unified Camera Tool, sets the current tool to that:

// Check the current tool, then set it to Unified Camera Tool (UCT).
// Assume a composition is selected in the project.
var comp = app.project.activeItem;
if (comp instanceof CompItem) {
    // Add a camera to the current comp. (Requirement for UCT)
    var cameraLayer = comp.layers.addCamera("Test Camera", [comp.width / 2, comp.height / 2]);
    comp.openInViewer();

    // If the currently selected tool is not one of the camera tools, set it to UCT.
    if (( app.project.toolType !== ToolType.Tool_CameraMaya) &&
        ( app.project.toolType !== ToolType.Tool_CameraOrbit ) &&
        ( app.project.toolType !== ToolType.Tool_CameraTrackXY) &&
        ( app.project.toolType !== ToolType.Tool_CameraTrackZ)) {
            app.project.toolType = ToolType.Tool_CameraMaya;
        }
}

The following sample code uses the new app.project.toolType attribute to create a 360-degrees composition (environment layer and camera) from a selected footage item or composition selected in the Project panel. This script a good starting point for building VR compositions from equirectangular footage:

// Create a 360 VR comp from a footage item or comp selected in the Project panel.

var item = app.project.activeItem;
if (item !== null && (item.typeName === "Footage" || item.typeName === "Composition")) {
    // Create a comp with the footage.
    var comp = app.project.items.addComp(item.name, item.width, item.height, item.pixelAspect, item.duration, item.frameRate);
    var layers = comp.layers;
    var footageLayer = layers.add(item);

    // Apply the CC Environment effect and create a camera.
    var effect = footageLayer.Effects.addProperty("CC Environment");
    var camera = layers.addCamera("360 Camera", [item.width / 2, item.height / 2]);
    comp.openInViewer();
    app.project.toolType = ToolType.Tool_CameraMaya;
} else {
    alert("Select a single footage item or composition in the Project panel.");
}

Project.transparencyGridThumbnails¶

app.project.transparencyGridThumbnails

Description¶

When true, thumbnail views use the transparency checkerboard pattern.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Project.usedFonts¶

app.project.usedFonts

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.5

Description¶

Returns an Array of Objects containing references to used fonts and the Text Layers and times on which they appear in the current Project.

Each object is composed of font which is a Font object, and usedAt which is an Array of Objects, each composed of layerID, a Layer.id, and layerTimeD for when. See Project.layerByID() to retrieve the layers.

var usedList = app.project.usedFonts;
if (usedList.length) {
    var font = usedList[0].font;
    var usedAt = usedList[0].usedAt;

    var str = "[0]:" + font.postScriptName + "\n";
    for (var i = 0; i < usedAt.length; i++) {
         var layerID = usedAt[i].layerID;
         // valueAtTime() for Source Text property is expecting timed
         // to be in Layer Time instead of Comp Time, unlike any of
         // the other properties. So we have adjusted the name returned
         // by usedFonts to make this clear as we expect that is where
         // it will be used next.
         var layerTimeD  = usedAt[i].layerTimeD;

         var layer = app.project.layerByID(layerID);
         str += "   Layer:'" + String(layer.property("Source Text").valueAtTime(layerTimeD, false)) + "'\n";
    }
    alert(str);
}

Type¶

Array of Objects; read-only.

Project.workingGamma¶

app.project.workingGamma

Description¶

The current project's working gamma value, either 2.2 or 2.4.

Setting values other than 2.2 or 2.4 will cause a scripting error.

Tip

When the project's color working space is set, the working gamma value is ignored by After Effects.

Type¶

2.2 or 2.4; read/write.

Examples¶

To set the working gamma to 2.4 (Rec. 709): app.project.workingGamma = 2.4;
To get the current working gamma: var currentGamma = app.project.workingGamma;

Project.workingSpace¶

app.project.workingSpace

Description¶

A string which is the color profile description for the project's color working space. To set the working space to None, set workingSpace to an empty string.

Use app.project.listColorProfiles() to return an array of available color profile descriptions that can be used to set the color working space.

Type¶

String; read/write.

Examples¶

To set the working space to Rec.709 Gamma 2.4: app.project.workingSpace = "Rec.709 Gamma 2.4";
To set the working space to None: app.project.workingSpace = "";
To get the current working space: var currentSpace = app.project.workingSpace;

Project.xmpPacket¶

app.project.xmpPacket

Description¶

The project's XMP metadata, stored as RDF (XML-based). For more information on XMP, see the JavaScript Tools Guide.

Type¶

String; read/write.

Example¶

The following example code accesses the XMP metadata of the current project, and modifies the Label project metadata field.

var proj = app.project;

// load the XMPlibrary as an ExtendScript ExternalObject
if (ExternalObject.AdobeXMPScript === undefined){
    ExternalObject.AdobeXMPScript = new ExternalObject('lib:AdobeXMPScript');
}
var mdata = new XMPMeta(app.project.xmpPacket); //get the project's XMPmetadata
// update the Label project metadata's value
var schemaNS = XMPMeta.getNamespaceURI("xmp");
var propName = "xmp:Label";
try{
    mdata.setProperty(schemaNS, propName, "finalversion...no, really!");
} catch (e) {
    alert(e);
}

app.project.xmpPacket = mdata.serialize();

Methods¶

Project.autoFixExpressions()¶

app.project.autoFixExpressions(oldText, newText)

Description¶

Automatically replaces text found in broken expressions in the project, if the new text causes the expression to evaluate without errors.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`oldText`	String	The text to replace.
`newText`	String	The new text.

Project.importFile()¶

app.project.importFile(importOptions)

Description¶

Imports the file specified in the specified ImportOptions object, using the specified options. Same as the File > Import File command.

Creates and returns a new FootageItem object from the file, and adds it to the project's items array.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`importOptions`	ImportOptions	Options specifying the file to import and the options for the operation.

Returns¶

FootageItem object.

Example¶

app.project.importFile(new ImportOptions(new File("sample.psd"));

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014)

Description¶

Retrieves an item by its Item ID

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`id`	Integer	The ID of an item

Returns¶

Item object.

Project.layerByID()¶

app.project.layerByID(id)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 22.0 (2022)

Description¶

Instance method on Project which, when given a valid ID value, returns the Layer object in the Project with that given ID.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`id`	Integer (non-negative)	The ID of the Layer to be retrieved from the Project.

Returns¶

Layer object with the given ID if it exists on the project; otherwise null. Non-valid IDs will throw an exception stating that the input parameter is not an unsigned integer.

Example¶

var firstComp = app.project.item(1);
var firstLayer = firstComp.layer(1);
var layerID = firstLayer.id;

if (app.project.layerByID(layerID) === firstLayer) {
   alert("You can get the Layer from the ID!");
}

This operation exposes the same mechanism and policy used for automatic font replacement of missing or substituted fonts and is therefore a complete and precise replacement, even on TextDocuments which have mixed styling, preserving the character range the fromFont was applied to.

This operation is not undoable.

The optional parameter noFontLocking controls what happens when the toFont has no glyphs for the text it is applied to. By default a fallback font will be selected which will have the necessary glyphs, but if this parameter is set to true then this fallback will not take place and missing glyphs will result. There is no way at the current time to detect or report this.

Note that when fromFont is a substituted font and the toFont has the same font properties no fallback can occur and the parameter is ignored and treated as true.

var fromFont = app.project.usedFonts[0].font;
var fontList = app.fonts.getFontsByPostScriptName("TimesNewRomanPSMT");
var toFont = fontList[0];
var layerChanged = app.project.replaceFont(fromFont, toFont);

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`fromFont`	Font object	Font to be replaced.
`toFont`	Font object	Font to replace it with.
`noFontLocking`	Boolean	Optional. Defaults to `false`

Returns¶

Boolean. true if at least one Layer was changed.

Project.save()¶

app.project.save([file])

Description¶

Saves the project. The same as the File > Save or File > Save As command. If the project has never previously been saved and no file is specified, prompts the user for a location and file name.

Pass a File object to save a project to a new file without prompting.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`file`	Extendscript File	Optional. The file to save.

Examples¶

Any of the following will set the default import folder to C:/My Folder:

var myFolder = new Folder("C:/My Folder"); app.project.setDefaultImportFolder(myFolder);
app.project.setDefaultImportFolder(new Folder("C:/My Folder"));
app.project.setDefaultImportFolder(Folder("C:/My Folder"));

Note: if the path refers to an existing file and not a folder, the Folder function returns a File object instead of a Folder object, which will cause setDefaultImportFolder() to return false.

To set the default import folder to the current user's desktop folder: app.project.setDefaultImportFolder(Folder.desktop);

To disable the default folder, call setDefaultImportFolder() with no parameters: app.project.setDefaultImportFolder();

Project.showWindow()¶

app.project.showWindow(doShow)

Description¶

Shows or hides the Project panel.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`doShow`	Boolean	When `true`, show the Project panel. When `false`, hide the Project panel.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Team Projects¶

Project.newTeamProject()¶

app.project.newTeamProject(teamProjectName, description)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.2 (CC 2017.1)

Description¶

Creates a new team project.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`teamProjectName`	String	Team project name
`description`	String	Optional. Project description

Returns¶

Boolean. true if the team project is successfully created, otherwise false.

Project.openTeamProject()¶

app.project.openTeamProject(teamProjectName)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.2 (CC 2017.1)

Description¶

Opens a team project.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`teamProjectName`	String	Team project name

Returns¶

Boolean. true if the team project is successfully opened, otherwise false.

Project.shareTeamProject()¶

app.project.shareTeamProject(comment)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.2 (CC 2017.1)

Description¶

Shares the currently open team project.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`comment`	String	Optional. Comment.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`project_file`	Extendscript File	The local After Effects project. File extension should be either .aep or .aet (.aepx is not supported).

Returns¶

Boolean. true if the team project is successfully converted, otherwise false.

Project.listTeamProjects()¶

app.project.listTeamProjects()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.2 (CC 2017.1)

Description¶

Returns an array containing the name strings for all team projects available for the current user. Archived Team Projects are not included.

Returns¶

Array of strings.

Project.isTeamProjectOpen()¶

app.project.isTeamProjectOpen(teamProjectName)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.2 (CC 2017.1)

Description¶

Checks whether specified team project is currently open.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`teamProjectName`	String	Team project name

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`ResolveType`	`ResolveType` enum	The type of conflict resolution to use. One of: - `ResolveType.ACCEPT_THEIRS`: Take the shared version. The shared version replaces your version. - `ResolveType.ACCEPT_YOURS`: Keep your version of the project. The shared version is not taken. - `ResolveType.ACCEPT_THEIRS_AND_COPY`: Copy and rename your version, then take the shared version. The shared version replaces your original version.

Returns¶

Boolean. true if the resolution of the specified type was successful, otherwise false.

System object¶

system

Description¶

The System object provides access to attributes found on the user's system, such as the user name and the name and version of the operating system. It is available through the system global variable.

Example¶

alert("Your OS is " + system.osName + " running version" + system.osVersion);
confirm("You are: " + system.userName + " running on " + system.machineName + ".");

Attributes¶

Type¶

String; read-only.

Methods¶

System.callSystem()¶

system.callSystem(cmdLineToExecute);

Description¶

Executes a system command, as if you had typed it on the operating system's command line. Returns whatever the system outputs in response to the command, if anything. In Windows, you can invoke commands using the /c switch for the cmd.exe command, passing the command to run in escaped quotes (\"...\"). For example, the following retrieves the current time and displays it to the user:

var timeStr = system.callSystem("cmd.exe /c \"time /t\"");
alert("Current time is " + timeStr);

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`cmdLineToExecute`	String	The command and its parameters.

Returns¶

The output from the command.

Ended: General

Item ↵

Item object¶

app.project.item(index)
app.project.items[index]

Description¶

The Item object represents an item that can appear in the Project panel. The first item is at index 1.

Info

Item is the base class for AVItem object and for FolderItem object, which are in turn the base classes for various other item types, so Item attributes and methods are available when working with all of these item types.

Example¶

This example gets the second item from the project and checks that it is a folder. It then removes from the folder any top-level item that is not currently selected. It also checks to make sure that, for each item in the folder, the parent is properly set to the correct folder.

var myFolder = app.project.item(2);
if (!(myFolder instanceof FolderItem)) {
    alert("error: second item is not a folder");
} else {
    var numInFolder = myFolder.numItems;
    //Always run loops backwards when deleting things:
    for (var i = numInFolder; i >= 1; i--) {
        var curItem = myFolder.item(i);
        if (curItem.parentFolder !== myFolder) {
            alert("error within AE: the parentFolder is not set correctly");
        } else {
            if (!curItem.selected) {
                //found an unselected solid.
                curItem.remove();
            }
        }
    }
}

Attributes¶

//create a new FolderItem in project, with name "comps"
var compFolder = app.project.items.addFolder("comps");

//move all compositions into new folder by setting
//compItem's parentFolder to "comps" folder
for (var i = 1; i <= app.project.numItems; i++){
  if (app.project.item(i) instanceof CompItem) {
    app.project.item(i).parentFolder = compFolder;
  }
}

Item.selected¶

app.project.item(index).selected

Description¶

When true, this item is selected. Multiple items can be selected at the same time. Set to true to select the item programmatically, or to false to deselect it.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Item.typeName¶

app.project.item(index).typeName

Description¶

A user-readable name for the item type; for example, "Folder", "Footage", or "Composition". These names are application locale-dependent, meaning that they are different depending on the application's interface language.

Type¶

String; read-only.

Localized strings¶

Locale	Composition	Folder	Footage
`en_US`	Composition	Folder	Footage
`de_DE`	Komposition	Ordner	Footage
`es_ES`	Composición	Carpeta	Material de archivo
`fr_FR`	Composition	Dossier	Métrage
`it_IT`	Composizione	Cartella	Metraggio
`ja_JP`	コンポジション	フォルダー	フッテージ
`ko_KR`	컴포지션	폴더	푸티지
`pt_BR`	Composição	Pasta	Gravação
`ru_ru`	Композиция	Папка	Видеоряд
`zh_CN`	合成	文件夹	素材

Example¶

if (/Composition|Komposition|Composición|Composizione|コンポジション|컴포지션|Composição|Композиция|合成/.test(app.project.item(index).typeName)) {
    // item is a composition
} else if (/Folder|Ordner|Carpeta|Dossier|Cartella|フォルダー|폴더|Pasta|Папка|文件夹/.test(app.project.item(index).typeName)) {
    // item is a folder
}

Methods¶

Item.addGuide()¶

app.project.item(index).addGuide(orientationType, position)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

Creates a new guide and adds it to the guides object of the Item.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`orientationType`	Integer	`0` for a horizontal guide, `1` for a vertical guide. Any other value defaults to horizontal.
`position`	Integer	The X or Y coordinate position of the guide in pixels, depending on its `orientationType`.

Returns¶

Integer; the index of the newly-created guide.

Example¶

Adds a vertical guide at 500 pixels on the X axis to the activeItem of a project.

app.project.activeItem.addGuide(1, 500);

Item.remove()¶

app.project.item(index).remove()

Description¶

Deletes this item from the project and the Project panel. If the item is a FolderItem, all the items contained in the folder are also removed from the project. No files or folders are removed from the disk.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Item.removeGuide()¶

app.project.item(index).removeGuide(guideIndex)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

Removes an existing guide. Choose the guide based on its index inside the Item.guides object.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`guideIndex`	Integer	The index of the guide to be removed.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Example¶

Removes the first guide in activeItem.

app.project.activeItem.removeGuide(0);

Warning

Removing a guide will cause all higher guide indexes to shift downward.

Item.setGuide()¶

app.project.item(index).setGuide(position,guideIndex)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

Modifies the position of an existing guide. Choose the guide based on its guideIndex inside the Item.guides array.

A guide's orientationType may not be changed after it is created.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`position`	Integer	The new X or Y coordinate position of the guide in pixels, depending on its existing `orientationType`.
`guideIndex`	Integer	The index of the guide to be modified.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Example¶

Changes the position of the first guide in activeItem to 1200 pixels.

app.project.activeItem.setGuide(1200, 0);

ItemCollection object¶

app.project.items

Description¶

The ItemCollection object represents a collection of items. The ItemCollection belonging to a Project object contains all the Item objects for items in the project. The ItemCollection belonging to a FolderItem object contains all the Item objects for items in that folder.

Info

ItemCollection is a subclass of Collection object. All methods and attributes of Collection, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with ItemCollection.

Methods¶

ItemCollection.addComp()¶

app.project.items.addComp(name, width, height, pixelAspect, duration, frameRate)

Description¶

Creates a new composition. Creates and returns a new CompItem object and adds it to this collection. If the ItemCollection belongs to the project or the root folder, then the new item's parentFolder is the root folder. If the ItemCollection belongs to any other folder, the new item's parentFolder is that FolderItem.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	String	The name of the composition.
`width`	Integer, in the range `[4..30000]`	The width of the composition in pixels.
`height`	Integer, in the range `[4..30000]`	The height of the composition in pixels.
`pixelAspect`	Floating-point value, in the range `[0.01..100.0]`	The pixel aspect ratio of the composition.
`duration`	Floating-point value, in the range `[0.0..10800.0]`	The duration of the composition in seconds.
`frameRate`	Floating-point value, in the range `[1.0..99.0]`	The frame rate of the composition.

Returns¶

CompItem object.

ItemCollection.addFolder()¶

app.project.items.addFolder(name)

Description¶

Creates a new folder. Creates and returns a new FolderItem object and adds it to this collection. If the ItemCollection belongs to the project or the root folder, then the new folder's parentFolder is the root folder. If the ItemCollection belongs to any other folder, the new folder's parentFolder is that FolderItem. To put items in the folder, set the Item.parentFolder attribute

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	String	The name of the folder.

Returns¶

FolderItem object.

Example¶

This script creates a new FolderItem in the Project panel and moves compositions into it.

//create a new FolderItem in project, with name "comps"
var compFolder = app.project.items.addFolder("comps");
//move all compositions into new folder by setting
//comp Item's parentFolder to "comps" folder
for (var i = 1; i <= app.project.numItems; i++) {
  if (app.project.item(i) instanceof CompItem) {
    app.project.item(i).parentFolder = compFolder;
  }
}

AVItem object¶

app.project.item(index)

Description¶

The AVItem object provides access to attributes and methods of audio/visual files imported into After Effects.

Info

AVItem is a subclass of Item. All methods and attributes of Item, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with AVItem. See Item object

Info

AVItem is the base class for both CompItem and FootageItem, so AVItem attributes and methods are also available when working with CompItem and FootageItem objects. See CompItem object and FootageItem object.

Warning

CompItems and FootageItems, while logical descendants of AVItem, are not really subclasses of AVItem as AVItem doesn't exist in Extendscript, ie. attempting to check if item instanceof AVItem will fail because AVItem is undefined. This is also true for Item itself.

See Javascript Classes and After Effects Class Hierarchy for more info.

Attributes¶

AVItem.duration¶

app.project.item(index).duration

Description¶

Returns the duration, in seconds, of the item. Still footage items have a duration of 0.

In a CompItem, the value is linked to the duration of the composition, and is read/write.
In a FootageItem, the value is linked to the duration of the mainSource object, and is read-only.

In a CompItem, the value is linked to the frameRate of the composition, and is read/write.
In a FootageItem, the value is linked to the frameRate of the mainSource object, and is read-only. To change it, set the conformFrameRate of the mainSource object. This sets both the frameRate and frameDuration of the FootageItem.

Type¶

Floating-point value, in the range [1.0..99.0]; read-only for a FootageItem, otherwise read/write.

AVItem.hasAudio¶

app.project.item(index).hasAudio

Description¶

When true, the AVItem has an audio component.

In a CompItem, the value is linked to the composition.
In a FootageItem, the value is linked to the mainSource object.

Type¶

Boolean; read-only.

AVItem.hasVideo¶

app.project.item(index).hasVideo

Description¶

When true, the AVItem has a video component.

In a CompItem, the value is linked to the composition.
In a FootageItem, the value is linked to the mainSource object.

Type¶

Boolean; read-only.

AVItem.height¶

app.project.item(index).height

Description¶

The height of the item in pixels.

In a CompItem, the value is linked to the composition, and is read/write.
In a FootageItem, the value is linked to the mainSource object, and is read/write only if the mainSource object is a SolidSource. Otherwise, it is read-only.

Type¶

Integer, in the range [1..30000]; read/write, except as noted.

AVItem.isMediaReplacementCompatible¶

app.project.item(index).isMediaReplacementCompatible

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 18.0 (2021)

Description¶

Test whether the AVItem can be used as an alternate source when calling Property.setAlternateSource().

Returns true if the item can be used, or otherwise false.

A CompItem or a FootageItem can be used as an alternate source for the layer, with some restrictions:

If the AVItem is a FootageItem object, then FootageItem.FootageSource should not be a SolidSource object.
If the AVItem is a FootageItem object and the FootageItem.FootageSource is a FileSource object then that FileSource should not point to a non-media file e.g. a JSX script file.
Setting the AVItem cannot create a cyclical reference within the project.

Type¶

Boolean; read only.

AVItem.name¶

app.project.item(index).name

Description¶

The name of the item, as shown in the Project panel.

In a FootageItem, the value is linked to the mainSource object. If the mainSource object is a FileSource, this value controls the display name in the Project panel, but does not affect the file name.

Type¶

String; read/write.

AVItem.pixelAspect¶

app.project.item(index).pixelAspect

Description¶

The pixel aspect ratio (PAR) of the item.

In a CompItem, the value is linked to the composition.
In a FootageItem, the value is linked to the mainSource object.

The value you retrieve after setting may be slightly different from the value you supplied. The following table compares the value as it appears in the UI with the more accurate value returned by this attribute.

PAR in the After Effects UI	PAR returned by the pixelAspect attribute
0.91	0.909091
1	1
1.5	1.5
1.09	1.09402
1.21	1.21212
1.33	1.33333
1.46	1.45869
2	2

In a CompItem, the value is linked to the composition, and is read/write.
In a FootageItem, the value is linked to the mainSource object, and is read/write only if the mainSource object is a SolidSource. Otherwise, it is read-only.

Type¶

Integer, in the range [1..30000]; read/write, except as noted.

Methods¶

AVItem.setProxy()¶

app.project.item(index).setProxy(file)

Description¶

Sets a file as the proxy of this AVItem.

Loads the specified file into a new FileSource object, sets this as the value of the proxySource attribute, and sets useProxy to true.

It does not preserve the interpretation parameters, instead using the user preferences. If the file has an unlabeled alpha channel, and the user preference says to ask the user what to do, the method estimates the alpha interpretation, rather than asking the user.

This differs from setting a FootageItem's mainSource, but both actions are performed as in the user interface.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`file`	Extendscript File object	The file to be used as a proxy.

It does not preserve the interpretation parameters, instead using the user preferences. If any file has an unlabeled alpha channel, and the user preference says to ask the user what to do, the method estimates the alpha interpretation, rather than asking the user.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`file`	Extendscript File object	The first file in the sequence.
`forceAlphabetical`	Boolean	When `true`, use the "Force alphabetical order" option.

Returns¶

Nothing.

AVItem.setProxyWithSolid()¶

app.project.item(index).setProxyWithSolid(color, name, width, height, pixelAspect)

Description¶

Creates a SolidSource object with specified values, sets this as the value of the proxySource attribute, and sets useProxy to true. It does not preserve the interpretation parameters, instead using the user preferences.

Note

There is no way, using the user interface, to set a solid as a proxy; this feature is available only through scripting.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`color`	Array of three floating-point values, `[R, G, B]`, in the range `[0.0..1.0]`.	The color of the solid.
`name`	String	The name of the new object.
`width`, `height`	Integer, in the range `[1..30000]`	The pixel dimensions of the placeholder.
`pixelAspect`	Floating-point value, in the range `[0.01..100.0]`	The pixel aspect ratio of the solid.

Returns¶

Nothing.

CompItem object¶

app.project.item(index)
app.project.items[index]

Description¶

The CompItem object represents a composition, and allows you to manipulate and get information about it. Access the objects by position index number in a project's item collection.

Info

CompItem is a subclass of AVItem object, which is a subclass of Item object. All methods and attributes of AVItem and Item, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with CompItem.

Example¶

Given that the first item in the project is a CompItem, the following code displays two alerts. The first shows the number of layers in the CompItem, and the second shows the name of the last layer in the CompItem.

var firstComp = app.project.item(1);
alert("number of layers is " + firstComp.numLayers);
alert("name of last layer is " + firstComp.layer(firstComp.numLayers).name);

Attributes¶

CompItem.activeCamera¶

app.project.item(index).activeCamera

Description¶

The active camera, which is the front-most camera layer that is enabled. The value is null if the composition contains no enabled camera layers.

Type¶

CameraLayer object; read-only.

CompItem.bgColor¶

app.project.item(index).bgColor

Description¶

The background color of the composition. The three array values specify the red, green, and blue components of the color.

Type¶

An array containing three floating-point values, [R, G, B], in the range [0.0..1.0]; read/write.

CompItem.counters¶

app.project.item(index).counters

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC2014).

Warning

This method/property is officially undocumented and was found via research. The information here may be inaccurate, and this whole method/property may disappear or stop working some point. Please contribute if you have more information on it!

Description¶

This attribute works app-wide: if changed on one CompItem, it will change it for every CompItem in the project. The value stays until restarting AE. Once restarted, it will revert to false.

This parameter doesn't do anything.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

CompItem.displayStartFrame¶

app.project.item(index).displayStartFrame

Description¶

The frame value of the beginning of the composition.

app.project.item(index).markerProperty

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.0 (CC 2017)

Description¶

A PropertyGroup object that contains all a composition's markers. Composition marker scripting has the same functionality as Layer markers.

See MarkerValue object.

Type¶

PropertyGroup object or null; read-only.

Example¶

The following sample code creates a project and composition, then creates two composition markers with different properties

// comp.markerProperty allows you to add markers to a comp.
// It has the same functionality as layer.property("Marker")
var currentProj = app.newProject();
var comp = currentProj.items.addComp("mycomp", 1920, 1080, 1.0, 5, 29.97);
var solidLayer = comp.layers.addSolid([1, 1, 1], "mylayer", 1920, 1080, 1.0);

var compMarker = new MarkerValue("This is a comp marker!");
compMarker.duration = 1;

var compMarker2 = new MarkerValue("Another comp marker!");
compMarker2.duration = 1;

comp.markerProperty.setValueAtTime(1, compMarker);
comp.markerProperty.setValueAtTime(3, compMarker2);

Description¶

Read or write the name property in the Essential Graphics panel for the composition.

The name in the Essential Graphics panel is used for the file name of an exported Motion Graphics template (ex., "My Template.mogrt").

The following example will set the name for the active composition and then return it as an alert

app.project.activeItem.motionGraphicsTemplateName = "My Template";
alert(app.project.activeItem.motionGraphicsTemplateName);

Type¶

Floating-point value; read/write.

Methods¶

CompItem.duplicate()¶

app.project.item(index).duplicate()

Description¶

Creates and returns a duplicate of this composition, which contains the same layers as the original.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

CompItem object.

CompItem.exportAsMotionGraphicsTemplate()¶

app.project.item(index).exportAsMotionGraphicsTemplate(doOverWriteFileIfExisting[, file_path])

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 15.0 (CC 2018)

Description¶

Exports the composition as a Motion Graphics template. Returns true if the Motion Graphics template is successfully exported, otherwise false.

The name in the Essential Graphics panel is used for the file name of the Motion Graphics template (ex., "My Template.mogrt"). Use the motionGraphicsTemplateName attribute to set the name.

Optionally specify the path to the folder where the Motion Graphics template file is saved. If not specified, the file will be saved in the current user's Motion Graphics Templates folder:

OS	Path
macOS	`/Users/<name>/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Motion Graphics Templates/`
Windows	`C:\Users\<name>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Common\Motion Graphics Templates\`

If the project has been changed since the last time it was saved, After Effects will prompt the user to save the project. To avoid this, use the project save() method before exporting the Motion Graphics template.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`doOverWriteFileIfExisting`	Boolean	Whether to overwrite an existing file of the same name.
`file_path`	String	Optional. Path to the folder where the file will be saved.

Returns¶

Boolean.

CompItem.getMotionGraphicsTemplateControllerName()¶

app.project.item(index).getMotionGraphicsTemplateControllerName(index)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

Gets the name of a single property in the Essential Graphics panel.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`index`	Integer	The index of the EGP property whose name will be returned.

Returns¶

String; read-only.

CompItem.setMotionGraphicsControllerName()¶

app.project.item(index).setMotionGraphicsControllerName(index, newName)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

Sets the name of a single property in the Essential Graphics panel.

Tip

To rename a property as it is added to the EGP, see Property.addToMotionGraphicsTemplateAs().

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`index`	Integer	The index of the EGP property to be renamed.
`newName`	String	The new name for the EGP property.

Returns¶

String; read-only.

CompItem.layer()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index)
app.project.item(index).layer(otherLayer, relIndex)
app.project.item(index).layer(name)

Description¶

Returns a Layer object, which can be specified by name, an index position in this layer, or an index position relative to another layer.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`index`	Integer, in the range `[1..numLayers]`, where `numLayers` is the number of layers in the composition	The index number of the desired layer in this composition.

or:

Parameter	Type	Description
`otherLayer`	Layer object in this composition.	The `relIndex` value is added to the index value of this layer to find the position of the desired layer.
`relIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1 - otherLayer.index .. numLayers - otherLayer.index]`, where `numLayers` is the number of layers in the composition.	The position of the desired layer, relative to `otherLayer`. This value is added to the `otherLayer` value to derive the absolute index of the layer to return.

or:

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	String	The name of the desired layer.

Example¶

Given that the second item in the project is a FolderItem, the following code puts up an alert for each top-level item in the folder, showing that item's name.

var secondItem = app.project.item(2);
if (!(secondItem instanceof FolderItem)) {
    alert("problem: second item is not a folder");
} else {
    for (var i = 1; i <= secondItem.numItems; i++) {
        alert("item number " + i + " within the folder is named " + secondItem.item(i).name);
    }
}

Attributes¶

FolderItem.items¶

app.project.item(index).items

Description¶

An ItemCollection object containing Item object that represents the top-level contents of this folder.

Unlike the ItemCollection in the Project object, this collection contains only the top-level items in the folder. The top-level within the folder is not the same as top-level within the project. Only those items that are top-level in the root folder are also top-level in the Project.

Type¶

ItemCollection object; read-only.

FolderItem.numItems¶

app.project.item(index).numItems

Description¶

The number of items contained in the items collection (folderItem.items.length).

If the folder contains another folder, only the FolderItem for that folder is counted, not any subitems contained in it.

Type¶

Integer; read-only.

Methods¶

FolderItem.item()¶

app.project.item(index).item(subIndex)

Description¶

Returns the top-level item in this folder at the specified index position.

Note that "top-level" here means top-level within the folder, not necessarily within the project.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`subIndex`	Integer	The position index of the item to retrieve. The first item is at index 1.

Returns¶

Item object.

FootageItem object¶

app.project.item(index) app.project.items[index]

Description¶

The FootageItem object represents a footage item imported into a project, which appears in the Project panel. These are accessed by position index number in a project's item collection.

Info

FootageItem is a subclass of AVItem object, which is a subclass of Item object. All methods and attributes of AVItem and Item, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with FootageItem.

Attributes¶

FootageItem.file¶

app.project.item(index).file

Description¶

The Extendscript File object for the footage's source file.

If the FootageItem's mainSource is a FileSource, this is the same as FootageItem.mainSource.file. Otherwise it is null.

Type¶

File object; read-only.

FootageItem.mainSource¶

app.project.item(index).mainSource

Description¶

The footage source, an object that contains all of the settings related to that footage item, including those that are normally accessed through the Interpret Footage dialog box. The attribute is read-only. To change its value, call one of the FootageItem "replace" methods. See the FootageSource object, and its three types:

SolidSource object
FileSource object
PlaceholderSource object

If this is a FileSource object, and the footageMissing value is true, the path to the missing footage file is in the FileSource.missingFootagePath attribute.

Type¶

FootageSource object; read-only.

Methods¶

FootageItem.openInViewer()¶

app.project.item(index).openInViewer()

Description¶

Opens the footage in a Footage panel, and moves the Footage panel to front and gives it focus.

Tip

Missing and placeholder footage can be opened using this method, but cannot manually (via double-clicking it).

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Viewer object for the Footage panel, or null if the footage could not be opened.

FootageItem.replace()¶

app.project.item(index).replace(file)

Description¶

Changes the source of this FootageItem to the specified file.

In addition to loading the file, the method creates a new FileSource object for the file and sets mainSource to that object. In the new source object, it sets the name, width, height, frameDuration, and duration attributes (see AVItem object) based on the contents of the file.

The method preserves interpretation parameters from the previous mainSource object.

If the specified file has an unlabeled alpha channel, the method estimates the alpha interpretation.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`file`	Extendscript File object	The file to be used as the footage main source.

FootageItem.replaceWithPlaceholder()¶

app.project.item(index).replaceWithPlaceholder(name, width, height, frameRate, duration)

Description¶

Changes the source of this FootageItem to the specified placeholder. Creates a new PlaceholderSource object, sets its values from the parameters, and sets mainSource to that object.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	String	The name of the placeholder.
`width`	Integer, in the range `[4..30000]`	The width of the placeholder in pixels.
`height`	Integer, in the range `[4..30000]`	The height of the placeholder in pixels.
`frameRate`	Floating-point value, in the range `[1.0..99.0]`	The frame rate of the placeholder.
`duration`	Floating-point value, in the range `[0.0..10800.0]`	The duration of the placeholder in seconds.

FootageItem.replaceWithSequence()¶

app.project.item(index).replaceWithSequence(file, forceAlphabetical)

Description¶

Changes the source of this FootageItem to the specified image sequence.

In addition to loading the file, the method creates a new FileSource object for the file and sets mainSource to that object. In the new source object, it sets the name, width, height, frameDuration, and duration attributes (see AVItem object) based on the contents of the file.

The method preserves interpretation parameters from the previous mainSource object. If the specified file has an unlabeled alpha channel, the method estimates the alpha interpretation.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`file`	Extendscript File object	The first file in the sequence to be used as the footage main source.
`forceAlphabetical`	Boolean	When `true`, use the "Force alphabetical order" option.

FootageItem.replaceWithSolid()¶

app.project.item(index).replaceWithSolid(color, name, width, height, pixelAspect)

Description¶

Changes the source of this FootageItem to the specified solid. Creates a new SolidSource object, sets its values from the parameters, and sets mainSource to that object.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`color`	Array of three floating-point values, `[R, G, B]`, in the range `[0.0..1.0]`.	The color of the solid.
`name`	String	The name of the solid.
`width`	Integer, in the range `[4..30000]`	The width of the solid in pixels.
`height`	Integer, in the range `[4..30000]`	The height of the solid in pixels.
`pixelAspect`	Floating-point value, in the range `[0.01..100.0]`	The pixel aspect ratio of the solid.

Ended: Item

Layer ↵

Layer object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index)

Description¶

The Layer object provides access to layers within compositions. It can be accessed from an item's layer collection either by index number or by a name string.

Info

Layer is a subclass of PropertyGroup, which is a subclass of PropertyBase. All methods and attributes of PropertyGroup, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with Layer, with the exception that propertyIndex attribute is set to undefined.

Info

Layer is the base class for CameraLayer object, LightLayer object, and AVLayer object, so Layer attributes and methods are available when working with all layer types. Layers contain AE properties, in addition to their JavaScript attributes and methods. For examples of how to access properties in layers, see PropertyBase object.

Example¶

If the first item in the project is a CompItem, this example disables the first layer in that composition and renames it. This might, for example, turn an icon off in the composition.

var firstLayer = app.project.item(1).layer(1);
firstLayer.enabled = false;
firstLayer.name = "DisabledLayer";

Attributes¶

Layer.autoOrient¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).autoOrient

Description¶

The type of automatic orientation to perform for the layer.

Type¶

An AutoOrientType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

AutoOrientType.ALONG_PATH Layer faces in the direction of the motion path.
AutoOrientType.CAMERA_OR_POINT_OF_INTEREST Layer always faces the active camera or points at its point of interest.
AutoOrientType.CHARACTERS_TOWARD_CAMERA Each character in a per-character 3D text layer automatically faces the active camera.
AutoOrientType.NO_AUTO_ORIENT Layer rotates freely, independent of any motion path, point of interest, or other layers.

Description¶

A PropertyGroup object that contains all a layer's markers. Layer marker scripting has the same functionality as Comp markers.

See MarkerValue object.

Type¶

PropertyGroup object or null; read-only.

Example¶

The following sample code creates two layer markers with different properties

var solidLayer = comp.layers.addSolid([1, 1, 1], "mylayer", 1920, 1080, 1.0);

var layerMarker = new MarkerValue("This is a layer marker!");
layerMarker.duration = 1;

var layerMarker2 = new MarkerValue("Another comp marker!");
layerMarker2.duration = 1;

solidLayer.marker.setValueAtTime(1, layerMarker);
solidLayer.marker.setValueAtTime(3, layerMarker2);

Layer.activeAtTime()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).activeAtTime(time)

Description¶

Returns true if this layer will be active at the specified time.

To return true, the layer must be enabled, no other layer may be soloing unless this layer is soloed too, and the time must be between the inPoint and outPoint values of this layer.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`time`	Floating-point value	The time in seconds.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Layer.applyPreset()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).applyPreset(presetName);

Description¶

Applies the specified collection of animation settings (an animation preset) to all the currently selected layers of the comp to which the layer belongs. If no layer is selected, it applies the animation preset to a new solid layer.

Predefined animation preset files are installed in the Presets folder, and users can create new animation presets through the user interface.

Warning

The animation preset is applied to the the selected layer(s) of the comp, not to the layer whose applyPreset function is called. Hence, the layer whose applyPreset function is called effectively just determines the comp whose layers are processed.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`presetName`	Extendscript File object	The file containing the animation preset.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Layer.copyToComp()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).copyToComp(intoComp)

Description¶

Copies the layer into the specified composition. The original layer remains unchanged.

Creates a new Layer object with the same values as this one, and prepends the new object to the LayerCollection object in the target CompItem. Retrieve the copy using into Comp.layer(1).

Copying in a layer changes the index positions of previously existing layers in the target composition.

This is the same as copying and pasting a layer through the user interface.

Note

As of After Effects 13.6, this method no longer causes After Effects to crash when the layer has a parent.

Warning

As of After Effects 13.7 (13.6, has not been tested), if the copied layer has an effect on it and the user undoes the action, After Effects will Crash.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`intoComp`	CompItem object	The target composition.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Layer.doSceneEditDetection()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).doSceneEditDetection(applyOptions)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 22.3 (2022)

Description¶

Runs Scene Edit Detection on the layer that the method is called on and returns an array containing the times of any detected scenes. This is the same as selecting a layer in the Timeline and choosing "Layer > Scene Edit Detection" with the single argument determining whether the edits are applied as markers, layer splits, pre-comps, or are not applied to the layer.

Just as in the UI, doSceneEditDetection will fail and error if called on a non-video layer or a video layer with Time Remapping enabled.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`applyOptions`	`SceneEditDetectionMode` enum	How the detected edits will be applied. One of: - `SceneEditDetectionMode.MARKERS`: Create markers at edit points. - `SceneEditDetectionMode.SPLIT`: Split layer. - `SceneEditDetectionMode.SPLIT_PRECOMP`: Split layer at edit points and pre-compose each one. - `SceneEditDetectionMode.NONE`: Detected edits are not applied to the layer.

Info

LayerCollection is a subclass of Collection object. All methods and attributes of Collection, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with LayerCollection.

Example¶

Given that the first item in the project is a CompItem and the second item is an AVItem, this example shows the number of layers in the CompItem's layer collection, adds a new layer based on an AVItem in the project, then displays the new number of layers.

var firstComp = app.project.item(1);
var layerCollection = firstComp.layers;
alert("number of layers before is " + layerCollection.length);
var anAVItem = app.project.item(2);
layerCollection.add(anAVItem);
alert("number of layers after is " + layerCollection.length);

Methods¶

LayerCollection.add()¶

app.project.item(index).layers.add(item[, duration])

Description¶

Creates a new AVLayer object containing the specified item, and adds it to this collection. The new layer honors the "Create Layers at Composition Start Time" preference. This method generates an exception if the item cannot be added as a layer to this CompItem.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`item`	AVItem object	The item to be added.
`duration`	Floating-point value	Optional. The length of a still layer in seconds. Used only if the item contains a piece of still footage. Has no effect on movies, sequences or audio. If supplied, sets the duration value of the new layer. Otherwise, the duration value is set according to user preferences. By default, this is the same as the duration of the containing CompItem. To set another preferred value, open `Edit > Preferences > Import` (Windows) or `After Effects > Preferences > Import` (Mac OS), and specify options under Still Footage.

Returns¶

AVLayer object;

LayerCollection.addBoxText()¶

app.project.item(index).layers.addBoxText([width, height])

Description¶

Creates a new paragraph (box) text layer with TextDocument.lineOrientation set to LineOrientation.HORIZONTAL and adds the new TextLayer object to this collection. To create a point text layer, use the LayerCollection.addText() method.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`[width, height]`	Array of floating-point values	The dimensions of the new text box.

Returns¶

TextLayer object.

LayerCollection.addCamera()¶

app.project.item(index).layers.addCamera(name, centerPoint)

Description¶

Creates a new camera layer and adds the CameraLayer object to this collection. The new layer honors the "Create Layers at Composition Start Time" preference.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	String	The name of the new layer.
`centerPoint`	Array of floating-point values, `[x, y]`	The initial X and Y values of the new camera's Point of Interest property. The z value is set to 0.

Returns¶

CameraLayer object.

LayerCollection.addLight()¶

app.project.item(index).layers.addLight(name, centerPoint)

Description¶

Creates a new light layer and adds the LightLayer object to this collection. The new layer honors the "Create Layers at Composition Start Time" preference.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	String	The name of the new layer.
`centerPoint`	Array of floating-point values, `[x, y]`	The center of the new light

Returns¶

LightLayer object.

LayerCollection.addNull()¶

app.project.item(index).layers.addNull([duration])

Description¶

Creates a new null layer and adds the AVLayer object to this collection. This is the same as choosing Layer > New > Null Object.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`duration`	Floating-point value	Optional. The length of a still layer in seconds. If supplied, sets the `duration` value of the new layer. Otherwise, the `duration` value is set according to user preferences. By default, this is the same as the duration of the containing CompItem. To set another preferred value, open `Edit > Preferences > Import (Windows)` or `After Effects > Preferences > Import (Mac OS)`, and specify options under Still Footage.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`[width, height]`	Array of floating-point values	The dimensions of the new text box.

Returns¶

TextLayer object.

LayerCollection.addVerticalText()¶

app.project.item(index).layers.addVerticalText([sourceText])

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.2

Description¶

Creates a new point text layer with TextDocument.lineOrientation set to LineOrientation.VERTICAL_RIGHT_TO_LEFT and adds the new TextLayer object to this collection. To create a paragraph (box) text layer, use the LayerCollection.addBoxText() or LayerCollection.addVerticalBoxText() methods.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sourceText`	String	Optional. The source text of the new layer, or a TextDocument object containing the source text of the new layer.

Info

AVLayer is a base class for TextLayer object, so AVLayer attributes and methods are available when working with TextLayer objects.

AE Properties¶

Different types of layers have different AE properties. AVLayer has the following properties and property groups:

Marker
Time Remap
Motion Trackers
Masks
Effects
Transform
Anchor Point
Position
Scale
Orientation
X Rotation
Y Rotation
Rotation
Opacity
Layer Styles
Geometry Options // Ray-traced 3D
Material Options
Casts Shadows
Light Transmission
Accepts Shadows
Accepts Lights
Appears in Reflections // Ray-traced 3D
Ambient
Diffuse
Specular Intensity
Specular Shininess
Metal
Reflection Intensity // Ray-traced 3D
Reflection Sharpness // Ray-traced 3D
Reflection Rolloff // Ray-traced 3D
Transparency // Ray-traced 3D
Transparency Rolloff // Ray-traced 3D
Index of Refraction // Ray-traced 3D
Audio
AudioLevels

Example¶

If the first item in the project is a CompItem, and the first layer of that CompItem is an AVLayer, the following sets the layer quality, startTime, and inPoint.

var firstLayer = app.project.item(1).layer(1);
firstLayer.quality = LayerQuality.BEST;
firstLayer.startTime = 1;
firstLayer.inPoint = 2;

A BlendingMode enumerated value; read/write. One of:

BlendingMode.ADD
BlendingMode.ALPHA_ADD
BlendingMode.CLASSIC_COLOR_BURN
BlendingMode.CLASSIC_COLOR_DODGE
BlendingMode.CLASSIC_DIFFERENCE
BlendingMode.COLOR
BlendingMode.COLOR_BURN
BlendingMode.COLOR_DODGE
BlendingMode.DANCING_DISSOLVE
BlendingMode.DARKEN
BlendingMode.DARKER_COLOR
BlendingMode.DIFFERENCE
BlendingMode.DISSOLVE
BlendingMode.DIVIDE
BlendingMode.EXCLUSION
BlendingMode.HARD_LIGHT
BlendingMode.HARD_MIX
BlendingMode.HUE
BlendingMode.LIGHTEN
BlendingMode.LIGHTER_COLOR
BlendingMode.LINEAR_BURN
BlendingMode.LINEAR_DODGE
BlendingMode.LINEAR_LIGHT
BlendingMode.LUMINESCENT_PREMUL
BlendingMode.LUMINOSITY
BlendingMode.MULTIPLY
BlendingMode.NORMAL
BlendingMode.OVERLAY
BlendingMode.PIN_LIGHT
BlendingMode.SATURATION
BlendingMode.SCREEN
BlendingMode.SUBTRACT
BlendingMode.SILHOUETE_ALPHA - note the mispelling of 'SILHOUETTE'!
BlendingMode.SILHOUETTE_LUMA
BlendingMode.SOFT_LIGHT
BlendingMode.STENCIL_ALPHA
BlendingMode.STENCIL_LUMA
BlendingMode.SUBTRACT
BlendingMode.VIVID_LIGHT

FrameBlendingType.FRAME_MIX
FrameBlendingType.NO_FRAME_BLEND
FrameBlendingType.PIXEL_MOTION

LayerQuality.BEST
LayerQuality.DRAFT
LayerQuality.WIREFRAME

AVLayer.samplingQuality¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).samplingQuality

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 12.0 (CC)

Description¶

Set/get layer sampling method (bicubic or bilinear)

Type¶

A LayerSamplingQuality enumerated value; read/write. One of:

LayerSamplingQuality.BICUBIC
LayerSamplingQuality.BILINEAR

TrackMatteType.ALPHA
TrackMatteType.ALPHA_INVERTED
TrackMatteType.LUMA
TrackMatteType.LUMA_INVERTED
TrackMatteType.NO_TRACK_MATTE

Example¶

// Returns the current track matte type for myLayer
var type = myLayer.trackMatteType;

// *** We recommend using the new Track Matte APIs for the operations below (See Warning) ***

// Changes the track matte type for myLayer to TrackMatteType.ALPHA_INVERTED
myLayer.trackMatteType = TrackMatteType.ALPHA_INVERTED;

// Removes the track matte and also resets the type
myLayer.trackMatteType = TrackMatteType.NO_TRACK_MATTE;

AVLayer.width¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).width

Description¶

The width of the layer in pixels.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read-only.

Methods¶

AVLayer.addToMotionGraphicsTemplate()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).addToMotionGraphicsTemplate(comp)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 18.0 (2021)

Description¶

Adds the layer to the Essential Graphics Panel for the specified composition.

Returns true if the layer is successfully added, or otherwise false.

If the layer cannot be added, it is either because it is not a layer type for which media can be replaced (referred to as Media Replacement Layers), or the layer has already been added to the EGP for that composition. After Effects will present a warning dialog if the layer cannot be added to the EGP.

Use the AVLayer.canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate() method to test whether the layer can be added to a Motion Graphics template.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`comp`	CompItem object	The composition where you wish to add the property to the EGP.

Returns¶

Boolean.

AVLayer.addToMotionGraphicsTemplateAs()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).addToMotionGraphicsTemplateAs(comp, name)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 18.0 (2021)

Description¶

Adds the layer to the Essential Graphics Panel for the specified composition.

Returns true if the layer is successfully added, or otherwise false.

If the layer cannot be added, it is either because it is not a layer type for which media can be replaced (referred to as Media Replacement Layers), or the layer has already been added to the EGP for that composition. After Effects will present a warning dialog if the layer cannot be added to the EGP.

Use the AVLayer.canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate() method to test whether the layer can be added to a Motion Graphics template.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`comp`	CompItem object	The composition where you wish to add the property to the EGP.
`name`	String	The new name.

Returns¶

Boolean.

AVLayer.audioActiveAtTime()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).audioActiveAtTime(time)

Description¶

Returns true if this layer's audio will be active at the specified time.

For this method to return true, audioEnabled must be true, no other layer with audio may be soloing unless this layer is soloed too, and the time must be between the inPoint and outPoint of this layer.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`time`	Floating-point value	The time, in seconds.

Returns¶

Boolean.

AVLayer.calculateTransformFromPoints()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).calculateTransformFromPoints(pointTopLeft, pointTopRight, pointBottomRight)

Description¶

Calculates a transformation from a set of points in this layer.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`pointTopLeft`	Array of floating-point values, `[x, y, z]`	The top left point coordinates.
`pointTopRight`	Array of floating-point values, `[x, y, z]`	The top right point coordinates.
`pointBottomRight`	Array of floating-point values, `[x, y, z]`	The bottom right point coordinates.

Returns¶

An Object with the transformation properties set.

Example¶

var newLayer = comp.layers.add(newFootage);
newLayer.threeDLayer = true;
newLayer.blendingMode = BlendingMode.ALPHA_ADD;
var transform = newLayer.calculateTransformFromPoints(tl, tr, bl);
for (var sel in transform) {
  newLayer.transform[sel].setValue(transform[sel]);
}

AVLayer.canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate(comp)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 18.0 (2021)

Description¶

Test whether or not the layer can be added to the Essential Graphics Panel for the specified composition.

Returns true if the layer can be added, or otherwise false.

If the layer cannot be added, it is either because it is not a layer type for which media can be replaced (referred to as Media Replacement Layers), or the layer has already been added to the EGP for that composition.

Media Replacement layers are recognized as AVLayers with an AVLayer.source set to a FootageItem object (with specific source types) or a CompItem object.

The AVLayer needs to comply with the restrictions below in order to be treated as a Media Replacement layer:

Layer.hasVideo should return true.
AVLayer.adjustmentLayer should return false.
Layer.nullLayer should return false.
If the AVLayer.source is a FootageItem object, then FootageItem.FootageSource should not be a SolidSource object.
If the AVLayer.source is a FootageItem object and the FootageItem.FootageSource is a FileSource object then that FileSource should not point to a non-media file e.g. a JSX script file.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`comp`	CompItem object	The composition where you wish to add the property to the EGP.

Returns¶

Boolean.

AVLayer.compPointToSource()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).compPointToSource()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2)

Description¶

Converts composition coordinates, such as sourcePointToComp, to layer coordinates.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the text layer at the current time.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sourcePointToComp`	Array of floating-point values, `[x, y]`	Position array of composition coordinates

Returns¶

Array of ([X,Y]) position coordinates; read-only.

AVLayer.openInViewer()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).openInViewer()

Description¶

Opens the layer in a Layer panel, and moves the Layer panel to front and gives it focus.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Viewer object for the Layer panel, or null if the layer could not be opened (e.g., for text or shape layers, which cannot be opened in the Layer panel).

AVLayer.removeTrackMatte()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).removeTrackMatte()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 23.0

Description¶

Removes the track matte for this layer while preserving the TrackMatteType. See AVLayer.setTrackMatte() for another way of removing track matte.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Nothing.

// Sets the track matte layer of myLayer with otherLayer as LUMA type
myLayer.setTrackMatte(otherLayer, TrackMatteType.LUMA);

// Removes the track matte for myLayer but preserves the LUMA type
myLayer.removeTrackMatte();

// Still returns TrackMatteType.LUMA
alert(myLayer.trackMatteType);

AVLayer.replaceSource()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).replaceSource(newSource, fixExpressions)

Description¶

Replaces the source for this layer.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`newSource`	AVItem object	The new source AVItem object.
`fixExpressions`	Boolean	`true` to adjust expressions for the new source, otherwise `false`. Note that this feature can be resource-intensive; if replacing a large amount of footage, do this only at the end of the operation. See also Project.autoFixExpressions().

Returns¶

Nothing.

Warning

If this method is performed on a null layer, the layers isNull attribute is not changed from true. This causes the layer not to be visible in comp viewer and renders.

AVLayer.setTrackMatte()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).setTrackMatte(trackMatteLayer, trackMatteType)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 23.0

Description¶

Sets the track matte layer and type for this layer. Passing in null to trackMatteLayer parameter removes the track matte. See AVLayer.removeTrackMatte() for another way of removing track matte.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`trackMatteLayer`	AVLayer	The layer to be used as the track matte layer.
`trackMatteType`	TrackMatteType enum	The type of the track matte to be used.

Warning

Passing in TrackMatteType.NO_TRACK_MATTE as type is invalid and will result in no-op.

Returns¶

Nothing

Example¶

// Sets the track matte layer of myLayer with otherLayer as Alpha type
myLayer.setTrackMatte(otherLayer, TrackMatteType.ALPHA);

// Keeps the same trackMatteLayer and only changes the track matte type
myLayer.setTrackMatte(myLayer.trackMatteLayer, TrackMatteType.LUMA);

// Changes the track matte layer but keep the same track matte type
myLayer.setTrackMatte(newTrackMatteLayer, myLayer.trackMatteType);

// Removes the track matte for myLayer and sets the new specified TrackMatteType
myLayer.setTrackMatte(null, TrackMatteType.ALPHA);
myLayer.setTrackMatte(null, TrackMatteType.NO_TRACK_MATTE);

// Invalid. Nothing happens
myLayer.setTrackMatte(otherLayer, TrackMatteType.NO_TRACK_MATTE);

AVLayer.sourcePointToComp()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).sourcePointToComp()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2)

Description¶

Converts layer coordinates, such as boxTextPos, to composition coordinates.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the text layer at the current time.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`boxTextPos`	Array of floating-point values, `[x, y]`	A position array of layer coordinates.

Returns¶

Array of ([X,Y]) position coordinates; read-only.

Example¶

// For a paragraph text layer.
// Converts position in layer coordinates to comp coordinates.
var boxTextCompPos = myTextLayer.sourcePointToComp(boxTextLayerPos);

AVLayer.sourceRectAtTime()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).sourceRectAtTime(timeT, extents)

Description¶

Retrieves the rectangle bounds of the layer at the specified time index, corrected for text or shape layer content. Use, for example, to write text that is properly aligned to the baseline.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`timeT`	Floating-point value	The time index, in seconds.
`extents`	Boolean	`true` to include the extents, otherwise `false`. Extents apply to shape layers, increasing the size of the layer bounds as necessary.

Returns¶

A JavaScript object with four attributes, [top, left, width, height].

CameraLayer object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index)

Description¶

The CameraLayer object represents a camera layer within a composition. Create it using LayerCollection.addCamera(). It can be accessed in an item's layer collection either by index number or by a name string.

Info

CameraLayer is a subclass of Layer object. All methods and attributes of Layer are available when working with CameraLayer.

AE Properties¶

CameraLayer defines no additional attributes, but has different AE properties than other layer types. It has the following properties and property groups:

Marker
Transform
PointofInterest
Position
Scale
Orientation
XRotation
YRotation
Rotation
Opacity
CameraOptions
Zoom
DepthofField
FocusDistance
BlurLevel

LightLayer object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index)

Description¶

The LightLayer object represents a light layer within a composition. Create it using the LayerCollection.addLight() method. It can be accessed in an item's layer collection either by index number or by a name string.

Info

LightLayer is a subclass of Layer object. All methods and attributes of Layer are available when working with Light-Layer.

AE Properties¶

LightLayer defines no additional attributes, but has different AE properties than other layer types. It has thefollowing properties and property groups:

Marker
Transform:
- PointofInterest
- Position
- Scale
- Orientation
- XRotation
- YRotation
- Rotation
- Opacity
LightOptions:
- Intensity
- Color
- ConeAngle
- ConeFeather
- CastsShadows
- ShadowDarkness
- ShadowDiffusion

Attributes¶

LightLayer.lightSource:¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).lightSource

Note

LightLayer.lightSource was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

For a light layer, the layer to use as a light source when LightLayer.lightType is LightType.ENVIRONMENT.

LightLayer.layerSource must be a footage layer referencing a .EXR or .HDR footage item. Trying to set this attribute to any other layer produces an error.

LightLayer.lightType¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).lightType

Note

LightType.ENVIRONMENT was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

For a light layer, its light type. Trying to set this attribute for a non-light layer produces an error.

Type¶

A LightType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

LightType.PARALLEL
LightType.SPOT
LightType.POINT
LightType.AMBIENT
LightType.ENVIRONMENT

ShapeLayer object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index)

Description¶

The ShapeLayer object represents a shape layer within a composition. Create it using LayerCollection.addShape(). It can be accessed in an item's layer collection either by index number or by a name string.

Info

ShapeLayer is a subclass of AVLayer, which is a subclass of Layer. All methods and attributes of AVLayer and Layer are available when working with ShapeLayer.

TextLayer object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index)

Description¶

The TextLayer object represents a text layer within a composition. Create it using the LayerCollection object's addText method. It can be accessed in an item's layer collection either by index number or by a name string.

Info

TextLayer is a subclass of AVLayer, which is a subclass of Layer. All methods and attributes of AVLayer and Layer are available when working with TextLayer.

AE Properties¶

TextLayer defines no additional attributes, but has the following AE properties and property groups, in addition to those inherited from AVLayer:

Text
SourceText
PathOptions
Path
ReversePath
PerpendicularToPath
ForceAlignment
FirstMargin
LastMargin
MoreOptions
AnchorPointGrouping
GroupingAlignment
Fill&Stroke
InterCharacterBlending
Animators

Unused Properties and Attributes¶

The TimeRemapandMotionTrackers properties, inherited from AVLayer, are not applicable to text layers, and their related AVLayer attributes are not used:

canSetTimeRemapEnabled
timeRemapEnabled
trackMatteType
isTrackMatte
hasTrackMatte

ThreeDModelLayer object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.4

Description¶

The ThreeDModelLayer object represents a 3D Model layer within a composition.

Info

ThreeDModelLayer is a subclass of AVLayer object. All methods and attributes of AVLayer are available when working with ThreeDModelLayer.

AE Properties¶

ThreeDModelLayer inherits the following properties and property groups from AVLayer object:

Marker
Time Remap
Transform
Anchor Point
Position
Scale
Orientation
X Rotation
Y Rotation
Rotation
Opacity
Layer Styles
Audio
AudioLevels

Example¶

If the first item in the project is a CompItem, and the first layer of that CompItem is an ThreeDModelLayer, the following checks its type.

var modelLayer = app.project.item(1).layer(1);
if (modelLayer instanceof ThreeDModelLayer)
{
   // do something
}

Ended: Layer

Property ↵

Property object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec

Description¶

The Property object contains value, keyframe, and expression information about a particular AE property of a layer. An AE property is a value, often animatable, of an effect, mask, or transform within an individual layer. For examples of how to access properties, see PropertyBase object and PropertyGroup.property().

Info

Property is a subclass of PropertyBase. All methods and attributes of PropertyBase, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with Property.

Note

JavaScript objects commonly referred to as "properties" are called "attributes" in this guide, to avoid confusion with the After Effects definition of property.

Examples¶

Get and set the value of opacity:

var myProperty = myLayer.opacity;
// opacity has propertyValueType of OneD, and is stored as a float
myProperty.setValue(50); //set opacity to 50%
// Variable my Opacity is a float value
var myOpacity = myProperty.value;

Get and set the value of a position:

var myProperty = myLayer.position;
// position has propertyValueType of ThreeD_SPATIAL, and is stored as an array of 3 floats
myProperty.setValue([10.0, 30.0, 0.0]);
// Variable my Position is an array of 3 floats
var myPosition = myProperty.value;

Change the value of a mask shape to be open instead of closed:

var myMask = mylayer.mask(1);
var myProperty = myMask.maskPath;
myShape = myProperty.value;
myShape.closed = false;
myProperty.setValue(myShape);

Get the value of a color at a particular time. A color is stored as an array of four floats, [r, g, b, opacity]. This sets the value of the red component of a light's color at time 4 to be half of that at time 2:

var myProperty = myLight.color;
var colorValue = myProperty.valueAtTime(2, true);
colorValue[0] = 0.5 * colorValue[0];
myProperty.setValueAtTime(4, colorValue);

Check that a scale calculated by an expression at time 3.5 is the expected value of [10,50]:

var myProperty = myLayer.scale;
// false value of preExpression means evaluate the expression
var scaleValue = myProperty.valueAtTime(3.5, false);

if (scaleValue[0] === 10 && scaleValue[1] === 50) {
  alert("hurray");
} else {
  alert("oops");
}

Keyframe a rotation from 0 to 90 and back again. The animation is 10 seconds, and the middle keyframe is at the 5 second mark. Rotation properties are stored as a OneD value:

var myProperty = myLayer.rotation;
myProperty.setValueAtTime(0, 0);
myProperty.setValueAtTime(5, 90);
myProperty.setValueAtTime(10, 0);

Change the key frame values for the first three keyframes of some sourcetext:

var myProperty = myTextLayer.sourceText;
if (myProperty.numKeys < 3) {
  alert("error, I thought there were 3 keyframes");
} else {
  myProperty.setValueAtKey(1, newTextDocument("keynumber1"));
  myProperty.setValueAtKey(2, newTextDocument("keynumber2"));
  myProperty.setValueAtKey(3, newTextDocument("keynumber3"));
}

Set values using the convenience syntax for position, scale, color, or source text:

// These two are equivalent. The second fills in a default of 0.
myLayer.position.setValue([20, 30, 0]);
myLayer.position.setValue([20, 30]);
// These two are equivalent. The second fills in a defaultof 100.
myLayer.scale.setValue([50, 50, 100]);
myLayer.scale.setValue([50, 50]);
// These two are equivalent. The second fills in a defaultof 1.0
myLight.color.setValue([0.8, 0.3, 0.1, 1.0]);
myLight.color.setValue([0.8, 0.3, 0.1]);
// These two are equivalent. The second creates a TextDocument
myTextLayer.sourceText.setValue(newTextDocument("foo"));
myTextLayer.sourceText.setValue("foo");

Attributes¶

Property.alternateSource¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.alternateSource

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 18.0 (2021)

Description¶

The value is null when:

The alternate source is not set for the associated layer.
The property cannot be used to set an alternate source.

Use Property.canSetAlternateSource to determine if the property is a Media Replacement Essential Property.

All Media Replacement Layers have an alternate source item that can be set.

A layer is "marked" for media replacement when the layer is added to the Essential Graphics Panel (see AVLayer.addToMotionGraphicsTemplate() or AVLayer.addToMotionGraphicsTemplateAs()).

If present, the render workflow will pick up the alternate source while rendering the layer.
If the alternate source for the layer is not set, then the source layer of the Media Replacement control is used for rendering (this is the normal workflow).

Use Property.setAlternateSource() to change the value.

Type¶

AVItem object; read-only.

Property.canSetAlternateSource¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.canSetAlternateSource

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 18.0 (2021)

Description¶

Test whether the property is an Essential Property that supports Media Replacement.

Can be either:

A read/write Property object, in the case that the source object used to create the Essential Property was a Property
A read/write AVLayer object, in the case that the source object used to create the Essential Property was a Media Replacement Footage item
null if called on a non-Essential Property

Example¶

var firstComp = app.project.item(1);
var opacityProp = firstComp.layer(1).property("Transform").property("Opacity");

opacityProp.addToMotionGraphicsTemplate(firstComp);

var secondComp = app.project.item(2);
secondComp.layers.add(firstComp);

var essentialOpacity = secondComp.layer(1).essentialProperty.property(1);
if (essentialOpacity.essentialPropertySource == opacityProp) {
  alert("You can get the source Property from an Essential Property!");
}

Property.expression¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.expression

Description¶

The expression for the named property. Writeable only when canSetExpression for the named property is true. When you specify a value for this attribute, the string is evaluated.

If the string contains a valid expression, expressionEnabled becomes true.
If the string does not contain a valid expression, an error is generated, and expressionEnabled becomes false.
If you set the attribute to the empty string, expressionEnabled becomes false, but no error is generated.

The type of value stored in the named property. The PropertyValueType enumeration has one value for each type of data that can be stored in or retrieved from a property. Each type of data is stored and retrieved in a different kind of structure. All property objects store data according to one of these categories. For example, a 3D spatial property (such as a layer's position) is stored as an array of three floating-point values. When setting a value for position, pass in such an array, as follows: mylayer.property("position").setValue([10, 20, 0]);

In contrast, a shape property (such as a layer's mask shape) is stored as a Shape object. When setting a value for a shape, pass a Shape object, as follows:

var myShape = new Shape();
myShape.vertices = [[0,0], [0,100], [100,100], [100,0]];
var myMask = mylayer.property("ADBE Mask Parade").property(1);
myMask.property("ADBE Mask Shape").setValue(myShape);

Type¶

A PropertyValueType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

PropertyValueType.NO_VALUE: Stores no data.
PropertyValueType.ThreeD_SPATIAL: Array of three floating-point positional values. For example, an Anchor Point value might be [10.0, 20.2, 0.0]
PropertyValueType.ThreeD: Array of three floating-point quantitative values. For example, a Scale value might be [100.0, 20.2, 0.0]
PropertyValueType.TwoD_SPATIAL: Array of 2 floating-point positional values. For example, an Anchor Point value might be [5.1, 10.0]
PropertyValueType.TwoD: Array of 2 floating-point quantitative values. For example, a Scale value might be [5.1, 100.0]
PropertyValueType.OneD: A floating-point value.
PropertyValueType.COLOR:Array of 4 floating-point values in the range [0.0..1.0]. For example, [0.8, 0.3, 0.1, 1.0]
PropertyValueType.CUSTOM_VALUE : Custom property value, such as the Histogram property for the Levels effect.
PropertyValueType.MARKER: MarkerValue object
PropertyValueType.LAYER_INDEX: Integer; a value of 0 means no layer.
PropertyValueType.MASK_INDEX: Integer; a value of 0 means no mask.
PropertyValueType.SHAPE: Shape object
PropertyValueType.TEXT_DOCUMENT: TextDocument object

If expressionEnabled is true, returns the evaluated expression value.
If there are keyframes, returns the keyframed value at the current time.
Otherwise, returns the static value.

The type of value returned depends on the property value type. See examples for Property object.

Type¶

A value appropriate for the type of the property (see Property.propertyValueType); read-only.

Methods¶

Property.addKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.addKey(time)

Description¶

Adds a new keyframe or marker to the named property at the specified time and returns the index of the new keyframe.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`time`	Floating-point value	The time, in seconds, at which to add the keyframe. The beginning of the composition is 0.

Returns¶

Integer; the index of the new keyframe or marker.

Property.addToMotionGraphicsTemplate()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.addToMotionGraphicsTemplate(comp)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 15.0 (CC 2018)

Description¶

Adds the property to the Essential Graphics panel for the specified composition.

Returns true if the property is successfully added, otherwise false.

If the property is not added, it is either because it is not one of the supported property types or the property has already been added to the EGP for that composition. After Effects will present a warning dialog if the property cannot be added to the EGP.

Use the Property.canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate() method to test whether the property can be added to a Motion Graphics template.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`comp`	CompItem	The composition that you wish to add the property to.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.addToMotionGraphicsTemplateAs()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.addToMotionGraphicsTemplateAs(comp, name)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

Adds the property to the Essential Graphics panel for the specified composition, but with an additional option to give the EGP property a custom name.

Returns true if the property is successfully added, otherwise false.

If the property is not added, it is either because it is not one of the supported property types or the property has already been added to the EGP for that composition. After Effects will present a warning dialog if the property cannot be added to the EGP.

Use the Property.canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate() method to test whether the property can be added to a Motion Graphics template.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`comp`	CompItem	The composition that you wish to add the property to.
`name`	String	The new name.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.canAddToMotionGraphicsTemplate(comp)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 15.0 (CC 2018)

Description¶

Test whether or not the property can be added to the Essential Graphics panel for the specified composition.

Returns true if the property can be added, otherwise false.

If the property can not be added, it is either because it is not one of the supported property types or the property has already been added to the EGP for that composition. After Effects will present a warning dialog if the property cannot be added to the EGP.

Supported property types are:

Checkbox
Color
Numerical Slider (i.e., a single-value numerical property, such as Transform > Opacity or the Slider Control expression control effect)
Source Text

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`comp`	CompItem	The composition that you wish to add the property to.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.getSeparationFollower()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.getSeparationFollower(dim)

Description¶

For a separated, multidimensional property, retrieves a specific follower property. For example, you can use this method on the Position property to access the separated X Position and Y Position properties

Tip

This attribute applies only when the isSeparationLeader attribute is true.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`dim`	Integer	The dimension number (starting at 0).

Returns¶

Property object, or an error if the property is not multidimensional or does not have the specified dimension.

Property.isInterpolationTypeValid()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.isInterpolationTypeValid(type)

Description¶

Returns true if the named property can be interpolated using the specified keyframe interpolation type.

Parameters¶

Type¶

A KeyframeInterpolationType enumerated value; one of:

KeyframeInterpolationType.LINEAR
KeyframeInterpolationType.BEZIER
KeyframeInterpolationType.HOLD

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.keyInInterpolationType()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyInInterpolationType(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns the 'in' interpolation type for the specified keyframe.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

A KeyframeInterpolationType enumerated value; one of:

KeyframeInterpolationType.LINEAR
KeyframeInterpolationType.BEZIER
KeyframeInterpolationType.HOLD

Property.keyInSpatialTangent()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyInSpatialTangent(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns the incoming spatial tangent for the specified keyframe, if the named property is spatial (that is, the value type is TwoD_SPATIALorThreeD_SPATIAL).

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Array of floating-point values:

If the property value type is PropertyValueType.TwoD_SPATIAL, the array contains 2 floating-point values.
If the property value type is PropertyValueType.ThreeD_SPATIAL, the array contains 3 floating-point values.
If the property value type is neither of these types, an exception is generated.

Property.keyInTemporalEase()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyInTemporalEase(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns the incoming temporal ease for the specified keyframe.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Array of KeyframeEase objects:

If the property value type is PropertyValueType.TwoD, the array contains 2 objects.
If the property value type is PropertyValueType.ThreeD, the array contains 3 objects.
For any other value type, the array contains 1 object.

Property.keyLabel()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyLabel(keyIndex)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 22.6.

Description¶

The label color for the keyframe. Colors are represented by their number (0 for None, or 1 to 16 for one of the preset colors in the Labels preferences).

Read only. Keyframe color labels can be set by setLabelAtKey.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Integer (0 to 16); read only.

Property.keyOutInterpolationType()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyOutInterpolationType(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns the outgoing interpolation type for the specified keyframe.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

A KeyframeInterpolationType enumerated value; one of:

KeyframeInterpolationType.LINEAR
KeyframeInterpolationType.BEZIER
KeyframeInterpolationType.HOLD

Property.keyOutSpatialTangent()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyOutSpatialTangent(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns the outgoing spatial tangent for the specified keyframe.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Array of floating-point values:

If the property value type is PropertyValueType.TwoD_SPATIAL, the array contains 2 floating-point values.
If the property value type is PropertyValueType.ThreeD_SPATIAL, the array contains 3 floating-point values.
If the property value type is neither of these types, an exception is generated.

Property.keyOutTemporalEase()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyOutTemporalEase(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns the outgoing temporal ease for the specified keyframe.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Array of KeyframeEase objects:

If the property value type is PropertyValueType.TwoD, the array contains 2 objects.
If the property value type is PropertyValueType.ThreeD, the array contains 3 objects.
For any other value type, the array contains 1 object.

Property.keyRoving()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyRoving(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns true if the specified keyframe is roving. The first and last keyframe in a property cannot rove; if you try to set roving for one of these, the operation is ignored, and keyRoving() continues to return false. If the property value type is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.keySelected()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keySelected(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns true if the specified keyframe is selected.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.keySpatialAutoBezier()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keySpatialAutoBezier(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns true if the specified keyframe has spatial auto-Bezier interpolation. (This type of interpolation affects this keyframe only if keySpatialContinuous(keyIndex) is also true.) If the property value type is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.keySpatialContinuous()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keySpatialContinuous(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns true if the specified keyframe has spatial continuity. If the property value type is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.keyTemporalAutoBezier()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyTemporalAutoBezier(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns true if the specified keyframe has temporal auto-Bezier interpolation. Temporal auto-Bezier interpolation affects this keyframe only if the keyframe interpolation type is KeyframeInterpolationType.BEZIER for both keyInInterpolationType(keyIndex) and keyOutInterpolationType(keyIndex).

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.keyTemporalContinuous()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyTemporalContinuous(keyIndex)

Description¶

Returns true if the specified keyframe has temporal continuity. Temporal continuity affects this keyframe only if keyframe interpolation type is KeyframeInterpolationType.BEZIER for both keyInInterpolationType(keyIndex) and keyOutInterpolationType(keyIndex).

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Property.keyTime()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyTime(keyIndex) app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyTime(markerComment)

Description¶

Finds the specified keyframe or marker and returns the time at which it occurs. If no keyframe or marker can be found that matches the argument, this method generates an exception, and an error is displayed.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`markerComment`	String	The comment attached to a marker (see MarkerValue.comment attribute).

Returns¶

Floating-point value.

Property.keyValue()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyValue(keyIndex)
app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.keyValue(markerComment)

Description¶

Finds the specified keyframe or marker and returns its current value. If no keyframe or marker can be found that matches the argument, this method generates an exception, and an error is displayed.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`markerComment`	String	The comment attached to a marker (see MarkerValue.comment attribute).

Returns¶

Returns the value of the type corresponding to the PropertyValueType.

Property.nearestKeyIndex()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.nearestKeyIndex(time)

Description¶

Returns the index of the keyframe nearest to the specified time.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`time`	Floating-point value	The time, in seconds. The beginning of the composition is 0.

Returns¶

Integer.

Property.removeKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.removeKey(keyIndex)

Description¶

Removes the specified keyframe from the named property. If no keyframe with the specified index exists, generates an exception and displays an error. When a keyframe is removed, the remaining index numbers change. To remove more than one keyframe, you must start with the highest index number and work down to the lowest to ensure that the remaining indices reference the same keyframe after each removal.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setAlternateSource()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setAlternateSource(newSource)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 18.0 (2021)

Description¶

Set the alternate source for this property.

The Property object and the input parameters for the AVItem that is being called needs to be Media Replacement compatible for the action to go through.

Use the AVItem.isMediaReplacementCompatible method to test whether the AVItem can be used as an alternate source for Media Replacement.
Use Property.canSetAlternateSource to test if the property allows Media Replacement.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`newSource`	AVItem object	The new source AVItem.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setInterpolationTypeAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setInterpolationTypeAtKey(keyIndex, inType[, outType])

Description¶

Sets the in and out interpolation types for the specified keyframe.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`inType`	`KeyframeInterpolationType` enum.	The incoming interpolation type. One of: - `KeyframeInterpolationType.LINEAR` - `KeyframeInterpolationType.BEZIER` - `KeyframeInterpolationType.HOLD`
`outType`	`KeyframeInterpolationType` enum.	Optional. The outgoing interpolation type. If not supplied, the 'out' type is set to the `inType` value. One of: - `KeyframeInterpolationType.LINEAR` - `KeyframeInterpolationType.BEZIER` - `KeyframeInterpolationType.HOLD`

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setLabelAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setLabelAtKey(keyIndex, labelIndex)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 22.6 (2022)

Description¶

Set the label color for the keyframe. Colors are represented by their number (0 for None, or 1 to 16 for one of the preset colors in the Labels preferences).

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`labelIndex`	Integer, in the range `[0..16]`	The index for the new label value.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setPropertyParameters()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setPropertyParameters(items)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 17.0.1 (2020)

Description¶

Sets parameters for a Dropdown Menu Control's Menu Property. This method will overwrite the existing set of Menu items with the provided array of strings.

The Dropdown Menu Control effect's Menu property is the only property that allows parameters to be set.
To check if a property allows parameters to be set, check with isDropdownEffect before calling this method.
An exception is raised whenever this method fails.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`items`	Array of strings	Values which will replace the existing menu entries in a Dropdown Menu Control. - Only strings are allowed. - Empty item strings are not allowed. - Duplicate item strings are not allowed. - The character `"\"` is not allowed in the item strings. - The string `"(-"` can be specified as of the item strings, to create a separator line in the dropdown menu. The separator lines will claim an index for each of themselves.

Tip

Item strings should be in ASCII or MultiByte encodable in the current code-page. In other words, the item strings should be provided in the script of the running system. For example: Specifying the item strings in Japanese while running the script on an English system will create a dropdown effect with illegible characters in the item strings.

Example¶

var dropdownItems = [
    "First Item",
    "Second Item",
    "(-",
    "Another Item",
    "Last Item"
];

var dropdownEffect = layer.property("ADBE Effect Parade").addProperty("ADBE Dropdown Control");
dropdownEffect.property(1).setPropertyParameters(dropdownItems);

Returns¶

Property object, the updated Dropdown Menu Control's Menu property.

Property.setRovingAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setRovingAtKey(keyIndex, newVal)

Description¶

Turns roving on or off for the specified keyframe. The first and last keyframe in a property cannot rove; if you try to set roving for one of these, the operation is ignored, and keyRoving() continues to return false. If the property value type is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`newVal`	Boolean	`true` to turn roving on, `false` to turn roving off.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setSelectedAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setSelectedAtKey(keyIndex, onOff)

Description¶

Selects or deselects the specified keyframe.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`onOff`	Boolean	`true` to select the keyframe, `false` to deselect it.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setSpatialAutoBezierAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setSpatialAutoBezierAtKey(keyIndex, newVal)

Description¶

Turns spatial auto-Bezier interpolation on or off for the specified keyframe. If the property value type is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`newVal`	Boolean	`true` to turn spatial auto-Bezier on, `false` to turn it off.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setSpatialContinuousAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setSpatialContinuousAtKey(keyIndex, newVal)

Description¶

Turns spatial continuity on or off for the specified keyframe. If the property value type is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`newVal`	Boolean	`true` to turn spatial auto-Bezier on, `false` to turn it off.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setSpatialTangentsAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setSpatialTangentsAtKey(keyIndex, inTangent[, outTangent])

Description¶

Sets the incoming and outgoing tangent vectors for the specified keyframe. If the property value type is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`inTangent`	An array of 2 or 3 floating-point values.	The incoming tangent vector. - If the property value type is `PropertyValueType.TwoD_SPATIAL`, the array contains 2 values. - If the property value type is `PropertyValueType.ThreeD_SPATIAL`, the array contains 3 values.
`outTangent`	An array of 2 or 3 floating-point values.	Optional. The outgoing tangent vector. If not supplied, the `out` tangent is set to the `inTangent` value. - If the property value type is `PropertyValueType.TwoD_SPATIAL`, the array contains 2 values. - If the property value type is `PropertyValueType.ThreeD_SPATIAL`, the array contains 3 values.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setTemporalAutoBezierAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setTemporalAutoBezierAtKey(keyIndex, newVal)

Description¶

Turns temporal auto-Bezier interpolation on or off for the specified keyframe. When this is turned on, it affects this keyframe only if keySpatialContinuous(keyIndex) is also true.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`newVal`	Boolean	`true` to turn temporal auto-Bezier on, `false` to turn it off.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setTemporalContinuousAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setTemporalContinuousAtKey(keyIndex, newVal)

Description¶

Turns temporal continuity on or off for the specified keyframe. When temporal continuity is turned on, it affects this keyframe only if the keyframe interpolation type is KeyframeInterpolationType.BEZIER for both keyInInterpolationType(keyIndex) and keyOutInterpolationType(keyIndex).

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`newVal`	Boolean	`true` to turn temporal auto-Bezier on, `false` to turn it off.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setTemporalEaseAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setTemporalEaseAtKey(keyIndex, inTemporalEase[, outTemporalEase])

Description¶

Sets the incoming and outgoing temporal ease for the specified keyframe. See KeyframeEase object.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`inTemporalEase`	An array of 1, 2, or 3 KeyframeEase objects	The incoming temporal ease. - If the property value type is `PropertyValueType.TwoD`, the array contains 2 objects. - If the property value type is `PropertyValueType.ThreeD`, the array contains 3 objects. - For all other value types, the array contains 1 object.
`outTemporalEase`	An array of 1, 2, or 3 KeyframeEase objects	Optional. The outgoing temporal ease. If not supplied, the outgoing ease is set to the `inTemporalEase` value. - If the property value type is `PropertyValueType.TwoD`, the array contains 2 objects. - If the property value type is `PropertyValueType.ThreeD`, the array contains 3 objects. - For all other value types, the array contains 1 object.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setValue()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setValue(newValue)

Description¶

Sets the static value of a property that has no keyframes. If the named property has keyframes, this method generates an exception and displays an error. To set the value of a property with keyframes, use Property.setValueAtTime() or Property.setValueAtKey().

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`newValue`	Value	A value appropriate for the type of property being set; see Property.propertyValueType.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setValueAtKey()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setValueAtKey(keyIndex, newValue)

Description¶

Finds the specified keyframe and sets its value. If the named property has no keyframes, or no keyframe with the specified index, this method generates an exception and displays an error.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyIndex`	Integer, in the range `[1..numKeys]`	The index for the keyframe, as returned by the addKey or nearestKeyIndex.
`newValue`	Value	A value appropriate for the type of property being set; see Property.propertyValueType.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setValueAtTime()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setValueAtTime(time, newValue)

Description¶

Sets the value of a keyframe at the specified time. Creates a new keyframe for the named property, if one does not currently exist for the specified time, and sets its value.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`time`	Floating-point value	The time, in seconds, at which to set the value. The beginning of the composition is 0.
`newValue`	Value	A value appropriate for the type of property being set; see Property.propertyValueType.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.setValuesAtTimes()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.setValuesAtTimes(times, newValues)

Description¶

Sets values for a set of keyframes at specified times. Creates a new keyframe for the named property, if one does not currently exist for a specified time, and sets its value. Times and values are expressed as arrays; the arrays must be of the same length.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`times`	Array of floating-point values	An array of times, in seconds. The beginning of the composition is 0.
`newValues`	Array of values	A array of values appropriate for the type of property being set; see Property.propertyValueType.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Property.valueAtTime()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.valueAtTime(time, preExpression)

Description¶

The value of the named property as evaluated at the specified time. Note that the type of value returned is not made explicit; it will be of a different type, depending on the property evaluated.

Tip

As After Effects 13.6, this method now waits for time-intensive expressions, like sampleImage, to finish evaluating before it returns the result.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`time`	Floating-point value	The time, in seconds, at which to set the value. The beginning of the composition is 0.
`preExpression`	Boolean	If the property has an expression and this is `true`, return the value for the specified time without applying the expression to it. When `false`, return the result of evaluating the expression for the specified time. Ignored if the property does not have an associated expression.

Returns¶

A value appropriate for the type of the property (see "Property propertyValueType attribute" on page 138).

PropertyBase object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec

Description¶

Properties are accessed by name through layers, using various kinds of expression syntax, as controlled by application preferences. For example, the following are all ways of access properties in the Effects group

var effect1 = app.project.item(1).layer(1).effect("AddGrain")("Viewing Mode");
var effect1again = app.project.item(1).layer(1).effect.addGrain.viewingMode;
var effect1againtoo = app.project.item(1).layer(1)("Effects").addGrain.viewingMode;
var effect1againtoo2 = app.project.item(1).layer(1)("Effects")("Add Grain")("Viewing Mode");

Reference invalidation¶

When something occurs that changes an object sufficiently for the reference to become invalid, script references to that object can generate errors. In simple cases this is straightforward. For example, if you delete anobject, a reference to the deleted object generates the warning "Object is Invalid":

var layer1 = app.project.item(1).layer(1);
layer1.remove();
alert(layer1.name); // invalid reference to deleted object

Similarly, if you reference an AE property in a deleted object, the warning occurs

var layer1 = app.project.item(1).layer(1);
var layer1position = layer1.transform.position;
layer1.remove();
alert(layer1position.value); // invalid reference to property inselected object

A less straightforward case is when a property is removed from a property group. In this case, After Effectsgenerates the "Object is Invalid" error when you subsequently reference that item or other items in the group,because their index positions have changed. For example:

var effect1 = app.project.item(1).layer(1).effect(1);
var effect2 = app.project.item(1).layer(1).effect(2);
var effect2param = app.project.item(1).layer(1).effect(2).blendWithOriginal;
effect1.remove();
alert(effect2.name); // invalid reference because group index positions have changed

Attributes¶

Text
PathOptions
MoreOptions
Animator1
Animator2

In this example, "Animator 1" and "Animator 2" are contained in a PropertyBase called "Text Animators." This parent group is not displayed in the user interface, and so the two child properties are not indented in the Timeline panel.

Type¶

Boolean; read-only.

PropertyBase.enabled¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).enabled
app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.enabled

Description¶

Description¶

Description¶

The type of this property.

Type¶

A PropertyType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

PropertyType.PROPERTY: A single property such as position or zoom.
PropertyType.INDEXED_GROUP: A property group whose members have an editable name and an index. Effects and masks are indexed groups. For example, the masks property of a layer refers to a variable number of individual masks by index number.
PropertyType.NAMED_GROUP: A property group in which the member names are not editable. Layers are named groups.

PropertyBase.selected¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.selected

Description¶

When true, this property is selected. Set to true to select the property, or to false to deselect it. Sampling this attribute repeatedly for a large number of properties can slow down system performance. To read the full set of selected properties of a composition or layer, use either CompItem.selectedProperties or Layer.selectedProperties.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Methods¶

PropertyBase.duplicate()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.duplicate()

Description¶

If this property is a child of an indexed group, creates and returns a new PropertyBase object with the same attribute values as this one. If this property is not a child of an indexed group, the method generates an exception and displays an error. An indexed group has the type PropertyType.INDEXED_GROUP; see PropertyBase.propertyType.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

PropertyBase object.

PropertyBase.moveTo()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.moveTo(newIndex)

Description¶

Moves this property to a new position in its parent property group. This method is valid only for children of indexed groups; if it is not, or if the index value is not valid, the method generates an exception and displays an error. (An indexed group has the type PropertyType.INDEXED_GROUP; see PropertyBase.propertyType.)

Warning

Using this method invalidates existing references to other children in the same indexed group. For example, if you have three effects on a layer, each effect assigned to a different variable, moving one of the effects invalidates the references for all of these variables. You will need to reassign them.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`newIndex`	Integer	The new index position at which to place this property in its group.

Returns¶

Nothing.

PropertyBase.propertyGroup()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.propertyGroup([countUp])

Description¶

Gets the PropertyGroup object for an ancestor group of this property at a specified level of the parent-child hierarchy.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`countUp`	Integer, in the range `[1..propertyDepth]`	Optional. The number of levels to ascend within the parent-child hierarchy. Default is 1, which gets the immediate parent.

Returns¶

PropertyGroup object, or Layer object if the count reaches the containing layer.

Example¶

var containing_layer = my_property.propertyGroup(my_property.propertyDepth);

PropertyBase.remove()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertySpec.remove()

Description¶

Removes this property from its parent group. If this is a property group, it removes the child properties as well. This method is valid only for children of indexed groups; if it is not, or if the index value is not valid, the method generates an exception and displays an error. (An indexed group has the type PropertyType.INDEXED_GROUP; see PropertyBase.propertyType.) This method can be called on a text animation property (that is, any animator that has been set to a text layer).

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Nothing.

One workaround is to store the index of the added property with property.propertyIndex.

Examples¶

This won't work, as the slider object becomes invalid once we add the Color Control property:

var effectsProperty = layer.property("ADBE Effect Parade");
var slider = effectsProperty.addProperty("ADBE Slider Control");
var color = effectsProperty.addProperty("ADBE Color Control");

var sliderProperty = slider.property("ADBE Slider Control-0001"); // Object 'slider' is Invalid

This revised method will work:

var effectsProperty = layer.property("ADBE Effect Parade");
var slider = effectsProperty.addProperty("ADBE Slider Control");
var sliderIndex = slider.propertyIndex; // Store 'slider' effect index so it can be reused later
var color = effectsProperty.addProperty("ADBE Color Control");

var sliderProperty = effectsProperty.property(sliderIndex).property("ADBE Slider Control-0001");

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	String	The display name or match name of the property to add. (See PropertyBase.matchName). The following names are supported: - Any match name for a property that can be added through the user interface. For example, `"ADBE Mask Atom`", `"ADBE Paint Atom`", `"ADBE Text Position`", `"ADBE Text Anchor Point`". - When adding to an ADBE Mask Parade: `"ADBE Mask Atom`", `"Mask`". - When adding to an ADBE Effect Parade, any effect by match name, such as `"ADBE Bulge`", `"ADBE Glo2`", `"APC Vegas`". - Any effect by display name, such as `"Bulge`", `"Glow`", `"Vegas`". - For text animators, `"ADBE Text Animator`". - For selectors, Range Selector has the name `"ADBE Text Selector`", Wiggly Selector has the name `"ADBE Text Wiggly Selector`", and Expression Selector has the name `"ADBE Text Expressible Selector`".

Returns¶

PropertyBase object.

PropertyGroup.canAddProperty()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertyGroupSpec.canAddProperty(name)

Description¶

Returns true if a property with the given name can be added to this property group.

For example, you can only add mask to a mask group. The only legal input arguments are "mask" or "ADBE Mask Atom".

maskGroup.canAddProperty("mask"); // returns `true`
maskGroup.canAddProperty("ADBE Mask Atom"); // returns `true`
maskGroup.canAddProperty("blend"); // returns false

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	String	The display name or match name of the property to be checked. (See PropertyGroup.addProperty()).

Returns¶

Boolean.

PropertyGroup.property()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertyGroupSpec.property(index)
app.project.item(index).layer(index).propertyGroupSpec.property(name)

Description¶

Finds and returns a child property of this group, as specified by either its index or name. A name specification can use the same syntax that is available with expressions. The following are all allowed and are equivalent:

mylayer.position;
mylayer("position");
mylayer.property("position");
mylayer(1);
mylayer.property(1);

Some properties of a layer, such as position and zoom, can be accessed only by name. When using the name to find a property that is multiple levels down, you must make more than one call to this method.

For example, the following call searches two levels down, and returns the first mask in the mask group: myLayer.property("ADBE Masks").property(1)

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`index`	Integer, in the range `[1..numProperties]`	The index for the child property, in this is an indexed group.
`name`	String	The name of the child property. This can be: - Any match name - Any name in expression "parenthesis style" syntax, meaning the display name or the compact English name - Any name in expression "intercap style" syntax. For supported property names, see the table below.

Returns¶

PropertyBase object or null if no child property with the specified string name is found.

Properties accessible by name¶

Source	Values
From any Layer	- `"ADBE Mask Parade`", or `"Masks`" - `"ADBE Effect Parade`", or `"Effects`" - `"ADBE MTrackers`", or `"Motion Trackers`"
From an AVLayer	- `"Anchor Point`" or `"anchorPoint`" - `"Position`" or `"position`" - `"Scale`" or `"scale`" - `"Rotation`" or `"rotation`" - `"Z Rotation`" or `"zRotation`" or `"Rotation Z`" or `"rotationZ`" - `"Opacity`" or `"opacity`" - `"Marker`" or `"marker`"
From an AVLayer with a non-still source	- `"Time Remap`" or `"timeRemapEnabled`"
From an AVLayer with an audio component	- `"Audio Levels`" or `"audioLevels`"
From a camera layer	- `"Zoom`" or `"zoom`" - `"Depth of Field`" or `"depthOfField`" - `"Focus Distance`" or `"focusDistance`" - `"Aperture`" or `"aperture`" - `"Blur Level`" or `"blurLevel`"
From a light layer	- `"Intensity`" or `"intensity`" - `"Color`" or `"color`" - `"Cone Angle`" or `"coneAngle`" - `"Cone Feather`" or `"coneFeather`" - `"Shadow Darkness`" or `"shadowDarkness`" - `"Shadow Diffusion`" or `"shadowDiffusion`" - `"Casts Shadows`" or `"castsShadows`"
From a 3D layer	- `"Accepts Shadows`" or `"acceptsShadows`" - `"Accepts Lights`" or `"acceptsLights`" - `"Ambient`" or `"ambient`" - `"Diffuse`" or `"diffuse`" - `"Specular`" or `"specular`" (these are for the Specular Intensity property) - `"Shininess`" or `"shininess`" (these are for the Specular Shininess property) - `"Casts Shadows`" or `"castsShadows`" - `"Light Transmission`" or `"lightTransmission`" - `"Metal`" or `"metal`"
From a camera, light or 3D layer	- `"X Rotation`" or `"xRotation`" or `"Rotation X`" or `"rotationX`" - `"Y Rotation`" or `"yRotation`" or `"Rotation Y`" or `"rotationY`" - `"Orientation`" or `"orientation`"
From a text layer	- `"Source Text`" or `"source Text`" or `"Text`" or `"text`"
From PropertyGroup `"ADBE Mask Parade`"	- `"ADBE Mask Atom`"
From PropertyGroup `"ADBE Mask Atom`"	- `"ADBE Mask Shape`", or `"maskShape`", or `"maskPath`" - `"ADBE Mask Feather`", or `"maskFeather`" - `"ADBE Mask Opacity`", or `"maskOpacity`" - `"ADBE Mask Offset`", or `"maskOffset"`

Examples¶

If a layer named "myLayer" has a Box Blur effect, you can retrieve the effect in any of the following ways:

myLayer.property("Effects").property("Box Blur");
myLayer.property("Effects").property("boxBlur");
myLayer.property("Effects").property("ADBE Box Blur");

If a layer named "myLayer" has a mask named "Mask 1" you can retrieve it as follows:

myLayer.property("Masks").property("Mask1");

To get a Bulge Center value from a Bulge effect, you can use either of the following:

myLayer.property("Effects").property("Bulge").property("Bulge Center");
myLayer.property("Effects").property("Bulge").property("bulgeCenter");

MaskPropertyGroup object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).mask

Description¶

The MaskPropertyGroup object encapsulates mask attributes in a layer.

Info

MaskPropertyGroup is a subclass of PropertyGroup object. All methods and attributes of PropertyBase object and PropertyGroup, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with MaskPropertyGroup.

A MaskFeatherFalloff enumerated value; read/write. One of:

MaskFeatherFalloff.FFO_LINEAR
MaskFeatherFalloff.FFO_SMOOTH

MaskPropertyGroup.maskMode¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).mask(index).maskMode

Description¶

The masking mode for this mask.

Type¶

A MaskMode enumerated value; read/write. One of:

MaskMode.NONE
MaskMode.ADD
MaskMode.SUBTRACT
MaskMode.INTERSECT
MaskMode.LIGHTEN
MaskMode.DARKEN
MaskMode.DIFFERENCE

MaskPropertyGroup.maskMotionBlur¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).mask(index).maskMotionBlur

Description¶

How motion blur is applied to this mask.

Type¶

A MakMotionBlur enumerated value; read/write. One of:

MaskMotionBlur.SAME_AS_LAYER
MaskMotionBlur.ON
MaskMotionBlur.OFF

MaskPropertyGroup.rotoBezier¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).mask(index).rotoBezier

Description¶

When true, the mask is a RotoBezier shape; otherwise false.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Ended: Property

Render Queue ↵

RenderQueue object¶

app.project.renderQueue

Description¶

The RenderQueue object represents the render automation process, the data and functionality that is available through the Render Queue panel of a particular After Effects project. Attributes provide access to items in the render queue and their render status. Methods can start, pause, and stop the rendering process. The RenderQueueItem object provides access to the specific settings for an item to be rendered.

Attributes¶

RenderQueue.canQueueInAME¶

app.project.renderQueue.canQueueInAME

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.0 (CC 2017)

Description¶

Methods¶

RenderQueue.item()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index)

Description¶

Gets a specified item from the ite ms collection.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`index`	Integer, in the range `[0..numItems]`	The position index of the item.

Returns¶

RenderQueueItem object.

RenderQueue.pauseRendering()¶

app.project.renderQueue.pauseRendering(pause)

Description¶

Pauses the current rendering process, or continues a paused rendering process. This is the same as clicking Pause in the Render Queue panel during a render. You can call this method from an RenderQueueItem.onstatus or app.onError callback.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`pause`	Boolean	`true` to pause a current render process, `false` to continue a paused render.

Returns¶

Nothing.

RenderQueue.render()¶

app.project.renderQueue.render()

Description¶

Starts the rendering process. This is the same as clicking Render in the Render Queue panel. The method does not return until the render process is complete. To pause or stop the rendering process, call RenderQueue.pauseRendering() or RenderQueue.stopRendering() from an onError or onstatus callback.

To respond to errors during the rendering process, define a callback function in app.onError.
To respond to changes in the status of a particular item while the render is progressing, define a callback function in RenderQueueItem.onstatus in the associated RenderQueueItem object.

Description¶

Calls the Queue In AME command. This method requires passing a boolean value, telling AME whether to only queue the render items (false) or if AME should also start processing its queue (true).

Note

This requires Adobe Media Encoder CC 2017 (11.0) or later.

Tip

When AME receives the queued items, it applies the most recently used encoding preset. If render_immediately_in_AME is set to true, you will not have an opportunity to change the encoding settings.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`render_immediately_in_AME`	Boolean	Telling AME whether to only queue the render items (`false`) or if AME should also start processing its queue (`true`).

Returns¶

Nothing.

Example¶

The following sample code checks to see if there are queued items in the render queue, and if so queues them in AME but does not immediately start rendering:

// Scripting support for Queue in AME.
// Requires Adobe Media Encoder 11.0.
if (app.project.renderQueue.canQueueInAME === true) {
    // Send queued items to AME, but do not start rendering.
    app.project.renderQueue.queueInAME(false);
} else {
    alert("There are no queued item in the Render Queue.");
}

RQItemCollection object¶

app.project.renderQueue.items

Description¶

The RQItemCollection contains all of the render-queue items in a project, as shown in the Render Queue panel of the project. The collection provides access to the RenderQueueItem objects, and allows you to create them from compositions. The first RenderQueueItem object in the collection is at index position 1.

Info

RQItemCollection is a subclass of Collection object. All methods and attributes of Collection are available when working with RQItemCollection.

Methods¶

RQItemCollection.add()¶

app.project.renderQueue.items.add(comp)

Description¶

Adds a composition to the Render Queue, creating a RenderQueueItem.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`comp`	CompItem object	The composition to be added.

Returns¶

RenderQueueItem object.

RenderQueueItem object¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index)

Description¶

The RenderQueueItem object represents an individual item in the render queue. It provides access to the specific settings for an item to be rendered. Create the object by adding a composition to the Render Queue with the RQItemCollection object; see RQItemCollection.add().

A LogType enumerated value; (read/write). One of:

LogType.ERRORS_ONLY
LogType.ERRORS_AND_SETTINGS
LogType.ERRORS_AND_PER_FRAME_INFO

RenderQueueItem.numOutputModules¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).numOutputModules

Description¶

The total number of Output Modules assigned to this item.

Type¶

Integer; read-only.

RenderQueueItem.onstatus¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).onstatus

Description¶

The name of a callback function that is called whenever the value of the RenderQueueItem.status attribute changes.

You cannot make changes to render queue items or to the application while rendering is in progress or paused; you can, however, use this callback to pause or stop the rendering process. See RenderQueue.pauseRendering() and RenderQueue.stopRendering(). See also app.onError.

Type¶

A function name string, or null if no function is assigned.

Example¶

function myStatusChanged() {
    alert(app.project.renderQueue.item(1).status);
}

app.project.renderQueue.item(1).onstatus = myStatusChanged();
app.project.renderQueue.item(1).render = false; // changes status and shows dialog

RenderQueueItem.outputModules¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModules

Description¶

The collection of Output Modules for the item.

Type¶

OMCollection object; read-only.

RenderQueueItem.queueItemNotify¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).queueItemNotify

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 22.0 (2022)

Description¶

Description¶

The current render status of the item.

Type¶

An RQItemStatus enumerated value; read-only. One of:

RQItemStatus.WILL_CONTINUE: Rendering process has been paused.
RQItemStatus.NEEDS_OUTPUT: Item lacks a valid output path.
RQItemStatus.UNQUEUED: Item is listed in the Render Queue panel but composition is not ready to render.
RQItemStatus.QUEUED: Composition is ready to render.
RQItemStatus.RENDERING: Composition is rendering
RQItemStatus.USER_STOPPED: Rendering process was stopped by user or script.
RQItemStatus.ERR_STOPPED: Rendering process was stopped due to an error.
RQItemStatus.DONE: Rendering process for the item is complete.

Methods¶

RenderQueueItem.applyTemplate()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).applyTemplate(templateName)

Description¶

Applies a Render Settings template to the item. See also RenderQueueItem.saveAsTemplate() and RenderQueueItem.templates.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`templateName`	String	The name of the template to apply.

Returns¶

Nothing.

RenderQueueItem.duplicate()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).duplicate()

Description¶

Creates a duplicate of this item and adds it this render queue.

Tip

Duplicating an item whose status is "Done" sets the new item's status to "Queued".

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

RenderQueueItem object.

RenderQueueItem.getSetting()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).getSetting()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014)

Description¶

Gets a specific Render Queue Item setting.

Depreciated Source: https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20200622100656/https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva

Example¶

// Get current value of render setting's "Proxy Use"
// Key and value strings are English.
var rqItem1_proxyUse = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).getSetting("Proxy Use");

// Get string version of same setting, add "-str" at the end of key string
var rqItem1_proxyUse_str = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).getSetting("Proxy Use-str");

RenderQueueItem.getSettings()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).getSettings()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014)

Description¶

Gets all settings for a given Render Queue Item.

Depreciated Source: https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20200622100656/https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva

Example¶

// Get object that contains all possible values of all render settings of
// render queue item 1 and convert to JSON format.

var rqItem1_spec_str = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).getSettings(GetSettingsFormat.SPEC);
var rqItem1_spec_str_json = rqItem1_spec_str.toSource();

RenderQueueItem.outputModule()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index)

Description¶

Gets an output module with the specified index position.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`index`	Integer, in the range `[1..numOutputModules]`	The position index of the output module.

Depreciated Source: https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20200622100656/https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva

Example¶

// Set value of "Proxy Use" to "Use All Proxies"

app.project.renderQueue.item(1).setSetting("Proxy Use", "Use All Proxies");

// You can use numbers, too.
// The next line does the same as the previous example.

app.project.renderQueue.item(1).setSetting("Proxy Use", 1);

RenderQueueItem.setSettings()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).setSettings()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014)

Description¶

Sets a multiple settings for a given Render Queue Item.

Depreciated Source: https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20200622100656/https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva

Example¶

// Get an object that contains string version of settable render setting
// values of render queue item 1.
// To get the values in the number format, use
// GetSettingsFormat.NUMBER_SETTABLE as an argument.

var rqItem1_settable_str = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).getSettings( GetSettingsFormat.STRING_SETTABLE );

// Set render queue item 2 with values that you got from render
//queue item 1.

app.project.renderQueue.item(2).setSettings( rqItem1_settable_str );

// Set render queue item 3 with values you create.

var my_renderSettings = {
  "Color Depth":        "32 bits per channel",
  "Quality":            "Best",
  "Effects":            "All On",
  "Time Span Duration": "1.0",
  "Time Span Start":    "2.0"
};

app.project.renderQueue.item(2).setSettings( my_renderSettings );

OMCollection object¶

app.project.renderQueue.items.outputModules

Description¶

The OMCollection contains all of the output modules in a render queue. The collection provides access to the OutputModule objects, and allows you to create them. The first OutputModule object in the collection is at index position 1.

Info

OMCollection is a subclass of Collection object. All methods and attributes of Collection are available when working with OMCollection.

Methods¶

OMCollection.add()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(1).outputModules.add()

Description¶

Adds a new Output Module to the Render Queue Item, creating an OutputModule.

Returns¶

OutputModule object.

OutputModule object¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index)

Description¶

An OutputModule object of a RenderQueueItem generates a single file or sequence via a render operation, and contains attributes and methods relating to the file to be rendered.

A PostRenderAction enumerated value (read/write); one of:

PostRenderAction.NONE
PostRenderAction.IMPORT
PostRenderAction.IMPORT_AND_REPLACE_USAGE
PostRenderAction.SET_PROXY

OutputModule.templates¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index).templates

Description¶

The names of all output-module templates available in the local installation of After Effects.

Type¶

Array of strings; read-only.

Methods¶

OutputModule.applyTemplate()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index).applyTemplate(templateName)

Description¶

Applies the specified existing output-module template.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`templateName`	String	The name of the template to be applied.

Returns¶

Nothing.

OutputModule.getSetting()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index).getSetting()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014)

Description¶

Gets a specific setting for a given Output Module.

Depreciated Source: https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20200622100656/https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva

Example¶

See the example in RenderQueueItem.getSetting() for structure reference.

OutputModule.getSettings()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index).getSettings()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014)

Description¶

Gets all settings for a given Output Module.

Depreciated Source: https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20200622100656/https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva

Example¶

// Get object that contains the string version of all current output module setting
// values of output module item 1 from render queue item 1.
// To get the values in the number format, use GetSettingsFormat.NUMBER as an argument.

var omItem1_all_str= app.project.renderQueue.item(1).outputModule(1).getSettings( GetSettingsFormat.STRING );

// Convert to JSON format so that it is human-readable.

var omItem1_all_str_json = omItem1_all_str.toSource();

// Get object that contains string version of settable output module setting values
// of output module item 1 from render queue item 1.
// If you want to get the values in the number format, use
// GetSettingsFormat.NUMBER_SETTABLE as an argument.

var omItem1_settable_str = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).outputModule(1).getSettings( GetSettingsFormat.STRING_SETTABLE );

// Currently, the format setting in the output module is not settable, but it
// is readable. The next line will tell you the current format of output module
// item 1 from render queue item 1.

var current_format = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).outputModule(1).getSettings(GetSettingsFormat.STRING).Format;

// This line will tell you the output module file info.

var current_omFileTempalte = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).outputModule(1).getSettings(GetSettingsFormat.STRING)["Output File Info"]["File Template"];

OutputModule.remove()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index).remove()

Description¶

Removes this OutputModule object from the collection.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Nothing.

OutputModule.saveAsTemplate()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index).saveAsTemplate(name)

Description¶

Saves this output module as a template and adds it to the te mpl ate s array.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	String	The name of the new template.

Returns¶

Nothing.

OutputModule.setSetting()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index).setSetting()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014)

Description¶

Sets a specific setting for a given Output Module.

Depreciated Source: https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20200622100656/https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva

Example¶

See the example in RenderQueueItem.setSetting() for structure reference.

OutputModule.setSettings()¶

app.project.renderQueue.item(index).outputModule(index).setSettings()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014)

Description¶

Depreciated Source: https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20200622100656/https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/new-changed-after-effects-cc-2014/?segment=dva

Warning

There is a bug that causes OutputModule object to be invalidated after the output module setting is modified, so you need to retrieve the Output Module again after you modify it.

Examples¶

Get the settings from one item's output module and use them on another:

// If you want to get the values in the number format, use
// GetSettingsFormat.NUMBER_SETTABLE as an argument.

var omItem1_settable_str = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).outputModule(1).getSettings( GetSettingsFormat.STRING_SETTABLE );

// Set output module item 1 of render queue item 2 with values that you get from
// output module 1 of render queue item 1

app.project.renderQueue.item(2).outputModule(1).setSettings( omItem1_settable_str );

Set output module item 1 of render queue item 3 with values that you create:

var crop_data = {
  "Crop":        true,
  "Crop Bottom": 0,
  "Crop Left":   0,
  "Crop Right":  8,
  "Crop Top":    10
};

app.project.renderQueue.item(1).outputModule(3).setSettings( crop_data );

Route the output file to the user directory:

var om1 = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).outputModule(1);
var file_name = File.decode( om1.file.name ); // Name contains special character, space?
var new_dir = new Folder( "~/new_output" );
var new_path = new_dir.fsName;

var new_data = {
  "Output File Info": {
      "Base Path":      new_path,
      "Subfolder Path": "draft",
      "File Name":      file_name
  }
};

om1.setSettings( new_data );

In this example, the output file is routed to the user directory, but this time using the full path:

var om1 = app.project.renderQueue.item(1).outputModule(1);

// Name contains special character, such as space?
var file_name = File.decode( om1.file.name );
var new_path = "/Users/myAccount/new_output";
var separator = "/";

if ($.os.indexOf("Mac") == -1) {
  new_path = "C:\Users\myAccount\new_output";
  separator = "\\";
}

var new_data = {
  "Output File Info": {
    "Full Flat Path": new_path + separator + file_name
  }
};

om1.setSettings( new_data );

Ended: Render Queue

Sources ↵

FileSource object¶

app.project.item(index).mainSource
app.project.item(index).proxySource

Description¶

The FileSource object describes footage that comes from a file.

Info

FileSource is a subclass of FootageSource object. All methods and attributes of FootageSource, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with FileSource.

Attributes¶

FileSource.file¶

app.project.item(index).mainSource.file
app.project.item(index).proxySource.file

Description¶

The Extendscript File object for the file that defines this asset. To change the value:

If this FileSource is a proxySource of an AVItem, call setProxy() or setProxyWithSequence().
If this FileSource is a mainSource of a FootageItem, call replace() or replaceWithSequence().

Type¶

File object; read-only.

FileSource.missingFootagePath¶

app.project.item(index).mainSource.missingFootagePath
app.project.item(index).proxySource.missingFootagePath

Description¶

The path and filename of footage that is missing from this asset. See also AVItem.footageMissing.

Type¶

String; read-only.

Methods¶

FileSource.reload()¶

app.project.item(index).mainSource.reload()

Description¶

Reloads the asset from the file. This method can be called only on a mainSource, not a proxySource.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Nothing.

FootageSource object¶

app.project.item(index).mainSource
app.project.item(index).proxySource

Description¶

The FootageSource object holds information describing the source of some footage. It is used as the mainSource of a FootageItem object, or the proxySource of a CompItem object or FootageItem.

Info

FootageSource is the base class for SolidSource object, so FootageSource attributes and methods are available when working with SolidSource objects.

Attributes¶

FootageSource.alphaMode¶

app.project.item(index).mainSource.alphaMode
app.project.item(index).proxySource.alphaMode

Description¶

Defines how the alpha information in the footage is interpreted. If hasAlpha is false, this attribute has no relevant meaning.

Type¶

An Alpha Mode enumerated value; (read/write). One of:

AlphaMode.IGNORE
AlphaMode.STRAIGHT
AlphaMode.PREMULTIPLIED

FieldSeparationType.OFF
FieldSeparationType.UPPER_FIELD_FIRST
FieldSeparationType.LOWER_FIELD_FIRST

The PlaceholderSource object describes the footage source of a placeholder.

Info

PlaceholderSource is a subclass of FootageSource object. All methods and attributes of FootageSource are available when working with PlaceholderSource. PlaceholderSource does not define any additional methods or attributes.

SolidSource object¶

app.project.item(index).mainSource
app.project.item(index).proxySource

Description¶

The SolidSource object represents a solid-color footage source.

Info

SolidSource is a subclass of FootageSource. All methods and attributes of FootageSource, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with SolidSource.

Attributes¶

SolidSource.color¶

solidSource.color

Description¶

The color of the solid, expressed as red, green, and blue values.

Type¶

Array of three floating-point values, [R, G, B], in the range [0.0..1.0]; read/write.

Ended: Sources

Text ↵

CharacterRange object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).text.sourceText.value.characterRange(characterIndexStart, [signedCharacterIndexEnd])

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

The CharacterRange object is an accessor to a character range of the TextDocument object instance it was created from.

Unlike the TextDocument object, which looks at only the first character when returning character attributes, here the character range can span zero or more characters. As a consequence, two or more characters may not have the same attribute value and this mixed state will be signaled by returning undefined.

The characterStart attribute is the first character index of the range.
The characterEnd attribue will report the (last + 1) character index of the range, such that (characterEnd - characterStart) represents the number of characters in the range.

It is acceptable for most attributes for the effective range to be zero - otherwise known as an insertion point.

When accessed, the CharacterRange object will check that characterStart and effective characterEnd of the range remains valid for the current span of the related TextDocument object. This is the same rule as applied when the CharacterRange was created, but because the length of the related TextDocument object can change through the addition or removal of characters, the characterStart and effective characterEnd may no longer be valid. In this situation an exception will be thrown on access, either read or write. The isRangeValid attribute will return false if the effective range is no longer valid.

Note that if the TextDocument object length changes, the CharacterRange object range could become valid again.

Differences from TextDocument¶

Because CharacterRange is an accessor of TextDocument object, most methods and attributes of TextDocument are available when working with CharacterRange. The attributes and methods that are unique to CharacterRange or exhibit unique behaviors are included on this page.

The following attributes and methods are not available on instances of CharacterRange:

Attributes	Methods
`baselineLocs`	`characterRange`
`boxText`	`paragraphCharacterIndexesAt`
`boxTextPos`	`paragraphRange`
`boxTextSize`
`lineOrientation`
`paragraphCount`
`pointText`

Examples¶

This increases the font size of the first character in the TextDocument, and set the rest of the characters to fontSize 40.

var textDocument = app.project.item(index).layer(index).property("Source Text").value;
var characterRange = textDocument.characterRange(0,1);

characterRange.fontSize = characterRange.fontSize + 5;
textDocument.characterRange(1,-1).fontSize = 40;

Attributes¶

Warning

In contrast to the same attribute on the TextDocument API, we will not throw an exception on read if applyFill is not true.

Type¶

Array [r, g, b] of floating-point values; read/write.

CharacterRange.isRangeValid¶

CharacterRange.isRangeValid

Description¶

Returns true if the current range is within the bounds of the related TextDocument object, otherwise false.

Type¶

Boolean; read-only.

CharacterRange.kerning¶

CharacterRange.kerning

Description¶

The Text layer range character attribute kerning option.

This effectively reports the manual kerning value, and not the calculated kerning value from auto kerning.

If autoKernType in the range is set to AutoKernType.METRIC_KERN, AutoKernType.OPTICAL_KERN, or is mixed, then this attribute will be returned as undefined.
If autoKernType in the range is set to AutoKernType.NO_AUTO_KERN, and this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

String; read/write.

Methods¶

CharacterRange.pasteFrom()¶

CharacterRange.pasteFrom(characterRange)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects (Beta) 25.0 and is subject to change while it remains in Beta.

Description¶

Copies, using paste semantics, from the characterRange parameter to the callee CharacterRange object. The two instances may be the same, and the spans may be different.

Checks will be made that both CharacterRange object instances are valid.

The internal steps of the operation are:

Delete the text from the target instance.
Paste the text from the source instance.

As the span of the CharacterRange object is not adjusted by this call, when the source CharacterRange object instance has a shorter span than the target CharacterRange object instance, the target instance may become invalid.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`characterRange`	CharacterRange object	Object whose text and styling will be pasted in place of the callee CharacterRange object.

Returns¶

None.

CharacterRange.toString()¶

CharacterRange.toString()

Description¶

Returns a string with the parameters used to create the CharacterRange instance, e.g. "CharacterRange(0,-1)".

This may be safely called on an instance where isRangeValid returns false.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

String; read-only.

ComposedLineRange object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).text.sourceText.value.composedLineRange(composedLineIndexStart, [signedComposedLineIndexEnd])

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

The ComposedLineRange object is an accessor to a composed line range of the TextDocument object instance it was created from.

Composed lines are initialized in the TextDocument object when it is created and remain unchanged while the TextDocument object is changed. It is important to note that the TextDocument object instance is not recomposed when changes are made to it - that only occurs when the instance is applied back to a TextLayer object. So if you delete all the text in the TextDocument object instance the number of composed lines will remain constant.

The characterStart attribute will report the first character index of the range.
The characterEnd attribute will report the (last + 1) character index of the range, such that (characterEnd - characterStart) represents the number of characters in the range.
A composed line always has some length.

When accessed, the ComposedLineRange object will check that effective characterStart and effective characterEnd of the range remains valid for the current span of the related TextDocument object. This is the same rule as applied when the ComposedLineRange was created, but because the length of the related TextDocument object can change through the addition or removal of characters, the effective characterStart and effective characterEnd may no longer be valid. In this situation an exception will be thrown on access, either read or write. The property isRangeValid will return false if the effective range is no longer valid.

Note that if the TextDocument object length changes, the character range could become valid again.

As a convenience, the function ComposedLineRange.characterRange() can be invoked which will return a CharacterRange object instance initialized from characterStart and characterEnd. This instance becomes independent of the ComposedLineRange instance it came from so subsequent changes to the ComposedLineRange limits are not communicated to the CharacterRange object instance.

For performance reasons, when accessing multiple attributes it is adviseable to retrieve the CharacterRange object once and re-use it rather than create a new one each time.

Examples¶

This changes the fill color to red of the first composed line in the TextDocument, and set the rest of the lines to color blue.

var textDocument = app.project.item(index).layer(index).property("Source Text").value;

var composedLineRange0 = textDocument.composedLineRange(0,1);
var characterRange0 = composedLineRange0.characterRange();
characterRange0.fillColor = [1.0, 0, 0];

textDocument.composedLineRange(1,-1).characterRange().fillColor = [0, 0, 1.0];

Attributes¶

ComposedLineRange.characterEnd¶

ComposedLineRange.characterEnd

Description¶

The Text layer range calculated character end value.

Throws an exception on access if the effective value would exceed the bounds of the related TextDocument object.

Type¶

Unsigned integer; read-only.

ComposedLineRange.characterStart¶

ComposedLineRange.characterStart

Description¶

The Text layer range calculated character start value.

Throws an exception on access if the effective value would exceed the bounds of the related TextDocument object.

Type¶

Unsigned integer; read-only.

ComposedLineRange.isRangeValid¶

ComposedLineRange.isRangeValid

Description¶

Returns true if the current range is within the bounds of the related TextDocument object, otherwise false.

Type¶

Boolean; read-only.

Methods¶

ComposedLineRange.characterRange()¶

ComposedLineRange.characterRange()

Description¶

Returns a CharacterRange object initialized from characterStart and characterEnd.

Will throw an exception if isRangeValid would return false.

The returned instance, once created, is independent of subsequent changes to the ComposedLineRange it came from.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

CharacterRange object;

ComposedLineRange.toString()¶

ComposedLineRange.toString()

Description¶

Returns a string with the parameters used to create the ComposedLineRange instance, e.g. "ComposedLineRange(0,-1)"

This may be safely called on an instance where isRangeValid returns false.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

String;

Font object¶

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Font object provides information about a specific font, along with the font technology used, helping disambiguate when multiple fonts sharing the same Postscript name are installed on the system.

Most of these APIs simply return information which is contained in the Font data file itself, seek more information there.

Attributes¶

FontObject.designAxesData¶

app.fonts.allFonts[0][0].designAxesData

Description¶

Returns an Array of Objects, containing the design axes data from the font. Each object is composed of the axis name, tag, min value and max value.

Tip

Will return undefined for non-variable fonts.

Example¶

This example will select the first returned Font Family Array.

// Getting the first available Variable Font on the system
var firstVariableFont = fontsWithDefaultDesignAxes[0];
var axesData = firstVariableFont.designAxesData;

// Getting the first design axis for that Font
var firstAxis = axesData[0];

alert(firstAxis.name+"\n"+firstAxis.tag+"\n"+firstAxis.min+"\n"+firstAxis.max);

Type¶

Array of Objects; read-only.

FontObject.designVector¶

app.fonts.fontsWithDefaultDesignAxes[0].designVector

Description¶

For Variable fonts will return an ordered array with a length matching the number of design axes defined by the font.

Tip

Will return undefined for non-variable fonts.

Type¶

Array of floating-point values; read-only.

FontObject.familyName¶

FontObject.type¶

app.fonts.allFonts[0][0].type

Description¶

The internal type of the font.

Type¶

An CTFontType enumerated value; read-only. One of:

CTFontType.CT_TYPE1_FONTTYPE
CTFontType.CT_TRUETYPE_FONTTYPE
CTFontType.CT_CID_FONTTYPE
CTFontType.CT_ATC_FONTTYPE
CTFontType.CT_BITMAP_FONTTYPE
CTFontType.CT_OPENTYPE_CFF_FONTTYPE
CTFontType.CT_OPENTYPE_CID_FONTTYPE
CTFontType.CT_OPENTYPE_TT_FONTTYPE
CTFontType.CT_TYPE3_FONTTYPE
CTFontType.CT_SVG_FONTTYPE

FontObject.version¶

app.fonts.allFonts[0][0].version

Description¶

The version number of the font.

Type¶

String; read-only.

FontObject.writingScripts¶

app.fonts.allFonts[0][0].writingScripts

Description¶

The supported character sets of the font.

Type¶

An array of CTScript enumerated values; read-only. One or more of:

CTScript.CT_ROMAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_JAPANESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_TRADITIONALCHINESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_KOREAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_ARABIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_HEBREW_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_GREEK_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_CYRILLIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_RIGHTLEFT_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_DEVANAGARI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_GURMUKHI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_GUJARATI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_ORIYA_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_BENGALI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_TAMIL_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_TELUGU_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_KANNADA_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_MALAYALAM_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_SINHALESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_BURMESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_KHMER_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_THAI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_LAOTIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_GEORGIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_ARMENIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_SIMPLIFIEDCHINESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_TIBETAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_MONGOLIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_GEEZ_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_EASTEUROPEANROMAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_VIETNAMESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_EXTENDEDARABIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_KLINGON_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_EMOJI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_ROHINGYA_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_JAVANESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_SUNDANESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_LONTARA_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_SYRIAC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_TAITHAM_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_BUGINESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_BALINESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_CHEROKEE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_MANDAIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_VAI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_THAANA_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_BRAVANESE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_BRAHMI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_CARIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_CYPRIOT_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_EGYPTIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_IMPERIALARAMAIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_PAHLAVI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_PARTHIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_KHAROSHTHI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_LYCIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_LYDIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_PHOENICIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_PERSIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_SHAVIAN_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_SUMAKKCUNEIFORM_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_UGARITIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_GLAGOLITIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_GOTHIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_OGHAM_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_OLDITALIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_ORKHON_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_RUNIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_MEROITICCURSIVE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_COPTIC_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_OLCHIKI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_SORASOMPENG_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_OLDHANGUL_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_LISU_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_NKO_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_ADLAM_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_BAMUM_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_BASSAVAH_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_NEWA_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_NEWTAILU_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_OSAGE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_UCAS_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_TIFINAGH_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_KAYAHLI_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_LAO_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_TAILE_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_TAIVIET_SCRIPT
CTScript.CT_DONTKNOW_SCRIPT

Methods¶

FontObject.hasGlyphsFor()¶

app.fonts.allFonts[0][0].hasGlyphsFor(charString)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects (Beta) 25.0 and is subject to change while it remains in Beta.

Description¶

Fonts do not contain glyphs for all possible ranges of Unicode and this method gives the caller the opportunity to query the Font about support for one or more characters.

Returns true if the font has a glyph for every character in the charString.

The character order does not matter, and in the case of a parameter string with more than one character, it is not possible though this API to determine which character had no glyph support.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`charString`	String	Text that will be checked for support in the Font object.

Returns¶

Boolean.

FontObject.hasSameDict()¶

app.fonts.fontsWithDefaultDesignAxes[0].hasSameDict(fontObject)

Description¶

This function will true if the Font object passed as an argument shares the same variable font dictionary as the Font object the function is called on.

Tip

Can only return true when called on a variable Font object with the argument also being a Font object of a variable font.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`fontObject`	Font object	Object to check

Returns¶

Boolean.

FontObject.otherFontsWithSameDict()¶

app.fonts.fontsWithDefaultDesignAxes[0].otherFontsWithSameDict(fontObject)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects (Beta) 25.0 and is subject to change while it remains in Beta.

Description¶

Given an Font object passed as an argument, returns an Array of Font object instances which share the same font dictionary as the Font object the function is called on.

Will return an empty Array if the argument is not a Variable font, or the Variable font only has one instance (the parameter one).

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`fontObject`	Font object	Object to check

Returns¶

Array of Font objects, may be empty.

FontObject.postScriptNameForDesignVector()¶

app.fonts.fontsWithDefaultDesignAxes[0].postScriptNameForDesignVector([...vectorValues])

Description¶

This function will return the postscript name of the variable font for the specific design vectors passed as the argument.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`vectorValues`	Array of floating-point values	Values to check FontObject.designVector for the given variable font.

Returns¶

A String.

Fonts object¶

app.fonts

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Fonts objects provides information about the current font ecosystem on your device.

After Effects maintains an internal font proxy to a real font which it has enumerated in the font ecosystem. As the fonts in the font ecosystem are added and removed these internal font proxies are kept in sync as well by being added and removed.

The properties we report via the proxy Font object are the data that is available to us from the font files themselves, which of course will vary according to technology and type of font. It is not possible here to describe all the possible interesting variations and troubles that this causes us and in general it is advisable to be careful with assuming that the behavior and properties for one font type or technology are common to all other font types and technology - the answer as always is "it depends".

A Font object is a soft reference to one of these internal font proxies and as a consequence is not sufficient to keep the internal font proxy alive. As a result if the internal font proxy is removed, the referencing Font object will throw an invalid exception for any property reference.

On project open, and a few other situations, it may come to pass that the font which is being referenced in the persisted data cannot be found in the current font ecosystem. In these situations an internal font proxy will be created which will contain the desired properties, such as PostScript name, and will return true for isSubstitute. There will be an underlying real font which will be selected to support this internal font proxy, but we do not reveal what it is and there is no way to influence this selection.

Continuing the open process with created substitute fonts, an attempt will be made to sync matching fonts from Creative Cloud Adobe Fonts. This is an asynchronous activity and the project will usually finish opening and be ready for use before any fonts are brought down from Adobe Fonts. Depending on how many fonts are being synced, they may be installed at different times. There is no way to disable this attempt.

After any change to the font ecosystem from installing new real fonts, the outstanding list of substitute fonts will be evaluated to see if there now exists a real font which is a valid replacement for it - currently only requiring the PostScript name to match - and if one is found automatically all the references in the project to the substitute will be replaced with the newly installed font.

Attributes¶

FontsObject.allFonts¶

app.fonts.allFonts

Description¶

The list of all the fonts currently available on your system.

They are grouped into what is named a family group which are Arrays of Font object.

The Family Name of the group is simply the familyName of any of the Font objects in the group.

The Family Name in one font group is not guaranteed to have unique name compared to different font groups - the grouping is determined by a number of factors including the returned value of FontObject.technology and FontObject.writingScripts.

In addition, it is perfectly acceptable to have multiple fonts with the same PostScript name, though only one will have the same (PostScript name, Technology, Primary Writing Script) tuple. In the case of true duplicates, it is undefined which will be returned and which will be suppressed.

The family groups and Font objects in the group are sorted according to the setting in the Character Panel dropdown "Show Font Names in English". If set to true, the familyName and styleName property is used, otherwise the nativeFamilyName and nativeStyleName property is used.

Font object for which isSubstitute returns true are always sorted to the end as individual family groups.

Type¶

Array of Arrays of Font objects; read-only.

Example¶

This example will select the first returned Font Family Array.

// Getting the first available Font Family Group on the system
var firstFontGroup = app.fonts.allFonts[0];

// Getting the first Style for that Font Family
var firstFontFamilyName = firstFontGroup[0].familyName;
var firstFamilyStyle = firstFontGroup[0].styleName;

alert(firstFontFamilyName+" "+firstFamilyStyle);

FontsObject.favoriteFontFamilyList¶

app.fonts.favoriteFontFamilyList

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.6

Description¶

Provides access to the Favorites list presented in the Character panel and Properties panel. To set the Favorites simply provide an (unsorted) array of strings based on the familyName. To clear the list simply assign an empty Array.

Type¶

Array of Strings; read/write.

FontsObject.fontsDuplicateByPostScriptName¶

app.fonts.fontsDuplicateByPostScriptName

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.6

Description¶

It is perfectly legal and common for more than one Font object to return the same value for postScriptName but as this can sometimes lead to confusion about what Font object will actually be used when using TextDocument.font or the .font attribute of a CharacterRange object, this property exists to both reveal what duplicates exist and also their relative order.

This returns an Array in which each element is an Array of Font objects, where the 0th element Font object is considered the primary Font object for the given PostScript name.

Type¶

Array of Arrays of Font Objects; read-only.

FontsObject.fontServerRevision¶

app.fonts.fontServerRevision

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.2

Description¶

Returns an unsigned number representing the current revision of the font environment.

The revision is advanced when anything happens to the font environment which would change the contents, properties, or order of Font objects returned from a call to FontsObject.allFonts.

Among these are: installing or removing fonts in the font environment, opening or closing a project with substituted fonts, causing a custom Variable font instance to be created, and changing the setting in the Character Panel dropdown "Show Font Names in English".

Type¶

Floating-point value; read-only.

Example¶

var fsRev = app.fonts.fontServerRevision;
alert(fsRev);

FontsObject.fontsWithDefaultDesignAxes¶

app.fonts.fontsWithDefaultDesignAxes

Description¶

Returns an array of variable Font objects, each using a unique font dictionary and with default values for their design axes. This API is a convenient way to quickly filter for a unique instance of each installed variable font.

Type¶

Array of Font objects; read-only.

Example¶

var variableFontList = app.fonts.fontsWithDefaultDesignAxes;
alert(variableFontList.length);

FontsObject.freezeSyncSubstitutedFonts¶

app.fonts.freezeSyncSubstitutedFonts

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.6

Description¶

When a Project is opened and one or more fonts are not found in the local font environment, a sync process is initiated with Adobe Fonts to see if one or more Fonts could be activated and installed.

By default this happens automatically—this property will disable it from happening.

Warning

The rules for deciding if Adobe Fonts has a matching font is entirely based on the PostScript name. With some Variable Fonts, due to ambiguity about which font has which named instance, it is possible that more than one face (Regular/Italic) may be installed during an activation. Whether the installed font is a valid replacement is controlled by the FontsObject.substitutedFontReplacementMatchPolicy.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write. One of:

false is the default—sync from Adobe Fonts may be attempted.
true means that no sync or install will be attempted.

FontsObject.missingOrSubstitutedFonts¶

app.fonts.missingOrSubstitutedFonts

Description¶

The list of all the missing or substituted fonts of the current Project.

Tip

A substituted font is a font that was already missing when the project is opened. A missing font is a font that went missing (font being uninstalled, for example) while the project was open.

Type¶

Array of Font objects; read-only.

FontsObject.mruFontFamilyList¶

app.fonts.mruFontFamilyList

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.6

Description¶

Provides access to the Most Recently Used (MRU) list presented in the Character panel and Properties panel. To set the MRU simply provide an (unsorted) array of strings based on the familyName. To clear the list simply assign an empty Array.

Type¶

Array of Strings; read/write.

FontsObject.substitutedFontReplacementMatchPolicy¶

app.fonts.substitutedFontReplacementMatchPolicy

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.6

Description¶

Controls the rules which are used to determine which fonts are considered matching for automatic replacement for a substituted Font object.

Type¶

A SubstitutedFontReplacementMatchPolicy enumerated value; read/write. One of:

SubstitutedFontReplacementMatchPolicy.POSTSCRIPT_NAME is the default; any Font object which has the same PostScript name is a valid candidate for replacement of a substituted Font object.
SubstitutedFontReplacementMatchPolicy.CTFI_EQUAL requires that the following properties of substituted Font object must match to be considered a valid candidate:
- postScriptName
- technology
- writingScripts (primary)
- designVector
SubstitutedFontReplacementMatchPolicy.DISABLED means that no Font object is an acceptable replacement for a the substituted Font object.

Methods¶

FontsObject.getCTScriptForString()¶

app.fonts.getCTScriptForString(charString, preferredCTScript)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects (Beta) 25.0 and is subject to change while it remains in Beta.

Description¶

This function will return an array of generic objects describing the number of characters in the range and the CTScript enum assigned to them. See FontObject.writingScripts for a full list of CTScript enumerated values.

If a character is deemed to be included in one or more CTScript values, the value specfied in the second argument preferredCTScript will break the tie.

var scriptsV = app.fonts.getCTScriptForString("ABヂ", CTScript.CT_ROMAN_SCRIPT);
var str = "[0] chars:" + scriptsV[0].chars +   // 2
          " ctScript:" + getEnumAsString(scriptsV[0].ctScript) +
          "\n[1] chars:" + scriptsV[1].chars + // 1
          " ctScript:" + getEnumAsString(scriptsV[1].ctScript);
alert(str);

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`charString`	String	Characters to check. If empty, will return an empty array.
`preferredCTScript`	`CTScript` enum	CT Script to prefer

Returns¶

Array of generic objects;

Key chars will be set to number of characters the in the range.
Key ctScript will be set to the CTScript which applies to the characters in the range.

—

FontsObject.getDefaultFontForCTScript()¶

app.fonts.getDefaultFontForCTScript(ctScript)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects (Beta) 25.0 and is subject to change while it remains in Beta.

Description¶

This function will return an instance of Font object mapped as the default font based on CTScript.

After Effects uses these mappings when typing or applying a font where it finds that the font does not contain a glyph for the character. In this situation it will attempt to map the character to a CTScript value and then use this default mapping to select an alternate font which may have a glyph for the character.

This mechanism is also used with text and fonts in Scripting thus providing a way to expose which fonts will be used for which CTScript values.

There is no guarantee that what is returned will support all, or even any, of the Unicode characters mapped to the CTScript.

var font = app.fonts.getDefaultFontForCTScript(CTScript.CT_JAPANESE_SCRIPT);

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`ctScript`	`CTScript` enum	Corresponding CTScript to get default font from.

Returns¶

Font object

FontsObject.getFontByID()¶

app.fonts.getFontByID(fontID)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.2

Description¶

This function will return an instance of Font object based on the ID of a previously found font.

If no matching font is found, it will return undefined. This can occur with an unknown ID or if the original font has been removed from the font environment.

var font1 = app.fonts.allFonts[0][0];
var font2 = app.fonts.getFontByID(font1.fontID);
alert(font1.fontID == font2.fontID);

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
fontID	Integer	The ID of the font.

Returns¶

Font object, or undefined if no font by that ID.

FontsObject.getFontsByFamilyNameAndStyleName()¶

app.fonts.getFontsByFamilyNameAndStyleName(familyName, styleName)

Description¶

This function will return an array of Font object based on the Family Name and Style Name of a font. If no suitable font is found, it will return an empty Array.

Tip

The returned array length can be more than 1 if you have multiple copies of a same font.

var fontList = app.fonts.getFontsByFamilyNameAndStyleName("Abolition", "Regular")
alert(fontList.length);

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
FamilyName	String	The Family Name of the font.
StyleName	String	The Style Name of the font.

Returns¶

Array of Font objects; read-only.

FontsObject.getFontsByPostScriptName()¶

app.fonts.getFontsByPostScriptName(postscriptName)

Description¶

This function will return an array of Font objects based on the PostScript name of previously found Fonts.

It is perfectly valid to have multiple Font objects which share the same PostScript name, the order of these is determined by the order in which they were enumerated in the font environment. The entry at [0] will be used when setting the TextDocument.fontObject property.

In addition, there is a special property of this API with regards to Variable fonts. If no Font object matching the requested PostScript exists, but we find that there exist a variable font which matches the requested PostScript name prefix, then this Variable font instance will be requested to create a matching Font object. This is the only way that we will return an instance which did not exist prior to invoking this method.

If no matching font is found, it will return an empty Array.

var fontList = app.fonts.getFontsByPostScriptName("Abolition")
alert(fontList.length);

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
postscriptName	String	The PostScript Name of the font.

Returns¶

Array of Font objects; read-only.

FontsObject.pollForAndPushNonSystemFontFoldersChanges()¶

app.fonts.pollForAndPushNonSystemFontFoldersChanges()

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.6

Description¶

The addition and removal of font files in what is considered the system font folders is recognized and handled automatically without user intervention to update the font environment. Non-system font folders are not automatically handled and so additions and removal of font files in these folders are not recognized until the After Effects is restarted.

This function will trigger a check against the known non-system font folders, and if it is recognized that there has been a change, an asynchronous update to the font environment will be scheduled to process this change.

The non-system font folders After Effects knows about are here:

Windows: <systemDrive>:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Fonts

Mac: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts

Returns¶

Boolean; One of:

false if no changes to the font environment are known.
true if a change in the font environment has been detected and an asynchronous update scheduled to deal with it. This state will be cleared once the update has been processed, at which time FontsObject.fontServerRevision will return an incremented value.

—

FontsObject.setDefaultFontForCTScript()¶

app.fonts.setDefaultFontForCTScript(ctScript, font)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects (Beta) 25.0 and is subject to change while it remains in Beta.

Description¶

This function will set an instance of Font object mapped based on CTScript parameter.

After Effects uses these mappings when typing or applying a font where it finds that the font does not contain a glyph for a given character. In this situation it will attempt to map the character to a CTScript value and then use this default mapping to select an alternate font which may have a glyph for the character.

Variable fonts are not acceptable as defaults and will result in an exception being thrown.

There is no requirement that the specfied font has glyphs for any or all of the characters mapped to the CTScript.

This mechanism is also used with text and fonts in Scripting thus providing a way to expose which fonts will be used for which CTScript values (see FontsObject.getDefaultFontForCTScript()).

The font assigned to the CTScript.CT_ROMAN_SCRIPT is the one which is used to re-initialize the Character Panel after resetting the character style.

To reset the default for a specific CTScript back to the value it had at App launch, simply pass in null.

var font = app.fonts.getFontsByPostScriptName("MyriadPro-Regular")[0];
var ret = app.fonts.setDefaultFontForCTScript(CTScript.CT_ROMAN_SCRIPT, font);
alert("set:" + ret);

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`ctScript`	`CTScript` enum	CTScript for font to be mapped
`font`	Font object	The font to be mapped. If `null`, then current mapping is reset.

Returns¶

Boolean; One of:

false if the specfied mapping is the same the current one.
true if the specified mapping is different from the current one.

ParagraphRange object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).text.sourceText.value.paragraphRange(paragraphIndexStart, [signedParagraphIndexEnd])

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

The ParagraphRange object is an accessor to a paragraph range of the TextDocument object instance it was created from.

The characterStart attribute will report the first character index of the range.
The characterEnd attribute will report the (last + 1) character index of the range, such that (characterEnd - characterStart) represents the number of characters in the range.
The only time these two properties will equal will on an empty last paragraph of the TextDocument object.

When accessed, the ParagraphRange object will check that effective characterStart and effective characterEnd of the range remains valid for the current span of the related TextDocument object. This is the same rule as applied when the ParagraphRange was created, but because the length of the related TextDocument object can change through the addition or removal of characters, the effective characterStart and effective characterEnd may no longer be valid. In this situation an exception will be thrown on access, either read or write. The isRangeValid attribute will return false if the effective range is no longer valid.

Note that if the TextDocument object length changes, the character range could become valid again.

As a convenience, the function ParagraphRange.characterRange() can be invoked which will return a CharacterRange object instance initialized from characterStart and characterEnd. This instance becomes independent of the ParagraphRange instance it came from so subsequent changes to the ParagraphRange limits are not communicated to the CharacterRange object instance.

For performance reasons, when accessing multiple attributes it is adviseable to retrieve the CharacterRange object once and re-use it rather than create a new one each time.

Examples¶

This increases the font size of the first paragraph in the TextDocument, and set the rest of the paragraphs to fontSize 40.

var textDocument = app.project.item(index).layer(index).property("Source Text").value;

var paragraphRange0 = textDocument.paragraphRange(0,1);
var characterRange0 = paragraphRange0.characterRange();
characterRange0.fontSize = characterRange0.fontSize + 5;

textDocument.paragraphRange(1,-1).characterRange().fontSize = 40;

Attributes¶

ParagraphRange.characterEnd¶

ParagraphRange.characterEnd

Description¶

The Text layer range calculated character end value.

Throws an exception on access if the effective value would exceed the bounds of the related TextDocument object.

Type¶

Unsigned integer; read-only.

ParagraphRange.characterStart¶

ParagraphRange.characterStart

Description¶

The Text layer range calculated character start value.

Throws an exception on access if the effective value would exceed the bounds of the related TextDocument object.

Type¶

Unsigned integer; read-only.

ParagraphRange.isRangeValid¶

ParagraphRange.isRangeValid

Description¶

Returns true if the current range is within the bounds of the related TextDocument object, otherwise false.

Type¶

Boolean; read-only.

Methods¶

ParagraphRange.characterRange()¶

ParagraphRange.characterRange()

Description¶

Returns a CharacterRange object initialized from characterStart and characterEnd.

Will throw an exception if isRangeValid would return false.

The returned instance, once created, is independent of subsequent changes to the ParagraphRange it came from.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

CharacterRange object;

ParagraphRange.toString()¶

ParagraphRange.toString()

Description¶

Returns a string with the parameters used to create the ParagraphRange instance, e.g. "ParagraphRange(0,-1)"

This may be safely called on an instance where isRangeValid returns false.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

String;

TextDocument object¶

new TextDocument(docText)
app.project.item(index).layer(index).property("Source Text").value

Description¶

The TextDocument object stores a value for a TextLayer's Source Text property. Create it with the constructor, passing the string to be encapsulated.

Examples¶

This sets a value of some source text and displays an alert showing the new value.

var myTextDocument = new TextDocument("HappyCake");
myTextLayer.property("Source Text").setValue(myTextDocument);
alert(myTextLayer.property("Source Text").value);

This sets keyframe values for text that show different words over time

var textProp = myTextLayer.property("Source Text");
textProp.setValueAtTime(0, newTextDocument("Happy"));
textProp.setValueAtTime(.33, newTextDocument("cake"));
textProp.setValueAtTime(.66, newTextDocument("is"));
textProp.setValueAtTime(1, newTextDocument("yummy!"));

This sets various character and paragraph settings for some text

var textProp = myTextLayer.property("Source Text");
var textDocument = textProp.value;
myString = "Happy holidays!";
textDocument.resetCharStyle();
textDocument.fontSize = 60;
textDocument.fillColor = [1, 0, 0];
textDocument.strokeColor = [0, 1, 0];
textDocument.strokeWidth = 2;
textDocument.font = "Times New Roman PSMT";
textDocument.strokeOverFill = true;
textDocument.applyStroke = true;
textDocument.applyFill = true;
textDocument.text = myString;
textDocument.justification = ParagraphJustification.CENTER_JUSTIFY;
textDocument.tracking = 50;
textProp.setValue(textDocument);

Attributes¶

TextDocument.allCaps¶

textDocument.allCaps

Note

Boolean; read/write.

TextDocument.autoLeading¶

textDocument.autoLeading

Description¶

The Text layer's auto leading character option.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

TextDocument.autoKernType¶

textDocument.autoKernType

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's auto kern type option.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

An AutoKernType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

AutoKernType.NO_AUTO_KERN
AutoKernType.METRIC_KERN
AutoKernType.OPTICAL_KERN

TextDocument.baselineDirection¶

textDocument.baselineDirection

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's baseline direction option. This is significant for Japanese language in vertical texts. "BASELINE_VERTICAL_CROSS_STREAM" is also know as Tate-Chu-Yoko.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

A BaselineDirection enumerated value; read/write. One of:

BaselineDirection.BASELINE_WITH_STREAM
BaselineDirection.BASELINE_VERTICAL_ROTATED
BaselineDirection.BASELINE_VERTICAL_CROSS_STREAM

TextDocument.baselineLocs¶

textDocument.baselineLocs

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.6 (CC 2015)

Description¶

The baseline (x,y) locations for a Text layer. Line wraps in a paragraph text box are treated as multiple lines.

Tip

If a line has no characters, the x and y values for start and end will be the maximum float value (3.402823466e+38F).

Type¶

Array of floating-point values in the form of

[
  line0.start_x,
  line0.start_y,
  line0.end_x,
  line0.end_y,
  line1.start_x,
  line1.start_y,
  line1.end_x,
  line1.end_y,
  ...
  lineN-1.start_x,
  lineN-1.start_y,
  lineN-1.end_x,
  lineN-1.end_y
]

TextDocument.baselineShift¶

textDocument.baselineShift

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2)

Description¶

This Text layer's baseline shift in pixels.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

TextDocument.boxInsetSpacing¶

textDocument.boxInsetSpacing

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.6

Description¶

TextDocument.boxTextPos¶

textDocument.boxTextPos

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2)

As of After Effects 14 (CC2017), it seems this is also writeable.

Description¶

The layer coordinates from a paragraph (box) Text layer's anchor point as a [width, height] array of pixel dimensions.

Warning

Throws an exception if boxText does not return true for the Text layer.

Type¶

Array of ([X,Y]) position coordinates; read/write.

Example¶

// For a paragraph Text layer returns [x, y] position from layer anchor point in layer coordinates.
// e.g. approximately [0, -25] with default character panel settings.
var boxTextLayerPos = myTextLayer.sourceText.value.boxTextPos;

TextDocument.boxTextSize¶

textDocument.boxTextSize

Description¶

The size of a paragraph (box) Text layer as a [width, height] array of pixel dimensions.

Warning

Throws an exception if boxText does not return true for the Text layer.

Type¶

Array of two integers (minimum value of 1); read/write.

TextDocument.boxVerticalAlignment¶

textDocument.boxVerticalAlignment

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.6

Description¶

Enables the automated vertical alignment of the composed text in the box.

Defaults to BoxVerticalAlignment.TOP

Type¶

A BoxVerticalAlignment enumerated value; read-write. One of:

BoxVerticalAlignment.TOP
BoxVerticalAlignment.CENTER
BoxVerticalAlignment.BOTTOM
BoxVerticalAlignment.JUSTIFY

TextDocument.composedLineCount¶

textDocument.composedLineCount

Description¶

Returns the number of composed lines in the Text layer, may be zero if all text is overset.

The TextDocument object instance is initialized from the composed state and subsequent changes to the TextDocument object instance does not cause recomposition.

Even if you remove all the text from the TextDocument object instance, the value returned here remains unchanged.

Type¶

Integer; read-only.

TextDocument.composerEngine¶

textDocument.composerEngine

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's paragraph composer engine option. By default new Text layers will use the ComposerEngine.UNIVERSAL_TYPE_ENGINE; the other enum value will only be encountered in projects created before the Universal Type Engine engine (formerly known as the South Asian and Middle Eastern engine) became the default in After Effects 22.1.1.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

This attrribute is read-write, but an exception will be thrown if any enum value other than ComposerEngine.UNIVERSAL_TYPE_ENGINE is written.

In effect, you can change an older document from ComposerEngine.LATIN_CJK_ENGINE to ComposerEngine.UNIVERSAL_TYPE_ENGINE, but not the reverse.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

A ComposerEngine enumerated value; read-write. One of:

ComposerEngine.LATIN_CJK_ENGINE
ComposerEngine.UNIVERSAL_TYPE_ENGINE

TextDocument.digitSet¶

textDocument.digitSet

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's digit set option.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

A DigitSet enumerated value; read/write. One of:

DigitSet.DEFAULT_DIGITS
DigitSet.ARABIC_DIGITS
DigitSet.HINDI_DIGITS
DigitSet.FARSI_DIGITS
DigitSet.ARABIC_DIGITS_RTL

TextDocument.direction¶

textDocument.direction

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's paragraph direction option.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

A ParagraphDirection enumerated value; read/write. One of:

ParagraphDirection.DIRECTION_LEFT_TO_RIGHT
ParagraphDirection.DIRECTION_RIGHT_TO_LEFT

TextDocument.endIndent¶

textDocument.endIndent

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's paragraph end indent option.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read/write.

TextDocument.everyLineComposer¶

textDocument.everyLineComposer

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's Every-Line Composer paragraph option. If set to false, the TextDocument will use the Single-Line Composer.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

TextDocument.fauxBold¶

textDocument.fauxBold

Note

The read functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2).

The write functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

true if a Text layer has faux bold enabled; otherwise false.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Example¶

var isFauxBold = myTextLayer.sourceText.value.fauxBold;

TextDocument.fauxItalic¶

textDocument.fauxItalic

Note

The read functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2).

The write functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

true if a Text layer has faux italic enabled; otherwise false.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

TextDocument.fillColor¶

textDocument.fillColor

Description¶

The Text layer's fill color, as an array of [r, g, b] floating-point values. For example, in an 8-bpc project, a red value of 255 would be 1.0, and in a 32-bpc project, an overbright blue value can be something like 3.2.

Throws an exception on read if applyFill is not true.

Setting this value will also set applyFill to true across the affected characters.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Array [r, g, b] of floating-point values; read/write.

TextDocument.firstLineIndent¶

textDocument.firstLineIndent

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's paragraph first line indent option.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read/write.

TextDocument.font¶

textDocument.font

Description¶

The Text layer's font specified by its PostScript name.

On write, there are very few resrictions on what can be supplied - if the underlying font management system does not have a matching Font object instance matching the supplied PostScript name a substitute instance will be created. The Font instance returned in the case of duplicate PostScript names will be the 0th element of the array returned from FontsObject.getFontsByPostScriptName().

You should use the Font object attribute for precise control.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

String; read/write.

TextDocument.fontBaselineOption¶

textDocument.fontBaselineOption

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's font baseline option. This is for setting a textDocument to superscript or subscript.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

A FontBaselineOption enumerated value; read/write. One of:

FontBaselineOption.FONT_NORMAL_BASELINE
FontBaselineOption.FONT_FAUXED_SUPERSCRIPT
FontBaselineOption.FONT_FAUXED_SUBSCRIPT

TextDocument.fontCapsOption¶

textDocument.fontCapsOption

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's font caps option.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

A FontCapsOption enumerated value; read/write. One of:

FontCapsOption.FONT_NORMAL_CAPS
FontCapsOption.FONT_SMALL_CAPS
FontCapsOption.FONT_ALL_CAPS
FontCapsOption.FONT_ALL_SMALL_CAPS

TextDocument.fontFamily¶

textDocument.fontFamily

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.1 (CC 2014.1)

Description¶

String with with the name of the font family.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

Type¶

String; read-only.

TextDocument.fontLocation¶

textDocument.fontLocation

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.1 (CC 2014.1)

Description¶

Path of font file, providing its location on disk.

Warning

Not guaranteed to be returned for all font types; return value may be empty string for some kinds of fonts.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

Type¶

String; read-only.

TextDocument.fontObject¶

textDocument.fontObject

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's Font object specified by its PostScript name.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

Type¶

Font object; read/write.

TextDocument.fontSize¶

textDocument.fontSize

Description¶

The Text layer's font size in pixels.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Floating-point value (0.1 to 1296, inclusive); read/write.

TextDocument.fontStyle¶

textDocument.fontStyle

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.1 (CC 2014.1)

Description¶

String with style information, e.g., "bold", "italic"

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

Type¶

String; read-only.

TextDocument.hangingRoman¶

textDocument.hangingRoman

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's Roman Hanging Punctuation paragraph option. This is only meaningful to box Text layers—it allows punctuation to fit outside the box rather than flow to the next line.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

TextDocument.horizontalScale¶

textDocument.horizontalScale

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2)

Description¶

This Text layer's horizontal scale in pixels.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read-write.

Example¶

var valOfHScale = myTextLayer.sourceText.value.horizontalScale;

TextDocument.justification¶

textDocument.justification

Description¶

The paragraph justification for the Text layer.

Type¶

A ParagraphJustification enumerated value; read/write. One of:

ParagraphJustification.LEFT_JUSTIFY
ParagraphJustification.RIGHT_JUSTIFY
ParagraphJustification.CENTER_JUSTIFY
ParagraphJustification.FULL_JUSTIFY_LASTLINE_LEFT
ParagraphJustification.FULL_JUSTIFY_LASTLINE_RIGHT
ParagraphJustification.FULL_JUSTIFY_LASTLINE_CENTER
ParagraphJustification.FULL_JUSTIFY_LASTLINE_FULL
ParagraphJustification.MULTIPLE_JUSTIFICATIONS

Text layers with mixed justification values will be read as ParagraphJustification.MULTIPLE_JUSTIFICATIONS.

Setting a TextDocument to use ParagraphJustification.MULTIPLE_JUSTIFICATIONS will result in ParagraphJustification.CENTER_JUSTIFY instead.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

TextDocument.kerning¶

textDocument.kerning

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's kerning option.

Returns zero for AutoKernType.METRIC_KERN and AutoKernType.OPTICAL_KERN.

Setting this value will also set AutoKernType.NO_AUTO_KERN to true across the affected characters.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Integer value; read/write.

TextDocument.leading¶

textDocument.leading

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 14.2 (CC 2017.1)

Description¶

The Text layer's spacing between lines.

Returns zero if TextDocument.autoLeading is true.

Setting this value will also set TextDocument.autoLeading to true across the affected characters.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

The minimum accepted value to set is 0, but this will be silently clipped to 0.01.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read/write.

Example¶

// This creates a Text layer and sets the leading to 100

var composition = app.project.activeItem;
var myTextLayer = comp.layers.addText("Spring\nSummer\nAutumn\nWinter");
var myTextSource = myTextLayer.sourceText;
var myTextDocument = myTextSource.value;
myTextDocument.leading = 100;
myTextSource.setValue(myTextDocument);

TextDocument.leadingType¶

textDocument.leadingType

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's paragraph leading type option.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

A LeadingType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

LeadingType.ROMAN_LEADING_TYPE
LeadingType.JAPANESE_LEADING_TYPE

TextDocument.ligature¶

textDocument.ligature

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's ligature option.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

TextDocument.lineJoinType¶

textDocument.lineJoinType

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's line join type option for Stroke.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

A LineJoinType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

LineJoinType.LINE_JOIN_MITER
LineJoinType.LINE_JOIN_ROUND
LineJoinType.LINE_JOIN_BEVEL

TextDocument.lineOrientation¶

textDocument.lineOrientation

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.2

Description¶

The Text layer's line orientation, in general horizontal vs vertical, which affects how all text in the layer is composed.

Type¶

A LineOrientation enumerated value; read/write. One of:

LineOrientation.HORIZONTAL
LineOrientation.VERTICAL_RIGHT_TO_LEFT
LineOrientation.VERTICAL_LEFT_TO_RIGHT

TextDocument.noBreak¶

textDocument.noBreak

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's no break attribute.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

The Text layer's paragraph space after option.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read/write.

TextDocument.spaceBefore¶

textDocument.spaceBefore

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's paragraph space before option.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read/write.

TextDocument.startIndent¶

textDocument.startIndent

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.0

Description¶

The Text layer's paragraph start indent option.

If this attribute has a mixed value, it will be read as undefined.

Warning

This value reflects all paragraphs in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all paragraphs in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read/write.

TextDocument.strokeColor¶

textDocument.strokeColor

Description¶

Description¶

The text value for the Text layer's Source Text property.

Type¶

String; read/write.

TextDocument.tracking¶

textDocument.tracking

Description¶

The Text layer's spacing between characters.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read/write.

TextDocument.tsume¶

textDocument.tsume

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2)

Description¶

This Text layer's tsume value as a normalized percentage, from 0.0 -> 1.0.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

This attribute accepts values from 0.0 -> 100.0, however the value IS expecting a normalized value from 0.0 -> 1.0. Using a value higher than 1.0 will produce unexpected results; AE's Character Panel will clamp the value at 100%, despite the higher value set by scripting (ie TextDocument.tsume = 100 _really_ sets a value of 10,000%)

Type¶

Floating-point value; read-write.

TextDocument.verticalScale¶

textDocument.verticalScale

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2)

Description¶

This Text layer's vertical scale in pixels.

Warning

This value only reflects the first character in the Text layer.

If you change this value, it will set all characters in the Text layer to the specified setting.

Type¶

Floating-point value; read-write.

Methods¶

TextDocument.characterRange()¶

textDocument.characterRange(characterStart, [signedCharacterEnd])

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

Returns an instance of the Text layer range accessor CharacterRange.

The instance will remember the parameters passed in the constructor - they remain constant and changes to the TextDocument length may cause the instance to throw exceptions on access until the TextDocument length is changed to a length which makes the range valid again.

Use toString() to find out what the constructed parameters were.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`characterStart`	Unsigned integer	Starts at zero, must be the less than or equal to the (text) length of the TextDocument object.
`signedCharacterEnd`	Signed integer.	Optional. If not specified, will be computed at `(characterStart + 1)`. If set to `-1`, then the CharacterRange object will dynamically calculate this on access to be equal to the (text) length of the TextDocument object. `signedCharacterEnd` must be greater than or equal to `characterStart`, and less than or equal to the (text) length of the TextDocument object.

Throws an exception if the parameters would result in an invalid range.

It is not possible to create a CharacterRange object which spans the final carriage return in the TextDocument object.

Returns¶

An instance of CharacterRange object

TextDocument.composedLineCharacterIndexesAt()¶

textDocument.composedLineCharacterIndexesAt(characterIndex)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

Returns the character index bounds of a ComposedLineRange object in the Text layer.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`characterIndex`	Unsigned integer	A text index in the Text layer, which will be mapped to the composed line it intersects.

Returns¶

Generic object; Key start will be set to text index of the start of the composed line (greater than or equal to zero). Key end will be set to text index of the end of the composed line (greater than start, or equal to start if it is the last composed line).

Will throw an exception if the computed start and end are outside of the current TextDocument object Remember that the composed lines are static and subsequent changes to the TextDocument object instance which changes its length may render the composed line data invalid.

TextDocument.composedLineRange()¶

textDocument.composedLineRange(composedLineIndexStart, [signedComposedLineIndexEnd])

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

Returns an instance of the Text layer range accessor ComposedLineRange object.

The instance will remember the parameters passed in the constructor - they remain constant and changes to the TextDocument contents may cause the instance to throw exceptions on access until the TextDocument contents are changed which makes the range valid again.

Use ComposedLineRange.toString() to find out what the constructed parameters were.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`composedLineIndexStart`	Unsigned integer	Starts at zero, must be the less than the number of composed lines in the TextDocument object.
`signedComposedLineIndexEnd`	Signed integer.	Optional. If not specified, will be computed at `(composedLineIndexStart + 1)`. If set to -1, then the ComposedLineRange object will dynamically calculate this on access to the last composed line of the TextDocument object. `signedComposedLineIndexEnd` must be greater than `composedLineIndexStart`, and less than or equal to the number of composed lines in the TextDocument object.

Throws an exception if the parameters would result in an invalid range.

Remember that the composed lines are static and subsequent changes to the TextDocument object instance which changes its length may render the composed line data invalid.

Returns¶

An instance of ComposedLineRange object

TextDocument.paragraphCharacterIndexesAt()¶

textDocument.paragraphCharacterIndexesAt(characterIndex)

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

Returns the character index bounds of a paragraph in the Text layer.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`characterIndex`	Unsigned integer	A text index in the Text layer, which will be mapped to the paragraph it intersects.

Returns¶

Generic object; Key start will be set to text index of the start of the paragraph (greater than or equal to zero). Key end will be set to text index of the end of the paragraph (greater than start, or equal to start if it is the last paragraph).

TextDocument.paragraphRange()¶

textDocument.paragraphRange(paragraphIndexStart, [signedParagraphIndexEnd])

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 24.3

Description¶

Returns an instance of the Text layer range accessor ParagraphRange object.

The instance will remember the parameters passed in the constructor - they remain constant and changes to the TextDocument contents may cause the instance to throw exceptions on access until the TextDocument contents are changed which makes the range valid again.

Use ParagraphRange.toString() to find out what the constructed parameters were.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`paragraphIndexStart`	Unsigned integer	Starts at zero, must be the less than the number of paragraphs in the TextDocument object.
`signedParagraphIndexEnd`	Signed integer	Optional. If not specified, will be computed at `(paragraphIndexStart + 1)`. If set to -1, then the ParagraphRange object will dynamically calculate this on access to the last paragraph of the TextDocument object. `signedParagraphIndexEnd` must be greater than `paragraphIndexStart`, and less than or equal to the number of paragraphs in the TextDocument object.

Nothing.

Ended: Text

Other ↵

Collection object¶

Description¶

Like an array, a collection associates a set of objects or values as a logical group and provides access to them by index. However, most collection objects are read-only. You do not assign objects to them yourself—their contents update automatically as objects are created or deleted.

Tip

The index numbering of a collection starts with 1, not 0.

Objects¶

ItemCollection object All of the items (imported files, folders, solids, and so on) found in the Project panel.
LayerCollection object All of the layers in a composition.
OMCollection object All of the Output Module items in the project.
RQItemCollection object All of the render-queue items in the project.

Attributes¶

Attribute	Type	Description
`length`	Integer	The number of objects in the collection.

Methods¶

Method	Return Type	Description
`[]`	Object	Retrieves an object in the collection by its index number. The first object is at index 1.

ImportOptions object¶

new ImportOptions();
new ImportOptions(file);

Description¶

The ImportOptions object encapsulates the options used to import a file with the Project.importFile() methods.

The constructor takes an optional parameter, an Extendscript File object for the file.

If it is not supplied, you must explicitly set the value of the file attribute before using the object with the importFile method. For example:

new ImportOptions().file = new File("myfile.psd");

An ImportAsType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

ImportAsType.COMP_CROPPED_LAYERS
ImportAsType.FOOTAGE
ImportAsType.COMP
ImportAsType.PROJECT

ImportOptions.rangeEnd¶

importOptions.rangeEnd

Warning

This method/property is officially undocumented and was found via research. The information here may be inaccurate, and this whole method/property may disappear or stop working some point. Please contribute if you have more information on it!

Description¶

Sets the end clipping range of the sequence, that is going to be imported.

Creates 'missing frames' (video-bards) if the rangeEnd exceeds the duration of the sequence to be imported.
Has no effect if sequence is set to false.
Throws an exception if forceAlphabetical is set to true.
Throws an exception if rangeEnd is less then rangeStart and resets the range to include all the files.

Type¶

Integer; read/write.

ImportOptions.rangeStart¶

importOptions.rangeStart

Warning

This method/property is officially undocumented and was found via research. The information here may be inaccurate, and this whole method/property may disappear or stop working some point. Please contribute if you have more information on it!

Description¶

Sets the start clipping range of the sequence, that is going to be imported.

Has no effect if sequence is set to false.
Throws an exception if forceAlphabetical is set to true.
Throws an exception if rangeEnd value is 0.
Throws an exception if rangeStart is greater then rangeEnd and resets the range to include all the files.

Type¶

Integer; read/write.

Example¶

/*
  Import 20 frames of the sequence, starting at frame 10 and ending at frame 30
 */
var mySequence = '~/Desktop/sequence/image_000.png';

var importOptions = new ImportOptions();
importOptions.file = new File(mySequence);
importOptions.sequence = true;
importOptions.forceAlphabetical = false;
importOptions.rangeStart = 10;
importOptions.rangeEnd = 30;

var item = app.project.importFile(importOptions);

ImportOptions.sequence¶

importOptions.sequence

Description¶

When true, a sequence is imported; otherwise, an individual file is imported.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Methods¶

ImportOptions.canImportAs()¶

importOptions.canImportAs(type)

Description¶

Reports whether the file can be imported as the source of a particular object type. If this method returns true, you can set the given type as the value of the importAs attribute.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`type`	`ImportAsType` enum.	The type of file that can be imported. One of: - `ImportAsType.COMP` - `ImportAsType.FOOTAGE` - `ImportAsType.COMP_CROPPED_LAYERS` - `ImportAsType.PROJECT`

Returns¶

Boolean.

Example¶

var io = new ImportOptions(new File("c:\\myFile.psd"));
if (io.canImportAs(ImportAsType.COMP)) {
    io.importAs = ImportAsType.COMP;
}

ImportOptions.isFileNameNumbered()¶

importOptions.isFileNameNumbered(file)

Warning

This method/property is officially undocumented and was found via research. The information here may be inaccurate, and this whole method/property may disappear or stop working some point. Please contribute if you have more information on it!

Description¶

Reports whether the file object is numbered, i.e. file name has a digit.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`file`	Extendscript File object	The file to check

Returns¶

Object, containing 2 keys:

isNumbered: Boolean; wether the file name contains any digit,
num: Integer; a number found in file name. Returns 0 when isNumbered is false.

Example¶

var importOptions = new ImportOptions();
importOptions.isFileNameNumbered('image.png');     // "isNumbered": false, "num": 0
importOptions.isFileNameNumbered('003image.png');  // "isNumbered": true, "num": 3
importOptions.isFileNameNumbered('ima0102ge.png'); // "isNumbered": true, "num": 102
importOptions.isFileNameNumbered('image0120.png'); // "isNumbered": true, "num": 120

KeyframeEase object¶

myKey = new KeyframeEase(speed, influence);

Description¶

The KeyframeEase object encapsulates the keyframe ease settings of a layer's AE property. Keyframe ease is determined by the speed and influence values that you set using the property's setTemporalEaseAtKey method. The constructor creates a KeyframeEase object. Both parameters are required.

speed: A floating-point value. Sets the speed attribute.
influence: A floating-pointvalue in the range [0.1..100.0]. Sets the influence attribute.

Example¶

This example assumes that the Position, a spatial property, has more than two keyframes.

var easeIn = new KeyframeEase(0.5, 50);
var easeOut = new KeyframeEase(0.75, 85);
var myPositionProperty = app.project.item(1).layer(1).property("Position");
myPositionProperty.setTemporalEaseAtKey(2, [easeIn], [easeOut]);

This example sets the Scale, a temporal property with either two or three dimensions. For 2D and 3D properties you must set an easeIn and easeOut value for each dimension:

var easeIn = new KeyframeEase(0.5, 50);
var easeOut = new KeyframeEase(0.75, 85);
var myScaleProperty = app.project.item(1).layer(1).property("Scale")
myScaleProperty.setTemporalEaseAtKey(2, [easeIn, easeIn, easeIn], [easeOut, easeOut, easeOut]);

Attributes¶

A script can set any number of parameter pairs; the order does not reflect the order displayed in the application.

To associate a marker with a layer, set the MarkerValue object in the Layer.marker property of the layer: layerObject.property("Marker").setValueAtTime(time, markerValueObject);

To associate a marker with a composition, set the MarkerValue object in the CompItem.markerProperty property of the comp: compObject.markerProperty.setValueAtTime(time, markerValueObject);

For information on the usage of markers see "Using markers" in After Effects Help.

Examples¶

To set a layer marker that says "Fade Up" at the 2 second mark:

var myMarker = new MarkerValue("FadeUp");
myLayer.property("Marker").setValueAtTime(2, myMarker);
// or
myLayer.marker.setValueAtTime(2, myMarker);

To set a comp marker that says "Fade Up" at the 2 second mark:

var myMarker = new MarkerValue("FadeUp");
comp.markerProperty.setValueAtTime(2, myMarker);

To get comment values from a particular marker:

var layer = app.project.item(1).layer(1);
var markerProperty = layer.marker;

var commentOfFirstMarker = markerProperty.keyValue(1).comment;

// or
var commentOfMarkerAtTime4 = markerProperty.valueAtTime(4.0, true).comment;

// or
var markerValueAtTimeClosestToTime4 = markerProperty.keyValue(markerProperty.nearestKeyIndex(4.0));
var commentOfMarkerClosestToTime4 = markerValueAtTimeClosestToTime4.comment;

String; read/write.

MarkerValue.label¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).property("Marker").keyValue(index).label

Description¶

The label color for a composition or layer marker. Colors are represented by their number (0 for None, or 1 to 16 for one of the preset colors in the Labels preferences). Custom label colors cannot be set programmatically.

Available in After Effects 16.0 or later.

Type¶

Integer (0 to 16); read/write.

MarkerValue.protectedRegion¶

app.project.item(index).markerProperty.keyValue(index).protectedRegion

Description¶

State of the Protected Region option in the Composition Marker dialog box. When true, the composition marker behaves as a protected region. Will also return true for protected region markers on nested composition layers, but is otherwise not applicable to layer markers.

Available in After Effects 16.0 or later.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Methods¶

MarkerValue.getParameters()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).property("Marker").keyValue(index).getParameters()

Description¶

Returns the key-value pairs for Flash Video cue-point parameters, for a cue point associated with this marker value.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

An object with an attribute matching each parameter name, containing that parameter's value.

MarkerValue.setParameters()¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).property("Marker").keyValue(index).setParameters(keyValuePairs)

Description¶

Associates a set of key-value pairs for Flash Video cue-point parameters, for a cue point associated with this marker value. A cue point can have any number of parameters, but you can add only three through the user interface; use this method to add more than three parameters.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`keyValuePairs`	Key-value pair object	Object containing the key-value pairs as attributes and values. The object's `toString()` method is called to assign the string value of each attribute to the named key.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Example¶

var mv = new MarkerValue("MyMarker");
var parms = {};
parms.timeToBlink = 1;
parms.assignMe = "A string"
mv.setParameters(parms);
myLayer.property("Marker").setValueAtTime(2, mv);

Preferences object¶

app.preferences

Description¶

The Preferences object provides an easy way to manage internal AE preferences, such as you'd find in AE's Preferences menu. These are saved in the After Effects preference files, and are persistent between application sessions.

Preferences are identified by section and key within the file, and each key name is associated with a value.

In the preferences file, section names are enclosed in brackets and quotation marks, and key names are listing in quotation marks below the sectionname. All values are strings.

You can create new preferences with this object, as well as accessing existing preferences.

As of Version 12/CC, preferences and settings methods now take a third argument to specify the target preferences file if Section/Key is not in "Adobe After Effects $versionNumber.x Prefs.txt".

If the third argument is not passed, default value (PREFType.PREF_Type_MACHINE_SPECIFIC) is used and After Effects tries to save/get from the "Adobe After Effects $versionNumber.x Prefs.txt" preferences file.

PREFType Enum¶

The third argument is enum PREFType value, one of:

PREF_Type_MACHINE_SPECIFIC: Adobe After Effects $versionNumber.x Prefs.txt
PREF_Type_MACHINE_INDEPENDENT: Adobe After Effects $versionNumber.x Prefs-indep-general.txt
PREF_Type_MACHINE_INDEPENDENT_RENDER: Adobe After Effects $versionNumber.x Prefs-indep-render.txt
PREF_Type_MACHINE_INDEPENDENT_OUTPUT: Adobe After Effects $versionNumber.x Prefs-indep-output.txt
PREF_Type_MACHINE_INDEPENDENT_COMPOSITION: Adobe After Effects $versionNumber.x Prefs-indep-composition.txt
PREF_Type_MACHINE_SPECIFIC_TEXT: Adobe After Effects $versionNumber.x Prefs-text.txt
PREF_Type_MACHINE_SPECIFIC_PAINT: Adobe After Effects $versionNumber.x Prefs-paint.txt

Methods¶

Preferences.deletePref()¶

app.preferences.deletePref(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])

Description¶

Deletes a preference from the preference file.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sectionName`	String	The name of a preferences section.
`keyName`	String	The key name of the preference.
`prefType`	`PREFType` enum	Optional. Which preference file to use.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Example¶

If you have saved a setting named with the key name "trimPrecomps" in a section called "Precomp Cropper", you can delete the setting by:

app.preferences.deletePref("Settings_Precomp Cropper", "trimPrecomps");

Preferences.getPrefAsBool()¶

app.preferences.getPrefAsBool(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])

Description¶

Retrieves a preference value from the preferences file, and parses it as a boolean.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sectionName`	String	The name of a preferences section.
`keyName`	String	The key name of the preference.
`prefType`	`PREFType` enum	Optional. Which preference file to use.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Example¶

To retrieve the value of the Flow Chart "Expand Flowchart Comps by Default" preference:

var expandByDefault = app.preferences.getPrefAsBool("Flowchart Settings", "Expand Flowchart Comps by Default");
alert("The setting is: " + expandByDefault);

To retrieve the value of the main preference "Javascript Debugger Enabled":

var debuggerEnabled = app.preferences.getPrefAsBool("Main Pref Section v2", "Pref_JAVASCRIPT_DEBUGGER", PREFType.PREF_Type_MACHINE_INDEPENDENT);
alert("The setting is: " + debuggerEnabled);

Preferences.getPrefAsFloat()¶

app.preferences.getPrefAsFloat(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])

Description¶

Retrieves a preference value from the preferences file, and parses it as a float.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sectionName`	String	The name of a preferences section.
`keyName`	String	The key name of the preference.
`prefType`	`PREFType` enum	Optional. Which preference file to use.

Returns¶

Float.

Preferences.getPrefAsLong()¶

app.preferences.getPrefAsLong(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])

Description¶

Retrieves a preference value from the preferences file, and parses it as a long (number).

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sectionName`	String	The name of a preferences section.
`keyName`	String	The key name of the preference.
`prefType`	`PREFType` enum	Optional. Which preference file to use.

Returns¶

Long.

Preferences.getPrefAsString()¶

app.preferences.getPrefAsString(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])

Description¶

Retrieves a preference value from the preferences file, and parses it as a string.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sectionName`	String	The name of a preferences section.
`keyName`	String	The key name of the preference.
`prefType`	`PREFType` enum	Optional. Which preference file to use.

Returns¶

String.

Preferences.havePref()¶

app.preferences.havePref(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])

Description¶

Returns true if the specified preference item exists and has a value.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sectionName`	String	The name of a preferences section.
`keyName`	String	The key name of the preference.
`prefType`	`PREFType` enum	Optional. Which preference file to use.

You can create new settings with this object, as well as accessing existing settings.

As of Version 12/CC, preferences and settings methods now take a third argument to specify the target preferences file if Section/Key is not in the main preferences file. See Preferences object for more info.

Tip

These values aren't shared between versions of AE; each new install brings new settings files, and so these prefs won't carry over.
Internally, all saved settings have their section name preprended with "Settings_"
If you're looking to get or set internal AE preferences, see Preferences object

Methods¶

Settings.getSetting()¶

app.settings.getSetting(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])

Description¶

Retrieves a script settings item value from the preferences file.

Warning

If the value is greater than 1999 bytes, getSetting that item will throw an error (seen in AE 15.0.1)

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sectionName`	String	The name of a settings section.
`keyName`	String	The key name of the setting item.
`prefType`	`PREFType` enum	Optional. Which preference file to use.

Returns¶

String.

Example¶

If you have saved a setting named with the key name "trimPrecomps" in a section called "Precomp Cropper", you can retrieve the value by:

var trimPrecompsSetting = app.settings.getSetting("Precomp Cropper", "trimPrecomps");
alert("The setting is: " + trimPrecompsSetting);

Settings.haveSetting()¶

app.settings.haveSetting(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])

Description¶

Returns true if the specified script settings item exists and has a value.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sectionName`	String	The name of a settings section.
`keyName`	String	The key name of the setting item.
`prefType`	`PREFType` enum	Optional. Which preference file to use.

Returns¶

Boolean.

Settings.saveSetting()¶

app.settings.saveSetting(sectionName, keyName, value[, prefType])

Description¶

Saves a value for a script settings item.

Warning

If the value is greater than 1999 bytes, saveSetting that item will throw an error (seen in AE 15.0.1)

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`sectionName`	String	The name of a settings section.
`keyName`	String	The key name of the setting item.
`value`	String	The new value.
`prefType`	`PREFType` enum	Optional. Which preference file to use.

Returns¶

Nothing.

Example¶

If you want to save a setting called "trimPrecomps" for a script named "Precomp Cropper", you could save that setting via

var trimPrecompsSetting = true;
app.settings.saveSetting("Precomp Cropper", "trimPrecomps", trimPrecompsSetting);

Note that the setting will be saved as a string. You'll want to parse it into a bool later, if needed.

Shape object¶

app.project.item(index).layer(index).property(index).property("maskShape").value

Description¶

The Shape object encapsulates information describing a shape in a shape layer, or the outline shape of a Mask. It is the value of the "Mask Path" AE properties, and of the "Path" AE property of a shape layer. Use the constructor, new Shape(), to create a new, empty Shape object, then set the attributes individually to define the shape.

A shape has a set of anchor points, or vertices, and a pair of direction handles, or tangent vectors, for each anchor point. A tangent vector (in a non-RotoBezier mask) determines the direction of the line that is drawn to or from an anchor point. There is one incoming tangent vector and one outgoing tangent vector associated with each vertex in the shape.

A tangent value is a pair of x,y coordinates specified relative to the associated vertex. For example, a tangent of [-1,-1] is located above and to the left of the vertex and has a 45 degree slope, regardless of the actual location of the vertex. The longer a handle is, the greater its influence; for example, an incoming shape segment stays closer to the vector for an inTangent of [-2,-2] than it does for an inTangent of [-1,-1], even though both of these come toward the vertex from the same direction.

If a shape is not closed, the inTangent for the first vertex and the outTangent for the final vertex are ignored. If the shape is closed, these two vectors specify the direction handles of the final connecting segment out of the final vertex and back into the first vertex.

RotoBezier masks calculate their tangents automatically. (See MaskPropertyGroup.rotoBezier) If a shape is used in a RotoBezier mask, the tangent values are ignored. This means that, for RotoBezier masks, you can construct a shape by setting only the vertices attribute and setting both inTangents and outTangents to null. When you access the new shape, its tangent values are filled with the automatically calculated tangent values.

For closed mask shapes, variable-width mask feather points can exist anywhere along the mask path. Feather points are part of the Mask Path property. Reference a specific feather point by the number of the mask path segment (portion of the path between adjacent vertices) where it appears.

Tip

The feather points on a mask are listed in an array in the order that they were created.

Examples¶

Create a square mask. A square is a closed shape with 4 vertices. The inTangents and outTangents for connected straight-line segments are 0, the default, and do not need to be explicitly set.
```
var myShape = new Shape();
myShape.vertices = [[0,0], [0,100], [100,100], [100,0]];
myShape.closed = true;
```

Create a "U" shaped mask. A "U" is an open shape with the same 4 vertices used in the square.

var myShape = new Shape();
myShape.vertices = [[0,0], [0,100], [100,100], [100,0]];
myShape.closed = false;

Create an oval. An oval is a closed shape with 4 vertices and with inTangent and outTangent values.

var myShape = new Shape();
myShape.vertices = [[300,50], [200,150],[300,250],[400,150]];
myShape.inTangents = [[55.23,0],[0,-55.23],[-55.23,0],[0,55.23]];
myShape.outTangents = [[-55.23,0],[0,55.23],[55.23,0],[0,-55.23]];
myShape.closed = true;

Create a square mask with two feather points. A large square mask with two feather points, one closer to the left end the second mask segment (off the bottom edge) with a radius of 30 pixels and the other one centered the third mask segment (off the right edge) with a larger radius of 100 pixels.

var myShape = new Shape();
myShape.vertices = [[100,100], [100,400], [400,400], [400,100]]; // segments drawn counter clockwise
myShape.closed = true;
myShape.featherSegLocs = [1, 2]; // segments are numbered starting at 0, so second segment is 1
myShape.featherRelSegLocs = [0.15, 0.5]; // 0.15 is closer to the lower-left corner of the square
myShape.featherRadii = [30, 100]; // second feather point (onright-sidesegment) has a larger radius

Attributes¶

Description¶

An array containing each feather point's mask path segment number (section of the mask path between vertices, numbered starting at 0).

Tip

Values are stored in the array in the order that feather points are created. Move a feather point to a different segment by changing both its segment number (this attribute) and, optionally, its featherRelSegLocs attribute value.

Type¶

Array of integers; read/write.

Example¶

// Assuming a rectangle closed mask (segments numbered 0-3) has 3 mask feather points,
// move all 3 feather points to the first mask segment.

// Get the Shape object for the mask, assumed here to be the first mask on the layer.
var my_maskShape = layer.mask(1).property("ADBE Mask Shape").value;

// Check where mask feather points are located.
// Note: They are stored in the order that they are added.
var where_are_myMaskFeatherPoints = my_maskShape.featherSegLocs;

// Move all 3 feather points to the first mask segment (numbered 0).
my_maskShape.featherSegLocs = [0, 0, 0];

// Update the mask path.
layer.mask(1).property("ADBE Mask Shape").setValue(my_maskShape);

Shape.vertices¶

shapeObject.value.vertices

Description¶

The anchor points of the shape. Specify each point as an array of two floating-point values, and collect the point pairs into an array for the complete set of points.

Example¶

myShape.vertices = [[0,0], [0,1], [1,1], [1,0]];

Type¶

Array of floating-point pair arrays; read/write.

View object¶

app.activeViewer.views[0]

Description¶

The View object represents a specific view.

Attributes¶

View.active¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].active

Description¶

When true, indicates if the viewer panel is focused, and thereby frontmost.

Type¶

Boolean; read-only.

View.options¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options

Description¶

Options object for this View

Type¶

ViewOptions object

Methods¶

View.setActive()¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].setActive()

Description¶

Moves this view panel to the front and places focus on it, making it active. Calling this method will set the view's active attribute to true.

Parameters¶

None.

Returns¶

Boolean, indicating if the view panel was made active.

Viewer object¶

app.activeViewer

Description¶

The Viewer object represents a Composition, Layer, or Footage panel.

Example¶

This maximizes the active viewer panel, and displays its type if it contains a composition.

var activeViewer = app.activeViewer;
activeViewer.maximized = true;
if (activeViewer.type === ViewerType.VIEWER_COMPOSITION) {
    alert("Composition panel is active.");
}

Attributes¶

Viewer.active¶

viewer.active

Description¶

When true, indicates if the viewer panel is focused, and thereby frontmost.

Type¶

Boolean; read-only.

Viewer.activeViewIndex¶

Attributes¶

ViewOptions.channels¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.channels

Description¶

The state of the Channels menu.

Type¶

A ChannelType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

CHANNEL_ALPHA
CHANNEL_ALPHA_BOUNDARY
CHANNEL_ALPHA_OVERLAY
CHANNEL_BLUE
CHANNEL_BLUE_COLORIZE
CHANNEL_GREEN
CHANNEL_GREEN_COLORIZE
CHANNEL_RED
CHANNEL_RED_COLORIZE
CHANNEL_RGB
CHANNEL_RGB_STRAIGHT

Warning

If you try to get or set the attribute's value in the Layer or Footage panel, you'll get an error message.

Tip

The Draft preview mode is only available in ray-traced 3D compositions. If you try to use it in a Classic 3D composition, you'll get an error: "Cannot set Draft fast preview mode in a Classic 3D composition."

Type¶

A FastPreviewType enumerated value; read/write. One of:

FastPreviewType.FP_OFF: Off (Final Quality)
FastPreviewType.FP_ADAPTIVE_RESOLUTION: Adaptive Resolution
FastPreviewType.FP_DRAFT: Draft
FastPreviewType.FP_FAST_DRAFT: Fast Draft
FastPreviewType.FP_WIREFRAME: Wireframe

Example¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.fastPreview === FastPreviewType.FP_ADAPTIVE_RESOLUTION;
app.activeViewer.views[0].options.fastPreview === FastPreviewType.FP_DRAFT;
app.activeViewer.views[0].options.fastPreview === FastPreviewType.FP_FAST_DRAFT;
app.activeViewer.views[0].options.fastPreview === FastPreviewType.FP_OFF;
app.activeViewer.views[0].options.fastPreview === FastPreviewType.FP_WIREFRAME;

ViewOptions.guidesLocked¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.guidesLocked

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

When true, indicates guides are locked in the view.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Example¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.guidesLocked;

ViewOptions.guidesSnap¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.guidesSnap

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

When true, indicates layers snap to guides when dragged in the view.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Example¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.guidesSnap;

ViewOptions.guidesVisibility¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.guidesVisibility

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

When true, indicates guides are visible in the view.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Example¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.guidesVisibility;

ViewOptions.rulers¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.rulers

Note

This functionality was added in After Effects 16.1 (CC 2019)

Description¶

When true, indicates rulers are shown in the view.

Type¶

Boolean; read/write.

Example¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.rulers;

ViewOptions.zoom¶

app.activeViewer.views[0].options.zoom

Description¶

Sets the current zoom value for the view, as a normalized percentage between 1% (0.01) and 1600% (16).

Type¶

Floating-point value, in the range [0.01..16]

Ended: Other

Match Names ↵

Layers ↵

AVLayer Match Names¶

Layer¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE AV Layer`

Top-Level¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Marker`	Marker
`ADBE Time Remapping`	Time Remap
`ADBE MTrackers`	Motion Trackers
`ADBE Mask Parade`	Masks
`ADBE Effect Parade`	Effects
`ADBE Layer Overrides`	Essential Properties

Transform¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Transform Group`	Transform
`ADBE Anchor Point`	Anchor Point
`ADBE Position`	Position
`ADBE Position_0`	X Position
`ADBE Position_1`	Y Position
`ADBE Position_2`	Z Position
`ADBE Scale`	Scale
`ADBE Orientation`	Orientation
`ADBE Rotate X`	X Rotation
`ADBE Rotate Y`	Y Rotation
`ADBE Rotate Z`	Z Rotation
`ADBE Opacity`	Opacity

Audio¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Audio Group`	Audio
`ADBE Audio Levels`	Audio Levels

Essential Properties¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Layer Source Alternate`

3d Layer Match Names¶

Plane¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Plane Options Group`	Geometry Options
`ADBE Plane Curvature`	Curvature
`ADBE Plane Subdivision`	Segments
`ADBE Extrsn Options Group`	Geometry Options
`ADBE Bevel Depth`	Bevel Depth
`ADBE Hole Bevel Depth`	Hole Bevel Depth
`ADBE Extrsn Depth`	Extrusion Depth

Materials¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Material Options Group`	Material Options
`ADBE Light Transmission`	Light Transmission
`ADBE Ambient Coefficient`	Ambient
`ADBE Diffuse Coefficient`	Diffuse
`ADBE Specular Coefficient`	Specular Intensity
`ADBE Shininess Coefficient`	Specular Shininess
`ADBE Metal Coefficient`	Metal
`ADBE Reflection Coefficient`	Reflection Intensity
`ADBE Glossiness Coefficient`	Reflection Sharpness
`ADBE Fresnel Coefficient`	Reflection Rolloff
`ADBE Transparency Coefficient`	Transparency
`ADBE Transp Rolloff`	Transparency Rolloff
`ADBE Index of Refraction`	Index of Refraction

Camera Layer Match Names¶

Layer¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Camera Layer`

Camera¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Camera Options Group`	Camera Options
`ADBE Camera Zoom`	Zoom
`ADBE Camera Depth of Field`	Depth of Field
`ADBE Camera Focus Distance`	Focus Distance
`ADBE Camera Aperture`	Aperture
`ADBE Camera Blur Level`	Blur Level

Iris¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Iris Shape`	Iris Shape
`ADBE Iris Rotation`	Iris Rotation
`ADBE Iris Roundness`	Iris Roundness
`ADBE Iris Aspect Ratio`	Iris Aspect Ratio
`ADBE Iris Diffraction Fringe`	Iris Diffraction Fringe
`ADBE Iris Highlight Gain`	Highlight Gain
`ADBE Iris Highlight Threshold`	Highlight Threshold
`ADBE Iris Hightlight Saturation`	Highlight Saturation

Light Layer Match Names¶

Layer¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Light Layer`

Light¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Light Options Group`	Light Options
`ADBE Light Intensity`	Intensity
`ADBE Light Color`	Color
`ADBE Light Cone Angle`	Cone Angle
`ADBE Light Cone Feather 2`	Cone Feather

Falloff¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Light Falloff Type`	Falloff
`ADBE Light Falloff Start`	Radius
`ADBE Light Falloff Distance`	Falloff Distance

Shadow¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Light Shadow Darkness`	Shadow Darkness
`ADBE Light Shadow Diffusion`	Shadow Diffusion

Text Layer Match Names¶

Layer¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Text Layer`

Text¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Text Properties`	Text
`ADBE Text Document`	Source Text
`ADBE Text Path Options`	Path Options
`ADBE Text Reverse Path`	Reverse Path
`ADBE Text Perpendicular To Path`	Perpendicular To Path
`ADBE Text Force Align Path`	Force Alignment
`ADBE Text First Margin`	First Margin
`ADBE Text Last Margin`	Last Margin
`ADBE Text More Options`	More Options
`ADBE Text Anchor Point Align`	Grouping Alignment
`ADBE Text Animators`	Animators

Animators¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Text Animator`	Animator
`ADBE Text Selectors`	Selectors
`ADBE Text Selector`	Range Selector
`ADBE Text Percent Start`	Start
`ADBE Text Percent End`	End
`ADBE Text Percent Offset`	Offset
`ADBE Text Index Start`	Start
`ADBE Text Index End`	End
`ADBE Text Index Offset`	Offset
`ADBE Text Range Advanced`	Advanced
`ADBE Text Selector Mode`	Mode
`ADBE Text Selector Max Amount`	Amount
`ADBE Text Selector Smoothness`	Smoothness
`ADBE Text Levels Max Ease`	Ease High
`ADBE Text Levels Min Ease`	Ease Low
`ADBE Text Random Seed`	Random Seed
`ADBE Text Animator Properties`	Properties
`ADBE Text Anchor Point 3D`	Anchor Point
`ADBE Text Position 3D`	Position
`ADBE Text Scale 3D`	Scale
`ADBE Text Skew`	Skew
`ADBE Text Skew Axis`	Skew Axis
`ADBE Text Rotation X`	X Rotation
`ADBE Text Rotation Y`	Y Rotation
`ADBE Text Rotation`	Z Rotation
`ADBE Text Opacity`	Opacity
`ADBE Text Fill Opacity`	Fill Opacity
`ADBE Text Stroke Opacity`	Stroke Opacity
`ADBE Text Fill Color`	Fill Color
`ADBE Text Stroke Color`	Stroke Color
`ADBE Text Fill Hue`	Fill Hue
`ADBE Text Stroke Hue`	Stroke Hue
`ADBE Text Fill Saturation`	Fill Saturation
`ADBE Text Stroke Saturation`	Stroke Saturation
`ADBE Text Fill Brightness`	Fill Brightness
`ADBE Text Stroke Brightness`	Stroke Brightness
`ADBE Text Stroke Width`	Stroke Width
`ADBE Text Line Anchor`	Line Anchor
`ADBE Text Track Type`	Tracking Type
`ADBE Text Tracking Amount`	Tracking Amount
`ADBE Text Character Replace`	Character Value
`ADBE Text Character Offset`	Character Offset
`ADBE Text Line Spacing`	Line Spacing
`ADBE Text Blur`	Blur

3d Text¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE 3DText Front RGB`	Front Color
`ADBE 3DText Front Hue`	Front Hue
`ADBE 3DText Front Sat`	Front Saturation
`ADBE 3DText Front Bright`	Front Brightness
`ADBE 3DText Front Opacity`	Front Opacity
`ADBE 3DText Front Ambient`	Front Ambient
`ADBE 3DText Front Diffuse`	Front Diffuse
`ADBE 3DText Front Specular`	Front Specular Intensity
`ADBE 3DText Front Shininess`	Front Specular Shininess
`ADBE 3DText Front Metal`	Front Metal
`ADBE 3DText Front Reflection`	Front Reflection Intensity
`ADBE 3DText Front Gloss`	Front Reflection Sharpness
`ADBE 3DText Front Fresnel`	Front Reflection Rolloff
`ADBE 3DText Front Xparency`	Front Transparency
`ADBE 3DText Front XparRoll`	Front Transparency Rolloff
`ADBE 3DText Front IOR`	Front Index of Refraction
`ADBE 3DText Bevel RGB`	Bevel Color
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Hue`	Bevel Hue
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Sat`	Bevel Saturation
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Bright`	Bevel Brightness
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Opacity`	Bevel Opacity
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Ambient`	Bevel Ambient
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Diffuse`	Bevel Diffuse
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Specular`	Bevel Specular Intensity
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Shininess`	Bevel Specular Shininess
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Metal`	Bevel Metal
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Reflection`	Bevel Reflection Intensity
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Gloss`	Bevel Reflection Sharpness
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Fresnel`	Bevel Reflection Rolloff
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Xparency`	Bevel Transparency
`ADBE 3DText Bevel XparRoll`	Bevel Transparency Rolloff
`ADBE 3DText Bevel IOR`	Bevel Index of Refraction
`ADBE 3DText Side RGB`	Side Color
`ADBE 3DText Side Hue`	Side Hue
`ADBE 3DText Side Sat`	Side Saturation
`ADBE 3DText Side Bright`	Side Brightness
`ADBE 3DText Side Opacity`	Side Opacity
`ADBE 3DText Side Ambient`	Side Ambient
`ADBE 3DText Side Diffuse`	Side Diffuse
`ADBE 3DText Side Specular`	Side Specular Intensity
`ADBE 3DText Side Shininess`	Side Specular Shininess
`ADBE 3DText Side Metal`	Side Metal
`ADBE 3DText Side Reflection`	Side Reflection Intensity
`ADBE 3DText Side Gloss`	Side Reflection Sharpness
`ADBE 3DText Side Fresnel`	Side Reflection Rolloff
`ADBE 3DText Side Xparency`	Side Transparency
`ADBE 3DText Side XparRoll`	Side Transparency Rolloff
`ADBE 3DText Side IOR`	Side Index of Refraction
`ADBE 3DText Back RGB`	Back Color
`ADBE 3DText Back Hue`	Back Hue
`ADBE 3DText Back Sat`	Back Saturation
`ADBE 3DText Back Bright`	Back Brightness
`ADBE 3DText Back Opacity`	Back Opacity
`ADBE 3DText Back Ambient`	Back Ambient
`ADBE 3DText Back Diffuse`	Back Diffuse
`ADBE 3DText Back Specular`	Back Specular Intensity
`ADBE 3DText Back Shininess`	Back Specular Shininess
`ADBE 3DText Back Metal`	Back Metal
`ADBE 3DText Back Reflection`	Back Reflection Intensity
`ADBE 3DText Back Gloss`	Back Reflection Sharpness
`ADBE 3DText Back Fresnel`	Back Reflection Rolloff
`ADBE 3DText Back Xparency`	Back Transparency
`ADBE 3DText Back XparRoll`	Back Transparency Rolloff
`ADBE 3DText Back IOR`	Back Index of Refraction
`ADBE 3DText Bevel Depth`	Bevel Depth
`ADBE 3DText Extrude Depth`	Extrusion Depth

Shape Layer Match Names¶

Layer¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Layer`	Shape Layer

Contents¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Root Vectors Group`	Contents

Group¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Group`	Group
`ADBE Vector Blend Mode`	Blend Mode
`ADBE Vectors Group`	Contents
`ADBE Vector Transform Group`	Transform
`ADBE Vector Materials Group`	Material Options

Rectangle¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Shape - Rect`	Rectangle
`ADBE Vector Shape Direction`	Shape Direction
`ADBE Vector Rect Size`	Size
`ADBE Vector Rect Position`	Position
`ADBE Vector Rect Roundness`	Roundness

Ellipse¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Shape - Ellipse`	Ellipse
`ADBE Vector Shape Direction`	Shape Direction
`ADBE Vector Ellipse Size`	Size
`ADBE Vector Ellipse Position`	Position

Polystar¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Shape - Star`	Polystar
`ADBE Vector Shape Direction`	Shape Direction
`ADBE Vector Star Type`	Type
`ADBE Vector Star Points`	Points
`ADBE Vector Star Position`	Position
`ADBE Vector Star Rotation`	Rotation
`ADBE Vector Star Inner Radius`	Inner Radius
`ADBE Vector Star Outer Radius`	Outer Radius
`ADBE Vector Star Inner Roundess`	Inner Roundness
`ADBE Vector Star Outer Roundess`	Outer Roundness

Path¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Shape - Group`	Path
`ADBE Vector Shape Direction`	Shape Direction
`ADBE Vector Shape`	Path

Fill¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Graphic - Fill`	Fill
`ADBE Vector Blend Mode`	Blend Mode
`ADBE Vector Composite Order`	Composite
`ADBE Vector Fill Rule`	Fill Rule
`ADBE Vector Fill Color`	Color
`ADBE Vector Fill Opacity`	Opacity

Stroke¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Graphic - Stroke`	Stroke
`ADBE Vector Blend Mode`	Blend Mode
`ADBE Vector Composite Order`	Composite
`ADBE Vector Stroke Color`	Color
`ADBE Vector Stroke Opacity`	Opacity
`ADBE Vector Stroke Width`	Stroke Width
`ADBE Vector Stroke Line Cap`	Line Cap
`ADBE Vector Stroke Line Join`	Line Join
`ADBE Vector Stroke Miter Limit`	Miter Limit

Stroke Dashes¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Stroke Dashes`	Dashes
`ADBE Vector Stroke Dash 1`	Dash
`ADBE Vector Stroke Gap 1`	Gap
`ADBE Vector Stroke Dash 2`	Dash 2
`ADBE Vector Stroke Gap 2`	Gap 2
`ADBE Vector Stroke Dash 3`	Dash 3
`ADBE Vector Stroke Gap 3`	Gap 3
`ADBE Vector Stroke Offset`	Offset

Stroke Taper¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Stroke Taper`	Taper
`ADBE Vector Taper Start Width`	Start Width
`ADBE Vector Taper Length Units`	Length Units
`ADBE Vector Taper End Width`	End Width
`ADBE Vector Taper End Ease`	End Ease
`ADBE Vector Taper End Length`	End Length
`ADBE Vector Taper Start Length`	Start Length
`ADBE Vector Taper Start Ease`	Start Ease

Stroke Wave¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Stroke Wave`	Wave
`ADBE Vector Taper Wave Amount`	Amount
`ADBE Vector Taper Wave Units`	Units
`ADBE Vector Taper Wave Phase`	Phase
`ADBE Vector Taper Wavelength`	Wavelength

Gradient Fill¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Graphic - G-Fill`	Gradient Fill
`ADBE Vector Blend Mode`	Blend Mode
`ADBE Vector Composite Order`	Composite
`ADBE Vector Fill Rule`	Fill Rule
`ADBE Vector Grad Type`	Type
`ADBE Vector Grad Start Pt`	Start Point
`ADBE Vector Grad End Pt`	End Point
`ADBE Vector Grad HiLite Length`	Highlight Length
`ADBE Vector Grad HiLite Angle`	Highlight Angle
`ADBE Vector Grad Colors`	Colors
`ADBE Vector Fill Opacity`	Opacity

Gradient Stroke¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Graphic - G-Stroke`	Gradient Stroke
`ADBE Vector Blend Mode`	Blend Mode
`ADBE Vector Composite Order`	Composite
`ADBE Vector Grad Type`	Type
`ADBE Vector Grad Start Pt`	Start Point
`ADBE Vector Grad End Pt`	End Point
`ADBE Vector Grad HiLite Length`	Highlight Length
`ADBE Vector Grad HiLite Angle`	Highlight Angle
`ADBE Vector Grad Colors`	Colors
`ADBE Vector Stroke Opacity`	Opacity
`ADBE Vector Stroke Width`	Stroke Width
`ADBE Vector Stroke Line Cap`	Line Cap
`ADBE Vector Stroke Line Join`	Line Join
`ADBE Vector Stroke Miter Limit`	Miter Limit
`ADBE Vector Stroke Dashes`	Dashes

Merge Paths¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - Merge`	Merge Paths
`ADBE Vector Merge Type`	Mode

Offset Paths¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - Offset`	Offset Paths
`ADBE Vector Offset Amount`	Amount
`ADBE Vector Offset Line Join`	Line Join
`ADBE Vector Offset Miter Limit`	Miter Limit
`ADBE Vector Offset Copies`	Copies
`ADBE Vector Offset Copy Offset`	Copy Offset

Pucker & Bloat¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - PB`	Pucker & Bloat
`ADBE Vector PuckerBloat Amount`	Amount

Repeater¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - Repeater`	Repeater
`ADBE Vector Repeater Copies`	Copies
`ADBE Vector Repeater Offset`	Offset
`ADBE Vector Repeater Order`	Composite
`ADBE Vector Repeater Transform`	Transform

Round Corners¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - RC`	Round Corners
`ADBE Vector RoundCorner Radius`	Radius

Trim Paths¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - Trim`	Trim Paths
`ADBE Vector Trim Start`	Start
`ADBE Vector Trim End`	End
`ADBE Vector Trim Offset`	Offset
`ADBE Vector Trim Type`	Trim Multiple Shapes

Twist¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - Twist`	Twist
`ADBE Vector Twist Angle`	Angle
`ADBE Vector Twist Center`	Center

Wiggle Paths¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - Roughen`	Wiggle Paths
`ADBE Vector Roughen Size`	Size
`ADBE Vector Roughen Detail`	Detail
`ADBE Vector Roughen Points`	Points
`ADBE Vector Temporal Freq`	Wiggles/Second
`ADBE Vector Correlation`	Correlation
`ADBE Vector Temporal Phase`	Temporal Phase
`ADBE Vector Spatial Phase`	Spatial Phase
`ADBE Vector Random Seed`	Random Seed

Wiggle Transform¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - Wiggler`	Wiggle Transform
`ADBE Vector Xform Temporal Freq`	Wiggles/Second
`ADBE Vector Correlation`	Correlation
`ADBE Vector Temporal Phase`	Temporal Phase
`ADBE Vector Spatial Phase`	Spatial Phase
`ADBE Vector Random Seed`	Random Seed
`ADBE Vector Wiggler Transform`	Transform

Zig Zag¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Vector Filter - Zigzag`	Zig Zag
`ADBE Vector Zigzag Size`	Size
`ADBE Vector Zigzag Detail`	Ridges per segment
`ADBE Vector Zigzag Points`	Points

Layer Styles Match Names¶

Styles¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`ADBE Blend Options Group`	Blending Options
`ADBE Global Angle2`	Global Light Angle
`ADBE Global Altitude2`	Global Light Altitude
`ADBE Adv Blend Group`	Advanced Blending
`ADBE Layer Fill Opacity2`	Fill Opacity
`ADBE R Channel Blend`	Red
`ADBE G Channel Blend`	Green
`ADBE B Channel Blend`	Blue
`ADBE Blend Interior`	Blend Interior Styles as Group
`ADBE Blend Ranges`	Use Blend Ranges from Source

Drop Shadow¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`dropShadow/enabled`	Drop Shadow
`dropShadow/mode2`	Blend Mode
`dropShadow/color`	Color
`dropShadow/opacity`	Opacity
`dropShadow/useGlobalAngle`	Use Global Light
`dropShadow/localLightingAngle`	Angle
`dropShadow/distance`	Distance
`dropShadow/chokeMatte`	Spread
`dropShadow/blur`	Size
`dropShadow/noise`	Noise
`dropShadow/layerConceals`	Layer Knocks Out Drop Shadow

Inner Shadow¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`innerShadow/enabled`	Inner Shadow
`innerShadow/mode2`	Blend Mode
`innerShadow/color`	Color
`innerShadow/opacity`	Opacity
`innerShadow/useGlobalAngle`	Use Global Light
`innerShadow/localLightingAngle`	Angle
`innerShadow/distance`	Distance
`innerShadow/chokeMatte`	Choke
`innerShadow/blur`	Size
`innerShadow/noise`	Noise

Outer Glow¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`outerGlow/enabled`	Outer Glow
`outerGlow/mode2`	Blend Mode
`outerGlow/opacity`	Opacity
`outerGlow/noise`	Noise
`outerGlow/AEColorChoice`	Color Type
`outerGlow/color`	Color
`outerGlow/gradient`	Colors
`outerGlow/gradientSmoothness`	Gradient Smoothness
`outerGlow/glowTechnique`	Technique
`outerGlow/chokeMatte`	Spread
`outerGlow/blur`	Size
`outerGlow/inputRange`	Range
`outerGlow/shadingNoise`	Jitter

Inner Glow¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`innerGlow/enabled`	Inner Glow
`innerGlow/mode2`	Blend Mode
`innerGlow/opacity`	Opacity
`innerGlow/noise`	Noise
`innerGlow/AEColorChoice`	Color Type
`innerGlow/color`	Color
`innerGlow/gradient`	Colors
`innerGlow/gradientSmoothness`	Gradient Smoothness
`innerGlow/glowTechnique`	Technique
`innerGlow/innerGlowSource`	Source
`innerGlow/chokeMatte`	Choke
`innerGlow/blur`	Size
`innerGlow/inputRange`	Range
`innerGlow/shadingNoise`	Jitter

Bevel/Emboss¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`bevelEmboss/enabled`	Bevel and Emboss
`bevelEmboss/bevelStyle`	Style
`bevelEmboss/bevelTechnique`	Technique
`bevelEmboss/strengthRatio`	Depth
`bevelEmboss/bevelDirection`	Direction
`bevelEmboss/blur`	Size
`bevelEmboss/softness`	Soften
`bevelEmboss/useGlobalAngle`	Use Global Light
`bevelEmboss/localLightingAngle`	Angle
`bevelEmboss/localLightingAltitude`	Altitude
`bevelEmboss/highlightMode`	Highlight Mode
`bevelEmboss/highlightColor`	Highlight Color
`bevelEmboss/highlightOpacity`	Highlight Opacity
`bevelEmboss/shadowMode`	Shadow Mode
`bevelEmboss/shadowColor`	Shadow Color
`bevelEmboss/shadowOpacity`	Shadow Opacity

Satin¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`chromeFX/enabled`	Satin
`chromeFX/mode2`	Blend Mode
`chromeFX/color`	Color
`chromeFX/opacity`	Opacity
`chromeFX/localLightingAngle`	Angle
`chromeFX/distance`	Distance
`chromeFX/blur`	Size
`chromeFX/invert`	Invert

Solid Fill¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`solidFill/enabled`	Color Overlay
`solidFill/mode2`	Blend Mode
`solidFill/color`	Color
`solidFill/opacity`	Opacity

Grad Fill¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`gradientFill/enabled`	Gradient Overlay
`gradientFill/mode2`	Blend Mode
`gradientFill/opacity`	Opacity
`gradientFill/gradient`	Colors
`gradientFill/gradientSmoothness`	Gradient Smoothness
`gradientFill/angle`	Angle
`gradientFill/type`	Style
`gradientFill/reverse`	Reverse
`gradientFill/align`	Align with Layer
`gradientFill/scale`	Scale
`gradientFill/offset`	Offset

Pattern¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`patternFill/enabled`	Pattern Overlay
`patternFill/mode2`	Blend Mode
`patternFill/opacity`	Opacity
`patternFill/align`	Link with Layer
`patternFill/scale`	Scale
`patternFill/phase`	Offset

Stroke¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)
`frameFX/enabled`	Stroke
`frameFX/mode2`	Blend Mode
`frameFX/color`	Color
`frameFX/size`	Size
`frameFX/opacity`	Opacity
`frameFX/style`	Position

Ended: Layers

Effects ↵

First-Party Effect Match Names¶

This list also details effect Bits Per Channel (BPC) and the AE version GPU-acceleration was introduced, if applicable.

3D Channel¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC
`ADBE AUX CHANNEL EXTRACT`	3D Channel Extract	8
`ADBE DEPTH MATTE`	Depth Matte	32
`ADBE DEPTH FIELD`	Depth of Field	32
`EXtractoR`	EXtractoR	32
`ADBE FOG_3D`	Fog 3D	32
`ADBE ID MATTE`	ID Matte	32
`IDentifier`	IDentifier	32

Audio¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE Aud Reverse`	Backwards
`ADBE Aud BT`	Bass & Treble
`ADBE Aud Delay`	Delay
`ADBE Aud_Flange`	Flange & Chorus
`ADBE Aud HiLo`	High-Low Pass
`ADBE Aud Modulator`	Modulator
`ADBE Param EQ`	Parametric EQ
`ADBE Aud Reverb`	Reverb
`ADBE Aud Stereo Mixer`	Stereo Mixer
`ADBE Aud Tone`	Tone

Blur & Sharpen¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE Bilateral`	Bilateral Blur	32
`ADBE Camera Lens Blur`	Camera Lens Blur	32
`ADBE CameraShakeDeblur`	Camera-Shake Deblur	32
`CS CrossBlur`	CC Cross Blur	32
`CC Radial Blur`	CC Radial Blur	32
`CC Radial Fast Blur`	CC Radial Fast Blur	16
`CC Vector Blur`	CC Vector Blur	16
`ADBE Channel Blur`	Channel Blur	32
`ADBE Compound Blur`	Compound Blur	32
`ADBE Motion Blur`	Directional Blur	32	15.0
`ADBE Box Blur2`	Fast Box Blur	32	14.2
`ADBE Gaussian Blur 2`	Gaussian Blur	32	13.8
`ADBE Radial Blur`	Radial Blur	32
`ADBE Sharpen`	Sharpen	32	13.8
`ADBE Smart Blur`	Smart Blur	16
`ADBE Unsharp Mask2`	Unsharp Mask	32

Channel¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE Arithmetic`	Arithmetic	8
`ADBE Blend`	Blend	16
`ADBE Calculations`	Calculations	16
`CC Composite`	CC Composite	16
`ADBE Channel Combiner`	Channel Combiner	8
`ADBE Compound Arithmetic`	Compound Arithmetic	8
`ADBE Invert`	Invert	32	14.1
`ADBE Minimax`	Minimax	16
`ADBE Remove Color Matting`	Remove Color Matting	32
`ADBE Set Channels`	Set Channels	16
`ADBE Set Matte3`	Set Matte	32
`ADBE Shift Channels`	Shift Channels	32
`ADBE Solid Composite`	Solid Composite	32

CINEMA 4D¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`CINEMA 4D Effect`	CINEWARE	32

Color Correction¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE AutoColor`	Auto Color	16
`ADBE AutoContrast`	Auto Contrast	16
`ADBE AutoLevels`	Auto Levels	16
`ADBE Black&White`	Black & White	16
`ADBE Brightness & Contrast 2`	Brightness & Contrast	32	14.1
`ADBE Broadcast Colors`	Broadcast Colors	8
`CS Color Neutralizer`	CC Color Neutralizer	32
`CC Color Offset`	CC Color Offset	16
`CS Kernel`	CC Kernel	32
`CC Toner`	CC Toner	32
`ADBE Change Color`	Change Color	16
`ADBE Change To Color`	Change to Color	16
`ADBE CHANNEL MIXER`	Channel Mixer	32
`ADBE Color Balance 2`	Color Balance	16
`ADBE Color Balance (HLS)`	Color Balance (HLS)	16
`ADBE Color Link`	Color Link	8
`ADBE Deflicker`	Color Stabilizer	16
`APC Colorama`	Colorama	16
`ADBE CurvesCustom`	Curves	32
`ADBE Equalize`	Equalize	8
`ADBE Exposure2`	Exposure	32
`ADBE Gamma/Pedestal/Gain2`	Gamma/Pedestal/Gain	8
`ADBE HUE SATURATION`	Hue/Saturation	32	14.1
`ADBE Leave Color`	Leave Color	8
`ADBE Easy Levels2`	Levels	32	14.2
`ADBE Pro Levels2`	Levels (Individual Controls)	32	14.2
`ADBE Lumetri`	Lumetri Color	32	13.8
`ADBE PhotoFilterPS`	Photo Filter	32
`ADBE PS Arbitrary Map`	PS Arbitrary Map	8
`ADBE SelectiveColor`	Selective Color	16
`ADBE ShadowHighlight`	Shadow/Highlight	16
`ADBE Tint`	Tint	32	14.1
`ADBE Tritone`	Tritone	32
`ADBE Vibrance`	Vibrance	16

Distort¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE BEZMESH`	Bezier Warp	16
`ADBE Bulge`	Bulge	16
`CC Bend It`	CC Bend It	16
`CC Bender`	CC Bender	16
`CC Blobbylize`	CC Blobbylize	16
`CC Flo Motion`	CC Flo Motion	32
`CC Griddler`	CC Griddler	32
`CC Lens`	CC Lens	32
`CC Page Turn`	CC Page Turn	16
`CC Power Pin`	CC Power Pin	32
`CC Ripple Pulse`	CC Ripple Pulse	32
`CC Slant`	CC Slant	16
`CC Smear`	CC Smear	32
`CC Split`	CC Split	16
`CC Split 2`	CC Split 2	16
`CC Tiler`	CC Tiler	32
`ADBE Corner Pin`	Corner Pin	32
`ADBE Upscale`	Detail-preserving Upscale	32
`ADBE Displacement Map`	Displacement Map	32
`ADBE LIQUIFY`	Liquify	16
`ADBE Magnify`	Magnify	8
`ADBE MESH WARP`	Mesh Warp	16
`ADBE Mirror`	Mirror	16
`ADBE Offset`	Offset	16	14.2
`ADBE Optics Compensation`	Optics Compensation	32
`ADBE Polar Coordinates`	Polar Coordinates	32
`ADBE RESHAPE`	Reshape	16
`ADBE Ripple`	Ripple	16
`ADBE Rolling Shutter`	Rolling Shutter Repair	32
`ADBE SCHMEAR`	Smear	16
`ADBE Spherize`	Spherize	16
`ADBE Geometry2`	Transform	32	15.0
`ADBE Turbulent Displace`	Turbulent Displace	32
`ADBE Twirl`	Twirl	32
`ADBE WRPMESH`	Warp	16
`ADBE SubspaceStabilizer`	Warp Stabilizer VFX	32
`ADBE Wave Warp`	Wave Warp	16

Expression Controls¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC
`ADBE Point3D Control`	3D Point Control	32
`ADBE Angle Control`	Angle Control	32
`ADBE Checkbox Control`	Checkbox Control	32
`ADBE Color Control`	Color Control	32
`ADBE Dropdown Control`	Dropdown Control	32
`ADBE Layer Control`	Layer Control	32
`ADBE Point Control`	Point Control	32
`ADBE Slider Control`	Slider Control	32

Generate¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE 4ColorGradient`	4-Color Gradient	16
`ADBE Lightning 2`	Advanced Lightning	8
`ADBE AudSpect`	Audio Spectrum	32
`ADBE AudWave`	Audio Waveform	32
`ADBE Laser`	Beam	32
`CC Glue Gun`	CC Glue Gun	32
`CC Light Burst 2.5`	CC Light Burst 2.5	32
`CC Light Rays`	CC Light Rays	32
`CC Light Sweep`	CC Light Sweep	32
`CS Threads`	CC Threads	32
`ADBE Cell Pattern`	Cell Pattern	8
`ADBE Checkerboard`	Checkerboard	8
`ADBE Circle`	Circle	8
`ADBE ELLIPSE`	Ellipse	32
`ADBE Eyedropper Fill`	Eyedropper Fill	8
`ADBE Fill`	Fill	32
`ADBE Fractal`	Fractal	16
`ADBE Ramp`	Gradient Ramp	32	14.2
`ADBE Grid`	Grid	8
`ADBE Lens Flare`	Lens Flare	8
`ADBE Paint Bucket`	Paint Bucket	8
`APC Radio Waves`	Radio Waves	8
`ADBE Scribble Fill`	Scribble	8
`ADBE Stroke`	Stroke	8
`APC Vegas`	Vegas	8
`ADBE Write-on`	Write-on	8

Keying¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC
`ADBE Spill2`	Advanced Spill Suppressor	32
`CC Simple Wire Removal`	CC Simple Wire Removal	32
`ADBE Color Difference Key`	Color Difference Key	16
`ADBE Color Range`	Color Range	8
`ADBE Difference Matte2`	Difference Matte	16
`ADBE Extract`	Extract	16
`ADBE ATG Extract`	Inner/Outer Key	16
`ADBE KeyCleaner`	Key Cleaner	32
`Keylight 906`	Keylight (1.2)	32
`ADBE Linear Color Key2`	Linear Color Key	32

Matte¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC
`ADBE Matte Choker`	Matte Choker	16
`ISL MochaShapeImporter`	mocha shape	32
`ADBE RefineRBMatte`	Refine Hard Matte	32
`ADBE RefineMatte2`	Refine Soft Matte	32
`ADBE Simple Choker`	Simple Choker	32

Noise & Grain¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`VISINF Grain Implant`	Add Grain	16
`ADBE Dust & Scratches`	Dust & Scratches	16
`ADBE Fractal Noise`	Fractal Noise	32	14.2
`VISINF Grain Duplication`	Match Grain	16
`ADBE Median`	Median	16
`ADBE Noise`	Noise	32
`ADBE Noise Alpha2`	Noise Alpha	8
`ADBE Noise HLS2`	Noise HLS	8
`ADBE Noise HLS Auto2`	Noise HLS Auto	8
`VISINF Grain Removal`	Remove Grain	16
`ADBE AIF Perlin Noise 3D`	Turbulent Noise	32

Obsolete¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC
`ADBE Basic 3D`	Basic 3D	8
`ADBE Basic Text2`	Basic Text	8
`ADBE Color Key`	Color Key	16
`ADBE Fast Blur`	Fast Blur (Legacy)	32
`ADBE Gaussian Blur`	Gaussian Blur (Legacy)	32
`ADBE Lightning`	Lightning	8
`ADBE Luma Key`	Luma Key	16
`ADBE Path Text`	Path Text	8
`ADBE Reduce Interlace Flicker`	Reduce Interlace Flicker	32
`ADBE Spill Suppressor`	Spill Suppressor	32

Perspective¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE 3D Tracker`	3D Camera Tracker	32
`ADBE 3D Glasses2`	3D Glasses	32
`ADBE Bevel Alpha`	Bevel Alpha	16
`ADBE Bevel Edges`	Bevel Edges	8
`CC Cylinder`	CC Cylinder	16
`CC Environment`	CC Environment	32
`CC Sphere`	CC Sphere	32
`CC Spotlight`	CC Spotlight	16
`ADBE Drop Shadow`	Drop Shadow	32	14.2
`ADBE Radial Shadow`	Radial Shadow	8

Simulation¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC
`APC CardDanceCam`	Card Dance	8
`APC Caustics`	Caustics	8
`CC Ball Action`	CC Ball Action	16
`CC Bubbles`	CC Bubbles	32
`CC Drizzle`	CC Drizzle	32
`CC Hair`	CC Hair	16
`CC Mr. Mercury`	CC Mr. Mercury	32
`CC Particle Systems II`	CC Particle Systems II	32
`CC Particle World`	CC Particle World	16
`CC Pixel Polly`	CC Pixel Polly	16
`CSRainfall`	CC Rainfall	32
`CC Scatterize`	CC Scatterize	16
`CSSnowfall`	CC Snowfall	32
`CC Star Burst`	CC Star Burst	16
`APC Foam`	Foam	8
`ADBE Playgnd`	Particle Playground	8
`APC Shatter`	Shatter	8
`APC Wave World`	Wave World	8

Stylize¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE Brush Strokes`	Brush Strokes	8
`ADBE Cartoonify`	Cartoon	32
`CS BlockLoad`	CC Block Load	32
`CC Burn Film`	CC Burn Film	32
`CC Glass`	CC Glass	16
`CS HexTile`	CC HexTile	32
`CC Kaleida`	CC Kaleida	32
`CC Mr. Smoothie`	CC Mr. Smoothie	16
`CC Plastic`	CC Plastic	16
`CC RepeTile`	CC RepeTile	32
`CC Threshold`	CC Threshold	32
`CC Threshold RGB`	CC Threshold RGB	32
`CS Vignette`	CC Vignette	32
`ADBE Color Emboss`	Color Emboss	16
`ADBE Emboss`	Emboss	16
`ADBE Find Edges`	Find Edges	8	14.1
`ADBE Glo2`	Glow	32	14.1
`ADBE Mosaic`	Mosaic	16
`ADBE Tile`	Motion Tile	8
`ADBE Posterize`	Posterize	32
`ADBE Roughen Edges`	Roughen Edges	8
`ADBE Scatter`	Scatter	16
`ADBE Strobe`	Strobe Light	8
`ADBE Texturize`	Texturize	8
`ADBE Threshold2`	Threshold	32

Synthetic Aperture¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`SYNTHAP CF Color Finesse 2`	SA Color Finesse 3	32

Text¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE Numbers2`	Numbers	8
`ADBE Timecode`	Timecode	8

Time¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC
`CC Force Motion Blur`	CC Force Motion Blur	32
`CC Wide Time`	CC Wide Time	32
`ADBE Echo`	Echo	32
`ADBE OFMotionBlur`	Pixel Motion Blur	32
`ADBE Posterize Time`	Posterize Time	32
`ADBE Difference`	Time Difference	8
`ADBE Time Displacement`	Time Displacement	16
`ADBE Timewarp`	Timewarp	32

Transition¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC
`ADBE Block Dissolve`	Block Dissolve	16
`APC CardWipeCam`	Card Wipe	8
`CC Glass Wipe`	CC Glass Wipe	16
`CC Grid Wipe`	CC Grid Wipe	32
`CC Image Wipe`	CC Image Wipe	16
`CC Jaws`	CC Jaws	32
`CC Light Wipe`	CC Light Wipe	16
`CS LineSweep`	CC Line Sweep	32
`CC Radial ScaleWipe`	CC Radial ScaleWipe	16
`CC Scale Wipe`	CC Scale Wipe	32
`CC Twister`	CC Twister	16
`CC WarpoMatic`	CC WarpoMatic	16
`ADBE Gradient Wipe`	Gradient Wipe	16
`ADBE IRIS_WIPE`	Iris Wipe	32
`ADBE Linear Wipe`	Linear Wipe	32
`ADBE Radial Wipe`	Radial Wipe	32
`ADBE Venetian Blinds`	Venetian Blinds	32

Utility¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC
`ADBE Apply Color LUT2`	Apply Color LUT	32
`CC Overbrights`	CC Overbrights	32
`ADBE Cineon Converter2`	Cineon Converter	32
`ADBE ProfileToProfile`	Color Profile Converter	32
`ADBE GROW BOUNDS`	Grow Bounds	32
`ADBE Compander`	HDR Compander	32
`ADBE HDR ToneMap`	HDR Highlight Compression	32

_Obsolete¶

Match Name	Display Name (EN)	BPC	GPU
`ADBE Paint`	Paint
`ADBE Samurai`	Roto Brush & Refine Edge
`ADBE FreePin3`	Puppet
`ADBE RefineMatte`	Refine Matte
`ADBE 3D Glasses`	3D Glasses (Obsolete)
`ADBE Alpha Levels2`	Alpha Levels
`ADBE Alpha Levels3`	Alpha Levels
`ADBE Apply Color LUT`	Apply Color LUT
`ADBE Brightness & Contrast`	Brightness & Contrast
`ADBE Box Blur`	Box Blur
`ADBE Cineon Converter`	Cineon Converter
`ADBE Color Balance`	Color Balance
`CC PS Classic`	CC PS Classic (obsolete)
`CC PS LE Classic`	CC PS LE Classic (obsolete)
`CC Rain`	CC Rain
`CC Snow`	CC Snow
`CC Time Blend`	CC Time Blend
`CC Time Blend FX`	CC Time Blend FX
`ADBE Exposure`	Exposure
`ADBE Easy Levels`	Levels
`ADBE Pro Levels`	Levels (Individual Controls)
`ADBE Noise Alpha`	Noise Alpha
`ADBE Noise HLS`	Noise HLS
`ADBE Noise HLS Auto`	Noise HLS Auto
`ADBE PSL Bevel Emboss`	Photoshop Bevel And Emboss
`ADBE PSL Drop Shadow`	Photoshop Drop Shadow
`ADBE PSL Inner Glow`	Photoshop Inner Glow
`ADBE PSL Inner Shadow`	Photoshop Inner Shadow
`ADBE PSL Outer Glow`	Photoshop Outer Glow
`ADBE PSL Solid Fill`	Photoshop Solid Fill
`ADBE Photo Filter`	Photo Filter
`ADBE Set Matte2`	Set Matte
`ADBE Three-Way Color Corrector`	Three-Way Color Corrector
`ADBE Threshold`	Threshold
`ADBE Geometry`	Transform
`ADBE Unsharp Mask`	Unsharp Mask
`ADBE Vector Paint`	Vector Paint

After Effects Scripting Guide

https://docsforadobe.dev

After Effects Scripting Guide¶

Navigating the Guide¶

Contribution¶

Licensing & Ownership¶

Introduction ↵

Overview¶

Introduction to scripting in After Effects¶

The ExtendScript language¶

File and Folder Objects¶

ScriptUI User Interface Module¶

Tools and Utilities¶

External Communication¶

Interapplication Communication¶

The ExtendScript Toolkit (ESTK)¶

The .jsx and .jsxbin file-name extensions¶

Activating full scripting features¶

Loading and running scripts¶

Running scripts directly from the File > Scripts menu¶

Running scripts using File > Scripts > Run Script File¶

Running scripts from the command line, a batch file, or an AppleScript script¶

How to include After Effects scripting in an AppleScript (Mac OS)¶

Running scripts automatically during application startup or shutdown¶

Running scripts from the Window menu¶

Stopping a running script¶

Elements of basic JavaScript relevant to After Effects scripting¶

Javascript Variables¶

Keywords and Statement Syntax¶

Javascript Operators¶

Description of Operators¶

Operator Precedence¶

Javascript Classes¶

Class Inheritance¶

Class Inheritance in After Effects¶

Checking Classes¶

Changelog¶

After Effects 25¶

After Effects 25.0 Beta build 26 (August 2024)¶

After Effects 24¶

After Effects 24.6 (August 2024)¶

After Effects 24.5 (May 2024)¶

After Effects 24.4 Beta build 25 (March 2024)¶

After Effects 24.3 (March 2024)¶

After Effects 24.2 (February 2024)¶

After Effects 24.0 (October 2023)¶

After Effects 23¶

After Effects 23.0 (October 2022)¶

After Effects 22¶

After Effects 22.6 (August 2022)¶

After Effects 22.3 (April 2022)¶

After Effects 22.0 (October 2021)¶

After Effects 18¶

After Effects 18.0 (March 2021)¶

After Effects 17¶

After Effects 17.1.1 (May 2020)¶

After Effects 17.0.1 (November 2019)¶

After Effects 16¶

After Effects 16.1¶

After Effects 16.0 (October 2018)¶

After Effects 15¶

After Effects 15.1 (April 2018)¶

After Effects 15.0 (October 2017)¶

After Effects 14¶

After Effects 14.2.1 (CC 2017.2) (June 2017)¶

After Effects 14.2 (CC 2017.1) (April 2017)¶

After Effects 14.0 (CC 2017) (November 2016)¶

After Effects 13¶

After Effects 13.8 (CC 2015.3) (June 2016)¶

After Effects 13.6 (CC 2015) (November 2015)¶

After Effects 13.2 (CC 2014.2) (December 2014)¶

After Effects 13.1 (CC 2014.1) (September 2014)¶

After Effects 13.0 (CC 2014) (June 2014)¶

After Effects 12¶

After Effects 12.0 (CC) (June 2013)¶

After Effects 11¶

After Effects 11.0 (CS6) (April 2012)¶

After Effects 10¶

After Effects 10.5 (CS5.5) (April 2011)¶

After Effects 9¶