(F2) before OR after applying an FFX

[Roland R. kahlenberg]

AAAcccK! Brainfart!

I meant SHIFT+ALT+A. IOW, is there a way to access Keyboard Keys from an Expression?

TIA
RoRK

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[Chris Wright]

that appears to be
Save Animation Preset.. correct?

You can either use AE CS3 Command ID’s in scripting

//alert(app.findMenuCommandId(“Save Animation Preset…”)); // returns 3075
app.executeCommand(3075);

save dialog box is not controllable so you need to either hit OK by hand or have some sort of system key macro or script acknowledging the save dialog box.

https://www.sundstedt.se/aescripts/AE_CS3_Command_IDs.pdf

or shell command a macro program like autohotkey

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https://aenhancers.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=889&hilit=execute

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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

DANG! ALT+SHIFT+A is the shortcut to create an anchorPoint keyframe! I of course meant *palms face* SHIFT+CTRL+A which is to deselect all items.

At issue are a number FFXs that I’ve created. I’m doing something rather unconventional by affecting Expression Control values that take on their values based on the values of a few Transform properties.

The reason I’m going with this roundabout way is to circumvent having to explicitly select the Expression Control in either the Timeline or the Effects Control Panels. If you create an FFX that contains an effect and want to apply this FFX to a layer that already has the effect applied then you end up with two instances of the effect instead of simply changing the values of the first instance of the effect. The only way around this is to explicitly select the effect.

But with lots of layers, this can be a major hassle, especially so if you have lots of FFXs to apply and to experiment with.

With my roundabout method, all I need to do is to select the layer or layers and apply the FFX. This works because I am affecting Transform properties. Of course, FFXs that affect Transform properties do not create a new instance of that Transform property.

The only problem I have is when an FFX that is supposed to affect a three-dimensional property, such as Scale or Orientation, is applied when a one-dimensional property such as Opacity is currently selected. Take note that the Transform properties have Expressions. Thus, an error message rings out during such an application of the FFX.

Therefore, not knowing JXS Scripting, I was hoping that Expressions could allow me to access keystrokes; specifically to apply the Deselect All shortcut key at the end of each FFX.

Phew! Sense Make?

RoRK

AE Training in South East Asia. AE templates for sale and rental. Click here for more

[Dan Ebberts]

Roland,

Expressions don’t have any access to keystokes or selections. You’d have to do it with a script.

Dan

[Chris Wright]

// Deselect All layers.free. save as deselect.jsx

{
app.beginUndoGroup(“replace”);
var everyItem = app.project.items;
for (var i = 1; i <= everyItem.length; i++)
{
item = everyItem[i];
var curComp = item;
for (var j = 1; j <= curComp.numLayers; j++)
{
app.project.item(i).layer(j).selected = false;
}
}
app.endUndoGroup();
}

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[Roland R. kahlenberg]

Thanks Dan and Chris. It’s a shame eh that Expressions don’t have the arms and legs to access the keyboard. Chris, thanks for the script and links. I’ve taken a look at those and others previously. I think I should be able to pull those off. It’s just that time doesn’t allow me to muck around with a trial and error stage which is how I see myself going about it.

Dan, I’ll be in touch soon. Lots of wonderful stuff has been happening since we lat touched base on the intended use of the script. Just having difficulty trying to code, test, create example movies and helper movies within whatever time I have.

Cheers All!
RoRK

AE Training in South East Asia. AE templates for sale and rental. Click here for more