AfterFX command line and script argument

[Tobias Kraze]

I kind of found a solution / workaround for this problem. I’m just posting the solution here for anyone who has the same problem.

One way to pass script arguments/variables on the command line is by creating a temporary file in the .bat file and have the after effects script read this file. This way you can set up the

e.g. the test.bat would look like this:

echo %1 > temp.txt
afterfx.exe -r “\test.jsx”

and the test.jsx file would start like this:

var tempFile = new File(path to temp.txt file);
tempFile.open();
userVar = tempFile.read();

This way you could even create a list of configuration parameters and then trigger the after effects script. To pass a variable/string to an after effects script this way you would just have to trigger the .bat file:
test.bat myString

I used it to pass the name of the project file that the jsx file should open, and therefore manage batch rendering with variable project file names AND a custom script.

Regards,
Tobias

[Kirill Pavlov]

Greetings.

The same problem – trying to find the way to make *.bat-file or shortcut to make AE open my project and then automatically run script.

Havу you sucseed finding the way to solve this problem?

Thank you.

Director of animation and CG

[Tobias Kraze]

Hi there,

Please see my previous post for a detailed explanation. I haven’t found any other solution other than this workaround, and to be honest I didn’t pursue it any further.

Feel free to contact me if you are still having trouble with it. If you found some kind of solution to this problem then please post it as it might come in handy for other users. Thank you 🙂

[Kirill Pavlov]

Thanks.

Solved this problem by creating modified shortcut to AfterFX.exe.

In shortcut prorperties add
“C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects CS5\Support Files\AfterFX.exe” -r C:\“path“\“script name”.jsx

to open your project add in the beggining of the script

{
var myPath = “/Project path/”;
var myProjectName = “project name.aep”;
var myProject = File(myPath + myProjectName);
app.open(myProject);
}

and then paste script you want to run.

Director of animation and CG

[Tobias Kraze]

Interesting approach. Thanks for sharing it!

[Jason Ladew]

Hello,
I am doing a project where I want to change text on an AE Project and then render it to a video, strictly from the command line. Here’s my https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1330532. I found your solution which seems promising of calling from the batch file the script which in turn opens the aep project and does its job.

1) Do you think this will work what I am looking at?
2) Are there any other solutions you have found or made since 2011. You’d think later versions would increase capability.

Thanks for any input.

Jason