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No index for transform parameters in a shape layer’s group?
I learnt about shape layer index from this page and there’s a thing I cannot fathom out.
https://www.macprovideo.com/hub/after-effects/after-effects-shape-layer-index-hierarchyFirst, for example, there’s three shape sub-layers in a shape layer’s inner group
Shape layer
▼Contents
▼Group
▾Path 1
▾Fill 1
▾TransformIf you count from ‘Path 1’, there’s three, sort of, parameters in ‘Group’, and I thought the Transform’s index value is three, but actually it says two, the same as ‘Fill 1’.
So I wondered if there’s no index number for transform parameters in a shape layer’s group?
In my case, I wanted to control rotation inside the transform option in a group by expression. I used ‘propertyGroup(2)’ rather than ‘propertyGroup(1)’ overall and really didn’t need to use the index of the transform, but it’s good to know.
Thanks in advance,
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10 Replies
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I can’t quite tell what you’re after exactly, but one thing you can do is use a text layer to snoop around the shape layer’s properties. Use the pickwhip to create an expression like this in the text layer’s Source Text property:
prop = thisComp.layer(“Shape Layer 1”).content(“Shape 1”).transform.rotation;
Then you can snoop around by adding lines like:
prop.propertyIndex
or
prop.propertyGroup(1).name
or
prop.propertyGroup(2).numProperties
It’s also useful to get Jeff Almasol’s rd_GimmePropPath.jsx script from his redefinery site. It’s a great tool for examing the expression or script syntax to access any property.
Dan
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Thank you for the reply. I learnt a few more new things and I’ll check the script!
Hmmm, I guess my explanation wasn’t good enough. Let me explain it again.
What I meant was, by using ‘.propertyIndex’, each property’s index is like this:▼Group
▾Path 1 —index 1
▾Fill 1 —index 2
▾Transform —index 2Or if there are properties like this…
▼Group
▾Path 1 —index 1
▾Path 1 —index 2
▾Fill 1 —index 3
▾Transform —index 3You can see the Transform’s index is the same as the property above’s, and I wonder if there’s not index number for Transform property at all.
Thank you,
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I’m not seeing anything like that. It’s hard to say without seeing the shape layer you have, but sometimes not all the property groups in a shape layer are visible in the UI. Try using the script I mentioned to see if the paths to the properties with the same propertyIndex values are actually different in some way.
Dan
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Dan, thank you for the reply again.
I tried using prop.propertyGroup(2).numProperties, and actually it says the correct value, which includes Transform property I was talking about.
But then again, when I used this to get an index value, it’s a short value by one…
value = thisProperty.propertyGroup(1).propertyIndex
Since it’s quite likely I’m misunderstanding something, here is the screen shot. Maybe you can see why…
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Fill and Transform are not in the same property group. This is something that is not obvious from looking at the UI. You need the other tools I mentioned.
Dan
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I’ve tried the script and got these:
transform.rotation:
comp(“tree 2”).layer(4)(“ADBE Root Vectors Group”)(1)(“ADBE Vector Transform Group”)(“ADBE Vector Rotation”)fill.color:
comp(“tree 2”).layer(4)(“ADBE Root Vectors Group”)(1)(“ADBE Vectors Group”)(3)(“ADBE Vector Fill Opacity”)It seems there’s no index number for Transform and there’s no way you can access a transform property. But then again, why did the rotation gave me the value 3 in the image I posted…? Are there invisible two values before Transform?
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> there’s no way you can access a transform property.
I don’t understand how you’re coming to that conclusion.
Nosing around a similar shape layer, I get a hierarchy like this:
Shape Layer
Contents
Shape 1
Blend Mode
Contents
Path 2
Path 1
Fill 1
Transform
Material Options
Dan
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My mistake. What I meant was, I thought there’s no way to access Transform by using an index number, since the script gave me these. For Fill there’s (3), an index, whereas there’s no number for Transform. I hope I can get it across.
transform.rotation:
(“ADBE Vector Transform Group”)(“ADBE Vector Rotation”)fill.color:
(“ADBE Vectors Group”)(3)(“ADBE Vector Fill Opacity”) -
This works for me (although I don’t know why you would want to do it this way):
(“ADBE Root Vectors Group”)(1)(3)(“ADBE Vector Rotation”)
Dan
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Hmm, interesting. As seeing your comment, probably it’s not as useful as layer index numbers… I’ll study more about expressions. Thank you, Dan!
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