[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Chase, what your current script does – it adds a text layer.

However, what you do ask for – to populate text and effect (what effect?) added to it.

Please let us know the following:
1. By populate text, you want ‘text layer’s’ text value to be shown in a dialog?
2. What effects you refer to? Is it effects applied to a layer, or layer effects, or anything else?

This will help to narrow it down.

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Alice, not possible to script-change text formatting in a single layer with multiple options inside. Unless something has changed with CC19, but unlikely 🙂

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Saxon, by saying top-level comp, you mean some particular comp in the project panel root, or all comps in the root?

Its possible, logic would be according these lines:
1. Loop through all items in the project panel.
2. Check if that item is ‘composition’ type.
3. Check if that item doesn’t have parentFolder attached.
4. Do necessary actions with found comp (add marker & comment)

It might be possible to loop through ‘root’ items only, but not sure and can’t check it atm. Cheers!

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Aniello, try applying the following expression to shape’s anchor point. It will stick in the middle for this case.

In order to changes its anchor point placement, adjust value in the brackets, to reflect it.

Currently, it reads ‘take left value of the layer, add half of layer’s width’ for X, and then ‘take top value of the layer and add half of its height’. This results to a center value in both, x and y. Based on this relation, you will manage to make it work to your case.

sourceSize = thisLayer.sourceRectAtTime(0, false);
T = sourceSize.top;
L = sourceSize.left;
W = sourceSize.width;
H = sourceSize.height;
([L+ W/2,T+H/2])

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Eddie – you did it almost correct, the only change which was needed is to actually assign those ‘sliders’ to x and y variables, and not directly to parameter value.

The reason why I pre-defined x and y in example above, was to ‘add’ slider values to current values of scale, instead of fully overriding it with slider value.

In other words, by adding slider effect value to scale’s x & y’s, you are providing extra control over the current value.

Glad you managed to sort this with the transform, yet it might have some limitations when you try to use continuous rasterization.

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Ken, sorry for my late response. There are few things to consider:

1. When you sourceRect for lines spacing, it kind of overrides resizing, this is why you can’t successfully increase distance between the lines.
2. Line spacing works in this way:
~Disregarding how many lines of text there are, it only uses single line height in pixels.

SO, calculation to find proper distance between the lines would be as follows:
~ ([maxHeight] / [numOfLines-1]) – [singleLineDistance] = Resulting line height

To get number of lines, change animator’s range to index, and change it to lines.

This should get it going to expand titles in fixed ranges. Might require some tweaks, but should be somewhat it.

let us know if it works!

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Ben, in the past there was a similar request with crosses, which most likely you could adapt for your scenario (by replacing shapes in the corners to your own objects)

Available here: https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/227/42458

Download link: https://f1.creativecow.net/file.php?id=13581&folder=textshapewithcrosses

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Dustin, try this, applying to XY position of effect:

x = thisComp.width / 2;
y = thisComp.height / 2;
[x,y]

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Ken, I am pretty sure that this is a bug, due to the fact that resolution change shoudln’t make any affect on visuals, apart from quality loss.

Anyways, try applying expression below to anchorpoint and see if it works for your favour.

sourceSize = thisLayer.sourceRectAtTime(time, false);
T = sourceSize.top;
L = sourceSize.left;
W = sourceSize.width;
H = sourceSize.height;
([L+ W/2,T+H/2])

Seeing you do this for Shakr Media, I would recommend not to hardcode numbers into expressions like you did in scale. Instead, pick thisComp.width, and find divider which works for your scenario (/2, for example). Then, if in the future you need to adapt the same approach for different resolution, it will auto-adjust, instead of manual change ‘magic numbers’. Cheers!

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Jeff, while solution below won’t solve anchor point offset – please check if ‘continous rasterization’ is set on imported layers. At least visually, it might help out.

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview