How to get width or height of a UI element?

[Shahid shahan]

Hey flipp

you can use the sourceRectAtTime() method along with the toWorld() method in your expression.

Exmple:

(parentWidth = thisComp.layer(“Group 1”).sourceRectAtTime().width;

marginPercentage = 0.1; // you can change this value to suit your needs

marginWidth = parentWidth * marginPercentage;

newWidth = parentWidth – (2 * marginWidth);

newWidth.

Note

that this expression assumes that the element you want to adjust is a child of the “Group 1” layer. If it is not, you will need to adjust the expression to reference the correct parent layer.

Regards

Shahan

[Filipp Polenok]

Hello, Shahan,

The problem is I am using ScriptUI for a toolbar, not just ordinary expressions for things inside composition.

The window method “size.width” works fine and returns the current window width but it does not function with contained elements like group.

I found a temporary solution but it is a bad code. I just get the window width and substract some number calculated in advance so that I have the number close to width on the element I need. It does work fine with modern AE but not with older versions (f.e. CS4).

ExtendScript looks terribly poor and undeveloped. I am starting to believe that there is no good way to get the current width of UI elements.

[Dan Ebberts]

Have you tried myGroup.bounds.width?

[Filipp Polenok]

It works, thank you. I did not meet that solution before. However, it works only after applying “window.layout.layout (true)” thing, so that it is a necessary measure to do it twice: before the alignment and after to draw the correct result.

[Brie Clayton]

Thank you for your solve, Dan!