Macromedia After Effects - CS6 Scripting Guide

ADOBE® AFTER EFFECTS® CS6

SCRIPTING GUIDE

DRAFT

Adobe

After Effects® CS6 Scripting Guide

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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.

See “Examples” on page 191 for examples of what scripts can do.

Although both the After Effects expressions language and the After Effects ExtendScript scripting language are 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.

Overview The ExtendScript Toolkit (ESTK)

File and Folder Objects: Because path name syntax is very different in different operating systems, Adobe

ExtendScript defines 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 (

External Communication: ExtendScript provides a Socket object that allows you to communicate with remote

systems from your After Effects scripts.

Interapplication Communication: ExtendScript provides a common scripting environment for all Adobe

applications, and allows interapplication communication through scripts.

File and Folder objects to provide platform-independent access to the underlying file

alert, confirm, and prompt).

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 properly recognized by the application. Any UTF-8-encoded text file with the an ExtendScript file.

You can use the ExtendScript Toolkit to export a binary version of an ExtendScript file, which has the extension Effects.

.jsxbin. Such a binary file may not be usable with all of the scripting integration features in After

.jsx file extension in order to be

.jsx extension is recognized as

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.

Overview Loading and running scripts

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

Running scripts directly from the File > Scripts menu

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 "alert("You just sent an alert to After Effects")"

afterfx.exe -s command:

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"

Overview Loading and running scripts

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

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"

DoScript 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 (see “Application object” on page 17) to extend the application for other scripts.

Overview Loading and running 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.

Running scripts from the Window menu

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.

Inste ad of creating a Window object and adding controls to it, a S criptUI Panels script uses t he

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

function createUI(thisObj) {

var myPanel = thisObj;

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

return myPanel;

}

var myToolsPanel = createUI(this);

this object as an argument to your function. For example:

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

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);

this is a Panel object. For example:

Stopping a running script

A scr ipt can be stopped by pressing Es c or Cmd+p eriod (in Mac OS) when the Af ter 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.

After Effects scripting reference

This chapter lists and describes JavaScript classes, objects, methods, attributes, and global functions defined by After Effects.

The After Effects scripting engine supports ExtendScript, Adobe’s extended version of JavaScript, which implements the 3rd Edition of the ECMA-262 Standard, including its notational and lexical conventions, types, objects, expressions and statements. For a complete listing of the keywords and operators included with ECMAScript, refer to

262.htm. For an overview of the most common keywords and statements available from ECMA-262, see

“JavaScript keywords and statement syntax” on page 8.

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.

ECMA-262.pdf, available at www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-

JavaScript keywords and statement syntax

Although it is not possible to provide an exhaustive resource describing usage of JavaScript, the following tables provide an overview of keywords, statements, operators, precedence, and associativity.

The following table lists and describes all keywords and statements recognized by the After Effects scripting engine.

Table 1 Keywords and Statement Syntax

Keyword/Statement Description

break

continue

case

default

do...while

false

for

Standard JavaScript; exit the currently executing loop.

Standard JavaScript; cease execution of the current loop iteration.

Label used in a switch statement.

Label used in a switch statement when a case label is not found.

Standard JavaScript construct. Similar to the while loop, except loop condition evaluation occurs at the end of the loop.

Literal representing the Boolean false value.

Standard JavaScript loop construct.

After Effects scripting reference Elements of basic JavaScript relevant to After Effects scripting

Keyword/Statement Description

for...in

function

if/if...else

new

null

return

switch

this

true

undefined

var

while

with

Standard JavaScript construct. Provides a way to easily loop through the properties of an object.

Used to define a function.

Standard JavaScript conditional constructs.

Standard JavaScript constructor statement.

Assigned to a variable, array element, or object property to indicate that it does not contain a legal value.

Standard JavaScript way of returning a value from a function or exiting a function.

Standard JavaScript way of evaluating a JavaScript expression and attempting to match the expression’s value to a case label.

Standard JavaScript method of indicating the current object.

Literal representing the Boolean true value.

Indicates that the variable, array element, or object property has not yet been assigned a value.

Standard JavaScript syntax used to declare a local variable.

Standard JavaScript construct. Similar to the do...while loop, except loop condition evaluation occurs at the beginning of the loop.

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.

Table 2 Description of Operators

Operators Description

new

delete

typeof

void

[]

()

––

–

Allocate object.

Deallocate object.

Returns data type.

Returns undefined value.

Structure member.

Array element.

Function call.

Pre- or post-increment.

Pre- or post-decrement.

Unary negation or subtraction.

Bitwise NOT.

Logical NOT.

Multiply.

Divide.

After Effects scripting reference Elements of basic JavaScript relevant to After Effects scripting

Operators Description

>>>

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.

After Effects scripting reference The After Effects Object Model

APPLICATION

PROJECT

SETTINGS

RENDER1UEUE ITEMS

ITEMSMAYBEANYOFTHEFOLLOWINGTYPESOFITEM

ITEMS

RENDER1UEUE)TEMS

OUTPUT-ODULES

SOCKETFILE FOLDERSYSTEM

FOLDER)TEMFOOTAGE)TEM

PROXY3OURCE PROXY3OURCEMAIN3OURCE

SOLID3OURCE

COLOR

FILE3OURCE

FILE

PLACEHOLDER3OURCE

LAYERS

PROPERTIES

COMP)TEM

MAIN3OURCEPROXY3OURCE

MAYBEANYOFTHEFOLLOWINGTYPESOFITEM

Table 3 Operator Precedence

Operators (highest precedence to lowest) Associativity

[], (), .

new, delete, – (unary negation), !, typeof, void, ++, ––

*, /, %

+, – (subtraction)

<<, >>, >>>

<, <=, >, >=

==, !=

=, /=, %=, <<=, >>=, >>>=, &=, ^=, |=, +=, –=, *=

left to right

right to left

left to right

right to left

left to right

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.

Hierarchy diagram of the main After Effects scripting objects

After Effects scripting reference The After Effects Object Model

Note that the 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.

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 render queue 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” on page 14 Globally available functions that allow you to display text for script debugging purposes,

“Application object” on page 17 A single global object, available by its name (app), that provides access to objects and

“AVItem object” on page 30 Represents audio/visual files imported into After Effects.

“AVLayer object” on page 38 Represents those layers that contain AVItem objects (composition layers, footage layers,

“CameraLayer object” on page 50 Represents a camera layer within a composition.

“Collection object” on page 51 Associates a set of objects or values as a logical group and provides access to them by

and help convert time values between seconds and frames.

application settings within the After Effects application.

solid layers, text layers, and sound layers).

index.

“CompItem object” on page 52 Represents a composition, and allows you to manipulate it and get information about it.

After Effects scripting reference The After Effects Object Model

Object Description

“FileSource object” on page 61 Describes footage that comes from a file.

“FolderItem object” on page 63 Represents a folder in the Project panel.

“FootageItem object” on page 65 Represents a footage item imported into a project, which appears in the Project panel.

“FootageSource object” on page 69 Describes the file source of some footage.

“ImportOptions object” on page 75 Encapsulates options for importing files into After Effects.

“Item object” on page 78 Represents an item in a project that appears in the Project panel.

“ItemCollection object” on page 82 Collects items in a project.

“KeyframeEase object” on page 84 Encapsulates keyframe ease values in an After Effects property.

“Layer object” on page 86 A base class for layer classes.

“LayerCollection object” on page 95 Collects layers in a project.

“LightLayer object” on page 100 Represents a light layer within a composition.

“MarkerValue object” on page 102 Encapsulates marker values in an After Effects property.

“MaskPropertyGroup object” on page 106

“OMCollection object” on page 109 Collects output modules in a render queue.

“OutputModule object” on page 110 Represents an output module for a render queue.

“PlaceholderSource object” on page 113 Describes a placeholder for footage.

“Project object” on page 114 Represents an After Effects project.

“Property object” on page 124 Represents an After Effects property.

“PropertyBase object” on page 148 A base class for After Effects property and property group classes.

“PropertyGroup object” on page 155 Represents an After Effects property group.

“RenderQueue object” on page 160 Represents the After Effects render queue.

“RenderQueueItem object” on page 163 Represents a renderable item in a render queue.

“RenderQueueItem object” on page 163 Collects render-queue items in a render queue.

“RQItemCollection object” on page 169 Provides access to application settings and preferences.

“Shape object” on page 172 Encapsulates the outline shape information for a mask.

“ShapeLayer object” on page 178 Represents a shape layer within a composition.

“SolidSource object” on page 179 Describes a solid color that is the source of some footage.

“System object” on page 180 Provides access to the operating system from the application.

“TextDocument object” on page 182 Encapsulates the text in a text layer.

Encapsulates mask attributes in a layer.

“TextLayer object” on page 188 Represents a text layer within a composition.

“Viewer object” on page 189 Represents a Composition, Layer, or Footage panel.

After Effects scripting reference Global functions

Global functions

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, and to convert numeric time values to and from string values.

Global function Description

clearOutput()

currentFormatToTime()

timeToCurrentFormat()

write()

writeLn()

isValid()

Additional global functions for standard user I/O (

Clears text from the Info panel.

Converts string time value to a numeric time value.

Converts a numeric time value to a string time value.

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

Writes text to the Info panel, adding a line break at the end.

When true, the specified object exists.

alert, confirm, and prompt) and static functions for file

I/O, are defined by ExtendScript; for detailed reference information, see the JavaScript Tools Guide (available from the ExtendScript Toolkit’s Help menu).

clearOutput() global function

clearOutput()

Description

Clears the output in the Info panel.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Nothing.

currentFormatToTime() global function

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 attribute” on page 117).

Parameters

formattedTime

fps

The frame time value, a string specifying a number of frames in the project’s current time display format.

The frames-per-second, a floating-point value.

After Effects scripting reference Global functions

isDuration

Returns

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.

Floating-point value, the number of seconds.

isValid() global function

isValid(obj)

Description

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

Parameters

obj

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

PropertyBase moveTo() method, might invalidate existing variable assignments to related

The After Effects object to check for validity.

timeToCurrentFormat() global function

timeToCurrentFormat(time, fps, isDuration)

Description

Converts a numeric time value (a number of seconds) to a frame time value; that is, a formatted string that shows which frame corresponds to that time, at the specified rate. For example, if the time is 0.5 seconds, and the frame rate is 24 fps, the frame would be 0:00:12 (when the project is set to display as timecode). If the frame rate 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” on page 117).

Parameters

time

fps

The number of seconds, a floating-point value.

The frames-per-second, a floating-point value.

After Effects scripting reference Global functions

isDuration

Returns

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.

String in the project’s current time display format.

write() global function

write(text)

Description

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

Parameters

text

Returns

Nothing.

Example

write("This text appears in Info panel ");

write("with more on same line.");

The string to display. Truncated if too long for the Info panel.

writeLn() global function

writeLn(text)

Description

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

Parameters

text

Returns

Nothing.

Example

writeln("This text appears on first line");

writeln("This text appears on second line");

The string to display.

After Effects scripting reference Application object

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,

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

Attribute Reference Description

app.

project

isoLanguage

version

buildName

buildNumber

isWatchFolder

isRenderEngine

settings

onError

exitCode

“Application project attribute” on page 26 and “Project object” on page 114

“Application isoLanguage attribute” on page 22

“Application version attribute” on page 29

“Application buildName attribute” on page 19

“Application buildNumber attribute” on page 20

“Application isWatchFolder attribute” on page 23

“Application isRenderEngine attribute” on page 23

“Application settings attribute” on page 28 and “RQItemCollection object” on page 169

“Application onError attribute” on page 24

“Application exitCode attribute” on page 22

The current After Effects project.

The locale (language and region) in which the application is running.

The version number of the After Effects application.

The name of this build of the application.

The number of this build of the application.

When true, the local application is running in Watch Folder mode.

When true, the local After Effects application is running as a render engine.

Application settings that can be set via scripting.

A callback function that is called when an error occurs in the application.

A numeric status code used when executing a script externally (that is, from a command line or AppleScript). 0 if no error occurred. A positive number indicates an error that occurred while running the script.

exitAfterLaunchAndEval

saveProjectOnCrash

memoryInUse

effects

activeViewer

“Application exitAfterLaunchAndEval attribute” on page 22

“Application saveProjectOnCrash attribute” on page 27

“Application memoryInUse attribute” on page 23

“Application effects attribute” on page 20

“Application activeViewer attribute” on page 19

When true, the application remains open after running a script from the command line on Windows.

When true, the project is saved if the application closes unexpectedly.

Memory in use by this application.

The effects available in the application.

The currently focused or last-focused viewer panel.

After Effects scripting reference Application object

Methods

Method Reference Description

newProject()

open()

quit()

watchFolder()

pauseWatchFolder()

endWatchFolder()

purge()

beginUndoGroup()

endUndoGroup()

beginSuppressDialogs()

endSuppressDialogs()

setMemoryUsageLimits()

“Application newProject() method” on page 24

“Application open() method” on page 24 Opens a project or an Open Project dialog box.

“Application quit() method” on page 27 Quits the application.

“Application watchFolder() method” on page 29

“Application pauseWatchFolder() method” on page 26

“Application endWatchFolder() method” on page 21

“Application purge() method” on page 26 Purges a targeted type of cached information

“Application beginUndoGroup() method” on page 19

“Application endUndoGroup() method” on page 21

“Application beginSuppressDialogs() method” on page 19

“Application endSuppressDialogs() method” on page 21

“Application setMemoryUsageLimits() method” on page 28

Creates a new project in After Effects.

Starts Watch Folder mode; does not return until Watch Folder mode is turned off.

Pauses a current watch-folder process.

Ends a current watch-folder process.

(replicates Purge options in the Edit menu).

Groups the actions that follow it into a single undoable step.

Ends an undo group; needed only when a script contains more than one undo group.

Begins suppression of dialogs in the user interface.

Ends suppression of dialogs in the user interface.

Sets memory usage limits as in the Memory & Cache preferences area.

setSavePreferencesOnQuit()

activate()

scheduleTask()

cancelTask()

parseSwatchFile()

“Application setSavePreferencesOnQuit() method” on page 28

“Application activate() method” on page 18 Brings the After Effects main window to the

“Application scheduleTask() method” on page 27

“Application cancelTask() method” on page 20

“Application parseSwatchFile() method” on page 25

Sets whether preferences are saved when the application is quit.

front of the screen.

Schedules a JavaScript script for delayed execution.

Cancels a scheduled task.

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

Application activate() method

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.

After Effects scripting reference Application object

Returns

Nothing.

Application activeViewer attribute

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.

Typ e

Viewer obj e c t; rea d - only.

Application beginSuppressDialogs() method

app.beginSuppressDialogs()

Description

Begins suppression of script error dialog boxes in the user interface. Use endSuppressDialogs() to resume the display of error dialogs. See “Application endSuppressDialogs() method” on page 21.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Nothing.

Application beginUndoGroup() method

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 the end of the group. (See “Application endUndoGroup() method” on page 21.)

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

undoString

Returns

The text that will appear for the Undo command in the Edit menu (that is, “Undo <undoString>”)

Nothing.

endUndoGroup() method to mark

Application buildName attribute

app.buildName

After Effects scripting reference Application object

Description

The name of the build of After Effects being run, used internally by Adobe for testing and troubleshooting.

Typ e

String; read-only.

Application buildNumber attribute

app.buildNumber

Description

The number of the build of After Effects being run, used internally by Adobe for testing and troubleshooting.

Typ e

Integer; read-only.

Application cancelTask() method

app.cancelTask(taskID)

Description

Removes the specified task from the queue of tasks scheduled for delayed execution.

Parameters

taskID

Returns

An integer that identifies the task, as returned by app.scheduleTask().

Nothing.

Application effects attribute

app.effects

Description

The effects available in the application.

Typ e

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

displayName

Application endSuppressDialogs() method

app.endSuppressDialogs(alert)

Description

Ends the suppression of script error dialog boxes in the user interface. Error dialogs are displayed by default; call this method only if Dialogs() method” on page 19.

Parameters

beginSuppressDialogs() has previously been called. See “Application beginSuppress-

alert

Returns

Boolean; when true, errors that have occurred following the call to beginSuppressDialogs() are displayed in a dialog box.

Nothing.

Application endUndoGroup() method

app.endUndoGroup()

Description

Marks the end of an undo group begun with the app.beginUndoGroup() method. You can use this method to place an end to an undo group in the middle of a script, should you wish to use more than one undo group for a single script.

If you are using only a single undo group for a given script, you do not need to use this method; in its absence at the end of a script, the system will close the undo group automatically.

Calling this method without having set a

Parameters

None.

Returns

Nothing.

beginUndoGroup() method yields an error.

Application endWatchFolder() method

app.endWatchFolder()

Description

Ends Watch Folder mode.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Nothing.

After Effects scripting reference Application object

Application exitAfterLaunchAndEval attribute

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 (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.

–r or –s command line flag causes the application to run a script

Typ e

Boolean; read/write.

Application exitCode attribute

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

• 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 ( ation. 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.

Typ e

Integer; read/write.

Example

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

afterfx or afterfx –m command), and a script was specified with the –r or –s option.

EXIT_SUCCESS) at the beginning of each script evalu-

Application isoLanguage attribute

app.isoLanguage

Description

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

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

NOTE:

After Effects scripting reference Application object

Typ e

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 not running in English or French.");

Application isRenderEngine attribute

app.isRenderEngine

Description

True if After Effects is running as a render engine.

Typ e

Boolean; read-only.

Application isWatchFolder attribute

app.isWatchFolder

Description

True if the Watch Folder dialog box is currently displayed and the application is currently watching a folder for rendering.

Typ e

Boolean; read-only.

Application memoryInUse attribute

app.memoryInUse

Description

The number of bytes of memory currently used by this application.

After Effects scripting reference Application object

Typ e

Number; read-only.

Application newProject() method

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

tions.DO_NOT_SAVE_CHANGES)

to close the current project before opening a new one. See “Project

close() method” on page 116.

Parameters

None.

Returns

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

app.project.close(CloseOp-

Example

app.project.close(CloseOptions.DO_NOT_SAVE_CHANGES);

app.newProject();

Application onError attribute

app.onError

Description

The name of a callback function that is called when an error occurs. By creating a function and assigning it to this attribute, you can respond to errors systematically; for example, you can close and restart the application, noting the error in a log file if it occurred during rendering. See “RenderQueue render() method” on page 161.

The callback function is passed the error string and a severity string. It should not return any value.

Typ e

A function name string, or null if no function is assigned; read/write.

Example

function err(errString) {

alert(errString);

}

app.onError = err;

Application open() method

app.open()

app.open(file)

After Effects scripting reference Application object

Description

Opens a project.

Parameters

file

Returns

Optional. An ExtendScript File object for the project file to open. If not sup plied, the method prompts the user to select a project file.

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){

new_project = app.open(my_file);

if (new_project){

alert(new_project.file.name);

}

Application parseSwatchFile() method

app.parseSwatchFile(file)

Description

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

Parameters

file

Returns

The file specification, an ExtendScript File object.

The swatch data, in this format:

data.majorVersion

data.minorVersion

data.values

SwatchValue.type

SwatchValue.r

SwatchValue.g

SwatchValue.b

SwatchValue.c

SwatchValue.m

SwatchValue.y

SwatchValue.k

The ASE version number.

An array of SwatchValue.

One of "RGB", "CMYK", "LAB", "Gray"

When type = "RGB", the color values in the range [0.0..1.0].

0, 0, 0 is Black.

When type = "CMYK", the color values in the range [0.0..1.0].

0, 0, 0, 0 is White.

After Effects scripting reference Application object

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.

Application pauseWatchFolder() method

app.pauseWatchFolder(pause)

Description

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

Parameters

pause

Returns

Nothing.

Application project attribute

app.project

Description

The project that is currently loaded. See “Project object” on page 114.

Typ e

Project object; read-only.

Application purge() method

app.purge(target)

Description

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

After Effects scripting reference Application object

Parameters

target

The type of elements to purge from memory; a PurgeTarget enumerated value, one of:

• PurgeTarget.ALL_CACHES: Purges all data that After Effects has cached to physical memory.

• 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.

Returns

Nothing.

Application quit() method

app.quit()

Description

Quits the After Effects application.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Nothing.

Application saveProjectOnCrash attribute

app.saveProjectOnCrash

Description

When true (the default), After Effects attempts to display a dialog box that allows you to save the current project if an error causes the application to quit unexpectedly. Set to false to suppress this dialog box and quit without saving.

Typ e

Boolean; read/write.

Application scheduleTask() method

app.scheduleTask(stringToExecute, delay, repeat)

Description

Schedules the specified JavaScript for delayed execution.

Parameters

stringToExecute

delay

A string containing JavaScript to be executed.

A number of milliseconds to wait before executing the JavaScript. A floating-point value.

After Effects scripting reference Application object

repeat

Returns

When true, execute the script repeatedly, with the specified delay between each execution. When false the script is executed only once.

Integer, a unique identifier for this task, which can be used to cancel it with app.cancelTask().

Application setMemoryUsageLimits() method

app.setMemoryUsageLimits(imageCachePercentage, maximumMemoryPercentage)

Description

Sets memory usage limits as in the Memory & Cache preferences area. For both values, if installed RAM is less than a given amount (n gigabytes), the value is a percentage of the installed RAM, and is otherwise a percentage of n. The value of n is: 2 GB for 32-bit Windows, 4 GB for 64-bit Windows, 3.5 GB for Mac OS.

Parameters

imageCachePercentage

maximumMemoryPercentage

Returns

Nothing.

Floating-point value, the percentage of memory assigned to image cache.

Floating-point value, the maximum usable percentage of memory.

Application setSavePreferencesOnQuit() method

app.setSavePreferencesOnQuit(doSave)

Description

Set or clears the flag that determines whether preferences are saved when the application is closed.

Parameters

doSave

Returns

When true, preferences saved on quit, when false they are not.

Nothing.

Application settings attribute

app.settings

Description

The currently loaded settings. See “Settings object” on page 170.

Typ e

Settings object; read-only.

After Effects scripting reference Application object

Application version attribute

app.version

Description

An alphanumeric string indicating which version of After Effects is running.

Typ e

String; read-only.

Example

var ver = app.version;

alert("This machine is running version " + ver + " of After Effects.");

Application watchFolder() method

app.watchFolder(folder_object_to_watch)

Description

Starts a Watch Folder (network rendering) process pointed at a specified folder.

Parameters

folder_object_to_watch

Returns

The ExtendScript Folder object for the folder to watch.

Nothing.

Example

var theFolder = new Folder(“c:/tool”);

app.watchFolder(theFolder);

AVItem object

app.project.item(index)

Description

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

• 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” on page 78.

• 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” on page 52 and “FootageItem object” on page 65.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

name

width

height

pixelAspect

frameRate

frameDuration

duration

useProxy

proxySource

time

usedIn

hasVideo

hasAudio

footageMissing

Methods

“AVItem name attribute” on page 33 The name of the object as shown in the Project panel.

“AVItem width attribute” on page 37 The width of the item.

“AVItem height attribute” on page 32 The height of the item.

“AVItem pixelAspect attribute” on page 33 The pixel aspect ratio of the item.

“AVItem frameRate attribute” on page 32 The frame rate of the item.

“AVItem frameDuration attribute” on page 31 The frame duration for the item.

“AVItem duration attribute” on page 31 The total duration of the item.

“AVItem useProxy attribute” on page 36 When true, a proxy source is used for this item.

“AVItem proxySource attribute” on page 34 The FootageItem object used as proxy for the item.

“AVItem time attribute” on page 36 Current time of the item.

“AVItem usedIn attribute” on page 36 The CompItem objects that use this item.

“AVItem hasVideo attribute” on page 32 When true, the item has a video component.

“AVItem hasAudio attribute” on page 32 When true, the item has an audio component.

“AVItem footageMissing attribute” on page 31

When true, the item cannot be found or is a placeholder.

Method Reference Description

setProxy()

setProxyWithSequence()

setProxyWithSolid()

setProxyWithPlaceholder()

setProxyToNone()

“AVItem setProxy() method” on page 34 Sets a proxy for the item.

“AVItem setProxyWithSequence() method” on page 35

“AVItem setProxyWithSolid() method” on page 35

“AVItem setProxyWithPlaceholder() method” on page 35

“AVItem setProxyToNone() method” on page 34 Removes the proxy for the item.

Sets a sequence as a proxy for the item.

Sets a solid as a proxy for the item.

Sets a placeholder as a proxy for the item.

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