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AE Universal Expressions – what actually translates between languages?
Hello, all.
After scouring the entire web (excluding the dark web) I can say that there isn’t a single thread here or at adobe’s forums to answer all the questions people have.
I know expressions universality is not something most users actually care about since it’s mainly a thing for template creators, such as myself.
I have, of course, the Expressions Universalizer script but I’m not sure it gets the job done in full.
For example:
The non-universal expression:
thisComp.layer("myLayer").effect("Color Control")(Color)
can be universalized as:
thisComp.layer("myLayer").effect("custom name")(1).. and this is easy because expression controls such as the color control have only one property each, so it’s easy to address the property as (1).
But what about transform properties, for example?
The non-universal expression:
thisComp.layer("myLayer").transform.position[0]Can this be left as is? Will a German version of AE be able to read the expression correctly?
I can always try to address both “transform” and “position” by their index number but what if I add several effects after that? The original index numbers will change and the expression will no longer work.Still, when I run the expressions universalizer it says that nothing needs to be universalized.
So something seems off. -
1 Reply
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Language problems may occur every time the pickwhip uses the form: (“Property Name”)
For properties that can be renamed by the user, the fact that After Effects use this notation is normal.
You should give renamable properties unique names so that conflicts cannot occur.For properties that cannot be renamed, the pickwhip uses :
(1) the compact english notation for properties inside the built-in groups (such as Transform, Mask, Tracker, etc) and i think, can’t garanty 100%, that you can leave it that way, it is “universal”.
(2) the (“Property Name”) notation for properties inside “Effects” (where 3rd party can interact).
A simple way to “universalize” is to replace the property name by its propertyIndex.In some situation, get the propertyIndex of a property can be tricky.
You can get it either by a script, or an expression in a temporary text layer (pickwhip the property and add .propertyIndex)Again, dont use propertyIndex for renamable properties (===>source of bugs),
and likewise for buit-in properties like transform.position (===>useless)Hope that helps.
Xavier
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