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Assignment to properties in After Effects
Can you do something like this:
thisComp.layer(“Print Statement”).text.sourceText = time;
In After Effects?
My code isn’t seeming to work with this, and I’m wondering how I can’t change the code so that one of the values in my expression “prints” to a Text field called “Print Statement” so that I can debug it.
Any ideas?
thisComp.layer("Print Statement").text.sourceText = time; -
3 Replies
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An expression can’t affect anything except the property that actually hosts that expression. It can’t send values to other layers/properties–those properties would have to have their own expressions.
Dan
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I was looking for a way to “print” the value of a variable, and my idea was to set the text of a text object to be equal to that variable (in the expression).
Is there any way to check the value of a variable for the purposes of debugging like this?
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You can apply the entire expression to a text layer and at the end of the expression you can add the variable you want to see. You may have to edit the expression somewhat (if it references other properties of the host layer). It’s far from ideal, but I do it often and find it very useful if I’m trying to track down a mysterious problem.
Sometimes I’ll use a slider control the same way, because then it’s less likely you’ll have to edit the expression (although you do need to make sure the result is a 1D value).
Dan
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