[Filip Vandueren]

I think the issue is that once you create a new Layer, the original layerCollection object becomes invalid, it doesn’t auto-update.

so the myLayers = app.project.activeItem.selectedLayers; etc…
needs to be re-evaluated every time the button is clicked, not just at the initialising of the window.

Edit: Since you’re working from selectedLayers, (not app.project.activeItem.layers, which is what I was thinking of), this will be especially true. The selectedLayers isn’t up to date anymore

[Filip Vandueren]

Your idea of using 4 layers is indeed the simplest approach.

Those layers can just all reference 1 sourceText via the pickwhip.

Then you can add an extra animator with Opacity=0;

The Range should be set up like this:

• Range Selector:

• Start: 0
• End: 1
  (and 1/2, 3/4, 4/5 for subsequent layers)

Advanced:

• Units: Index
• Based On: Lines
• Mode: Subtract

That will hide the other lines, and you can add the rest of the animators after that.

[Filip Vandueren]

Mosaic is always just a filtering of the pixels below it, so there is no random component to it.

You can add a bit of noise before the mosaic, if the mosaic is set to “Sharp Colors”, that will have the most impact.

[Filip Vandueren]

Maybe those fonts don’t have a pipe symbol, or a weirdly shaped one.

Try disabling the expression selector of the “font height hack” animator, and then every character should be changed to a string like ||| | |||| | |

[Filip Vandueren]

BTW, to be clear:

the Transform and AnchorPoint are NOT inside of “Group 1″‘s Contents, but the Rectangle Path IS inside of Group 1’s Contents.

Every Group has these subproperties:

Group:

– Blend Mode

– Contents

– Transform

– Material Options (Only visible for 3D layers in the Cinema 4D rendermode)

[Filip Vandueren]

It is actually going up 6 levels in the hierarchy.

Every “Group” has an invisible child named “Contents”, everything in the Group is actually a Child of its “Contents” so your hierarchy is:

1- Shape

2– Contents (only this top-one is visible in timeline)

3— Group “3”

4—- Contents (invisible)

5—– Group “3rd”

6—— Contents (invisible)

7——- Group “Group 1”

8——– Transform

9——— Anchor Point

[Filip Vandueren]

The JSON wasn’t added unfortunately

[Filip Vandueren]

The only thing you have to look out with, if is the textanimators start changing position or scale of the highlighted characters.

[Filip Vandueren]

Here’s an .Aep of how to do it.

from-to-guides.aep 131 KB After Effects Project Files - Click to view

• Copy Download Link

Screenshot-2021-01-13-at-12.53.46.png 132 KB Image File - Click to view

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[Filip Vandueren]

Possible, but not in a very straightforward way.

Is the textlayer always just 1 line, Or could it sometimes be multiple lines ? Is it a paragraph text or a box-text ?

The actual highlighting is done with a text-animator ?