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Using Help
About Help
Adobe Systems Incorporated provides complete documentation in an Adobe PDF-based
help system. This help system includes information on all tools, commands, and features
of an application. It is designed for easy on-screen navigation and can also be printed and
used as a desktop reference. Additionally, it supports third-party screen-reader applica-
tions that run in a Windows environment.

Navigating in Help
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To find a topic using the Search command (Acrobat 6):

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Overview
The Adobe After Effects 6.5 Render Automation & Scripting Guide demonstrates how to take procedural control
of your After Effects projects via scripting. This feature set is available only in Adobe After Effects 6.5 Profes-
sional Edition.
With the use of system-level scripting, you can streamline your render pipeline and avoid a lot of repetitive
pointing and clicking. If you have used expressions or other JavaScript-like techniques for animating, or
worked with system scripting in AppleScript or Visual Basic, you will recognize the power of application
scripting in After Effects. With some practice, and with sufficient experience using the JavaScript language,
you can take control of your graphics pipeline.

If you know nothing about scripting

After Effects 6.5 is a visual tool with a graphical user interface; you are used to interacting with it via interface
elements such as menus, palettes and icons. For the most part, this is the most accessible way to work.
Scripting is designed for situations in which this methodology involves tedious repetition or painstaking
searching and sorting that could be automated. It is also useful for leveraging the power of networked
rendering in situations where Watch Folder is less powerful (and less convenient to set up).
Scripting is designed to help users of After Effects get past these types of obstacles, and it is available even to
users who have no inclination to learn the JavaScript language. If you are this type of user, you can still harness
the power of scripting via third party solutions such as Rush Render Queue, a graphical user interface to set
up distributed renders from any computer on the network without having to set up on individual machines.
You can also leverage the contributions of scripting users who share scripts with other users. Larger studios
may have such users in-house, while other users can visit forums such as those found at www.adobe-
forums.com.

After Effects objects

You may not think of After Effects as a collection of hierarchical objects, but when you make use of render
queue items, compositions, and projects, that is how they appear in scripting. Just as the expressions features
in After Effects give you access to virtually any property of any layer inside any composition of your project
(each of which we refer to as an object), scripting gives you access to the hierarchy of objects within After
Effects and allows you to make changes to these objects.
After Effects scripting is based on ECMAScript (or more specifically, the 3rd Edition of the ECMA-262
Standard). Further documentation on this standard can be found at www.ecma-international.org.

Expressions and motion math

Because scripting can access individual layer properties, and because it utilizes JavaScript, one might assume
that expressions and scripting are one and the same. However, they are two entirely distinct entities. Expres-
sions have no ability to access information from scripts (such as variables and functions), although a script
can be written to create or edit an expression.
The similarity between expressions and scripting is, however, apparent in that they are both drawn from the
same language, ECMA standard JavaScript. Thus, knowing how to utilize one is helpful in understanding the
other.

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Motion math is no longer included in After Effects; its functionality has been superseded by scripting and
expressions. All mathematical and logical operators common to ECMAScript are available in scripting.
For example, with expressions it is possible to simulate the physics of a a bouncing ball by applying mathe-
matical rules to a “ball” layer. But using scripting, you can create a whole user interface that allows a bouncing
ball and shadow layer to be animated using criteria entered by the user.

About this guide

This guide is for users who manage a graphics pipeline (which may include other scriptable applications as
well) and who want to write scripts to add custom capabilities to After Effects.
This functionality is also offered via third-party network rendering management solutions. These products
feature software designed to help manage this process, so it is possible to take advantage of this functionality
without having to perform manual editing of scripts.
Although this guide is intended to provide an understanding of the extensions that have been added to the
ECMAScript/JavaScript language for scripting of After Effects projects, to take full advantage of what is
possible with scripting you will also need an understanding of writing scripts at the system level (for
integration with AppleScript on the Mac and DOS shell scripts on Windows systems) and a background in
how to work with JavaScript.
Much of what scripting can accomplish replicates what can be done via the After Effects user interface, so a
thorough knowledge of the application itself is also essential to understanding how to use this functionality.
Note that JavaScript objects normally referred to as “properties” are consistently called “attributes” in this
guide, to avoid confusion with After Effects’ own definition of a Property (an animatable value of an effect or
transform within an individual layer).

Activating full scripting features

For security reasons, the scripting features that operate outside the After Effects application (such as adding
and deleting files and folders on volumes, or accessing the network) are disabled by default.
To enable these features, choose Preferences > General, and select Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access
Network.
By selecting this box, you enable the following:
• Writing files
• Creating folders
• Setting the current folder
• Creating a socket
• Opening a socket
• Listening to a socket
The JavaScript Debugger is disabled by default so that casual users do not encounter it. When editing or
writing scripts, the JavaScript Debugger can help you diagnose script problems more quickly.
To activate the JavaScript Debugger on the local machine when a script error is encountered, choose Prefer-
ences > General, and select Enable JavaScript Debugger.
Note that the JavaScript Debugger operates only when executing a script, not with expressions, even though
expressions also make use of JavaScript.

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For detailed information on the JavaScript Debugger, see “JavaScript Debugging” on page 15.

Accessing and writing scripts

To create and edit scripts for After Effects, use an external text-editing application that creates files with
Unicode UTF-8 text encoding. Beware of applications such as Microsoft Word that by default add header
information to files (these create line 0 errors in scripts, causing them to fail). A script can reside anywhere,
although to appear in the Scripts menu it must be saved in the Scripts folder within the After Effects appli-
cation folder. For details on writing and editing scripts, see “Writing Scripts” on page 6.
There is no built-in method for recording a series of actions in After Effects into a script, as you can with
Photoshop actions. Scripts are created outside After Effects and then executed within it, or externally via a
command-line or third-party render management software.

Uses of After Effects scripting

One primary use for scripting in After Effects 6.5 is render automation. Anyone charged with managing a
complex rendering pipeline will be interested in this. Render automation can be accomplished either by hand-
coding scripts or via a third-party network rendering solution that supports automated management of
network rendering pipelines.
There are other uses for scripting; it can be a shortcut around tedious tasks that would otherwise involve
repetitious pointing and clicking.
See “Examples” on page 179 for examples of what scripts can do.

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Writing Scripts
When you use Adobe After Effects, you create projects, compositions, and Render Queue items along with all
of the elements that they contain: footage, images, solids, layers, masks, effects, and properties. Each of these
items, in scripting terms, is an object.
The heart of a scriptable application is the object model. In After Effects, the object model is composed of
projects, items, compositions, layers, and Render Queue items. Each object has its own special attributes, and
every object in an After Effects project has its own identity (although not all are accessible to scripting).
You should be familiar with the After Effects object model in order to create scripts. For more resources for
learning scripting, see “More resources to learn scripting” on page 8.

Editing scripts
After Effects 6.5 does not include a script editor. You can use any text editor to create, edit, and save scripts,
but it is recommended that you choose an application that does not automatically add header information
when saving files and that saves with Unicode (UTF-8) encoding.
Windows applications that are useful for editing scripts include EM Editor or the built-in Notepad (be sure to
set Encoding within save options to UTF-8).
Mac OS applications that are useful for editing scripts include BBEdit or the built-in OS X Textedit (be sure
to set the Save type in Preferences to Unicode [UTF-8]).

The .jsx format

After Effects scripts must include the .jsx file extension in order to be properly recognized by the application.
This extension is a variation on the standard “.js” extension used with normal JavaScript files; any UTF-8
encoded text file with this extension will be recognized.

The Scripts menu and Scripts folder

After Effects scripts reside in the Scripts folder, within the same folder as your After Effects 6.5 application file.
Only scripts contained in this Scripts folder are automatically listed in the Scripts menu, although a script file
can reside anywhere.
To run a script that does not appear in the Scripts menu, choose File > Run Script > Choose File, and choose
the script in the Open dialog box. Alternatively, you can send After Effects a script from a command line (on
Windows) or from AppleScript (on Mac OS).
To appear in the Open dialog box, your script must include the proper .jsx file extension.

Shutdown and Startup folders

Within the Scripts folder are two folders called Startup and Shutdown. After Effects runs scripts in these
folders automatically on starting and quitting, respectively.
In the Startup folder you can place scripts that you wish to execute at startup of the application. They are
executed after the application is initialized and all plug-ins are loaded.

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Scripting shares a global environment, so any script executed at startup can define variables and functions that
are available to all scripts. In all cases, variables and functions, once defined by running a script that contains
them, persist in succeeding scripts during a given After Effects session. Once the application is quit, all such
globally defined variables and functions are cleared.
Please note that this persistence of global settings also means that if you are not careful about giving variables
in scripts unique names, you can inadvertently reassign global variables intended to persist throughout a
session.
Properties can also be embedded in existing objects such as the Application object (see “Application object”
on page 26) to extend the application for other scripts.
The Shutdown folder scripts are executed as the application quits. This occurs after the project is closed but
before any other application shutdown occurs.

Sending a script to After Effects from the system

If you are familiar with how to run a script from the command line in Windows or via AppleScript, you can
send a script directly to the open After Effects application, which then runs automatically.

How to include After Effects scripting in a command line (Windows)

Following are examples of DOS shell scripts that will send an After Effects script to the application without
using the After Effects user interface to execute the script.
In the first example, you would copy and paste your After Effects script directly into the command line script
and then run it, as follows (your script text would appear in quotation marks following the afterfx.exe -s
command):
afterfx.exe –s “aler t (“You just sent an aler t to Af ter Effects”)”

Alternatively, you could specify the location of the .jsx file to be executed, as follows:
a f te r f x . exe – r c : \ my D o c u m e n t s \ S c r i p t s \ yo u r A E S c r i p t He re . j s x

How to include After Effects scripting in an AppleScript (Mac OS)

Following are three examples of AppleScripts that will send an existing .jsx file containing an After Effects
script to the application without using the After Effects user interface to execute the script.
In the first example, you copy your After Effects script directly into the AppleScript and then run it, as follows
(your script text would appear in quotation marks following the DoScript command):

te l l a p p l i c a t i o n “Ad o b e After E f f e c t s 6 . 5 ”
DoScr ipt “aler t (\”You just sent an aler t to Af ter Effects\”)”
e n d te l l

Alternatively, you could display a dialog box asking for the location of the .jsx file to be executed, as follows:
s e t t h e fi l e to cho o s e fi l e
te l l a p p l i c a t i o n “Ad o b e Af ter E f f e c t s 6 . 5 ”
D o S c r i p t t h e fi l e
e n d te l l

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Finally, this script is perhaps most useful when you are working directly on editing a .jsx script and want to
send it to After Effects for testing or to run. To use it effectively you must enter the application that contains
the open .jsx file (in this example it is TextEdit); if you do not know the proper name of the application, type
in your best guess to replace “TextEdit” and AppleScript prompts you to locate it.
Simply highlight the script text that you want to run, and then activate this AppleScript:
(*
T h i s s c r i p t s e n d s t h e c u r ren t s e l e c t i o n to After E f f e c t s a s a s c r i p t .
*)

te l l a p p l i c a t i o n “ Tex t E d i t”

s e t t h e _ s c r i p t to s e l e c t i o n a s tex t

e n d te l l

te l l a p p l i c a t i o n " Ad o b e After E f f e c t s 6 . 5 "

a c t iv a te
DoScript the_script
e n d te l l

For more information on using AppleScript, check out Matt Neuberg’s AppleScript: the Definitive Guide
(O’Reilly & Associates) or Sal Soghoian’s AppleScript 1-2-3 (Peachpit Press).

Testing and troubleshooting

Any After Effects script that contains an error preventing it from being completed generates an error message
from the application. This error message includes information about the nature of the error and the line of
the script on which it occurred.
Additionally, After Effects includes a JavaScript debugger. For more information on activating and using the
debugger, see “JavaScript Debugging” on page 15.

More resources to learn scripting

Many resources exist for learning more about scripting that uses the ECMA standard.
The After Effects scripting engine supports the 3rd Edition of the ECMA-262 Standard, including its
notational and lexical conventions, types, objects, expressions and statements.
For a complete listing of the keywords and operators included with ECMAScript, please refer to Ecma-
262.pdf, available at www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/ECMA-262.HTM.
Books that deal with JavaScript 1.2 are also useful for understanding how scripting works in After Effects. One
book that is something of a standard for JavaScript users is JavaScript, The Definitive Guide (O’Reilly) by David
Flanagan. Another very readable source is JavaScript: A Beginner’s Guide (Osborne) by John Pollock. Both of
these texts contain information that pertains only to extensions of JavaScript for Internet browsers; however,
they also contain thorough descriptions of scripting fundamentals.
There are also books for using AppleScript and creating Windows command line scripts, each of which can be
used to send scripts to After Effects.

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Keywords and statement syntax

Although it is not possible to provide an exhaustive resource describing usage of JavaScript, the following
tables provide an overview of keywords, statements, operators, precedence and associativity.
The following table lists and describes all keywords and statements recognized by the After Effects scripting
engine.

Table 1 Keywords and Statement Syntax

Keyword/Statement Description

break Standard JavaScript; exit the currently executing loop.

con t i nu e Standard JavaScript; cease execution of the current loop iteration.

cas e label used in a switch statement

default label used in a switch statement when a case label is not found

do - whil e Standard JavaScript construct. Similar to the w h i l e loop, except loop condition evaluation occurs
at the end of the loop.

false Literal representing boolean false.

for Standard JavaScript loop construct.

for - in Standard JavaScript construct. Provides a way to easily loop through the properties of an object.

function Used to define a function.

if/if - else Standard JavaScript conditional constructs.

new Standard JavaScript constructor statement.

nu l l Assigned to a variable, array element, or object property to indicate that it does not contain a legal
value.

re tu r n Standard JavaScript way of returning a value from a function or exiting a function.

sw i tch Standard JavaScript way of evaluating an expression and attempting to match the expression's
value to a ca s e label.

this Standard JavaScript method of indicating the current object.

true Literal representing boolean true.

undefined Indicates that the variable, array element, or object property has not yet been assigned a value.

var Standard JavaScript syntax used to declare a local variable.

while Standard JavaScript construct. Similar to the d o - w h i le loop, except loop condition evaluation
occurs at the beginning of the loop.

w ith Standard JavaScript construct used to specify an object to use in ensuing statements.

Operators
The following tables list and describe all operators recognized by the After Effects scripting engine and show
the precedence and associativity for all operators.

Table 2 Description of Operators

Operators Description

new Allocate object.

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Operators Description

dele te Deallocate object.

t y p e of Returns data type.

void Returns undefined value.

. Structure member.

[] Array element.

() Function call.

++ Pre- or post-increment.

-- Pre- or post-decrement.

- Unary negation or subtraction.

~ Bitwise NOT.

! Logical NOT.

* Multiply.

/ Divide.

% Modulo division.

+ Add.

<< Bitwise left shift.

>> Bitwise right shift.

>> > Unsigned bitwise right shift.

< Less than.

<= Less than or equal.

> Greater than.

>= Greater than or equal.

== Equal.

!= Not equal.

& Bitwise AND.

^ Bitwise XOR.

| Bitwise OR.

&& Logical AND.

|| Logical OR.

?: Conditional (ternary).

= Assignment.

+= Assignment with add operation.

-= Assignment with subtract operation.

*= Assignment with multiply operation.

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Operators Description

/= Assignment with divide operation.

%= Assignment with modulo operation.

<< = Assignment with bitwise left shift operation.

>> = Assignment with bitwise right shift operation.

>> >= Assignment with bitwise right shift unsigned operation.

&= Assignment with bitwise AND operation.

^= Assignment with bitwise XOR operation.

|= Assignment with bitwise OR operation.

, Multiple evaluation.

Table 3 Operator Precedence

Operators (Listed from highest precedence —top row—to lowest) Associativity

[ ] , (), . left to right

n e w, d e l e te, - ( u n a r y n e g a t i o n ) , ~ , ! , t y p e o f , voi d , + + , - - right to left

*, / , % left to right

+, -(subtraction) left to right

<< , >>, >>> left to right

<, <=, >, >= left to right

== , ! = left to right

& left to right

^ left to right

| left to right

&& left to right

|| left to right

?: right to left

=, / =, %=, <<=, >>=, >>>=, &=, ^ = , |= , + = , - = , *= right to left

, left to right

Render automation with aerender

One primary use for scripting in After Effects 6.5 is render automation. Anyone charged with managing a
complex rendering pipeline will be interested in this. Render automation can be accomplished either by hand-
coding scripts or via a third-party network rendering solution that supports automated management of
network rendering pipelines.
Note: There are other uses for scripting; it can be a shortcut around tedious tasks that would otherwise involve
repetitious pointing and clicking. See “Examples” on page 179 for examples of what scripts can do.

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Usage

The command-line application aerender renders After Effects compositions. The render may be performed
either by an already running instance of After Effects or by a newly invoked instance. By default, aerender will
invoke a new instance of After Effects, even if one is already running. To change this, see the "-reuse" flag in
the following “Arguments” below.

Arguments

From the command line aerender takes a series of optional arguments that are added following the executable
command (i.e. aerender.exe). Some are single flags, like "-reuse". Some come in flag-argument pairs, like "-
project project_path". And one comes in a triplet, -mem_usage image_cache_percent max_mem_percent.

With 0 arguments, or with any argument equaling "-help", aerender prints a usage message with the infor-
mation contained in this section.

Argument Usage

-help print usage message

-reuse Use this flag if you want to try and reuse an already running instance
of After Effects to perform the render. By default, aerender launches
a new instance of After Effects, even if one is already running. But,
if After Effects is already running, and the -reuse flag is provided,
aerender asks the already running instance of After Effects to
perform the render. Whenever aerender launches a new instance of
After Effects, it tells After Effects to quit when rendering is
completed; otherwise, it doesn’t quit After Effects. Also, the prefer-
ences are written to file upon quitting when the -reuse flag is
specified; otherwise it isn’t written.
- p ro j e c t p ro j e c t _ p a t h where p ro j e c t _ p a t h is a file path or URI specifying a project file to
open. If none is provided, aerender will work with the currently
open project. If no project is open and no project is provided, an
error will result.
-comp comp_name where com p _ n a m e specifies a comp to be rendered.

If the comp is in the render queue already, and in a queueable state,

then (only) the first queueable instance of that comp on the render-
queue is rendered.

If the comp is in the project but not in the render queue, then it is
added to the render queue and rendered.

If no -comp argument is provided, aerender renders the entire

render queue as is. In this case (no -comp), the only other
arguments used are -pro ject, -log , -v, -mem_usage, and -close;
the -RStemplate, -OMtemplate, -output, -s, -e, and arguments
are ignored.

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Argument Usage

-RStemplate where render_setting s_template is the name of a template to apply

render_setting s_template to the render queue item.

If the template does not exist, it is an error. Default is to use the

render template already defined for the item.
-OMtemplate where output_module_template is the name of a template to apply
output_module_template to the output module. If the template does not exist, it is an error.
Default is to use the template already defined for the output
module.
-output output_path where output_path is a file path or URI specifying the destination
render file. Default is the path already in the project file.
- l o g l o g fil e _ p a t h where l o g fil e _ p a t h is a file path or URI specifying the location of
the log file. Default is stdout .
-s sta r t_ fr a me where s t a r t _ f r a m e is the first frame to render. Default is the start
frame in the file.
-e end_fr ame where end_fr ame is the last frame to render. Note, this is "inclusive;"
the final frame is rendered. Default is the end frame in the file.
-i increment where increment is the number of frames to advance before
rendering a new frame. A value of 1 (the default) results in a normal
rendering of all frames. Higher increments will repeat the same
(frame increment-1) times and then render a new one, starting the
cycle again. Higher values result in faster renders but choppier
motion. Default is 1.
-mem_usage where image_cache_percent specifies the maximum percent of
image_cache_percent memory used to cache already rendered images/footage, and
max_mem_percent max_mem_percent specifies the total percent of memory that can
be used by After Effects.
-v ver b o se_ fl a g where ver b os e _ fl a g specifies the type of messages reported.
Possible values are E R RO R S (prints only fatal and problem errors)
or E R RO R S _ AN D _ P RO G R E S S (prints progress of rendering as
well). Default value is E R RO R S _ AN D _ P RO G R E S S .
-close close_flag where close_flag specifies whether or not toclose the project when
done rendering, and whether or not to save changes.

If close_flag is D O _ N OT _ S AV E _ C HAN G E S , the project is closed

without saving changes.

If close_flag is S AV E _ C HAN G E S , project is closed and changes are

saved. If close_flag is D O _ N OT _ C LO S E the project is left open; but
the project is left open only if using an already-running instance of
After Effects, since new invocations of After Effects must always
close and quit when done. Default value is
D O_ N OT _ S AV E _ C HAN G E S .

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Argument Usage

-sou n d so u n d _ fl a g where s ou n d _ fl a g specifies whether or not to play a sound when

rendering is complete. Possible values are O N or O F F. Default value
is OFF.
-version Displays the version number of aerender to the console. Does not
render.

Examples

To render just Comp 1 to a specified file, enter:

aeren d er - p ro j ect c: \ p ro j ects\ p ro j 1. ae p - comp "Comp 1" -output c:\output\pro j1\pro j1.av i

To render everything in the render queue as is in the project file, enter:

aerender -pro ject c:\pro jects\pro j1.aep

To render frames 1-10 using multi-machine render, enter:

aerender -pro ject c:\pro jects\pro j1.aep -comp "Comp 1" -s 1 -e 10

- R S te m p l a te " Mu l t i - Ma ch i n e S e t t i n g s "
-O M temp l a te "Mu l ti - Ma chin e S equ e n ce "
-output c:\output\pro j1\fr ames[####].psd

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JavaScript Debugging
This section describes the JavaScript Debugger, which appears when the Enable JavaScript Debugger
preference is selected in General Preferences (it is deselected by default) and there is an error when executing
a script.
A B C D E F G H

JavaScript Debugger window

A. Stack trace view B. Resume C. Pause D. Stop E. Step over F. Step into
G. Step out H. Breakpoints display I. Command line J. Debug output view
K. JavaScript source view

The current stack trace appears in the upper-left pane of the JavaScript Debugger window. This Stack Trace
view displays the calling hierarchy at the time of the breakpoint. Double-clicking a line in this view changes
the current scope, enabling you to inspect and modify scope-specific data.
All debugging output appears in the upper-right pane of the JavaScript Debugger window. Specifically, output
from the print method of the $ object appears in this Debug Output view.
The currently executing JavaScript source appears in the lower pane of the JavaScript Debugger window.
Double-clicking a line in this JavaScript Source view sets or clears an unconditional breakpoint on that line.
That is, if a breakpoint is in effect for that line, double-clicking it clears the breakpoint, and vice-versa. The
line number display on the left part displays a red dot for all lines with a breakpoint.

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If Enable JavaScript Debugger is deselected in General Preferences, you see an error message but not the
JavaScript Debugger itself. This is the typical setup used in situations in which professional roles are divided
between those writing and administering scripts (technical directors, system administrators, and so on) and
those using them (the artist or animators). If you are writing and debugging your own scripts, you will want
to enable the JavaScript Debugger.

Controlling code execution in the JavaScript Debugger

This section describes the buttons that control the execution of code when the JavaScript Debugger window
is active. Most of these buttons also provide a keyboard shortcut.

Resume
Ctrl+R (Windows)
Command+R (Mac OS)

Resume execution of the script with the JavaScript Debugger window open. When the script terminates, the application closes the Jav-
aScript Debugger window automatically. Closing the window manually also causes script execution to resume. This button is enabled
when script execution is paused or stopped.

Pause
Ctrl+P (Windows)
Command+P (Mac OS)

Halt the currently executing script temporarily and reactivate the JavaScript Debugger. This button is enabled when a script is running.
,,Ray, funnyy wrapping on this line . . . -cj>>

Stop
Ctrl+K (Windows)
Command+K (Mac OS)

Stop execution of the script and generate a runtime error. This button is enabled when a script is running.

Step Over
Ctrl+S (Windows)
Command+S (Mac OS)

Halt after executing a single JavaScript statement in the script; if the statement calls a JavaScript function, execute the function in its
entirety before stopping.

Step Into
Ctrl+T (Windows)
Command+T (Mac OS)

Halt after executing a single JavaScript statement in the script or after executing a single statement in any JavaScript function that the
script calls.

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Step Out
Ctrl+U (Windows)
Command+U (Mac OS)

When the JavaScript Debugger is paused within the body of a JavaScript function, resume script execution until the function returns.
When the JavaScript Debugger is paused outside the body of a function, resume script execution until the script terminates.

Script Breakpoints Display

Display the Script Breakpoints window.

Using the JavaScript command line entry field

You can use the JavaScript Debugger’s command line entry field to enter and execute JavaScript code interac-
tively within a specified stack scope. Commands entered in this field execute with a time-out of one second. If
a command takes longer than one second to execute, the script terminates and generates a time-out error.

Command line entry field

Enter in this field a JavaScript statement to execute within the stack scope of the line highlighted in the Stack
Trace view. When you’ve finished entering the JavaScript expression, you can execute it by clicking the
Command Line Entry button or pressing the Enter key. Click the button next to the field, or press Enter to
execute the JavaScript code in the command line entry field. The application executes the contents of the
command line entry field within the stack scope of the line highlighted in the Stack Trace view.
The command line entry field accepts any JavaScript code, making it very convenient to use for inspecting or
changing the contents of variables.
Note: To list the contents of an object as if it were JavaScript source code, enter the object.toSource() command.

Setting breakpoints
You can set breakpoints in the JavaScript Debugger itself, by calling methods of the $ object, or by defining
them in your JavaScript code.

Setting breakpoints in the JavaScript Debugger

When the JavaScript Debugger window is active, you can double-click a line in the JavaScript Source view to
set or clear a breakpoint at that line. Alternatively, you can click the Script Breakpoints Display button to
display the Script Breakpoints window and set or clear breakpoints in this window as described in “Script
Breakpoints window” on page 18.

Setting breakpoints in JavaScript code

Adding the debugger statement to a script sets an unconditional breakpoint. For example, the following code
causes the script to halt and display the JavaScript Debugger as soon as it enters the setupBox function.
f u n c t i o n s e t u p B ox ( b ox ) {
// break unconditionally at the next line
debugger ;

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b ox . w i d t h = 4 8 ;
b ox . h e i g h t = 4 8 ;
b ox . u r l = "none";
}

To execute a breakpoint in runtime code, call the $.bp() method, as shown in the following example:
f u n c t i o n s e t u p B ox ( b ox ) {
b ox . w i d t h = ( b ox . w i d t h = = u n d e fi n e d ) ? $ . b p ( ) : 4 8 ;
b ox . h e i g h t = ( b ox . h e i g h t = = u n d e fi n e d ) ? $ . b p ( ) : 4 8 ;
b ox . u r l = ( b ox . u r l = = u n d e fi n e d ) ? $ . b p ( ) : " n o n e " ;
}

This example breaks into the JavaScript Debugger if any of the width, height, or url attributes of the custom
element are undefined. Of course, you wouldn’t put bp method calls into production code—it’s more appro-
priate for shipping code to set default values for undefined properties, as the previous example does.

Script Breakpoints window

Display of the Script Breakpoints window is controlled by the Script Breakpoints button in the JavaScript
Debugger. This window displays all defined breakpoints. This window does not display temporary break-
points or breakpoints defined by the debugger statement in JavaScript code.
The Script Breakpoints window provides the following controls:
• The Line field contains the line number of the breakpoint.
• The Condition field may contain a JavaScript expression to evaluate when the breakpoint is reached. If the
expression evaluates to false, the breakpoint is not executed.
• Breakpoints set in this window persist across multiple executions of a script. When the application quits or
a script is reloaded, it removes all breakpoints.

To set a breakpoint in the Script Breakpoints window:

1 Click New to create a new breakpoint, or click the breakpoint that you wish to edit.
2 Enter a line number in the Line Number field, or change the existing line number.
3 Optionally, enter a condition such as (i>5) in the Condition field. This can be any valid JavaScript
expression. If the result of evaluating the expression is true, the breakpoint activates.

The $ object
The $ object (Debugger Object) provides properties and methods you can use to debug your JavaScript code.
For example, you can call its methods to set or clear breakpoints programmatically, or to change the language
flavor of the script currently executing. It also provides properties that hold information about the version of
the host platform’s operating system.
Note: The $ object is not a standard JavaScript object.

Properties

Name Type Description

er ror Error Retrieve the last runtime error. Reading this property returns an Error
object containing information about the last runtime error.

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version String Returns the version number of the JavaScript engine as a three-part num-
ber like e.g. "3.1.11". Read only.

os String Outputs the current operating system version. Read only.

Debug output method

w r ite (text, … );
w r i te l n ( tex t , … ) ;

Write the given string to the Debug Output window. The writeln method appends a New Line character to its
arguments.

Parameters

text String All parameters are concatenated to a single string.

Returns

None.

Clear breakpoint method

c l e a r b p ( s c r i p t l e t Na m e , l i n e ) ;

Clear a breakpoint. The breakpoint is defined by the name of the scriptlet or function and the line number. If
the scriptlet name is the empty string or is missing, the name of the currently executing scriptlet is used. If the
line number is zero or not supplied, the current line number is used. Thus, the call $.clearbp() without param-
eters clears a breakpoint at the current position.
The special string "NEXTCALL" as the scriptlet name causes the engine to clear a breakpoint at the next
function call.

Parameters

s c r i p t l e t Na m e String The name of the scriptlet where the breakpoint is to be cleared.

lin e Number The line number where the breakpoint is to be cleared.

Returns

None.

Execute breakpoint method

bp([condition]);

Execute a breakpoint at the current position. Optionally, a condition may be supplied. The condition is a
JavaScript expression string that is evaluated before the breakpoint is executed. The breakpoint is executed
only if the expression returns true. If no condition is given, the use of the debugger statement is recommended
instead as it is a more widely supported JavaScript standard statement.

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Parameters

con d i ti o n String An optional JavaScript expression string that is evaluated before the
breakpoint is executed. The expression needs to evaluate to the equivalent
of true in order to activate the breakpoint.

Returns

None.

Garbage collection method

gc ()

Initiate a garbage collection. Garbage collection is the process by which the JavaScript interpreter cleans up
memory it is no longer using. This is done automatically. Occasionally when you’re debugging a script, it may
be useful to call this process.

Returns

None.

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Reference
This chapter lists and describes syntax (keywords, statements, operators,classes, objects, methods, attributes,
and global functions) particular to the After Effects scripting engine.
The After Effects Scripting engine supports the 3rd Edition of the ECMA-262 Standard, including its
notational and lexical conventions, types, objects, expressions and statements. For a complete listing of the
keywords and operators included with ECMAScript, please refer to Ecma-262.pdf, available at www.ecma-
international.org/publications/standards/ECMA-262.HTM
For an overview of the most common keywords and statements available from ECMA-262, see “Keywords and
statement syntax” on page 9.

Objects, methods, attributes, and globals

As you look through this reference section, which is organized alphabetically according to object groupings,
you can refer to the following diagrams for an overview of where the various objects fall within the hierarchy,
and their correspondence to the user interface.

application system file folder socket

settings project item(s) may be any of the following 3 types of item:

compItem OR footageItem OR folderItem

renderQueue item(s)
layer(s) ITEM(S)
proxySource mainSource proxySource
renderQueueItem(s)
properties mainSource & proxySource
may be any of the following 3 types of item:
outputModule(s)
solidSource OR placeholderSource OR fileSource

color file

Hierarchy diagram of the main After Effects scripting objects

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The hierarchy of objects in scripting corresponds to the hierarchy in the user interface. The Application contains a Project window that
contains a Composition with a Layer. The source for the Layer can be a footage file, placeholder, or solid, and it is also listed in the Project
window. The Layer in turn contains settings known as Properties, and these can hold individual keyframes. The Render Queue contains
Render Queue Items as well as Render Settings and Output Modules. All of these rules are directly analogous to scripting.

Attributes and properties

Note that in ECMAScript and JavaScript, a named piece of data of a certain type is commonly referred to as a
property. However, After Effects already has a separate definition of a “property”: It is a specific editable value
within a layer. Therefore in this section the synonymous term “attribute” refers to these same pieces of data.

Global functions
This section describes globally available functions that are specific to After Effects. Any JavaScript object or
function can call the functions in this section.

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Functions

Function Reference Description

aler t() see “alert() global function” on page 23 displays an alert dialog displaying a specified
text string

prompt() see “prompt() global function” on opens a dialog box with a text field into which
page 25 the user can enter a text string

w r i te() see “write() global function” on page 26 writes output to the Info palette, with no line
break added

w r i teL n () see “writeLn() global function” on writes output to the info palette, adding a line
page 26 break at the end

clearOutput() see “clearOutput() global function” on clears the Info palette

page 23

con fi r m() see “confirm() global function” on prompts the user with a modal dialog and yes/
page 24 no buttons which clear the dialog and return a
boolean

fi l e G e t D i a l o g ( ) see “fileGetDialog() global function” on presents the platform’s standard Open dialog
page 24 box

fi l e Pu t D i a l o g ( ) see “filePutDialog() global function” on presents the platform’s standard Save dialog
page 24 box

folderGetDialog() see “folderGetDialog() global function” displays a dialog in which the user can select a
on page 25 folder

alert() global function

aler t ( te x t )

Description

The Alert global function opens an alert dialog that can contain a text alert. The user then has the option of
clicking OK to close the window.

Parameters

text text string that is displayed in the dialog, which can display up to 240 characters

Example
aler t ( "CoSA Lives!");

clearOutput() global function

clearOutput()

Description

The clearOutput global function clears the output in the info palette.

Parameters

None.

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confirm() global function

con fir m ( te x t )

Description

The Confirm global function prompts the user with a modal dialog and yes/no buttons that clear the dialog.
These return a boolean; true if yes, false if no.

Parameters

text text string; Mac OS user interface can display 256 characters, Windows, 30 characters

Returns

Boolean.

Example
var shouldAdd = confir m("Add to Render Queue?");
if ( s ho u l d Ad d == "t r u e"){
proj.renderQueue.items.add(myCompItem);
}

fileGetDialog() global function

fi l e G e t D i a l o g ( prompt,t y p eList )

Description

The fileGetDialog global function presents the Open dialog box that is standard for the platform on which
After Effects is running.
The typeList is a semicolon-separated list of four-character Mac OS file types followed by Windows file exten-
sions. For example, a value of "EggP aep" for this argument specifies that the Open dialog box is to display
After Effects project items only; other file types will be grayed out.

Parameters

prompt message that displays on the title bar of the dialog; truncated if too long

typeList a platform-specific value indicating a list of file types to display

Returns

File object, or null if the user cancels the dialog.

filePutDialog() global function

fi l e Pu t D i a l o g ( prompt,de fault,t y p e )

Description

The filePutDialog global function presents the Save dialog box that is standard for the platform on which After
Effects is running.

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Parameters

prompt message that appears on the title bar of the dialog; truncated if too long

default default file name to display in the file-saving dialog; this value must observe the file-naming
conventions of the platform on which After Effects is running

type specified file type

Returns

File object, or null if the user cancels the dialog.

folderGetDialog() global function

folderGetDialog( prompt )

Description

The folderGetDialog global function displays a dialog in which the user can select a folder.

Parameters

prompt message that appears on the title bar of the dialog; truncated if too long

Returns

Folder object, or null if the user cancels the dialog.

prompt() global function

prompt( prompt, de fault )

Description

The prompt global function opens a dialog box with a text field into which the user can enter a text string. The
text string is returned as a value, or is null if the dialog is cancelled.

Parameters

prompt text string that appears in the prompt dialog

default text string that appears by default in the text field

Returns

String, or null if dialog is cancelled. Read-only.

Example
// presuming a project loaded w ith at least one comp is open:
var my CompItem = app. project.item(1);
var newName = prompt( "What would you like to name the comp?");
// ren a me it

i f ( n e w Na m e ) { / / i f t h e u s e r c a n ce l s , n e w Na m e i s nul l
myComp Item. n a me = n ewNa me; / / n e w Na m e n ow h old s a s t r i n g
}

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write() global function

w r ite( te x t )

Description

The write global function writes output to the Info palette, with no line break added.

Parameters

text text string; truncated if too long for the info palette

Example
w r i te ( “ T h i s tex t a p p e a r s i n In f o p a l e t te .” ) ;

See also

“writeLn() global function” on page 26

writeLn() global function

w r iteL n ( te x t )

Description

The write global function writes output to the info palette and adds a line break at the end.

Parameters

text text string

Example
w r iteLn(“ This line of text appears in the console w indow w ith a line break at the end.”);

See also

“TextDocument.” on page 178

Application object
app.

Description

The application (app) global object enables access to data and functionality within the After Effects appli-
cation. Attributes of the Application object provide access to specific objects within After Effects. Methods of
the Application object can create documents, open existing documents, control Watch Folder mode, purge
memory, and quit the After Effects application. When the After Effects application quits, it closes the open
project, prompting the user to save or discard changes as necessary, and creates a project file as necessary.

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Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

p ro j e c t see “Application project attribute” on instance of the current After Effects Project
page 34 and “Project object” on and all of its associated methods & attributes
page 121

language see “Application language attribute” on identifies the language in which the applica-
page 32 tion is running

version see “Application version attribute” on identifies the version number of the After
page 36 Effects application

ser ialNumber see “Application serialNumber identifies the serial number of the After Effects
Attribute” on page 35 installation

re g isteredName see“Application registeredName identifies the name to which the After Effects
attribute” on page 35 installation is registered

re g isteredCompany see “Application registeredCompany identifies the company to which the After
attribute” on page 35 Effects installation is registered

buildName see “Application buildName attribute” identifies the name of this build of the applica-
on page 29 tion

buildNumber see “Application buildNumber identifies the number of this build of the appli-
attribute” on page 29 cation

isProfessionalVersion see “Application isProfessionalVersion identifies if the After Effects version is the Pro-
attribute” on page 31 fessional Version

isWatch Folder see “Application isWatchFolder boolean that returns true when the local appli-
attribute” on page 31 cation is running in Watch Folder mode

isRenderEng ine see “Application isRenderEngine identifies whether the local After Effects appli-
attribute” on page 31 cation is installed as a render engine

settings see “Application settings attribute” on calls settings within After Effects that can be
page 36 and “Settings object” on set via scripting
page 170

onEr ror see “Application onError attribute” on a callback that is called when an error occurs in
page 33 the application

ex itCo d e see “Application exitCode attribute” on Used only when executing script externally
page 31 (i.e., from a command line or AppleScript). Set
to zero, indicates no error occurred; set to a
positive number, indicates an error occurred
while running the script.

exitAfterLaunchAndEval see “Application exitAfterLaunchAndE- specifies whether the application remains

val attribute” on page 30 open after running a script from the command
line on Windows

Methods

Method Reference Description

n e w Pro j e c t ( ) see “Application newProject() method” opens a new project in After Effects
on page 32

open() see “Application open() method” on opens a project or an Open Project dialog
page 33

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Method Reference Description

quit() see “Application quit() method” on quits the application

page 34

watchFolder() see “Application watchFolder() method” starts watch-folder mode; does not return until
on page 37 watch-folder mode is turned off

pauseWatchFolder() see “Application pauseWatchFolder() pauses a current watch-folder process

method” on page 34

endWatchFolder() see “Application endWatchFolder() ends a current watch-folder process

method” on page 30

purge() see “Application purge() method” on purges a targeted type of cached information
page 34 (replicates Purge options in the Edit menu)

b e g i n Un d o Gro u p ( ) see “Application beginUndoGroup() groups the actions that follow it into a single
method” on page 28 undoable step

endUndoGroup() see “Application endUndoGroup() ends an undo group; needed only when one
method” on page 29 script contains more than one undo group

b e g i n Su p p re s s D i a l o g s ( ) see “Application beginSuppressDia- begins suppression of dialogs in the user inter-

logs() method” on page 28 face

endSuppressDialog s() see “Application endSuppressDialogs() ends suppression of dialogs in the user inter-
method” on page 29 face

setMemor yUsageLimits() see “Application setMemoryUsageLim- sets memory usage limits as in the Cache pref-
its() method” on page 36 erences tab

setSavePreferencesOnQuit() see “Application setSavePreferencesOn- sets whether Preferences are saved when the
Quit() method” on page 36 application is quit

Application beginSuppressDialogs() method

app. b e g i n Su p p re s s D i a l o g s ( )

Description

This method begins suppression of dialogs in the user interface.

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

Application beginUndoGroup() method

app. b e g i n Un d o Gro u p ( u n d oSt r i n g )

Description

An undo group allows a script to logically group all of its actions as a single undoable action (for use with the
Edit Undo/Redo menu items). Should be used in conjunction with the application.endUndoGroup() method.
Please note that beginUndoGroup() and endUndoGroup() pairs can be nested. Groups within groups become
part of the larger group, and will undo correctly. In such cases, the names of inner groups are ignored.

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Parameters

undoSt r ing (mandatory) the text that will appear for the Undo command in the Edit menu (i.e.,“Undo undoSt r ing ”)

See also

“Application endUndoGroup() method” on page 29

Application buildName attribute

app.buildName

Description

The buildName attribute identfies the name of the build of After Effects being run. This attribute is used
primarily by Adobe for testing and troubleshooting purposes.

Type

String; read-only.

Application buildNumber attribute

app.buildNumber

Description

The buildNumber attribute identfies the number of the build of After Effects being run. This attribute is used
primarily by Adobe for testing and troubleshooting purposes.

Type

Integer; read-only.

Application endSuppressDialogs() method

app.endSuppressDialog s( a l e r t )

Description

This method ends the suppression of dialogs in the user interface. It should be called only if beginSuppress-
Dialogs() has previously been called.
If the input argument 'alert' is true, and any errors occurred between the calls to beginSuppressDialogs() and
endSuppressDialogs(), then a dialog will be presented to the user displaying that error message.

Parameters

aler t boolean; specifies whether errors that have occurred following beginSuppressDialogs() should be dis-
played

See also

“Application beginSuppressDialogs() method” on page 28

Application endUndoGroup() method

app.endUndoGroup()

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Description

This ends the undo group begun with the app.beginUndoGroup() method. You can use this method to place
an end to an undo group in the middle of a script, should you wish to use more than one undo group for a
single script.
If you are using only a single undo group for a given script, you do not need to use this method; in its absence
at the end of a script, the system will close the undo group automatically.
Calling this method without having set a beginUndoGroup() method yields an error.

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

See also

“Application beginUndoGroup() method” on page 28

Application endWatchFolder() method

app.endWatchFolder()

Description

The endWatchFolder() method ends watch folder mode.

Parameters

None

See also

“Application version attribute” on page 36

“Application pauseWatchFolder() method” on page 34

Application exitAfterLaunchAndEval attribute

app.exitAfterLaunchAndEval

Description

This attribute is used only when executing a script from a command line on Windows. When the application
is launched from the command line, the - r or - s command line flag will cause the application to run a script
(from a file and from a string, respectively).
If this attribute is set to true, After Effects will exit after the script is run; if it is false, the application will remain
open.
Note that this attribute only has an effect when After Effects is run, and it has no effect on Mac OS.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

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Application exitCode attribute

app. exitCo d e

Description

The exitCode attribute is used only when executing a script from outside After Effects (i.e., from a command
line or AppleScript).
On Mac OS and Windows, the exitCode is set to 0 (EXIT_SUCCESS) at the beginning of each script evalu-
ation. In the event of an error while the script is running, it will be set to a positive integer.

Type

Integer; read/write.

Example
app. exitCode = 2; //on quit, if value is 2, no er ror has occur re d

Application isProfessionalVersion attribute

app.isProfessionalVersion

Description

The isProfessionalVersion attribute is a boolean used to determine if the locally installed After Effects appli-
cation is the Standard or Professional version.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

Example
v a r P B = a p p. i s Pro d u c t i o n Bu n d l e ;
a l e r t ( " It i s " + P B + " t h a t yo u a re r u n n i n g t h e Pro d u c t i o n Bu n d l e . " ) ;

Application isRenderEngine attribute

app.isRenderEng ine

Description

The isRenderEngine attribute is a boolean used to determine if an installation of After Effects is a Render
Engine only installation.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

Application isWatchFolder attribute

app.isWatch Folder

Description

The isWatchFolder attribute is a boolean used to determine if the Watch Folder dialog is currently displayed
(and the application is currently watching a folder for rendering). This returns true when the Watch Folder
dialog is open.

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Type

Boolean; read-only.

Application language attribute

app.language

Description

The language attribute indicates in which language After Effects is running. The codes for the language
attribute are as follows:
• Language.ENGLISH
• Language.FRENCH
• Language.GERMAN
• Language.JAPANESE

Type

Language enumerated type (listed above).

Example
var lang = app.language;
if (lang == Language.JAPANESE){
ale r t("After E ffects is r u n n in g i n Jap a n e s e . " ) } ;
else i f (l a n g == L a n g u a g e. E N GL I S H ) {
ale r t("After E ffects is r u n n in g i n E n g li s h . " ) } ;
else i f (l a n g == L a n g u a g e. FR E N C H ){
aler t("After Effects is r unning in French.")};
else{
aler t("After Effects is r unning in Ger man.")
};

Application newProject() method

app. n e w Pro j e c t ( )

Description

The newProject method opens a new project in After Effects, replicating the File > New > New Project menu
command. If a project is already open and has been edited, the user will be prompted to save.
Use app.project.close(CloseOptions.DO_NOT_SAVE_CHANGES) to close an open project before opening
a new one.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Project object; null if the user cancels a Save dialog in response to having an open project that has been edited
since the last save.

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Example
app. p ro j ect. cl o se(C l o seOp ti o n s. D O_N OT _ S AV E _ C HAN G E S ) ;
a p p. n e w Pro j e c t ( ) ;

See also

“Project close() method” on page 123

Application onError attribute

app.onEr ror

Description

The onError attribute takes a function to perform an action when an error occurs. By creating a function and
assigning it to onError, you can respond to the error systematically, e.g., close and restart the application,
noting the error in a log file if it occurred during rendering.

Type

Function that takes a string, or null if no function is assigned.

Example
function er r(er rSt r ing) (
aler t(er rSt r ing);
)
app. onEr ror = er r

Application open() method

app.open()
app.open( fi l e )

Description

The open() method opens a project. If the file parameter is null (i.e., if no argument is used) the user will be
presented with a dialog to select and open a file.

Parameters

file (Optional) File object being opened

Returns

Project object (the file specified as a parameter), or null if the user cancels the Open dialog.

Example
var my_file = new File("../my_folder/my_test.aep");
if ( my _ fi l e. exist){
new_pro ject = app. open(my_file);
i f ( n e w _ p ro j e c t ) {
a l er t(n ew_ p ro j ect. fi l e. n a me);
}
}

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Application pauseWatchFolder() method

app.pauseWatchFolder( p a u s e )

Description

The pauseWatchFolder() method pauses searching the target folder for render items.

Parameters

pa u se boolean (paused - true or false)

See also

“Application version attribute” on page 36

“Application endWatchFolder() method” on page 30

Application project attribute

app.project

Description

This attribute is the project that is currently loaded.

For more information about what is contained in the Project object, see “Project object” on page 121.

Type

Project; read-only.

Application purge() method

app.purge(target)

Description

The purge method replicates the functionality and target options of the Purge options within the Edit menu.
The target parameter contains the area of memory to be purged; the options for target are listed as enumerated
variables below.

Parameters

target the type of elements to purge from memory; use one of Enumerated Types below

Enumerated Types

PurgeTarget.ALL_CACHES purges all data that After Effects has cached to physical memory

Purg eTa rg et. U N D O_ C AC H E S purges all data saved in the undo cache

Purg eTa rg et. S NA P S H OT_ C AC H E S purges all data cached as comp/layer snapshots

Purg eTa rg et. I MAGE _ C AC H E S purges all saved image data

Application quit() method

app. quit()

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Description

The quit method quits the application.

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

Application registeredCompany attribute

app. re g i s te re d Com p a ny

Description

Text string; name (if any) that the user of the application entered as the registered company at the time of
installation.

Type

Text string; read-only.

Example
var company = app. re g isteredCompany ;
aler t(“Your company name is “ + company + “.”);

Application registeredName attribute

app. re g i s te re d Na m e

Description

The registeredName attribute contains the text string that the user of the application entered for the registered
name at the time of installation.

Type

Text string; read-only.

Example
var userName = app. re g isteredName;
confir m(“Are you “ + userName + “?”);
Application serialNumber Attribute
app.ser ialNumber

Description

The serialNumber attribute contains an alphanumeric string that is the serial number of the installed version
of After Effects.

Type

String; read-only.

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Example
var ser ial = app.ser ialNumber ;
aler t("This copy is ser ial number " + ser ial);

Application setMemoryUsageLimits() method

app.setMemor yUsageLimits( i m a g e C a c h e Pe rc e n t a g e , m a x i m u m Me m o r y Pe rc e n t a g e )

Description

This method sets memory usage limits as in the Cache preferences tab.

Parameters

imageCachePercentage floating-point value; percentage of memory assigned to image cache

maximumMemor yPercentage floating-point value; maximum usable percentage of memory

Returns

None.

Application setSavePreferencesOnQuit() method

app.setSavePreferencesOnQuit( doSave )

Description

This method sets the toggle that determines whether preferences are saved when the application is closed
(quit).

Parameters

doS ave boolean; if true, preferences are set to save on quit

Returns

None.

Application settings attribute

app.settings

Description

This attribute holds the currently loaded settings.

For more information about what is contained in the Settings object, see “Settings object” on page 170.

Type

Settings; read-only.

Application version attribute

app.version

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Description

The version attribute returns an alphanumerical string indicating which version of After Effects is running.

Type

String; read-only.

Example
var ver = app. version;
aler t("This machine is r unning version " + ver + " of Af ter Effects.");

Application watchFolder() method

app.watchFolder( f o l d e r _ o b j e c t _ t o _ w a t c h )

Description

The watchFolder() method starts a watch folder (network rendering) process pointed at a specified folder.

Parameters

fo l d er_ o bj ect_ to _ wa tch the Folder object to be watched

Example
var theFolder = new Folder(“c:\\tool”);
app.watchFolder(theFolder);

See also

“Application endWatchFolder() method” on page 30

“Application pauseWatchFolder() method” on page 34

AVItem object
app. project. item( i n d e x )

Description

The AVitem object provides access to attributes and methods of audio/visual files imported into After Effects.
AVItem is the base class for both CompItem and FootageItem, so AVItem attributes and methods are also
available when working in CompItem and FootageItem.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

n am e see “AVItem name attribute” on page 41 name of the object as shown in the Project
window

w id th see “AVItem width attribute” on page 44 integer [1 ..30,000] describing the width, in pix-
els of the item

heig ht see “AVItem height attribute” on integer [1 .. 30,000] describing the height, in
page 41 pixels of the item

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Attribute Reference Description

p i xe l Asp e c t see “AVItem pixelAspect attribute” on pixel aspect ratio; floating-point value [0.01
page 41 ..100]

f r a m e R a te see “AVItem frameRate attribute” on frame rate of the AVItem [1..99]

page 40

frameDuration see “AVItem frameDuration attribute” frame rate for the AVItem [1/99 .. 1 ]
on page 39

dur at i on see “AVItem duration attribute” on duration of the AVItem, in seconds [0 .. 10,800]
page 39

u se Proxy see “AVItem useProxy attribute” on boolean describing whether a proxySource

page 44 should be used for this item

proxySource see “AVItem proxySource attribute” on FootageItem used as proxy of the AVItem;
page 42 read-only

time see “AVItem time attribute” on page 44 current time of the AVItem in seconds

u s e d In see “AVItem usedIn attribute” on array containing all the CompItems that use
page 44 this AVItem

h a s Vi d e o see “AVItem hasVideo attribute” on true if the AVItem has an audio component
page 40

has Au d io see “AVItem hasAudio attribute” on true if the AVItem has a video component
page 40

footageMissing see “AVItem footageMissing attribute” true if the AVItem cannot be found or if it is a
on page 39 placeholder

Attributes from Item object (See “Item object” on page 97)

Attribute Reference Description

n am e see “Item name attribute” on page 98 name of the object as shown in the Project
window

comment see “Item comment attribute” on string that holds a comment

page 98

id see “Item id attribute” on page 98 unique integer ID for this item

parentFolder see “Item parentFolder attribute” on parent folder of this item

page 98

s e l e c te d see “Item selected attribute” on page 99 true if this item is currently selected

t y p e Na m e see “Item typeName attribute” on string corresponding to the type of item

page 99

Methods

Method Reference Description

s e t Prox y ( ) see “AVItem setProxy() method” on sets a proxy for the AVItem
page 42

set Proxy Wi thS equ en ce() see “AVItem setProxyWithSequence() sets a sequence as a proxy for the AVItem
method” on page 43

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Method Reference Description

s e t Prox y Wi t h S o l i d ( ) see “AVItem setProxyWithSolid() sets a solid as a proxy (feature available only via
method” on page 43 scripting)

set Proxy Wi thP l a ceho l d er() see “AVItem setProxyWithPlaceholder() sets a placeholder as a proxy
method” on page 42

set Proxy To No n e() see “AVItem setProxyToNone() method” removes the proxy
on page 42

Method from Item object (See“Item object” on page 97)

Method Reference Description

rem ove() see “Item remove() method” on page 99 deletes the item from the project

AVItem duration attribute

app. project.ite m(index). dur at i on

Description

The duration attribute returns the duration, in seconds, of the item. This attribute is read-only unless it is a
CompItem.
Permissible range of values is [0..10,800]. In a FootageItem, duration is linked to the duration of the
mainSource; in a CompItem, it is linked to the duration of the composition. This value may be written only
in a CompItem. It is an error to change this value if the item is a FootageItem.
Note: Still footage items have a duration of 0.

Type

Floating-point value; seconds. Read/write when item is a CompItem; otherwise, read-only.

AVItem footageMissing attribute

app. project.ite m(index). footageMissing

Description

The footageMissing attribute is true if the AVItem cannot be found or if it is a placeholder.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVItem frameDuration attribute

app. project.ite m(index). f r a m e D u r a t i o n

Description

The frameDuration attribute returns the length, in seconds, of a frame for this AVItem.
Permitted range is [1/99 .. 1 ]. This is the reciprocal of frameRate. When you set the frameDuration, you are
really storing the reciprocal as a new frameRate.

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When you read the value back, you are retrieving the reciprocal of the frameRate. Hence, if you set and then
get the value to be a frameDuration that does not evenly divide into 1.0 (for example, 0.3), the value you get
back will be close, but not exactly equal; due to numerical limitations, (1 / ( 1 / 0.3) ) != 0.3, but rather
something close to 0.3.
If the AVItem is a FootageItem, then this attribute is readOnly.
In the case of a FootageItem, you must write to the conformFrameRate of the mainSource in order to change
the frameRate, and hence the frameDuration.

Type

Floating-point value; seconds. Read/write or read-only if AVItem is a FootageItem.

AVItem frameRate attribute

app. project.ite m(index). f r a m e R a te

Description

The frameRate attribute returns frame rate of the AVItem.

Permitted range is [1..99]. If the AVItem is a CompItem, then this corresponds to the frameRate of the comp.
If the AVItem is a FootageItem, then this corresponds to the displayFrameRate of the mainSource, and is
readOnly.
In the case of a FootageItem, you must write to the conformFrameRate of the mainSource in order to change
the frame rate.

Type

Floating-point value; frames per second. Read/write or read-only if AVItem is a FootageItem.

AVItem hasAudio attribute

app. project.ite m(index). ha sAu d io

Description

The hasAudio attribute is true if the AVItem has an audio component.

In the case of a CompItem, the value reflects the value for the comp. In the case of a FootageItem, the value
reflects the value for the mainSource.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVItem hasVideo attribute

app. project.ite m(index). h a s Vi d e o

Description

The hasVideo attribute is true if the AVItem has a video component.

In the case of a CompItem, the value reflects the value for the comp. In the case of a FootageItem, the value
reflects the value for the mainSource.

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Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVItem height attribute

app. project.ite m(index). heig ht

Description

The height attribute is the height, in pixels, of the item.

Permitted range is [1 ..30,000]. In a FootageItem, height is linked to the height of the mainSource; in a
CompItem, it is linked to the height of a composition. It is legal to change the height of a CompItem or a
FootageItem whose mainSource is a SolidSource. It is an error to change the height if the item is a FootageItem
whose mainSource is not a SolidSource.

Type

Integer; read-only unless a CompItem.

AVItem name attribute

app. project.ite m(index). n a me

Description

The name attribute is the name of the object as shown in the Project window.
In a FootageItem, the name is linked to the mainSource.
It is an error to attempt to change the name if the mainSource is a FileSource; in that case, the name is tied to
the name of the file(s) and may not be changed.

Type

String; read/write.

AVItem pixelAspect attribute

app. project.ite m(index). p i xe l Asp e c t

Description

The pixelAspect attribute determines the pixel aspect ratio of a given item.
Permitted range is [0.01 .. 100]. In a FootageItem, pixelAspect is linked to the pixelAspect of the mainSource;
in a CompItem, it is linked to the pixelAspect of a composition.
Certain pixelAspect values are specially known to After Effects, and will be stored/retrieved with perfect
accuracy. These are the set { 1, 0.9, 1.2, 1.07, 1.42, 2, 0.95, 1.9 }. Other values may experience slight rounding
errors when you set them and get them. Thus, the value you retrieve after setting may be slightly different from
the value you supplied.

Type

Floating-point value; read-only unless a CompItem.

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AVItem proxySource attribute

app. project.ite m(index). proxySource

Description

The proxySource attribute is the FootageSource being used as a proxy.

The attribute is read-only, but it can be changed by calling any of the AVItem methods that change the proxy
source: setProxy(), setProxyWithSequence(), setProxyWithSolid(), and setProxyWithPlaceholder().

Type

FootageSource; read-only.

AVItem setProxy() method

app. project.ite m(index) . s e t Prox y ( F i l e fi l e )

Description

The setProxy method sets a file as the proxy of an AVItem.

It loads the given file into a FileSource and establishes this as the new proxySource. It does not preserve the
interpretation parameters, instead using the user preference.
This is different than what happens with a FootageItem's main source, but both are the same behavior as the
user interface. If the file has an unlabeled alpha channel, and the user preference says to ask the user what to
do via a dialog, scripting will guess the alpha interpretation instead of asking the user. After changing the
proxySource, this method will set the value of useProxy to true.

Parameters

File file to be used as a proxy

Returns

None.

AVItem setProxyToNone() method

app. project.ite m(index) . setProxy To Non e ( )

Description

The setProxyToNone method removes the proxy from this AVItem. Following this, the value of proxySource
is null.

Returns

None.

AVItem setProxyWithPlaceholder() method

app. project.ite m(index) . setProxy With P la ceh old e r ( name, w idth, he ig ht, frameRate, dura t ion )

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Description

The setProxyWithPlaceholder method creates a PlaceholderSource with specifications according to the input
arguments and establishes this as the new proxySource.
Note that there is no direct way to set a placeholder as a proxy in the user interface; this behavior occurs when
a proxy has been set and then moved or deleted.
This method does not preserve the interpretation parameters. After changing the proxySource, the value of
useProxy is set to true.

Parameters

n a me text string

w idth, heig ht pixel dimensions of solid[4..30,000]

f r a m e R a te frames per second [1..99]

dur at i on length in seconds [0..10,800] (up to 3 hours)

Returns

None.

AVItem setProxyWithSequence() method

app. project.ite m(index) . setProxy With S e q u e n ce ( file, forc eAlphabe t ical )

Description

The setProxy method loads the given sequence into a FileSource and establishes this as the new proxySource.
It loads the given sequence into a FileSource and establishes this as the new proxySource. It does not preserve
the interpretation parameters, instead using the user preference.
If the file has an unlabeled alpha channel, and the user preference says to ask the user what to do via a dialog,
scripting will guess the alpha interpretation instead of asking the user.

Parameters

File file to be used as a proxy.

forceAlphabetical boolean determining whether to use the “force alphabetical order” option

Returns

None.

AVItem setProxyWithSolid() method

app. project.ite m(index) . s e t Prox y Wi t h S o l i d ( c o l o r, n a m e , w i d t h , h e i g h t , p i x e l As p e c t )

Description

The setProxyWithSolid method creates a SolidSource with specifications according to the input arguments
and establishes this SolidSource as the new proxySource.
Note that there is no way, using the user interface, to set a solid as a proxy; this feature is available only via
scripting.

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This method does not preserve the interpretation parameters. After changing the proxySource, the value of
useProxy is set to true.

Parameters

color array of 3 floats in the range [0..1] (red, green, and blue values)

w idth, heig ht pixel dimension of solid[1..30,000]

p i xe l As p e c t pixel aspect of solid [0.01 .. 100]

Returns

None.

AVItem time attribute

app. project.ite m(index). t i m e

Description

The time attribute is the current time of the item when it is being previewed directly from the Project window.
It is an error to set this on a FootageItem whose mainSource is a still (i.e., if mainSource.isStill is true).

Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

AVItem usedIn attribute

app. project.ite m(index). u s e d In

Description

The usedIn attribute is an array containing all the CompItems that use this AVItem.
Note: The returned value will not automatically update in response to changes that occur after you retrieve it. So
if you retrieve usedIn and then add this item into another comp, you need to retrieve usedIn again in order to get
an array that includes the new comp.

Type

Array of CompItem; read-only.

AVItem useProxy attribute

app. project.ite m(index). u seProxy

Description

The useProxy attribute determines whether a proxy should be used for the item.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

AVItem width attribute

app. project.ite m(index). w id th

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Description

The width attribute specifies the width, in pixels, of the item. Permitted range is [1 ..30,000].
In a FootageItem, width is linked to the mainSource's width; in a CompItem, it is linked to the comp's width.
It is legal to change the width of a CompItem or a FootageItem whose mainSource is a SolidSource. It is an
error to change the width if the item is a FootageItem whose mainSource is not a SolidSource.

Type

Integer; read-only unless a CompItem.

AVLayer object
app. project. l ayer( i n d e x )

Description

The AVLayer object provides an interface to those layers that contain AVItems (Comp layers, footage layers,
solid layers, text layers, and sound layers).
Since AVLayer is a subclass of Layer, all methods and attributes of Layer, in addition to those listed below, are
available when working with AVLayer.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

sou rce see “AVLayer source attribute” on source item for this layer
page 51

i s Na m e From S o u rce see “AVLayer isNameFromSource true if the layer has no expressly set name, but
attribute” on page 50 contains a named source

heig ht see “AVLayer height attribute” on height of the layer in pixels

page 50

w id th see “AVLayer width attribute” on width of the layer in pixels

page 52

audio E n a bl ed see “AVLayer audioEnabled attribute” on true if the layer's audio is enabled
page 47

motionBlur see “AVLayer motionBlur attribute” on true if layer's motionBlur is enabled

page 51

e f f e c t s Ac t ive see “AVLayer effectsActive attribute” on true if the layer's effects are active
page 49

adjust mentLayer see “AVLayer adjustmentLayer attribute” true if this is an adjustment layer
on page 46

guideLayer see “AVLayer guideLayer attribute” on specifies whether this AVLayer is a guide layer
page 50

t h re e D L ayer see “AVLayer threeDLayer attribute” on true if this is a 3D layer

page 52

canS etCo l l a p seTr a n sfo r ma tio n see “AVLayer canSetCollapseTransfor- true if it is legal to change the value of collapse-
mation attribute” on page 48 Transformation on this layer

collapseTr ansfor mation see “AVLayer collapseTransformation true if collapse transformation is on

attribute” on page 49

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Attribute Reference Description

fr ameBlending see “AVLayer frameBlending attribute” true if frame blending is enabled

on page 49

c a n S e t Ti m e Re m a p E n a b l e d see “AVLayer canSetTimeRemapEn- true if it is legal to change the value of timeR-

abled attribute” on page 49 emap

t im eRema p E n a bl ed see “AVLayer timeRemapEnabled true if time remapping is enabled on this layer
attribute” on page 52

has Au d io see “AVLayer hasAudio attribute” on true if the layer contains an audio component
page 50

a u d i o Ac t ive see “AVLayer audioActive attribute” on true if the layer's audio is active at the current
page 47 time

blendingMode see “AVLayer blendingMode attribute” blending mode of the layer

on page 47

preser veTr ansparency see “AVLayer preserveTransparency true if preserve transparency is enabled
attribute” on page 51

t r ackMatteTy p e see “AVLayer trackMatteType attribute” if layer has a track matte, specifies the way it
on page 52 will be applied

isTr a ckMatte see “AVLayer isTrackMatte attribute” on true if this layer is being used as a matte track
page 51 for the layer below it

hasTr a ckMatte see “AVLayer hasTrackMatte attribute” true if the layer above is being used as a track
on page 50 matte on this layer

qualit y see “AVLayer quality attribute” on layer quality setting

page 51

guideLayer see “AVLayer guideLayer attribute” on true if the layer is a guide layer
page 50

Method

Method Reference Description

a u d i o Ac t ive At Ti m e ( ) see “AVLayer audioActiveAtTime() given a time, returns whether this layer's audio
method” on page 47 is active at that time

Example

If the first item in the project is a CompItem, and the first layer of that CompItem is an AVLayer, the following
would set the layer quality, startTime, and inPoint.
var firstLayer = app. project.item(1).layer(1);
firstLayer. qualit y = LayerQualit y.BEST;
firstLayer.star tTime = 1;
firstLayer.inPoint = 2;

AVLayer adjustmentLayer attribute

app. project.ite m(index). adjust mentLayer

Description

The adjustmentLayer attribute returns a value of true if the layer is an adjustment layer.

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Type

Boolean; read/write.

AVLayer audioActive attribute

app. project.ite m(index). a u d i o Ac t ive

Description

The audioActive attribute returns a value of true if the layer's audio is active at the current time.
To be true, audioEnabled must be true, no other layer with audio may be soloing unless this layer is soloed
too, and the time must be in between the inPoint and outPoint of this layer.
Type
Boolean; read-only.

AVLayer audioActiveAtTime() method

app. project.ite m(index) . a u d i o Ac t ive At Ti m e ( t im e )

Description

Given a time, the audioActiveAtTime method returns whether this layer's audio will be active at that
time.
To be true the layer’s audioEnabled attribute must be true, no other layer containing audio may be soloing
unless this layer is soloed too, and the given time must be between this layer's inPoint and outPoint.

Parameters

time time, in seconds (floating-point value)

Returns

Boolean.

AVLayer audioEnabled attribute

app. project.ite m(index). a u d i o E n a bl ed

Description

The audioEnabled attribute is true if the layer's audio is enabled. This attribute corresponds to the speaker
button in the user interface.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

AVLayer blendingMode attribute

app. project.ite m(index). blendingMode.

Description

The blendingMode is the blending mode of the layer.

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Type

Enumerated type (read/write); one of the following:

BlendingMode.ADD

BlendingMode.ALPHA_ADD

BlendingMode.CLASSIC_COLOR_BURN

BlendingMode.CLASSIC_COLOR_D OD GE

BlendingMode.CLASSIC_DIFFERENCE

BlendingMode.COLOR

BlendingMode.COLOR_BURN

BlendingMode.COLOR_D OD GE

BlendingMode.DANCING_DISSOLVE

BlendingMode.DARKEN

BlendingMode.DIFFERENCE

BlendingMode.DISSOLVE

BlendingMode.EXCLUSION

BlendingMode.HARD_LIGHT

BlendingMode.HARD_MIX

BlendingMode.HUE

BlendingMode.LIGHTEN

BlendingMode.LINEAR_BURN

BlendingMode.LINEAR_D OD GE

BlendingMode.LINEAR_LIGHT

BlendingMode.LUMINESCENT_PREMUL

BlendingMode.LUMINOSITY

BlendingMode.MULTIPLY

BlendingMode.NORMAL

BlendingMode.OVERLAY
BlendingMode.PIN_LIGHT

BlendingMode.SATURATION

BlendingMode.SCREEN

BlendingMode.SILHOUETE_ALPHA

BlendingMode.SILHOUET TE_LUMA

BlendingMode.SOFT_LIGHT

BlendingMode.STENCIL_ALPHA

BlendingMode.STENCIL_LUMA

BlendingMode.VIVID_LIGHT

AVLayer canSetCollapseTransformation attribute

app. project.ite m(index). ca n S etCo l l a ps e Tr a n s f or m a t i on

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Description

The canSetCollapseTransformation attribute returns a value of true if it is legal to change the value of the
collapseTransformation attribute on this layer.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVLayer canSetTimeRemapEnabled attribute

app. project.ite m(index). c a n S e t Ti m e Re m a p E n a b l e d

Description

The canSetTimeRemapEnabled attribute returns a value of true if it is legal to change the value of the timeR-
emapEnabled attribute on this layer.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVLayer collapseTransformation attribute

app. project.ite m(index). co llapseTr ansfor mation

Description

The collapseTransformation attribute returns a value of true if collapse transformation is on for this layer.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

AVLayer effectsActive attribute

app. project.ite m(index). e f f e c t s Ac t ive

Description

The effectsActive attribute returns a value of true if the layer's effects are active.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

AVLayer frameBlending attribute

app. project.ite m(index). fr ameBlending

Description

The frameBlending attribute returns a value of true if frame blending is enabled.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

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AVLayer guideLayer attribute

app. project.ite m(index). guideLayer

Description

This attribute returns a value of true if the layer is a guide layer.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVLayer hasAudio attribute

app. project.ite m(index). ha sAu d io

Description

The hasAudio attribute holds a value of true if the layer contains an audio component, regardless of whether
it is audioEnabled or soloed.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVLayer hasTrackMatte attribute

app. project.ite m(index). hasTr a ckMatte

Description

The hasTrackMatte attribute returns a value of true if the layer in front of this layer is being used as a track
matte on this layer. If true, then this layer's trackMatteType controls how the matte is applied.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVLayer height attribute

app. project.ite m(index). heig ht

Description

The height attribute is the height of the layer, in pixels.

Type

Floating-point value; read-only.

AVLayer isNameFromSource attribute

app. project.ite m(index). i s Na m e From S o u rce

Description

The isNameFromSource attribute returns a value of true if the layer has no expressly set name, but the layer
contains a named source. In this case, layer.name will be the same as layer.source.name. It returns false if the
layer has an expressly set name, or if neither the layer nor the layer's source has a name.

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Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVLayer isTrackMatte attribute

app. project.ite m(index). isTr a ckMatte

Description

The isTrackMatte attribute returns a value of true if this layer is being used as a matte track for the layer behind
it.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

AVLayer motionBlur attribute

app. project.ite m(index). motionBlur

Description

The motionBlur attribute returns a value of true if the layer's motionBlur is enabled.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

AVLayer preserveTransparency attribute

app. project.ite m(index). preser veTr ansparency

Description

The preserveTransparency attribute returns a value of true if preserve transparency is enabled for the layer.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

AVLayer quality attribute

app. project.ite m(index). qualit y.

Description

The quality is the layer quality specifying how this layer is to be displayed.

Type

Enumerated type (read/write); one of the following:

LayerQu a l i t y. B E S T
LayerQualit y.DRAFT
LayerQualit y.WIREFRAME

AVLayer source attribute

app. project.ite m(index). so u rce

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Description

The source attribute is the source AVItem for this layer.

The value of the source will be null in a Text layer.

Type

AVItem; read-only.

AVLayer threeDLayer attribute

app. project.ite m(index). t h re e D L ayer

Description

The threeDLayer attribute is true if this is a 3D layer.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

AVLayer timeRemapEnabled attribute

app. project.ite m(index). ti meRema p E n a b le d

Description

The timeRemapEnabled attribute is true if time remapping is enabled on this layer.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

AVLayer trackMatteType attribute

app. project.ite m(index). t r ackMatteTy p e

Description

If this layer has a track matte, the trackMatteType specifies the way the track matte will be applied.

Type

Enumerated type (read/write); one of the following:

Tr ackMatteTy p e.ALPHA
Tr ackMatteTy p e.ALPHA_INVERTED
Tr ackMatteTy p e.LUMA
Tr ackMatteTy p e.LUMA_INVERTED
Tr ackMatteTy p e.NO_TRACK_MAT TE

AVLayer width attribute

app. project.ite m(index). w id th

Description

The width attribute is the width of the layer, in pixels.

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Type

Floating-point value; read-only.

Collection object
Description

A Collection object acts like an array that provides access to its elements by index. Like an array, a collection
associates a set of objects or values as a logical group and provides random access to them. However, most
collection objects are read-only. You do not assign objects to them yourself—their contents update automat-
ically as objects are created or deleted.
The index numbering of a collection starts with 1, not 0.

Objects

Object Reference Description

ItemCol l ec t ion see “ItemCollection” on page 99 a collection of all of the items (imported files,
folders, solids, etc.) found in the Project win-
dow

L ayer Co l l e c t i o n see “LayerCollection” on page 110 contains all of the layers in a composition

O M Co l l e c t i o n see “OMCollection” on page 119 contains all of the OutputModule items in the
project

RQItemCol l ec t ion see “RQItemCollection” on page 164 contains all of the RenderQueue items in the
project

Attributes

length the number of objects in the collection (applies to all collections)

Methods

[] retrieves an object or objects in the collection via its index number

CompItem object
app. project .item( i n d e x )

Description

The CompItem object provides access to attributes and methods of Compositions. These are accessed via their
index number.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

frameDuration see “CompItem frameDuration The duration of a single frame in seconds. This
attribute” on page 58 is the inverse of the framerate.

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Attribute Reference Description

wor k Area S ta r t see “CompItem workAreaStart the work area start time (in seconds)
attribute” on page 61

wor k Are a D u r a t i o n see “CompItem workAreaDuration the work area duration (in seconds)
attribute” on page 61

numLayers see “CompItem numLayers attribute” on number of layers in the CompItem

page 59

hideShyLayers see “CompItem hideShyLayers corresponds to the value of the Hide All Shy
attribute” on page 58 Layers button in the Composition window

motionBlur see “CompItem motionBlur attribute” if true, motion blur is enabled for this comp
on page 59

dr aft3d see “CompItem draft3d attribute” on sets the 3d display mode to Draft quality
page 57

fr ameBlending see “CompItem frameBlending if true, time filtering is enabled for this comp
attribute” on page 57

preser veNestedFr ameRate see “CompItem preserveNestedFrameR- boolean determining whether the frame rate
ate attribute” on page 59 of nested compositions should be preserved

preser veNestedResolution see “CompItem preserveNestedResolu- boolean determining whether the resolution
tion attribute” on page 60 of nested compositions should be preserved

bgColor see “CompItem bgColor attribute” on background color of the composition

page 56

a c t ive C a m e r a see “CompItem activeCamera attribute” current active Camera Layer

on page 56

displ ay S ta r tTime see “CompItem displayStartTime changes the display of the start time in the
attribute” on page 57 Timeline window

resolutionFactor see “CompItem resolutionFactor integer array determining the factor by which
attribute” on page 60 the x and y resolution of the Composition win-
dow is downsampled

shutterAng le see “CompItem shutterAngle attribute” integer value (0 - 720) determining the camera
on page 61 shutter angle

shutterPhase see “CompItem shutterPhase attribute” integer value (0 - 360) determining the camera
on page 61 shutter phase

layers see “LayerCollection” on page 110 LayerCollection containing the layers of the
compItem

s e l e c te d L ayer s see “CompItem selectedLayers array containing all selected Layers

attribute” on page 60

s e l e c te d Pro p e r t i e s see “CompItem selectedProperties array containing all selected Properties

attribute” on page 60

Attributes inherited from Item object and AVItem object (see “Item object” on page 97 and “AVItem object” on
page 37)

Attribute Reference Description

n am e see “Item name attribute” on page 98 name of the object as shown in the Project
window

comment see “Item comment attribute” on string that holds a comment

page 98

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Attribute Reference Description

id see “Item id attribute” on page 98 unique integer ID for this item

parentFolder see “Item parentFolder attribute” on parent folder of this item

page 98

s e l e c te d see “Item selected attribute” on page 99 true if this item is currently selected

t y p e Na m e see “Item typeName attribute” on string corresponding to the type of item

page 99

w id th see “AVItem width attribute” on page 44 integer [1 ..30,000] describing the width, in pix-
els, of the item

heig ht see “AVItem height attribute” on integer [1 .. 30,000] describing the height, in
page 41 pixels, of the item

p i xe l Asp e c t see “AVItem pixelAspect attribute” on pixel aspect ratio; floating-point value [0.01
page 41 ..100]

f r a m e R a te see “AVItem frameRate attribute” on frame rate of the AVItem [1..99].

page 40

frameDuration see “AVItem frameDuration attribute” frame rate for the AVItem [1/99 .. 1 ].
on page 39

dur at i on see “AVItem duration attribute” on duration of the AVItem, in seconds [0 .. 10,800]
page 39

u se Proxy see “AVItem useProxy attribute” on boolean describing whether a proxySource

page 44 should be used for this item

proxySource see “AVItem proxySource attribute” on FootageItem used as proxy of the AVItem;
page 42 read-only

time see “AVItem time attribute” on page 44 current time of the AVItem in seconds

u s e d In see “AVItem usedIn attribute” on array containing all the CompItems that use
page 44 this AVItem

h a s Vi d e o see “AVItem hasVideo attribute” on true if the AVItem has an audio component
page 40

has Au d io see “AVItem hasAudio attribute” on true if the AVItem has a video component
page 40

footageMissing see “AVItem footageMissing attribute” true if the AVItem cannot be found or if it is a
on page 39 placeholder

Methods

Method Reference Description

duplicate() see “CompItem duplicate() method” on creates and returns a duplicate of this comp
page 57 item

layer() see “CompItem layer() method” on returns the layer using index, relative index or
page 58 name

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Methods inherited from Item object and AVItem object (see “Item object” on page 97 and “AVItem object” on
page 37)

Method Reference Description

rem ove() see “Item remove() method” on page 99 deletes the item from the project

s e t Prox y ( ) see “AVItem setProxy() method” on sets a proxy for the AVItem
page 42

set Proxy Wi thS equ en ce() see “AVItem setProxyWithSequence() sets a sequence as a proxy for the AVItem
method” on page 43

s e t Prox y Wi t h S o l i d ( ) see “AVItem setProxyWithSolid() sets a solid as a proxy (feature available only via
method” on page 43 scripting)

set Proxy Wi thP l a ceho l d er() see “AVItem setProxyWithPlaceholder() sets a placeholder as a proxy
method” on page 42

set Proxy To No n e() see “AVItem setProxyToNone() method” removes the proxy
on page 42

Example

Given that the first item in the project is a CompItem, the following code would result in two alerts. The first
would display the number of layers in the CompItem, and the second would display the name of the last Layer
in the CompItem.
var firstComp = app. project.item(1);
aler t( "number of layers is " + firstComp.numLayers );
aler t( "name of last layer is " + firstComp.layer(firstComp.numLayers).name );

CompItem activeCamera attribute

app. project.ite m(index). a c t ive C a m e r a

Description

The active camera is the front-most camera layer that is enabled. The value is null if the comp contains no
enabled camera layers.

Type

Layer; read-only.

CompItem bgColor attribute

app. project.ite m(index). bgColor

Description

The bgColor attribute specifies the background color of the comp. The value should be an array containing
three floats in the range [0..1] for red, green, and blue.

Type

Array of three floating-point values from 0 to 1: [R, G, B); read/write.

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CompItem displayStartTime attribute

app. project.ite m(index). d i sp l ay S ta r tTi m e

Description

The displayStartTime attribute corresponds the time, in seconds, set as the begining of the composition. This
is the equivalent of the Start Timecode or Start Frame setting in the Composition Settings window, expressed
in seconds.
The permissible range is [0...86339] (86339 is 1 second less than 25 hours).

Type

Floating-point value; time, in seconds. Read/write.

CompItem draft3d attribute

app. project.ite m(index). d r a ft3d

Description

The draft3d attribute determines whether Draft 3D mode is enabled for the Composition window. This corre-
sponds to the value of the draft3d button in the Composition window.

Type

Boolean; if true, enables Draft 3D. Read/write.

CompItem duplicate() method

app. project.ite m(index). duplicate()

Description

The duplicate() method creates and returns a duplicate of this comp item. The duplicate will contain the same
layers as the original.

Parameters

None.

Returns

CompItem.

CompItem frameBlending attribute

app. project.ite m(index). fr ameBlending

Description

The frameBlending attribute determines whether frame blending is enabled for this Composition. Corre-
sponds to the value of the frame blending button in the Composition window.

Type

Boolean; if true, frame blending is enabled; read/write.

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CompItem frameDuration attribute

app. project.ite m(index) . f r a m e D u r a t i o n

Description

The frameDuration attribute returns the duration of a frame, in seconds. This is the inverse of the framerate
(or frames per second). This attribute is read-only.

Type

Floating-point value; read-only.

CompItem hideShyLayers attribute

app. project.ite m(index). hideShyLayers

Description

The hideShyLayers attribute determines whether shy layers should be visible in the Timeline window. It corre-
sponds to the value of the Hide All Shy Layers button in the Composition window.
If false, then only layers with "shy" set to false will be shown. If true, then all layers will be shown regardless of
the value of their "shy" attributes.

Type

Boolean; if true, shy layers are visible. Read/write.

CompItem layer() method

app. project.ite m(index). l ayer( i n d e x )
app. project.ite m(index). l ayer( o t h e r L aye r, re l In d e x )
app. project.ite m(index). l ayer( n a m e )

Description

The layer() method returns a specified layer object.

Using the syntax layer(int index) this method returns the layer with the given index. The given
index must be in the range [1,numLayers], where numLayers is the number of layers in the Composition.
Using the syntax layer(Layer otherLayer, int re lIndex ) this method returns the layer whose index is that of
the given otherlayer added to the given relindex. Relindex must be in the range [(1-otherlayer.index),
(numlayers-otherlayer.index)].
Using the syntax l ayer(S t r in g n a me) this method returns the layer within the CompItem whose name
matches the given name.

Parameters

Note that there are three separate types of usage possible with layer, with unique syntax for each:

index index number of the specified layer; an integer

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or
otherLayer index number of the layer to which an offset will be applied

re lIndex relative position of the layer; the difference between the two index numbers expressed as an
integer

or
n a me name of the specified number; a text string

Returns

Layer object.

CompItem layers attribute

app. project.ite m(index). layers

Description

The layers attribute contains the LayerCollection for this composition.

Type

LayerCollection. Read-only.

CompItem motionBlur attribute

app. project.ite m(index). motionBlur

Description

The motionBlur attribute determines whether motion blur is enabled for the Composition. Corresponds to
the value of the motion blur button in the Composition window.

Type

Boolean; if true, motion blur is enabled. Read/write.

CompItem numLayers attribute

app. project.ite m(index). numLayers

Description

The numLayers attribute is the number of layers in the CompItem. This always equals length of the LayerCol-
lection.

Type

Integer. Read-only.

CompItem preserveNestedFrameRate attribute

app. project.ite m(index). preser veNestedFr ameRate

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Description

The preserveNestedFrameRate attribute determines whether the frame rate of nested compositions is
preserved in the current composition. This corresponds to the value of the Preserve Frame Rate When Nested
or in Render Queue option in the Advanced tab of the Composition Settings dialog box.

Type

Boolean; if true, nested frame rate is preserved. Read/write.

CompItem preserveNestedResolution attribute

app. project.ite m(index). preser veNestedResolution

Description

The preserveNestedResolution attribute determines whether the resolution of nested compositions is

preserved in the current composition. This corresponds to the value of the Preserve Resolution When Nested
option in the Advanced tab of the Composition Settings dialog box.

Type

Boolean; if true, nested frame rate is preserved. Read/write.

CompItem resolutionFactor attribute

app. project.ite m(index). resolutionFactor

Description

The resolutionFactor attribute specifies the sampling resolution of the comp when rendering.
Each of the two values in the array specifies how many pixels to skip when sampling in one of the two direc-
tions. The first number controls horizontal sampling; the second controls vertical sampling. Each of the two
integers must lie in the range [1..99]. Full resolution is [1,1], half resolution is [2,2], and quarter resolution is
[4,4]. The default is [1,1].

Type

Array of two integers, describing the x and y downsample resolution factor; read/write.

CompItem selectedLayers attribute

app. project.ite m(index). s e l e c te d L ayer s

Description

This attribute yields an array containing all of the selected Layers in this CompItem.

Type

Array of Layer objects; read-only.

CompItem selectedProperties attribute

app. project.ite m(index). s e l e c te d Pro p e r t i e s

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Description

This attribute yields an array containing all of the selected Property and PropertyGroup objects in this
CompItem.

Type

Array of Property and PropertyGroup objects; read-only.

CompItem shutterAngle attribute

app. project.ite m(index). shutterAng le

Description

The shutterAngle attribute determines the shutter angle setting for the composition. This setting corresponds
to the Shutter Angle setting found under the Advanced tab of the Composition Settings dialog box. Acceptable
integer settings are within the range of 0 - 720.

Type

Integer value (0 - 720 range only). Read/write.

CompItem shutterPhase attribute

app. project.ite m(index). shutterPhase

Description

The shutterPhase attribute determines the shutter phase setting for the composition. This setting is the equiv-
alent of the Shutter Phase setting found under the Advanced tab of the Composition Settings dialog box.
Acceptable integer settings are within the range of 0 - 360.

Type

Integer value (-360 - 360 range only). Read/write.

CompItem workAreaDuration attribute

app. project.ite m(index) .wor kAreaDur ation

Description

The workAreaDuration attribute determines the duration, in seconds, of the work area. This value is the
difference of the start point time of the Composition work area and the end point.

Type

Floating-point value; time, in seconds. Read/write.

CompItem workAreaStart attribute

app. project.ite m(index) .wor kAreaStar t

Description

The workAreaStart attribute determines the time, in seconds, where the Composition work area begins.

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Type

Floating-point value; time, in seconds. Read/write.

File Class
The File Class contains methods and attributes common to File objects. A File object corresponds to a disk file.
Also included in this class are all attributes and methods within the FileSystem class, as those apply to Files as
well as Folders.
Note that the difference between the File Class and File object is that the class attributes and methods require
no specific instance of a File, whereas class methods and attributes do.

Class attributes inherited from FileSource object (see “FileSource object” on page 71)

Class attribute Reference Description

fs see “FileSystem fs class attribute” on name of the file system; read-only

page 74

Methods

Method Reference Description

File () see “File() Class method” on page 62 constructs a new File object
new File()

openDialog() see “File openDialog() Class method” on opens the built-in operating-system dialog to
page 67 select an existing file to open

s ave D i a l o g ( ) see “File saveDialog() Class method” on opens the built-in operating-system dialog to
page 69 select a file name to save a file into

Class methods inherited from FileSource object (see “FileSource object” on page 71)

Class method Reference Description

deco de() see “FileSystem decode() class method” decodes the input string from UTF-8
on page 73

enco de() see “FileSystem encode() class method” encodes the input string in UTF-8
on page 73

File() Class method

File( p a t h )
new File( p a t h )

Description

This function constructs a new File object. If the given path name refers to an already existing folder, a Folder
object is returned instead.
The CRLF sequence is preset to the system default, and the encoding is preset to the default system encoding.

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Parameters

Path, expressed as a string. If missing, a temporary name is generated.

Returns

File (or Folder if path refers to an existing folder).

File object
File( “p a th” )

Description

The File object contains methods and attributes common to File objects. A Folder object corresponds to a
folder.
Also included in this object are all attributes and methods within the FileSystem object, as those apply to Files
as well as Folders.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

creator see “File creator attribute” on page 65 Macintosh file creator as a four-character string

enco ding see “File encoding attribute” on page 65 gets or sets the encoding for subsequent read/
write operations

eof see “File eof attribute” on page 66 has the value true if a read attempt caused the
current position to be behind the end of the
file

hidden see “File hidden attribute” on page 66 set to true if the file is invisible

length see “File length attribute” on page 66 size of the file in bytes

l i n e Fe e d see “File lineFeed attribute” on page 66 way line feed characters are written

readonly see “File readonly attribute” on page 69 when set, prevents the file from being altered
or deleted

type see “File type attribute” on page 70 Macintosh file type as a four-character string

Attributes inherited from FileSystem object (see “FileSystem object” on page 74)

Attribute Reference Description

absoluteURI see “FileSystem absoluteURI attribute” full path name for the object in URI notation
on page 75

alias see “FileSystem alias attribute” on returns true if the object refers to a file system
page 76 alias

c re a te d see “FileSystem created attribute” on creation date of the object

page 76

er ror see “FileSystem error attribute” on contains a message describing the last file sys-
page 76 tem error

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Attribute Reference Description

ex ists see “FileSystem exists attribute” on returns true if the path name of this object
page 76 refers to an actually existing file or folder

f s Na m e see “FileSystem fsName attribute” on file-system specific name of the object as a full
page 77 path name

m o d i fi e d see “FileSystem modified attribute” on date of the object's last modification

page 77

n am e see “FileSystem name attribute” on name of the object without the path specifica-
page 77 tion

parent see “FileSystem parent attribute” on folder object containing this object
page 78

pat h see “FileSystem path attribute” on path portion of the absolute URI
page 78

re l a t ive U R I see “FileSystem relativeURI attribute” on path name for the object in URI notation, rela-
page 78 tive to the current folder

Methods

Method Reference Description

close() see “File close() method” on page 65 closes the open file

copy () see “File copy() method” on page 65 copies the file to the given location

open() see “File open() method” on page 67 opens the file for subsequent read/write oper-
ations

rea d ( ) see “File read() method” on page 68 reads the contents of the file from the current
position on

readch() see “File readch() method” on page 68 reads one single text character

rea d l n ( ) see “File readln() method” on page 69 reads one line of text

seek() see “File seek() method” on page 70 seeks to a certain position in the file

te l l ( ) see “File tell() method” on page 70 returns the current position in the file as an off-
set in bytes

w r i te() see “File write() method” on page 71 writes the given string to the file

w r i te l n ( ) see “File writeln() method” on page 71 writes the given string to the file and append a
line feed sequence

Methods inherited from FileSystem object (see “FileSystem object” on page 74)

Method Reference Description

g e t Re l a t ive U R I ( ) see “FileSystem getRelativeURI() calculates and returns the relative URI, given a
method” on page 77 base path, in URI notation

rem ove() see “FileSystem remove() method” on deletes the file or folder that this object repre-
page 78 sents

rena me() see “FileSystem rename() method” on renames the object to the new name
page 79

reso lve() see “FileSystem resolve() method” on attempts to resolve the file system alias that
page 79 this object points to

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File close() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .close()

Description

The close() method closes the open file. The return value is true if the file was closed, false on I/O errors.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Boolean.

File copy() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .copy( targe t )

Description

The close() method copies the file to the given location.

You can supply a URI path name as well as another File object. If there is a file at the target location, it is
overwritten.
The method returns true if the copy was successful, false otherwise. The method resolves any aliases to find
the source file.

Parameters

target File object or String specifying the target location

Returns

Boolean.

File creator attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .creator

Description

The creator attribute is the Macintosh file creator as a four-character string. On Windows, the return value is
always "????".

Type

String; read-only.

File encoding attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . en co d in g

Description

The encoding attribute gets or sets the encoding for subsequent read/write operations.

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The encoding is one of several predefined constants that follow the common Internet encoding names. Valid
names are UCS-2, X-SJIS, ISO-8851-9, ASCII or the like.
A special encoder, BINARY, is used to read binary files. This encoder stores each byte of the file as one Unicode
character regardless of any encoding. When writing, the lower byte of each Unicode character is treated as a
single byte to write. See “Encoding Names” on page 228 for a list of encodings. If an unrecognized encoding
is used, the encoding reverts to the system default encoding.

Type

String; read/write.

File eof attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .eof

Description

The File eof attribute has the value true if a read attempt caused the current position to be past the end of the
file.
If the file is not open, the value is true.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

File hidden attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .hidden

Description

The File hidden attribute has the value true if the file is invisible. Assigning a Boolean value sets or clears this
attribute.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

File length attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .length

Description

The File length attribute is size of the file in bytes. When setting the file size, the file must not be open.

Type

Number; read-only.

File lineFeed attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . l i n e Fe e d

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Description

The File lineFeed attribute determines the way line feed characters are written. This can be one of the three
values: macintosh, unix or windows (actually, only the first character is interpreted).

Type

String (one of: macintosh, unix, windows); read/write.

File open() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .open( m od e, t y p e, c rea tor )

Description

The File open() method opens the file for subsequent read/write operations. The type and creator arguments
are optional and Macintosh specific; they specify the file type and creator as two four-character strings. They
are used if the file is newly created. On other platforms, they are ignored.
When open() is used to open a file for read access, the method attempts to detect the encoding of the open
file. It reads a few bytes at the current location and tries to detect the Byte Order Mark character 0xFFFE. If
found, the current position is advanced behind the detected character and the encoding property is set to one
of the strings UCS-2BE, UCS-2LE, UCS4-BE, UCS-4LE or UTF-8. If the marker character cannot be found,
it checks for zero bytes at the current location and makes an assumption about one of the above formats
(except for UTF-8). If everything fails, the encoding property is set to the system encoding. The method
resolves any aliases to find the file.
You should be careful if you try to open a file more than once. The operating system usually permits you to do
so, but if you start writing to the file using two different File objects, you may destroy your data.
The return value is true if the file has been opened successfully, false otherwise.

Parameters

mode one of r, w or e:

r (read) Opens for reading. If the file does not exist or cannot be found, the call fails.

w (write) Opens an empty file for writing. If the file exists, its contents are destroyed.

e (edit) Opens an existing file for reading and writing.

type The Macintosh file type; a four-byte character string; ignored on non-Macintosh operating systems.

creator The Macintosh file creator; a four-byte character string; ignored on non-Macintosh operating systems.

Returns

Boolean.

File openDialog() Class method

File . o p e n D i a l o g ( prompt, s e lect )

Description

The File.openDialog class method presents the Open dialog box that is standard for the platform on which
After Effects is running. This method overlaps somewhat with the easier to use fileGetDialog() global
function.

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Parameters

prompt An optional prompt (expressed as a string) that is displayed as part of the dialog if the dialog permits the
display of an additional message.

select This argument allows the pre-selection of the files that the dialog displays. Unfortunately, this argument is
different on Mac OS and on Windows.

s e l e c t ( Win ) Windows selection string is actually a list of file types with explanative text. This list appears in the bottom
of the dialog box as a drop-down list box so the user can select which types of files to display. The elements
of this list are separated by commas. Each element starts with the descriptive text, followed by a colon and
the file search masks for this text. Again, each search mask is separated by a semicolon. A Selection list that
allowed the selection of all text files (*.TXT and *.DOC) or all files would look like this:

Text Files:*.TXT;*.DOC,All files:*

A single asterisk character is a placeholder for all files.

s e l e c t ( Ma c On Mac OS, the optional second argument is a callback function. This function takes one argument, which
O S) is a File object. When the dialog is set up, it calls this callback function for each file that is about to be dis-
played. If the function returns anything else than true, the file is not displayed. This is true only for the open-
Dialog() method; the saveDialog() method ignores this callback method.

Returns

File object, or null if the user cancels the dialog.

See also

“FileSource object” on page 71.

File read() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . re a d ( c h a r s )

Description

The File read() method reads the contents of the file from the current position on. Returns a string that
contains up to the number of characters that were supposed to be read.

Parameters

chars The number of characters to read, expressed as an integer. If the number of characters to read
is not supplied, the entire file is read in one big chunk, starting at the current position. If the
file is encoded, multiple bytes may be read to create single Unicode characters.

Returns

String.

File readch() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .readch()

Description

The File readch() method reads one single text character. Line feeds are recognized as CR, LF, CRLF or LFCR
pairs. If the file is encoded, multiple bytes may be read to create single Unicode characters.

Parameters

None.

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Returns

String.

File readln() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . re a d l n ( )

Description

The File readch() method reads one line of text. Line feeds are recognized as CR, LF, CRLF or LFCR pairs. If
the file is encoded, multiple bytes may be read to create single Unicode characters.

Parameters

None.

Returns

String.

File readonly attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .readonly

Description

The File readonly attribute, when set, prevents the file from being altered or deleted.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

File saveDialog() Class method

File . s ave D i a l o g ( prompt, s e lect )

Description

The File.saveDialog class method presents the Save dialog box that is standard for the platform on which After
Effects is running. This method overlaps somewhat with the easier-to-use filePutDialog() global function.

Parameters

prompt An optional prompt (expressed as a string) that is displayed as part of the dialog if the dialog
permits the display of an additional message.

select This argument allows the pre-selection of the files that the dialog displays. Unfortunately, this
argument is different on Mac OS and on Windows.

s e l e c t ( Wi n ) Windows selection string is actually a list of file types with explanative text. This list is dis-
played in the bottom of the dialog as a drop-down list box so the user can select which types
of files to display. The elements of this list are separated by commas. Each element starts with
the descriptive text, followed by a colon and the file search masks for this text. Again, each
search mask is separated by a semicolon. A Selection list that allowed the selection of all text
files (*.TXT and *.DOC) or all files would look like this:

Text Files:*.TXT;*.DOC,All files:*

A single asterisk character is a placeholder for all files.

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s e l e c t ( Ma c O S ) On Mac OS, the optional second argument is a callback function. This function takes one
argument, which is a File object. When the dialog is set up, it calls this callback function for
each file that is about to be displayed. If the function returns anything else than true, the file
is not displayed. This is true only for the openDialog() method; the saveDialog() method
ignores this callback method.

Returns

File object, or null if the user cancels the dialog.

See also

“filePutDialog() global function” on page 24

File seek() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . s e e k ( p o s , m o d e )

Description

The File seek() method seeks to a certain position in the file. This method does not permit seeking to positions
less than 0 or greater than the current file size.

Parameters

pos the new current position inside the file as an offset in bytes (an integer), dependent on the
seek mode

mode the seek mode (0 = seek to absolute position, 1 = seek relative to the current position, 2 = seek
backwards from the end of the file)

Returns

Boolean; true if the position was changed.

File tell() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . te l l ( )

Description

The File tell() method returns the current position in the file as an offset in bytes.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Integer.

File type attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . t y p e

Description

The File type attribute holds the Macintosh file type as a four-character string.

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On Mac OS, the file type is returned. On Windows, "appl" is returned for .EXE files, "shlb" for .DLLs and
"TEXT" for any other file. If the file does not exist, the file type is "????".

Type

Boolean; read-only.

File write() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . w r ite( tex t, . . . )

Description

The File write() method writes a given string to the file. The parameters of this function are concatenated to
a single string. Returns true on success.
For encoded files, writing a single Unicode character may result in multiple bytes being written. Take care not
to write to a file that is open in another application or object. This may cause loss of data, since a second write
issued from another File object may overwrite existing data.

Parameters

text A string or set of strings. All arguments are concatenated to form the string to be written.

Returns

Boolean.

File writeln() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . w r ite l n ( tex t, . . . )

Description

The File writeln() method writes a given string to the file. The parameters of this function are concatenated
to a single string, and a Line Feed sequence is appended. Returns true on success.
If the file is encoded, multiple bytes may be read to create single Unicode characters.

Parameters

text A string or set of strings. All arguments are concatenated to form the string to be written.

Returns

Boolean.

FileSource object
app. project.ite m(index) . m a i n S o u rce
app. project.ite m(index) .proxySource

Description

The FileSource describes footage that comes from a file. FileSource is a subclass of FootageSource and so it
inherits all attributes and methods of FootageSource.

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Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

file see “FileSource file attribute” on page 72 specifies the file that defines this FileSource

Methods

Method Reference Description

re l o a d ( ) see “FileSource reload() method” on reloads the asset from the file
page 72

FileSource file attribute

app. p ro j ect. fi l e

Description

The FileSource file attribute specifies the file that defines this FileSource. The attribute is readOnly.
Note that there are other ways to change the file. If this FootageSource is a proxySource of an AVItem, you can
call setProxy() or setProxyWithSequence() to change files. If this FootageSource is a mainSource of a
FootageItem, you can call replace() or replaceWithSequence() to change files.

Type

File; read-only.

FileSource reload() method

app. project.mainSource . re l o a d ( )

Description

The FileSource reload() method reloads the asset from the file. This method can be called only on a
mainSource, not a proxySource.

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

FileSystem Class
File.
Folder.

Description

The FileSystem class contains methods and attributes common to both File and Folder objects. A File object
corresponds to a disk file, while a Folder object matches a folder.

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This attribute and methods differ from those found under the FileSystemObject in that they can be applied
without referring to a particular instance of a file or folder.

Class attributes

Class attribute Reference Description

fs see “FileSystem fs class attribute” on name of the files system; read-only

page 74

Class methods

Class method Reference Description

deco de() see “FileSystem decode() class method” decodes the input string from UTF-8
on page 73

enco de() see “FileSystem encode() class method” encodes the input string in UTF-8
on page 73

FileSystem decode() class method

File . d e co d e ( s t r i n g )
Fol d e r. d e co d e ( s t r i n g )

Description

The decode() class method of File or Folder decodes escaped characters and then interprets them as UTF-8.

Parameters

st r in g string to be decoded

Returns

String.

See also

“FileSystem encode() class method” on page 73

FileSystem encode() class method

File .encode( s t r i n g )
Fol d e r.encode( s t r i n g )

Description

The encode() class method of File or Folder converts the input string to UTF-8 and then encodes it such that
all characters are usable in a URI (or URL).

Parameters

st r in g string to be encoded

Returns

String.

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See also

“FileSystem alias attribute” on page 76

FileSystem fs class attribute

File. f s
Fol d e r. f s

Description

The fs class attribute of File or Folder holds the name of the file system (operating system). Possible values are
“Windows” or “Macintosh”.

Type

String; read-only.

Example
w r ite("The l o ca l fi l e sy stem is " + Fil e . f s ) ;

FileSystem object
File( “p a th” ).
Folder(“path”).

Description

The FileSystem object contains methods and attributes common to both File and Folder objects. A File object
corresponds to a disk file, while a Folder object matches a folder. “FileSystem” is a name used to refer to both
Folders and Files.
These attributes and methods differ from those found under the FileSystem Class in that they cannot be
applied without referring to a particular instance of a file or folder, expressed as a path to that file or folder.
You can use absolute path names and relative path names. Absolute path names start with one or two slash
characters. These path names describe the full path from a root folder down to a file or folder. Relative path
names start from a known location, the current folder. A relative path name starts either with a folder name
or with one of the special names “.” and “..”. The name “.” refers to the current folder, and the name “..” refers
to the parent folder. The slash character is used to separate path elements. Special characters are encoded in
UTF-8 notation.
The FileSystem objects support a common convention. A volume name may be the first part of an absolute
path. The objects know where to look for the volume names on Mac OS and Windows and they translate the
volume names accordingly.
A path name can also start with the tilde “~” character. This character stands for the user’s home directory (on
Mac OS). On Windows, a directory with the environment variable HOME or, failing that, the desktop is used
as a home directory.
The following table illustrates how the root element of a full path name is used on different file systems. In
these examples, the current drive is C: on Windows and “Macintosh HD” on Mac OS.

URI Windows name Mac OS name

/d/dir/name.ext D:\dir\name.ext Macintosh HD:d:dir:name.ext

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/Macintosh HD/dir/name.ext C:\Macintosh HD\dir\name.ext Macintosh HD:dir:name.ext

Thus if you have to use a script with URI notation on both Mac OS and Windows, try to use relative path
names, or try to originate your path names from the home directory. If that is not possible, it is recommended
that you work with Mac OS X aliases and UNC names on Windows, and store files on a machine that is remote
to the Windows machine on which the script is running.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

absoluteURI see “FileSystem absoluteURI attribute” full path name for the object in URI notation
on page 75

alias see “FileSystem alias attribute” on returns true if the object refers to a file system
page 76 alias

c re a te d see “FileSystem created attribute” on creation date of the object

page 76

er ror see “FileSystem error attribute” on contains a message describing the last file sys-
page 76 tem error

ex ists see “FileSystem exists attribute” on returns true if the path name of this object
page 76 refers to an actually existing file or folder

f s Na m e see “FileSystem fsName attribute” on file-system specific name of the object as a full
page 77 path name

m o d i fi e d see “FileSystem modified attribute” on date of the object's last modification

page 77

n am e see “FileSystem name attribute” on name of the object without the path specifica-
page 77 tion

parent see “FileSystem parent attribute” on folder object containing this object
page 78

pat h see “FileSystem path attribute” on path portion of the absolute URI
page 78

re l a t ive U R I see “FileSystem relativeURI attribute” on path name for the object in URI notation, rela-
page 78 tive to the current folder

Methods

Method Reference Description

g e t Re l a t ive U R I ( ) see “FileSystem getRelativeURI() calculate and return the relative URI, given a
method” on page 77 base path, in URI notation

rem ove() see “FileSystem remove() method” on delete the file or folder that this object repre-
page 78 sents

rena me() see “FileSystem rename() method” on rename the object to the new name
page 79

reso lve() see “FileSystem resolve() method” on attempt to resolve the file system alias that this
page 79 object points to

FileSystem absoluteURI attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . absoluteURI

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Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . absoluteURI

Description

The absoluteURI attribute of File or Folder is the full path name for the object in URI notation.

Type

String; read-only.

FileSystem alias attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . a l ia s
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . a l ia s

Description

The alias attribute of File or Folder returns true if the object refers to a file system alias.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

FileSystem created attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . c re a te d
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . c re a te d

Description

The created attribute of File or Folder is the creation date of the object. If the object does not refer to a folder
or file on the disk, the value is null.

Type

Date, or null if the object does not refer to a file or folder on disk; read-only.

FileSystem error attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . er ror
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) .er ror

Description

The error attribute of File or Folder contains a message describing the last file system error. Setting this value
clears any error message and resets the error bit for opened files.

Type

Boolean; read/write (writing resets the error bit).

FileSystem exists attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . exi sts
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . exists

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Description

The exists attribute of File or Folder returns true if the path name of this object refers to an already existing
file or folder.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

FileSystem fsName attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . f s Na m e
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . f s Na m e

Description

The fsName attribute of File or Folder is the file-system specific name of that object as a full path name.

Type

String; read-only.

FileSystem getRelativeURI() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . g e t Re l a t ive U R I ( s t r i n g )
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . g e t Re l a t ive U R I ( s t r i n g )

Description

The getRelativeURI() method of File or Folder calculates and returns the relative URI, given a base path, in
URI notation. If the base path is omitted, the path of the current folder is assumed.

Parameters

st r in g base path, in URI notation

Returns

String.

FileSystem modified attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . m o d i fi e d
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . m o d i fi e d

Description

The modified attribute of File or Folder is the date of the object's last modification. If the object does not refer
to a folder or file on disk, the value is null.

Type

Date, or null if no valid FileSystem object is referenced; read-only.

FileSystem name attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . n a me
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . n a me

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Description

The name attribute of File or Folder is the name of the object without the path specification.

Type

String; read-only.

FileSystem parent attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .parent
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) .parent

Description

The parent attribute of File or Folder is the folder object containing this object. If this object already is the root
folder of a volume, the property value is null.

Type

Folder, or null if the object has no parent; read-only.

FileSystem path attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . p a th
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . p a th

Description

The path attribute of File or Folder is the path portion of the absolute URI. If the name does not have a path,
this property contains the empty string.

Type

String, empty if name has no path; read-only.

FileSystem relativeURI attribute

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . re l a t ive U R I
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . re l a t ive U R I

Description

The relativeURI attribute of File or Folder is the path name for the object in URI notation, relative to the
current folder.

Type

String; read-only.

FileSystem remove() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .remove()
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) .remove()

Description

The remove() method of File or Folder deletes the file or folder that this object represents. Folders must be
empty before they can be deleted. The return value is true if the file or folder has been deleted.

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IMPORTANT: The remove() method deletes the referenced file or folder immediately. It does not move the refer-
enced file or folder to the system trash. The effects of the remove method cannot be undone. It is recommended that
you prompt the user for permission to delete a file or folder before deleting it. The method does not resolve aliases;
it rather deletes the file alias itself.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Boolean.

FileSystem rename() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) .rename( s t r i n g )
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) .rename( s t r i n g )

Description

The rename() method of File or Folder renames the object to a new name. The new name must not have a
path. This method returns true if the object was renamed. The method does not resolve aliases, but rather
renames the alias file.

Parameters

st r in g the new name for the object

Returns

Boolean.

FileSystem resolve() method

Fi l e ( p a t h ) . reso lve()
Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . reso lve()

Description

The resolve() method of File or Folder attempts to resolve the file system alias that this object points to. If
successful, a new File or Folder object is returned that points to the resolved file system element. If the object
is not an alias, or if the alias could not be resolved, the return value is null.

Parameters

None.

Returns

FileSystem object (File or Folder) or null if no alias.

Folder class
Folder.

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Description

The Folder class contains methods and attributes common to Folder objects. A Folder object corresponds to
a folder.
Also included in this class are all attributes and methods within the FileSystem class, as those apply to Folders
as well as Files.
Note that the difference between the Folder Class and Folder object is that the class attributes and methods
require no specific instance of a Folder, whereas class methods and attributes do.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

cu r ren t see “Folder current Class attribute” on current folder is returned as a Folder object
page 81

star tup see “Folder startup Class attribute” on folder containing the executable image of the
page 81 running application

system see “Folder system Class attribute” on folder containing the operating system files
page 82

temp see “Folder temp Class attribute” on default folder for temporary files
page 82

t r as h see “Folder trash Class attribute” on folder containing deleted items

page 82

Class attributes from FileSystem object (see “FileSystem object” on page 74)

Class attribute Reference Description

fs see “FileSystem fs class attribute” on name of the files system; read-only

page 74

Methods

Method Reference Description

Folder() see “Folder create() method” on page 84 constructs a new Folder object
new Folder()

selectDialog() see “Folder selectDialog() Class method” opens a dialog box that permits you to select a
on page 81 folder using the OS specific folder select dialog

Class methods from FileSystem object (see “FileSystem object” on page 74)

Class method Reference Description

deco de() see “FileSystem decode() class method” decodes the input string from UTF-8
on page 73

enco de() see “FileSystem encode() class method” encodes the input string in UTF-8
on page 73

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Folder() Class method

Folder( p a t h )
new Folder( p a t h )

Description

This function constructs a new Folder object. If the given path name refers to an already existing disk file, a
File object is returned instead.
The folder that the path name refers to does not need to exist. If the argument is omitted, a temporary name
is generated.

Parameters

pa th path for the folder created, expressed as a string

Returns

Folder (or File if path refers to an existing file).

Folder current Class attribute

Fol d e r. cu r ren t

Description

The current attribute of Folder is the current folder. It is returned as a Folder object. Assigning either a Folder
object or a string containing the new path name sets the current folder.

Type

Folder; read/write.

Folder selectDialog() Class method

Fol d e r. s e l e c t D i a l o g ( prompt, pres e t )

Description

The Folder SelectDialog() method opens a dialog box that permits you to select a folder using the platform-
specific selection dialog box. Both arguments are optional.

Parameters

prompt String displays a prompt text if the dialog allows the display
of such a message; optional

preset Folder a folder that is pre-selected when the dialog opens

Returns

Folder object pointing to the selected folder, or null if the user cancels the dialog.

Folder startup Class attribute

Fol d e r.star tup

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Description

The startup attribute of Folder is the folder containing the executable image of the running application.

Type

Folder; read-only.

Folder system Class attribute

Fol d e r.system

Description

The system attribute of Folder is the folder containing the operating system files.

Type

Folder; read-only.

Folder temp Class attribute

Fol d e r.temp

Description

The temp attribute of Folder is the default folder for temporary files.

Type

Folder; read-only.

Folder trash Class attribute

Fol d e r. t r a sh

Description

The trash attribute of Folder is the folder containing deleted items.

Type

Folder; read-only.

Folder object
Folder(“path”).

Description

The Folder object contains methods and attributes common to Folder objects. A Folder object corresponds to
a folder.
Also included in this object are all attributes and methods within the FileSystem object, as those apply to
Folders as well as Files.

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Attributes inherited from the FileSystem object (see “FileSystem object” on page 74)

Attribute Reference Description

absoluteURI see “FileSystem absoluteURI attribute” full path name for the object in URI notation
on page 75

alias see “FileSystem alias attribute” on returns true if the object refers to a file system
page 76 alias

c re a te d see “FileSystem created attribute” on creation date of the object

page 76

er ror see “FileSystem error attribute” on contains a message describing the last file sys-
page 76 tem error

ex ists see “FileSystem exists attribute” on returns true if the path name of this object
page 76 refers to an actually existing file or folder

f s Na m e see “FileSystem fsName attribute” on file-system specific name of the object as a full
page 77 path name

m o d i fi e d see “FileSystem modified attribute” on date of the object's last modification

page 77

n am e see “FileSystem name attribute” on name of the object without the path specifica-
page 77 tion

parent see “FileSystem parent attribute” on folder object containing this object
page 78

pat h see “FileSystem path attribute” on path portion of the absolute URI
page 78

re l a t ive U R I see “FileSystem relativeURI attribute” on path name for the object in URI notation, rela-
page 78 tive to the current folder

Methods

Method Reference Description

create() see “Folder create() method” on page 84 attempts to create a folder at the location the
path name points to

getFiles() see “Folder getFiles() method” on gets a list of File and Folder objects contained
page 84 in the folder object

Methods inherited from FileSystem object (see “FileSystem object” on page 74)

Method Reference Description

g e t Re l a t ive U R I ( ) see “FileSystem getRelativeURI() calculates and returns the relative URI, given a
method” on page 77 base path, in URI notation

rem ove() see “FileSystem remove() method” on deletes the file or folder that this object repre-
page 78 sents

rena me() see “FileSystem rename() method” on renames the object to the new name
page 79

reso lve() see “FileSystem resolve() method” on attempts to resolve the file system alias that
page 79 this object points to

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Folder create() method

Fol d e r ( p a t h ) . crea te()

Description

The create() method attempts to create a folder at the location the path name points to.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Boolean; true if the folder was created.

Folder getFiles() method

Fol d e r. g e t F i l e s ( m a s k )

Description

The Folder getFiles() method returns a list of File and Folder objects contained in the folder object. The mask
parameter is the search mask for the file names, expressed as a string. It may contain question marks and
asterisks and is preset to * to find all files.
Alternatively, a function may be supplied. This function is called with a File or Folder object for every file or
folder in the directory search. If the function returns true, the object is added to the array.
On Windows, all aliases end with the extension ".lnk". This extension is stripped from the file name when
found to preserve compatibility with other operating systems. You can, however, search for all aliases by
supplying the search mask "*.lnk". This is not recommended, however, because it is not portable.

Parameters

ma sk String search mask for the files names (see above)

Returns

Array of File & Folder objects or null if the folder does not exist.

FolderItem object
app. project. FolderItem

Description

The FolderItem object corresponds to any folder in your Project window. It can contain various types of items
(footage, compositions, solids) as well as other folders.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

items see “FolderItem items attribute” on ItemCollection that represents the contents of
page 85 this FolderItem

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Attribute Reference Description

num Items see “FolderItem numItems attribute” on number of items contained in the FolderItem
page 86

Methods

Method Reference Description

item() see “FolderItem item() method” on returns an Item

page 85

Example

Given that the second item in the project is a FolderItem, the following code puts up one alert for each top-
level item in the folder. The alerts display the name of each top-level item.
var secon d Item = a p p. p ro j ect. i tem(2 ) ;
if ( !(secondItem instanceof FolderItem) ) {
aler t( "problem: second item is not a folder");
} else {
for (i = 1; i <= secondItem.numItems; i++ ) {
aler t( "item number " + i + " w ithin the folder is named "
+ secon d Item. i tem(i). n a me);
}
}

FolderItem item() method

app.project.folderIte m. item( i n d e x )

Description

The FolderItem item() method returns the top-level item in this FolderItem with the given index. Note that
“top-level” here means top-level within the folder, not necessarily within the project.

Parameters

index Integer index number of the FolderItem

Returns

Item.

FolderItem items attribute

app.project.folderIte m. items

Description

The items attribute is the ItemCollection that represents the contents of this FolderItem.
Unlike the ItemCollection that is owned by the Project object, a FolderItem’s ItemCollection contains only the
top-level Items in the FolderItem.
Note that “top-level” indicates top-level within the folder, not necessarily within the project. Only in the case
of the rootFolder are the top-level items in the FolderItem also top-level items in the Project.

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Type

ItemCollection; read only.

FolderItem numItems attribute

app.project.folderIte m. nu mItems

Description

The numItems attribute is the number of items contained in the FolderItem.

This number is the number of top-level Items within the folder. In other words, if this FolderItem contains
another FolderItem, then the contained FolderItem counts as one item, even if there are further sub-items
inside the contained folder.

Type

Integer; read only.

FootageItem object
app. project. item( i n d e x )
app. project .items[ i n d e x ]

Description

The FootageItem object represents a footage item imported into the project, which appears in the Project
window.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

file see “FootageItem file attribute” on footage source file

page 87

m a i n S o u rce see “FootageItem mainSource attribute” contains all settings related to the footage
on page 87 item

Methods

Method Reference Description

rep l a ce ( ) see “FootageItem replace() method” on replaces a footage file with another footage
page 87 file

replaceWithPlaceholder() see “FootageItem replaceWithPlace- replaces a footage file with a placeholder

holder() method” on page 87 object

rep l a ceWi thS equ en ce() see “FootageItem replaceWithSe- replaces a footage file with an image sequence
quence() method” on page 88

rep l a ceWi t h S o l i d ( ) see “FootageItem replaceWithSolid() replaces a footage file with a solid
method” on page 88

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FootageItem file attribute

app. project.item(index).file

Description

The file attribute is the File object of the footage's source file.
If the FootageItem's mainSource is a FileSource, this is the same thing as mainSource.file Otherwise it is
NULL.

Type

File object (or null if mainSoure is not a FileSource); read only.

FootageItem mainSource attribute

app. project.ite m(index). m a i n S o u rce.

Description

The footage item mainSource attribute contains all of the settings related to that footage item, including those
that are normally accessed via the Interpret Footage dialog box. See also FootageSource (and its three types:
SolidSource, FileSource, and PlaceholderSource).
The attribute is read-only, but it can be changed by calling any of the FootageItem methods that change the
footage source: replace(), replaceWithSequence(), replaceWithSolid(), and replaceWithPlaceholder().

Type

FootageSource. Read-only.

FootageItem replace() method

app. project.ite m(index) . re p l a ce( fi l e )

Description

The FootageItem replace() method replaces the FootageItem with the file given as a parameter.
In After Effects 6.5, in addition to loading the given file, this method does the following:
• Sets the mainSource to a new value reflecting the contents of the new file.
• Sets the name, width, height, frameDuration, and duration attributes, defined in the base AVItem class,
based on the contents of the file.
• Preserves interpretation parameters from the previous mainSource.
• Guesses the alpha if replace() is called with a file that has an unlabeled alpha channeI.

Parameters

file File object

FootageItem replaceWithPlaceholder() method

app. project.ite m(index) .replaceWithPlaceholder( name, w idth, he ig ht, frameRate, dura t ion )

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Description

The FootageItem replaceWithSequence() method replaces the FootageItem with the image sequence given as
a parameter.
In After Effects 6.5, in addition to loading the given file, this method does the following:
• Sets the mainSource to a new value reflecting the contents of the new file.
• Sets the name, width, height, frameDuration, and duration attributes, defined in the base AVItem class,
based on the contents of the file.
• Preserves interpretation parameters from the previous mainSource.
• Guesses the alpha if replace() is called with a file that has an unlabeled alpha channeI.

Parameters

n a me string name of the placeholder

w id th integer width of the placeholder [4..30,000]

heig ht integer height of the placeholder [4..30,000]

f r a m e R a te Floating-point value frame rate of the Placeholder [1..99]

dur at i on Floating-point value duration of the Placeholder [0..10,800]

FootageItem replaceWithSequence() method

app. project.ite m(index) .replaceWithSequence( file, forc eAlphabe t ical )

Description

The FootageItem replaceWithSequence() method replaces the FootageItem with the image sequence given as
a parameter.
In After Effects 6.5, in addition to loading the given file, this method does the following:
• Sets the mainSource to a new value reflecting the contents of the new file.
• Sets the name, width, height, frameDuration, and duration attributes, defined in the base AVItem class,
based on the contents of the file.
• Preserves interpretation parameters from the previous mainSource.
• Guesses the alpha if replace() is called with a file that has an unlabeled alpha channel.

Parameters

file File object replacement file

forceAlphabetical boolean value of true is equivalent to activating the Force

Alphabetical Order option in the File > Replace >
Footage > File dialog box.

FootageItem replaceWithSolid() method

app. project.ite m(index) . re p l a ceWi t h S o l i d ( c o l o r, n a m e , w i d t h , h e i g h t , p i x e l As p e c t )

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Description

The FootageItem replaceWithSequence() method replaces the FootageItem with the image sequence given as
a parameter.
In After Effects 6.5, in addition to loading the given file, this method does the following:
• Sets the mainSource to a new value reflecting the contents of the new file.
• Sets the name, width, height, frameDuration, and duration attributes, defined in the base AVItem class,
based on the contents of the file.
• Preserves interpretation parameters from the previous mainSource.
• Guesses the alpha if replace() is called with a file that has an unlabeled alpha channeI.

Parameters

color Floating-point array color of the solid (an array of four floating-point values from 0 to
1: [R, G, B, A])

n a me string name of the solid

w id th integer width of the solid [4..30,000]

heig ht integer height of the solid [4..30,000]

p i xe l As p e c t Floating-point value pixel aspect ratio of the Solid [0.01..100]

FootageSource object
app. project.ite m(index). m a i n S o u rce.
app. project.ite m(index) .proxySource.

Description

The FootageSource object holds information describing the source of some footage. It is used to hold the
mainSource of a FootageItem, or the proxySource of an AVItem. AVItem is the base class of FootageItem and
CompItem; thus proxySource appears in both these types of Item.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

hasAlpha see “FootageSource hasAlpha attribute” specifies if a footage clip or proxy includes an
on page 92 alpha channel

alphaMode see “FootageSource alphaMode specifies the mode of an alpha channel

attribute” on page 90

premulColor see “FootageSource premulColor specifies the color to be premultiplied

attribute” on page 94

inver t Alpha see “FootageSource invertAlpha specifies if an alpha channel in a footage clip or
attribute” on page 93 proxy should be inverted

isStill see “FootageSource isStill attribute” on specifies if footage is a still image

page 93

fi e l d S e p a r a t i o n Ty p e see “FootageSource fieldSepara- specifies the field separation type

tionType attribute” on page 91

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Attribute Reference Description

highQualityFieldSeparation see “FootageSource highQualityField- specifies how the fields are to be separated in
Separation attribute” on page 92 a non-still footage.

removePu l l dow n see “FootageSource removePulldown specifies the Pulldown Type for the footage
attribute” on page 94

loop see “FootageSource loop attribute” on specifies how many times an image sequence
page 93 is set to loop

n a t ive Fr a m e R a te see “FootageSource nativeFrameRate the native frame rate of the footage
attribute” on page 93

d i s p l ay Fr a m e R a te see “FootageSource displayFrameRate the effective frame rate as displayed and ren-
attribute” on page 91 dered in compositions by After Effects

confor mFr ameRate see “FootageSource conformFrameRate specifies the rate to which footage should con-
attribute” on page 90 form

Methods

Method Reference Description

guessAlphaMode() see “FootageSource guessAlphaMode() guesses the alphaMode setting

method” on page 91

g u essPu l l d ow n () see “FootageSource guessPulldown() guesses the pulldownType setting

method” on page 92

FootageSource alphaMode attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. alphaMode
app.project.ite m(index).proxySource. alphaMode

Description

The alphaMode attribute of footageSource defines how the alpha information in the footage is to be inter-
preted. If hasAlpha is false, this attribute has no relevant meaning.

Type

AlphaMode; one of the following (read/write):

AlphaMode.IGNORE
AlphaMode.STRAIGHT
AlphaMode.PREMULTIPLIED

FootageSource conformFrameRate attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. confor mFr ameRate
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. confor mFr ameRate

Description

The conformFrameRate attribute of FootageSource determines a frame rate to use instead of the nativeFram-
eRate. If set to 0, the nativeFrameRate will be used instead. Permissible range is [0 .. 99.0].
It is an error to set this value if FootageSource.isStill is true. It is an error to set this value to 0 if remove-
Pulldown is not set to PulldownPhase.OFF. If this is 0 when you set removePulldown to a value other than
PulldownPhase.OFF, then this will be set to be equal to nativeFrameRate by default.

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Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

FootageSource displayFrameRate attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. d i s p l ay Fr a m e R a te
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. d i s p l ay Fr a m e R a te

Description

The displayFrameRate attribute of FootageSource corresponds to the effective frame rate as displayed and
rendered in compositions by After Effects.
If removePulldown is PulldownPhase.OFF, then this will be the conformFrameRate (if non-zero) or the
nativeFrameRate (if conformFrameRate is 0). If removePulldown is not PulldownPhase.OFF, then this will be
(0.8 * conformFrameRate), the effective frame rate after removing 1 of every 5 frames.

Type

Floating-point value; read-only.

FootageSource fieldSeparationType attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. fi e l d S e p a r a t i o n Ty p e
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. fi e l d S e p a r a t i o n Ty p e

Description

The fieldSeparationType attribute of FootageSource specifies how the fields are to be separated in a non-still
footage.
It is an error to attempt to write to this attribute if isStill is true. It is an error to set this value to FieldSepara-
tionType.OFF if removePulldown is not PulldownPhase.OFF. You must instead change removePulldown to
PulldownPhase.OFF, and then set the fieldSeparationType to FieldSeparationType.OFF.

Enumerated Types

FieldSeparationType (read/write); one of:

NO N E
U PPE R _ FI E L D _ FI R S T
LOW E R _ FI E L D _ FI R S T

FootageSource guessAlphaMode() method

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource .guessAlphaMode()
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource .guessAlphaMode()

Description

The guessAlphaMode() method sets alphaMode, premulColor, and invertAlpha to the best guesses for this
footage source. If hasAlpha is false, no change will occur.

Parameters

None.

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Returns

None.

FootageSource guessPulldown() method

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource . gu e s s Pu lld ow n ( m e t h o d )
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource . gu e s s Pu lld ow n ( m e t h o d )

Description

The guessPulldown() method sets the fieldSeparationType and removePulldown to the best guesses for this
footage source. If isStill is true, no change will occur.

Parameters

Pul l dow n - used as an input argument to the guessPulldown()method of a FootageSource; use one of Enumerated
Me t h o d Types below

Enumerated Types

PUL L D OW N _ 3_ 2 uses 3:2 pulldown method

ADVA N C E _ 24P uses Advance 24p method

Returns

None.

FootageSource hasAlpha attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. hasAlpha
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. hasAlpha

Description

The hasAlpha attribute of FootageSource is true if the footage has an alpha component.
If true, then the attributes alphaMode, invertAlpha, and premulColor will have relevance. If false, then those
three fields have no relevant meaning for the footage.

Type

Boolean; true if alpha exists. Read-only.

FootageSource highQualityFieldSeparation attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. h i g h Q u a l i t y F i e l d S e p a r a t i o n
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. h i g h Q u a l i t y F i e l d S e p a r a t i o n

Description

The highQualityFieldSeparation attribute of FootageSource specifies whether After Effects will use special
algorithms to determine how to perform field separation.
It is an error to attempt to write to this attribute if isStill is true. It is an error to attempt to write to this
attribute if fieldSeparationType is FieldSeparationType.OFF.

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Type

Boolean; true if high quality is activated. Read/write.

FootageSource invertAlpha attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. inver t Alpha
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. inver t Alpha

Description

The invertAlpha attribute of footageSource determines if an alpha channel in a footage clip or proxy should
be inverted.
This attribute is valid only if an alpha is present. If hasAlpha is false, or if alphaMode is AlphaMode.IGNORE,
then this attribute has no relevant meaning.

Type

Boolean; true if alpha is inverted. Read/write.

FootageSource isStill attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. i s S t i l l
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. i s S t i l l

Description

The isStill attribute of footageSource specifies whether the footage is still or has a time-based component.
Examples of still footage are JPEG files, solids, and placeholders with duration of 0. Examples of non-still
footage are movie files, sound files, sequences, and placeholders of non-zero duration.

Type

Boolean; true if a still frame. Read-only.

FootageSource loop attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. loop
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. loop

Description

The loop attribute of footageSource specifies the number of times that the footage is to be played consecutively
when used in a comp.
Legal range for values is [1 .. 9999] with a default value of 1. It is an error to attempt to write this attribute if
isStill is true.

Type

Integer; number of times the sequence will loop. Read/write.

FootageSource nativeFrameRate attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. n a t ive Fr a m e R a te
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. n a t ive Fr a m e R a te

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Description

The nativeFrameRate attribute of footageSource corresponds to the native frame rate of the footage.

Type

Floating-point value. Read/write.

FootageSource premulColor attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. premulColor
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. premulColor

Description

The premulColor attribute of footageSource determines the color to be premultiplied. This attribute is valid
only if the alphaType is set to PREMULTIPLIED.

Type

Color (an array of four floating-point values from 0 to 1: [R, G, B, A]); read/write.

FootageSource removePulldown attribute

app. project.ite m(index).mainSource. rem ovePu l ldow n
app. project.ite m(index).proxySource. rem ovePu l ldow n

Description

The removePulldown attribute of Footage File Info specifies how the pulldowns are to be removed when field
separation is used.
It is an error to attempt to write to this attribute if isStill is true. It is an error to attempt to set this to a value
other than PulldownPhase.OFF in the case where fieldSeparationType is FieldSeparationType.OFF. The field-
SeparationType must be changed first.

Enumerated Type

PulldownPhase (read/write); one of:

RemovePu lldow n.OFF
RemovePu lldow n.WSSWW
RemovePu lldow n.SSWWW
RemovePu lldow n.SWWWS
RemovePu lldow n.WWWSS
RemovePu lldow n.WWSSW
RemovePu lldow n.WSSWW_24P_ADVANCE
RemovePu lldow n.SSWWW_24P_ADVANCE
RemovePu lldow n.SWWWS_24P_ADVANCE
RemovePu lldow n.WWWSS_24P_ADVANCE
RemovePu lldow n.WWSSW_24P_ADVANCE

ImportOptions object
n e w Imp o r tO p t i o n s ( ) ;
n e w Imp o r t O p t i o n s ( Fi l e );

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Description

The ImportOptions object provides the ability to create, change, and access options for the importFile()
method. You can create ImportOptions using one of two constructors, one of which takes arguments, the
other which does not.

Constructors

If importFile() is set without arguments, it has a “file” that does not exist unless it is set in another statement:
n e w Imp o r tO p t i o n s ( ) . fi l e = n e w F i l e ( " my fil e . p s d " ) ;

Otherwise importFile can be set with a single argument, which is a File object:
v a r my _ i o = n e w Imp o r tO p t i o n s ( n e w F i l e ( " my fil e . p s d " ) ) ;

Attributes

Attributes Reference Description

impor tAs see “ImportOptions importAs attribute” contains the ImportAsType

on page 96

sequence see “ImportOptions sequence attribute” boolean to determine whether a sequence or

on page 96 an individual file is imported

forceAlphabetical see “ImportOptions forceAlphabetical boolean to determine whether the Force

attribute” on page 96 Alphabetical Order option is set

file see “ImportOptions file attribute” on the file to import

page 96

Methods

Method Reference Description

canImpor tAs() see “ImportOptions canImportAs() sets the ImportAsType, allowing the input to
method” on page 95 be restricted to a particular type

ImportOptions canImportAs() method

i m p o r t O p t i o n s .canImpor tAs( Im p o r t AsTy p e )

Description

The canImportAs() method is used to determine whether a given file can be imported as a given Impor-
tAsType, passed in as an argument.

Parameters

ImportAsType; one of:

Imp o r t As Ty p e . C O M P
Imp o r t As Ty p e . F O OTAG E
Imp o r tAs Ty p e . C O M P _ C RO P PE D _ L AY E R S
Imp o r t As Ty p e . P RO J E C T

Returns

Boolean.

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Example
v a r i o = n e w Imp o r tO p t i o n s ( F i l e ( “c : \ \ f o o. p s d ” ) ) ;
i o. c a n Im p o r t As ( Im p o r t As Ty p e . C O M P )

ImportOptions file attribute

i m p o r t O p t i o n s . fi l e

Description

The file attribute specifies the file to be imported. This is used to get or change the file that is set in the
constructor.

Type

File; read/write.

ImportOptions forceAlphabetical attribute

i m p o r t O p t i o n s .forceAlphabetical

Description

The forceAlphabetical attribute is a boolean. A value of true is equivalent to activating the Force Alphabetical
Order option in the File > Import > File dialog box.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

ImportOptions importAs attribute

i m p o r t O p t i o n s .impor tAs

Description

The importAs attribute holds the importAsType for the file to be imported. You can set it by setting a file of
the type you want to import as an argument.

Enumerated Type

ImportAsType; read/write. One of:

Imp o r tAs Ty p e . C O M P _ C RO P PE D _ L AY E R S
Imp o r t As Ty p e . F O OTAG E
Imp o r t As Ty p e . C O M P
Imp o r t As Ty p e . P RO J E C T

ImportOptions sequence attribute

i m p o r t O p t i o n s .sequence

Description

The sequence attribute is a boolean; it determines whether a sequence or an individual file is imported.

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Type

Boolean; read/write.

Item object
app. project.item(index)
app. project.items[index]

Description

The Item object represents an item that can appear in the Project window. FootageItem, CompItem, and
FolderItem are all types of Item.
Note that numbering of the index for item starts at 1, not 0.

Attributes

Attributes Reference Description

n am e see “Item name attribute” on page 98 name of the object as shown in the Project
window

comment see “Item comment attribute” on string that holds a comment

page 98

id see “Item id attribute” on page 98 unique integer ID for this item

parentFolder see “Item parentFolder attribute” on parent folder of this item

page 98

s e l e c te d see “Item selected attribute” on page 99 true if this item is currently selected

t y p e Na m e see “Item typeName attribute” on string corresponding to the type of item

page 99

Methods

Method Reference Description

rem ove() see “Item remove() method” on page 99 deletes the item from the project

Example

The following example will get the second item from the project and check that the typeName of that item is
"Folder". Then it will remove from that folder any top-level item that is a Solid, but only if it is not currently
selected. The example will also check to make sure that, for each item in the folder, the parentFolder is properly
set to be the correct folder.
var my Folder = app. project.item(2);
if (myFolder.t y p eName != "Folder" ) {
aler t("er ror : second item is not a folder");
}
else {
var numInFolder = my Folder.numItems;
// Always r un loops backwards when deleting thing s:
for(i = numInFolder ; i >= 1; i--) {
var curItem = my Folder.item(i);
if ( curItem.parentFolder != my Folder) {

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aler t("er ror w ithin AE: the parentFolder is not set cor rectly");
}
else {
i f ( ! c u r Item . s e l e c te d & & c u r Item . t y p e Na m e = = " Fo o t a g e " ) {
/ / A h a ! a n u n s e l e c te d s o l i d .
curItem.remove();
}
}
}
}

Item comment attribute

app. project.ite m(index). comment

Description

The item comment attribute is a string that holds a comment, up to 15,999 bytes in length after any encoding
conversion. The comment is for the user's purpose only; it has no effect on the Item's appearance or behavior.

Type

String; read/write.

Item id attribute
app. project.ite m(index). i d

Description

The item ID attribute is a unique and persistent identification number used to identify an item between
sessions. The value of the ID will not change even after the project is saved to file and read in at a later time.
An ID is thus effectively permanent except when importing a project into another project, in which case new
IDs are assigned to the newly imported items.

Type

Integer; read-only.

Item name attribute

app. project. item(index).name

Description

The item name attribute is the name of the item as displayed in the Project window.

Type

String; read/write.

Item parentFolder attribute

app. project.ite m(index). parentFolder

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Description

The Parent Folder attribute yields the Folder Item that contains the selected item. If this Item is at the top level
of the project, then the parentFolder will be the project's root folder, (app.project.rootFolder).

Type

FolderItem; read-only.

Item remove() method

app. project.ite m(index) .remove()

Description

The Item remove() method removes (deletes) this item from the project window. If the item is a FolderItem,
all the items contained in the folder will also be removed.

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

Item selected attribute

app. project.ite m(index). s e l e c te d

Description

The selected attribute defines whether an item is selected or not. Multiple Items can be selected simultaneously
at any given time.
The selected attribute is true if this Item is currently selected. Setting this attribute to true will select the item.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

Item typeName attribute

app. project.ite m(index). t y p e Na m e

Description

The typeName attribute is a string representing a user-readable name of the type. Examples are Folder,
Footage and Composition.

Type

String; read-only.

ItemCollection
app. project .items

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Description

The ItemCollection object represents a collection of Items. The ItemCollection belonging to a Project object
represents all the Items in the project. The ItemCollection belonging to a FolderItem object represents all the
Items in that folder.

Attributes

length the number of objects in the collection (applies to all collections)

Methods

[] retrieves an object or objects in the collection via its index number

addComp() creates a new CompItem and adds it to the ItemCollection

ItemCollection addComp() method

app. project.Ite mCollect ion. addComp( n a m e , w i d t h , h e i g h t , p i x e l As p e c t , d u ra t i o n , f ra m e R a t e )

Description

The itemCollection addcomp() method creates a new CompItem and adds it to the ItemCollection.
If the ItemCollection belongs to the project or the root folder, then the new comp's parentFolder will be the
root folder. Otherwise, the new comp's parentFolder will be the FolderItem that owns the ItemCollection.

Parameters

n a me string name of the new CompItem

w id th integer width of the new CompItem [4.. 30,000]

heig ht integer height of the new CompItem [4.. 30,000]

p i xe l As p e c t floating-point value pixel aspect ratio of the Solid [0.01..100]

dur at i on floating-point value duration of the new CompItem [0 .. 10800 ]

f r a m e R a te floating-point value frame rate of the new CompItem [1 .. 99]

Returns

CompItem.

KeyframeEase object
The KeyframeEase object specifies the KeyframeEase setting of a keyframe, which is determined by its speed
and influence settings.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

speed see “KeyframeEase speed attribute” on corresponds to the speed setting for a key-
page 101 frame

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Attribute Reference Description

influence see “KeyframeEase influence attribute” corresponds to the influence setting for a key-
on page 101 frame in range [0.1..100.0]

Method

Method Reference Description

ke y fr a meE a se() see “KeyframeEase keyframeEase() returns a KeyframeEase

method” on page 101

KeyframeEase keyframeEase() method

myKe y. ke y fr a meE a se( s p e e d , i n fl u e n c e )

Description

This constructor creates a KeyframeEase value. Both paramters are required. Note that for non-spatial 2D and
3D properties you must set an easeIn and and easeOut for each dimension (see example below). Note also that
there are two types of ease: temporal and spatial.

Parameters

speed Floating-point value; the keyframe speed

influence Floating-point value in range [0.1..100.0]; the keyframe influence

Returns

None.

Example
var ea seIn = n ew Ke y fr a meE a se(0. 5, 5 0 ) ;
var easeOut = new Ke y freameEase(0.75, 85);
myPo sitio n Prop er t y. setTemp o r a l E a se At Ke y( 2 , [ e a s e In ] , [ e a s e O u t ] ) ;

KeyframeEase influence attribute

myKe y, Ke y f ra m e E a s e . influence

Description

This attribute specifies the influence value of the keyframe. The valid range is 0.1 to 100.0.

Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

KeyframeEase speed attribute

myKe y, Ke y f ra m e E a s e . s p e e d

Description

This attribute specifies the speed value of the keyframe.

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Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

Layer object
app. project.ite m(index). l ayer ( i n d e x )

Description

The Layer object provides access to a layer within Compositions. It can be accessed either by index number or
by a name string.
Those layers that are AV layers (Comp layers, footage layers, etc.) will be represented as AVLayer objects.
AVLayer is a subclass of Layer and contains additional methods and attributes. (See “AVLayer object” on
page 45 for more information.)
The Layer object is derived from PropertyGroup. All attributes of the PropertyBase and PropertyGroup
objects are available on Layers, as well.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

index see “Layer index attribute” on page 105 index of the layer, in the range [1,numLayers]

n am e see “Layer name attribute” on page 107 name of the layer

parent see “Layer parent attribute” on page 107 parent of this layer

time see “Layer time attribute” on page 109 current time of the layer

st ar tTi me see “Layer startTime attribute” on startTime of the layer, expressed in comp time
page 109

st re tch see “Layer stretch attribute” on time stretch, expressed as a percentage

page 109

inPoint see “Layer inPoint attribute” on inPoint of the layer, expressed in comp time
page 105

outPoint see “Layer outPoint attribute” on outPoint of the layer, expressed in comp time
page 107

enabled see “Layer enabled attribute” on true if the layer is enabled

page 104

solo see “Layer solo attribute” on page 109 true if the layer is soloed

shy see “Layer shy attribute” on page 108 true if the layer is shy

locked see “Layer locked attribute” on page 105 true if the layer is locked

h a s Vi d e o see “Layer hasVideo attribute” on true if the layer contains a video component
page 105

a c t ive see “Layer active attribute” on page 103 true if the layer is active at the current time

nul l L ayer see “Layer nullLayer attribute” on true if this is a null layer
page 107

s e l e c te d Pro p e r t i e s see “Layer selectedProperties attribute” array containing all selected Property and
on page 108 PropertyGroup objects in Layer

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Methods

Method Reference Description

rem ove() see “Layer remove() method” on deletes the layer from the composition
page 108

m ove To B e g i n n i n g ( ) see “Layer moveToBeginning() method” moves the layer to the top of the composition
on page 106 (the first layer)

moveTo E n d () see “Layer moveToEnd() method” on moves the layer to the bottom of the composi-
page 106 tion (the last layer)

moveAfter() see “Layer moveAfter() method” on moves the layer below another, specified layer
page 105

move Before() see “Layer moveBefore() method” on moves the layer above another, specified layer
page 106

duplicate() see “Layer duplicate() method” on duplicates the layer

page 104

copy To Comp () see “Layer copyToComp() method” on copies the layer to the top and beginning of
page 104 another composition

a c t iveAtTi m e ( ) see “Layer activeAtTime() method” on given a time, returns whether this layer will be
page 103 active at that time

set Pa ren tWi thJu mp () see “Layer setParentWithJump() establishes newParent as the parent of this
method” on page 108 layer

Example

If the first item in the project is a CompItem, the following example would disable the first layer in that
composition (i.e., turn the eyeball icon off) and rename it to "Lord High Imperial Layer."
var firstLayer = app. project.item(1).layer(1);
firstLayer. enabled = false;
firstLayer.name = "Lord Hig h Imper ial Layer";

Layer active attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . a c t ive

Description

The Layer active attribute is true if the layer's video is active at the current time.
To be true, the layer must be enabled; no other layer may be soloing unless this layer is soloed too, and the time
must be in between the inPoint and outPoint of this layer.
Note that an audio layer will not have active as true; there is a separate audioActive attribute in the AVLayer
object.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

Layer activeAtTime() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . a c t ive At Ti m e ( t im e )

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Description

The layer activeAtTime method returns whether this layer will be active at a given time. To be true, the layer’s
enabled attribute must be true, no other layer may be soloing unless this layer is soloed too, and the given time
must be between this layer's inPoint and outPoint.

Parameters

time floating-point value time (in seconds) to evaluate

Returns

Boolean.

Layer copyToComp() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .copyToComp( intoComp )

Description

The layer copyToComp() method copies the layer into the comp specified by intoComp. The original layer
will remain unchanged.

Parameters

com p target composition where the layer will be moved

Returns

None.

Layer duplicate() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .duplicate()

Description

The layer duplicate method duplicates the layer. This has the same effect as selecting a layer in the user
interface and choosing Edit > Duplicate, except the selection in the user interface does not change when you
call this method.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Layer.

Layer enabled attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .enabled

Description

The Layer enabled attribute is true if the layer is enabled, false otherwise. This corresponds to the toggle
control in the Layer window.

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Type

Boolean; read/write.

Layer hasVideo attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . h a s Vi d e o

Description

The Layer hasVideo attribute is true if the layer is enabled, false otherwise. This corresponds to the toggle
control in the Layer window.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

Layer index attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .index

Description

The Layer index attribute is the index of the layer, in the range [1,numLayers].

Type

Integer; read-only.

Layer inPoint attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .inPoint

Description

The Layer inPoint attribute is the in-point of the layer, expressed in comp time. Values may be in the range [-
10800, 10800].

Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

Layer locked attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .locked

Description

The Layer locked attribute is true if the layer is locked, false otherwise. This correponds to the lock toggle in
the Layer window.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

Layer moveAfter() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m ove Af ter ( l ay e r )

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Description

The Layer moveAfter method moves the layer below another, specified layer

Parameters

layer target layer that this layer will follow

Returns

None.

Layer moveBefore() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .moveBefore( l ay e r )

Description

The Layer moveAfter method moves the layer above another, specified layer.

Parameters

layer target layer that this layer will precede

Returns

None.

Layer moveToBeginning() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m oveToB e g i n n i n g ( )

Description

The Layer moveToBeginning method moves the layer to the top of the layer stack (the first layer).

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

Layer moveToEnd() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m ove ToE n d ( )

Description

The Layer moveToEndmethod moves the layer to the bottom of the layer stack (the last layer).

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

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Layer name attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . n a m e

Description

The Layer name attribute is the name of the layer. This can be unique from the Source name (which cannot
be changed in the Layer window), although by default they are identical until edited.

Type

String; read/write.

Layer nullLayer attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . nu l l L ayer

Description

The Layer nullLayer attribute is true if the layer was created as a null object, false otherwise.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

Layer outPoint attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .outPoint

Description

The Layer outPoint attribute is the out-point of the layer, expressed in comp time (seconds). Values may be in
the range [-10800, 10800].

Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

Layer parent attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .parent

Description

The Layer parent attribute is the parent of this layer. The value may be null and may be set to null.
Note that, as in the regular application, if you set the parent, there will be no apparent jump in the layer's
transform. This is because offset values will be calculated to counterbalance any transforms above it in the
hierarchy. For example, if the new parent has a rotation of 30 degrees, then the child layer would be given a
rotation of -30 degrees.
If you want to set the parent while keeping the child layer's transform values from changing, use the “Layer
setParentWithJump() method” on page 108.

Type

Layer; read/write.

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Layer remove() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .remove()

Description

This method deletes the specified layer from the composition.

Parameters

None.

Layer selectedProperties attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . s e l e c te d Pro p e r t i e s

Description

This attribute yields an array containing all of the selected Property and PropertyGroup objects in the layer.

Type

Array of PropertyBase; read-only.

Layer setParentWithJump() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .setParentWithJump(newParent)

Description

The Layer setParentWithJump() method establishes newParent as the parent of this layer.
This method does not change the transform values of the child layer, and as a result, there may be an apparent
jump in the rotation, translation, or scale of the child layer.
If you do not want the child layer to jump, set the parent attribute directly (as in "childLayer.parent =
newParent;"). When you set the parent attribute directly, an offset will be calculated and set in the child layer's
transform fields, which will prevent the jump from occurring.

Parameters

newParent replacement parent layer

Returns

None.

Layer shy attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . s hy

Description

The Layer shy attribute is true if the layer is shy, and therefore will be hidden in the Layer window if the compo-
sition’s hide all shy layers is toggled on.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

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Layer solo attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . s olo

Description

The Layer solo attribute is true if a layer is soloed, false otherwise.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

Layer startTime attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . s t a r t Ti m e

Description

The Layer startTime attribute is the startTime of the layer, expressed in comp time. Permitted values are in the
range [-10800, 10800] seconds, corresponding to +/- 3 hours.

Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

Layer stretch attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . s t re tch

Description

The Layer stretch attribute is the layer’s time stretch, expressed as a percentage. A value of 100 means no
stretch.
Range can be [-9900, 9900]. Values between [-1, 1] will be clipped to minimum acceptable values. Those
between [0, 1] will be clipped to 1, and those between [-1, 0] (not including 0) will be set to -1.

Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

Layer time attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . t i m e

Description

The Layer time attribute is the current time of the layer, expressed in comp time (seconds).

Type

Floating-point value; read-only.

Returns
None.

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LayerCollection
app. project.ite m(index). l co l l

Description

The Layer Collection represents a collection of layers. Each CompItem object contains one LayerCollection.
The LayerCollection attributes and methods provide access to and the ability to add new layers.

Attributes

length the number of objects in the collection (applies to all collections)

Methods

Method Reference Description

[] (no cross-reference) retrieves an object or objects in the collection

via its index number

add() see “LayerCollection add() method” on creates a new AVLayer containing the given
page 110 AVItem and adds it to the CompItem

a d d Nu l l ( ) see “LayerCollection addNull() method” layer returned is a newly created layer in the
on page 112 Comp that owns the LayerCollection

addSolid() see “LayerCollection addSolid() creates a new FootageItem that has a Solid-
method” on page 112 Source according to the specified parameters,
and adds it to the project

a d d Tex t ( ) see “LayerCollection addText() method” creates a new Text layer with the specified
on page 113 source text

addCamer a() see “LayerCollection addCamera() creates a new Camera layer with the specified
method” on page 111 name and center point

addLight() see “LayerCollection addLight() creates a new Light layer with the specified
method” on page 111 name and center point

byNa me() see “LayerCollection byName() method” returns the first layer found with the given
on page 113 name

precompose() see “LayerCollection precompose() collects the layers referred to by the indices
method” on page 113 given in layerIndices, and puts them into a new
CompItem with the given name

Example

Given that the first item in the project is a CompItem and the second item in the project is an AVItem, the
following code shows how to display the number of layers in the CompItem's layer collection, add a new layer
based on an AVItem in the project, and then display the new number of layers in the layer collection.
var firstComp = app. project.item(1);
v a r l ayer Co l l e c t i o n = fi r s t Co m p. l ayer s ;
aler t( "number of layers before is " + layerCollection.length);
var anAVItem = app. project.item(2);
l ayer Co l l e c t i o n . a d d ( a n AV Item ) ;
aler t( "number of layers after is " + layerCollection.length);

LayerCollection add() method

app. project.ite m(index).lcoll . a d d ( ite m, dura t ion )

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Description

The LayerCollection add() method creates a new AVLayer containing the given AVItem, and adds the new
AVLayer to the containing CompItem.
This method generates an exception if the item cannot be added as a layer to this CompItem.
The duration parameter, if provided, will affect the method only if the given AVItem contains a piece of still
footage; it has no effect on movies, sequences or audio. If duration is provided, then the duration of the newly
created layer will be the passed value. If duration is not provided, then the duration will be determined by the
user preferences.
Note that by default, user preferences proscribe that the duration be set equal to that of the CompItem into
which the layer is being added. The preference can be changed to a specific duration. Choose Edit > Prefer-
ences > Import (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > Import, and specify options under Still Footage.

Parameters

item AVItem to be added

dur at i on optional floating-point value specifying the length of a still layer

Returns

AVLayer.

LayerCollection addCamera() method

app. project.ite m(index).lcoll .addCamer a ( n a m e , c e n t e r Po i n t )

Description

This method creates a new camera layer within the LayerCollection.

Parameters

n a me string; name of the new layer

centerPoint floating-point array; center of the new camera

Returns

Camera layer.

LayerCollection addLight() method

app. project.ite m(index).lcoll . a d d L i g h t ( n a m e , c e n t e r Po i n t )

Description

This method creates a new light layer within the LayerCollection.

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Parameters

n a me string; name of the new layer

centerPoint floating-point array containing 2 values; center of the new light

Returns

Light layer.

LayerCollection addNull() method

app. project.ite m(index).lcoll . a d d Nu l l ( dura t ion )

Description

The LayerCollection addNull() method returns a newly created layer in the Comp that owns the LayerCol-
lection. The method has the same effect as choosing Layer > New > Null Object.
If duration is provided, then the duration of the newly created layer will be the passed value. If duration is not
provided, then the duration will be determined by user preferences.
Note that by default, user preferences specify that the duration be set equal to that of the CompItem into which
the layer is being added. The preference can be changed to a specific duration in the Preferences dialog box.
Choose Edit > Preferences > Import (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > Import, and specify options
under Still Footage.

Parameters

dur at i on optional floating-point value specifying the duration of the new layer

Returns

AVLayer.

LayerCollection addSolid() method

app. project.ite m(index).lcoll . a d d S o l i d ( c o l o r, n a m e , w i d t h , h e i g h t , p i x e l As p e c t , d u ra t i o n )

Description

The layerCollection addSolid() method creates a new FootageItem whose mainSource is a SolidSource
according to the specified parameters, and adds it to the project. This method also creates a new AVLayer that
has that new FootageItem as its source, and adds that layer to the containing CompItem.
Note that by default, user preferences proscribe that the duration be set equal to that of the CompItem into
which the layer is being added. The preference can be changed to a specific durationin the Preferences dialog
box. Choose Edit > Preferences > Import (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > Import, and specify
options under Still Footage.

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Parameters

color Establishes the color of the new FootageItem (a solid) contained in the layer. The
color argument must be an array of 3 floats lying in the range [0..1].

n a me Establishes the name of the new layer and the new FootageItem.

w id th Specifies the width, in pixels, of the new layer and the new FootageItem. Permit-
ted values are in the range [1 .. 30,000].

heig ht Specifies the height, in pixels, of the new layer and the new FootageItem. Permit-
ted values are in the range [1 .. 30,000].

p i xe l As p e c t Specifies the pixel aspect ratio for the new FootageItem.

dur at i on Optional floating-point value specifying the length of a still layer.

Returns

AVLayer.

LayerCollection addText() method

app. project.ite m(index).lcoll . a d d Tex t ( s ou rc e Te x t )

Description

This method creates a new text layer within the LayerCollection.

Parameters

sou rceText string; optional, serves as the source text of the new layer

Returns

Text layer.

LayerCollection byName() method

app. project.ite m(index).lcoll . by Na me ( n a m e )

Description

The LayerCollection byName() method returns the first layer found with the given name. This method returns
null if no layer with the given name is found.

Parameters

n a me string - the name of the layer being sought

Returns

Layer; null if name is not found.

LayerCollection precompose() method

app. project.ite m(index).lcoll . p re compos e ( layerIndic ies, name, moveAl lAtt r i butes )

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Description

The LayerCollection precompose() method collects the layers referred to by the given indices (first parameter)
and puts them into a new CompItem that has the given name (second parameter). The given layers are
removed from the LayerCollection. The new CompItem is added into the LayerCollection and is also returned
by the precompose() method.

Parameters

layerIn d ices indices of layers to be collected

n a me establishes the name of the new compItem

moveAllAtt r i butes Optional boolean, defaults to true; may be set to false only if there is only 1 index
in the layerIndices array. Setting this to true corresponds to selecting the Move
All Attributes into the New Composition option in the Pre-Compose dialog box.
Setting it to false corresponds to selecting the Leave All Attributes In option in
the Pre-Compose dialog box.

Returns

CompItem.

MarkerValue object
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .Mar kerValue

Description

The MarkerValue object holds the representation of a layer marker. It contains four string attributes:
comment, chapter, url, and frameTarget.
For more on the usage of markers see “Using markers” in After Effects Help.

Methods

Method Reference Description

Ma r kerVa lue() see “MarkerValue method” on page 115 Returns a MarkerValue. Sets the comment and,
optionally, the chapter, url and frameTarget
attributes.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

comment see “MarkerValue Comment attribute” string comment included with the marker
on page 116

ch a p ter see “MarkerValue Chapter attribute” on string Chapter Link reference point included
page 115 with the marker

url see “MarkerValue URL attribute” on string Uniform Resource Locator included with
page 116 the marker

f r a m e Ta r g e t see “MarkerValue FrameTarget string target (specifying a Web site frame)

attribute” on page 116 included with the marker

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Examples

To set a marker that says “Fade Up” at the 2 second mark:

var my Mar ker = new Mar ker("Fade Up");
myLayer. proper t y("Mar ker").setValueAtTime(2, my Ma r ker);

To get a comment value from a particular marker:

var commentOfFirstMar ker = app. project.ite m(1).layer(1).proper t y("Mar ker").ke y Va lue(0).comment;

var commentOfMar kerAtTime4 = app. project.item(1).layer(1).proper t y("Mar ker").value-

AtTime(4.0,TRUE) .comment

var ma r kerProp er t y = a p p. p ro j ect. ite m ( 1 ) . layer ( 1 ) . p rop e r t y( " Ma r ker " ) ;

var mar kerValueAtTimeClosestToTime4 = mar kerProper t y
.ke y Value(mar kerProper t y.nearestKe y In dex(4.0));
var commentOfMar kerClosestToTime4 = mar kerValueAtTimeClosestToTime4.comment;

MarkerValue method
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .Mar kerValue( c o m m e n t )
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .Mar kerValue( c o m m e n t , c h a p t e r )
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .Mar kerValue( c o m m e n t , c h a p t e r, u r l )
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .Mar kerValue( c o m m e n t , c h a p t e r, u r l , f ra m e Ta r g e t )

Description

The markerValue method sets between one and four specific attributes of the marker and returns a Marker-
Value.

Parameters

comment string see “MarkerValue Comment attribute” on page 116

ch a p ter string see “MarkerValue Chapter attribute” on page 115

url string see “MarkerValue URL attribute” on page 116

f r a m e Ta r g e t string see “MarkerValue FrameTarget attribute” on

page 116

Returns

MarkerValue (a marker keyframe containing the above four string values).

MarkerValue Chapter attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . Ma r ke r Va l u e . ch a p ter

Description

The MarkerValue chapter attribute is a text chapter link attached to a given layer marker. Chapter links initiate
a jump to a chapter in a QuickTime movie or in other formats that support chapter marks (for more on
markers see “Using markers” in After Effects Help).

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Type

String; read/write.

MarkerValue Comment attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .Mar kerValue.comment

Description

The MarkerValue comment attribute is a text comment attached to a given layer marker. This comment
appears in the Timeline window next to the layer marker (for more on markers see “Using markers” in After
Effects Help).

Type

String; read/write.

MarkerValue FrameTarget attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . Ma r ke r Va l u e . f r a m e Ta r g e t

Description

The MarkerValue frameTarget attribute is a text frame marker attached to a given layer marker. Used with a
URL, this can target a specific frame within a Web site (for more on markers see “Using markers” in After
Effects Help).

Type

String; read/write.

MarkerValue URL attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . Ma r ke r Va l u e . u r l

Description

The MarkerValue URL attribute is a text Uniform Resource Locator attached to a given layer marker. This URL
is an automatic link to a site (for more on markers see “Using markers” in After Effects Help).

Type

String; read/write.

MaskPropertyGroup object
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m a s k

Description

The MaskPropertyGroup object is derived from PropertyGroup and inherits all the attributes and methods of
PropertyBase and PropertyGroup, along with its own attributes and methods as follows.

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Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

mas k Mo d e see “MaskPropertyGroup maskMode specifies the MaskMode for this mask
attribute” on page 117

i nver te d see “MaskPropertyGroup inverted specifies whether the mask is inverted

attribute” on page 117

roto B ezi er see “MaskPropertyGroup rotoBezier specifies whether the shape of the mask is
attribute” on page 118 Rotobezier

maskMotionBlur see “MaskPropertyGroup maskMotion- specifies how motion blur is applied to this
Blur attribute” on page 118 mask

locked see “MaskPropertyGroup locked true if the mask is locked

attribute” on page 117

color see “MaskPropertyGroup color color used to draw the mask outline in the user
attribute” on page 117 interface

MaskPropertyGroup color attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m a s k ( i n d e x ) .color

Description

This attribute is the color used to draw the mask outline as it appears in the user interface (Composition
window, Layer window, and Timeline window).

Type

Array of three floating-point values from 0 to 1: [R, G, B); read/write.

MaskPropertyGroup inverted attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m a s k ( i n d e x ) . i nver te d

Description

This attribute is a boolean specifying whether the mask is inverted.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

MaskPropertyGroup locked attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m a s k ( i n d e x ) .locked

Description

This attribute is a boolean specifying whether the mask is locked and cannot be edited in the user interface.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

MaskPropertyGroup maskMode attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m a s k ( i n d e x ) . m a s k Mod e

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Description

This attribute is an enumerated type specifying the MaskMode for this mask.

Enumerated Types

Ma sk Mo d e. N ON E None

Ma sk Mo d e. A D D Add

MaskMode.SUBTRAC T Subtract

Ma sk Mo d e. I N TE R S E C T Intersect

Ma sk Mo d e. L I GH TE N Lighten

Ma sk Mo d e. DA R K E N Darken

Ma sk Mo d e. D I FFE R E N C E Difference

MaskPropertyGroup maskMotionBlur attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m a s k ( i n d e x ) .maskMotionBlur

Description

This attribute is an enumerated type specifying how motion blur is applied to this mask.

Enumerated Type

MaskMotionBlur.SAME_AS_LAYER Same as Layer

MaskMotionBlur.ON On

MaskMotionBlur.OFF Off

MaskPropertyGroup rotoBezier attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . m a s k ( i n d e x ) . rotoB e z i e r

Description

This attribute is a boolean specifying whether the mask is in RotoBezier mode.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

OutputModule object
a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . outputMo dule( i n d e x )

Description

The outputModule object of renderQueueItem generates a single file or sequence via a render, and contains
attributes and methods relating to that file to be rendered. It returns an Output Module with the given index
number. The indexed items are numbered beginning with 1.

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Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

file see “OutputModule file attribute” on path and name of the file to be rendered
page 120

postRenderAc tion see “OutputModule postRenderAction one of the postRenderAction types

attribute” on page 120

n am e see “OutputModule name attribute” on name of the Output Module as presented to

page 120 the user

tem p l a tes see “OutputModule templates array of all Output Module templates
attribute” on page 121

Methods

Method Reference Description

rem ove() see “OutputModule remove() method” removes the Output Module
on page 120

saveAsTemp l a te() see “OutputModule saveAsTemplate() saves a new Output ModuleTemplate with the
method” on page 121 given name

applyTemplate() see “OutputModule applyTemplate() applies a pre-set Output Module Template

method” on page 119

OMCollection
a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m s .outputMo dules

Description

The OMCollection contains all of the Output Modules in the project.

Attributes

length number of objects in the collection (applies to all collections)

Methods

[] retrieves an object or objects in the collection via its index number

add() adds an Output Module with a specified template

See also

“Collection object” on page 53

OutputModule applyTemplate() method

app. p rojec t . re n d erQ u eu e. i t e m (i n d ex ). o u t p u t Mo d u le s[ i] . applyTemplate( te mplateName )

Description

Applies an existing Output Module template, identified by name.

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Parameters

tem p l a teNa me name of the template to be applied

Returns

None.

OutputModule file attribute

app. p rojec t . re n d erQ u eu e. i t e m (i n d ex ). o u t p u t Mo d u le s[ i] . fi le

Description

The file attribute is the File object to which the output module is set to render.

Type

File object; read-write.

OutputModule name attribute

app. p rojec t . re n d erQ u eu e. i t e m (i n d ex ). o u t p u t Mo d u le s[ i] . n a m e

Description

The name attribute is the output module name as it is presented to the user, expressed as a string.

Type
St r ing; read-only.

OutputModule postRenderAction attribute

app. p rojec t . re n d erQ u eu e. i t e m (i n d ex ). o u t p u t Mo d u le s[ i] . postRenderAc tion

Description

The postRenderAction attribute returns the Post Render Action (listed below).

Type

PostRenderAction (read/write); one of the following:

postRenderAc tion.NONE
postRenderAc tion.IMPORT
postRenderAc tion.IMPORT_AND_REPLACE_USAGE
postRenderAc tion.SET_PROXY

OutputModule remove() method

app. p rojec t . re n d erQ u eu e. i t e m (i n d ex ). o u t p u t Mo d u le s[ i] . rem ove ( )

Description

Deletes an Output Module.

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Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

OutputModule saveAsTemplate() method

app. p rojec t . re n d erQ u eu e. i t e m (i n d ex ). o u t p u t Mo d u le s[ i] . s ave As Tem p la te ( n a m e )

Description

Saves an Output Module with the name given as a parameter.

Parameters

n a me name of the new template

Returns

None.

OutputModule templates attribute

app. p rojec t . re n d erQ u eu e. i t e m (i n d ex ). o u t p u t Mo d u le s[ i] . tem p la te s

Description

The templates attribute is an array of strings; these are the names of the templates in the local installation of
After Effects.

Type
Ar r ay ; read-only.

PlaceholderSource object
app. project.item(index).mainSource
app. project.item(index).proxySource

Description

The PlaceholderSource object holds information describing the footage source of a placeholder. It is a subclass
of FootageSource and so it inherits all attributes and methods of the FootageSource object. (See “Footage-
Source object” on page 89.)
There are no attributes or methods in PlaceholderSource other than those inherited from the FootageSource
object.

Project object
app. p ro j e c t

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Description

The project object enables access to data and functionality within a particularAfter Effects project.
Attributes of the Project object provide access to specific objects within an After Effects project, such as
imported files and footage, comps, as well as project settings such as the timecode base.
Methods of the Project object can import footage, can create solids, compositions and folders, and can save
changes.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

file see “Project file attribute” on page 124 file object of the currently open project

ro otFolder see “Project rootFolder attribute” on folderItem containing all the contents of the
page 127 project; the equivalent of the Project window

items see “Project items attribute” on itemCollection representing all items in the
page 126 project

a c t iveIte m see “Project activeItem attribute” on currently active item, or null if none is active or
page 123 multiple items are active

bitsPerChannel see “Project bitsPerChannel attribute” color depth of the current project
on page 123

t r ansparencyGr idThumbnails see “Project transparencyGridThumb- determines if thumbnail views should use the
nails attribute” on page 130 transparency checkerboard pattern

t i m e co d e D i s p l ay Ty p e see “Project timecodeDisplayType method with which timecode is set to display

attribute” on page 129

t i m e co d e B a s e Ty p e see “Project timecodeBaseType timecode base as set in the File > Project Set-
attribute” on page 128 tings dialog box

timeco deNTSCDropFr ame see “Project timecodeNTSCDropFrame equivalent to Drop Frame or Non-Drop Frame
attribute” on page 129 in the File > Project Settings dialog box

t i m e co d e F i l m Ty p e see “Project timecodeFilmType method with which timecode is set to display

attribute” on page 129

num Items see“Project numItems attribute” on total number of items contained in the project
page 126

selection see “Project selection attribute” on array of the items selected in the Project win-
page 128 dow

renderQueue see “Project renderQueue attribute” on the project’s render queue

page 127

Methods

Method Reference Description

item() see “Project item() method” on returns an item

page 125

con s o l i d a te Fo o t a g e ( ) see“Project consolidateFootage() replicates the functionality of File > Consoli-

method” on page 124 date All Footage

rem oveUnu s e d Fo o t a g e ( ) see “Project removeUnusedFootage() replicates the functionality of File > Remove
method” on page 127 Unused Footage

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Method Reference Description

re d u ce Pro j e c t ( ) see “Project reduceProject() method” on replicates the functionality of File > Reduce
page 126 Project

close() see“Project close() method” on closes the project with normal save options
page 123

save() see “Project save() method” on page 127 saves the project (or displays a Save dialog box
if project has never been saved)

s aveWi t h D i a l o g ( ) see “Project saveWithDialog() method” displays a Save dialog box; returns true if file
on page 128 was saved

impor tPlaceholder() see “Project importPlaceholder() replicates the functionality of File > Import >
method” on page 125 Placeholder.

impor tFile() see “Project importFile() method” on replicates the functionality of File > Import >
page 124 File.

i m p o r t F i l e Wi t h D i a l o g ( ) see “Project importFileWithDialog() displays an Import dialog box; returns an array

method” on page 125 of all imported items

showWindow() see “Project showWindow() method” on if true, shows the project window
page 128

Project activeItem attribute

app. project. a c t iveIte m

Description

The project attribute activeItem returns the item that is currently active and is to be acted upon, or a null if no
item is currently selected or if multiple items are selected.

Type

The item that is currently active; read-only.

Project bitsPerChannel attribute

app. project .bitsPerChannel

Description

The bitsPerChannel attribute is an integer describing the color depth of the current project (either 8 or 16
bits).

Type

Integer (8 or 16 only); read/write.

Project close() method

app. project. close( C l o s e O p t i o n s )

Description

Closes the project with the option of saving changes automatically, prompting the user to save changes or
closing without saving changes.

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Parameters

CloseOptions action to be performed on close (see Enumerated Types, below)

Enumerated Types

C l o s e O p t i o n s . D O _ N OT _ S AV E _ C H A N G E S close without saving

C l o s e O p t i o n s . P RO M P T _ TO _ S AV E _ C H A N G E S send a prompt asking whether to save changes before close

C l o s e O p t i o n s . S AV E _ C H A N G E S save automatically on close option

Returns

Boolean. False only in one case: the file has not been previously saved; the user is presented with a Save dialog
box, and cancels the save.

Project consolidateFootage() method

app. project. con s o l i d a te Fo o t a g e ( )

Description

Replicates the functionality of the Consolidate All Footage command.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Integer; the total number of footage items removed.

Project file attribute

app. project . fi l e

Description

The file attribute is a File object representing the project that is currently open.

Type

File Object or null if project has not been saved; read-only.

Project importFile() method

app. project. impor tFile( Im p o r t O p t i o n s )

Description

Replicates the functionality of the Import File dialog box.

Parameters

Imp or tO p t i ons options as set in the ImportOptions object

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Returns

FootageItem

Example
app. p ro j ect. imp o r tFil e( Imp o r tOp ti on s ( F i le ( “s a m p le . p s d ” ) )

See also

“ImportOptions object” on page 94

Project importPlaceholder() method

app. project. impor tPlaceholder( n a m e, w id t h, he ig ht , f ra m e ra t e , d u ra t io n )

Description

Replicates the functionality of File > Import > Placeholder; adds a placeholder footage item of a specified
name, width, height, framerate, and duration to the project.

Parameters

n a me name of the placeholder

w id th width in pixels of the placeholder footage

heig ht height in pixels of the placeholder footage

fr amer ate frame rate of the placeholder footage

dur at i on duration of the placeholder footage, in seconds

Returns

FootageItem.

Project importFileWithDialog() method

app. project. i m p o r t F i l e Wi t h D i a l o g ( )

Description

Replicates the functionality of File > Import > File and produces an Import dialog box for the user. Unlike
importFile(), importWithDialog() does not take arguments.

Returns

Array of Items created during import; or null if the user cancels the dialog.

Project item() method

app. project. item( i n d e x )

Description

This method returns an item with the given index number.

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Parameters

index integer; the index of the item

Returns

Item.

Project items attribute

app. project .items

Description

This attribute represents all of the items in the project.

Type

ItemCollection; read-only.

Project numItems attribute

app. project . nu mItems

Description

The numItems attribute represents the total number of items contained in the project, including folders and
all types of footage.

Type

Integer; read-only.

Example
n = a p p. p ro j ect. nu mItems;
aler t("There are " + n + " items in this project.")

Project reduceProject() method

app. project. re d u cePro j e c t ( ar ray_of_ite m s )

Description

Replicates the functionality of File > Reduce Project.

Parameters

ar r ay_of_items items to which the project is to be reduced

Returns

Integer; the total number of items removed.

Example
var theItems = n ew Ar r ay ();
theItems[theItems.length] = app. project.item(1);
theItems[theItems.length] = app. project.item(3);

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a p p. p ro j e c t . re d u ce Pro j e c t ( t h e Item s ) ;

Project removeUnusedFootage() method

app. project. rem oveUnu s e d Fo o t a g e ( )

Description

Replicates the functionality of File > Remove Unused Footage.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Integer; the total number of footage items removed.

Project renderQueue attribute

app. project .renderQueue

Description

This attribute represents the render queue of the project.

Type

RenderQueue; read-only.

Project rootFolder attribute

app. project .rootFolder

Description

The rootFolder attribute is the root folder containing the root contents of the project; this is a conceptual
folder that contains all items in the Project window, but not items contained inside other folders in the Project
window.

Type

FolderItem; read-only.

Project save() method

app. project . save()
app. project . save( Fi l e )

Description

Saves the project (or prompts the user if the file has never previously been saved). Passing in a File object is
equivalent to the Save As command and allows you to save a project to a new file.

Parameters

File File object to save

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Returns

None.

Project saveWithDialog() method

app. project . s aveWi t h D i a l o g ( )

Description

This method presents the Save dialog box to a user. The user can either name a file with a location and save it,
or click Cancel and exit the dialog.
This method returns a boolean that is true if the file was saved, and false if not.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Boolean; true if file was saved.

Project selection attribute

app. project . s e l e c t i o n

Description

The selection attribute contains an array of the items selected in the Project window.

Type

Array; read-only.

Project showWindow() method

app. project .showWindow( doShow )

Description

This method shows or hides the Project window, depending on how its argument is set.

Parameters

doShow boolean; if true, shows the Project window, if false, hides the Project window

Returns

None.

Project timecodeBaseType attribute

app. project . t i m e co d e B a s e Ty p e

Description

The timecodeBaseType attribute reveals the Timecode Base as set in the Project Settings dialog box.

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Enumerated Type

One of the following (read/write):

Ti m e co d e B a s e Ty p e . F P S 2 4
Ti m e co d e B a s e Ty p e . F P S 2 5
Ti m e co d e B a s e Ty p e . F P S 3 0
Ti m e co d e B a s e Ty p e . F P S 4 8
Ti m e co d e B a s e Ty p e . F P S 5 0
Ti m e co d e B a s e Ty p e . F P S 6 0
Ti m e co d e B a s e Ty p e . F P S 1 0 0

Project timecodeDisplayType attribute

app. project . t i m e co d e D i s p l ay Ty p e

Description

The timecodeDisplayType attribute describes the method with which timecode is set to display. The
enumerated values are found in a menu in the Project Settings dialog box.

Enumerated Type

One of the following (read/write):

Ti m e co d e D i s p l ay Ty p e . T I M E C O D E
Timeco deDisplayTy p e.FRAMES
Timeco deDisplayTy p e.FEET_AND_FRAMES

Project timecodeFilmType attribute

app. project . t i m e co d e F i l m Ty p e

Description

The timecodeFilmType attribute describes the film type that has been selected for the Feet + Frames option
in the Project Settings dialog box.

Enumerated Type

One of the following (read/write):

Timeco deFilmTy p e.MM16
Timeco deFilmTy p e.MM35

Project timecodeNTSCDropFrame attribute

app. project .timeco deNTSCDropFr ame

Description

The timecodeNTSCDropFrame attribute describes how timecode for 29.97 fps footage is displayed. This
corresponds to the Drop Frame or Non-Drop Frame pulldown options under “NTSC” in the Project Settings
dialog box.

Type

Boolean (read/write); true if NTSC Drop Frame is set as the current project display style.

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Project transparencyGridThumbnails attribute

app. project .t r ansparencyGr i d

Description

The transparencyGridThumbnails attribute determines if thumbnail views should use the transparency
checkerboard pattern (yes or no).

Type

Boolean (read/write).

Property object
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . prop er t y

Description

The Property object contains value, keyframe, and/or expression information about a particular property of
the layer. Examples of a Property are position, zoom, and mask feather.
Note that in standard JavaScript descriptions a “property” and an “attribute” are synonymous. Because After
Effects contained this separate use of the term “property” before any scripting support was added, this
documentation refers only to “attributes” when speaking about accessible values within scripting. “Property”
meanwhile remains the term for values attached to layers, effects and masks both within this document and
throughout After Effects.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

prop er t y Va lueTy p e see “Property propertyValueType type of value stored in this property
attribute” on page 142

v a lu e see “Property value attribute” on value of the property at the current time
page 149

has Mi n see “Property hasMin attribute” on true if there is a minimum permitted value
page 135

has Ma x see “Property hasMax attribute” on true if there is a maximum permitted value
page 135

minValue see “Property minValue attribute” on minimum permitted value

page 142

maxValue see “Property maxValue attribute” on maximum permitted value

page 141

isSpatial see “Property isSpatial attribute” on true if property defines a spatial value
page 136

canVar yOverTime see “Property canVaryOverTime true if the property can be keyframed
attribute” on page 134

isTi meVa r y i n g see “Property isTimeVarying attribute” true if the property has keyframes or an
on page 136 expression enabled that vary its values

num Ke ys see “Property numKeys attribute” on number of keyframes on this property

page 142

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Attribute Reference Description

u n i tsText see “Property unitsText attribute” on text description of the units in which the value
page 149 is expressed

ex pression see “Property expression attribute” on the expression string for this property
page 134

ex pressionEnabled see “Property expressionEnabled if true, the expression is used to generate val-
attribute” on page 135 ues for the property

expressionEr ror see “Property expressionError attribute” contains error if the last expression evaluated
on page 135 with an error

Ke y fr ameInter polationTy p e see “Property KeyframeInterpolation- type of interpolation used at a keyframe

Type attribute” on page 136

s e l e c te d Ke y s see “Property selectedKeys attribute” on array containing the indices of all selected key-
page 144 frames of the Property

Methods

Method Reference Description

valueAtTime() see “Property valueAtTime() method” returns value of the property evaluated at
on page 149 given time

setValue() see “Property setValue() method” on sets the static value of the property
page 147

setValueAtTime() see “Property setValueAtTime() creates a keyframe at the given time (if none
method” on page 148 exists) for the property

setValuesAtTimes() see “Property setValuesAtTimes() creates a keyframe that is an array at the given
method” on page 148 time (if none exists) for the property

setValueAtKe y() see “Property setValueAtKey() method” finds the keyframe with the given index and
on page 148 sets the value of the property at that keyframe

nearestKe y In dex() see “Property nearestKeyIndex() returns the index of the keyframe nearest to
method” on page 142 the given time

ke yTime() see “Property keyTime() method” on returns the time at which the condition given
page 141 by the arguments occurs

ke yValue() see “Property keyValue() method” on returns the value of the property at the time at
page 141 which the condition given by the arguments
occurs

a d d Ke y ( ) see “Property addKey() method” on adds a new keyframe at the given time
page 134

rem oveKe y () see “Property removeKey() method” on removes the keyframe with the given index
page 143

isInterolationTy p eValid() see “Property isInterpolationTypeValid() true if this property can be interpolated
method” on page 136

set In ter p o l a ti o n Ty p eAtKe y () see “Property setInterpolationTypeAt- sets the interpolation type for the key
Key() method” on page 144

ke yInInter polationTy p e() see “Property keyInInterpolationType() returns the 'in' interpolationType for the given
method” on page 137 key

ke yOutInter polationTy p e() see “Property keyOutInterpolation- returns the 'out' interpolationType for the
Type() method” on page 138 given key

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Method Reference Description

set S p a ti a l Ta n g en tsAtKe y () see “Property setSpatialTangentsAt- sets the in and out tangent vectors for the
Key() method” on page 146 given key

ke yInSpatialTangent() see “Property keyInSpatialTangent() returns the 'in' spatial tangent for the given key
method” on page 137

ke yOutSpatialTangent() see “Property keyOutSpatialTangent() returns the 'out' spatial tangent for the given
method” on page 138 key

set Temp o r a l E a seAtKe y () see “Property setTemporalEaseAtKey() sets the in and out temporal ease for the given
method” on page 147 key

ke yInTempor alEase() see “Property keyInTemporalEase() returns the 'in' temporal ease for the given key
method” on page 137

ke yOutTempor alEase() see “Property keyOutTemporalEase() returns the 'out' temporal ease for the given
method” on page 138 key

set Temp o r a l Co n tinu o u - see “Property setTemporalContinuou- specifies whether the keyframe has temporal
sAt Ke y () sAtKey() method” on page 146 continuity

ke yTempor alContinuous() see “Property keyTemporalContinuous() returns whether the keyframe has temporal
method” on page 140 continuity

setTempor alAutoBezierAtKe y() see “Property setTemporalAutoBezier- specifies whether the keyframe has temporal
AtKey() method” on page 146 auto bezier

ke yTempor alAutoBezier() see “Property keyTemporalAutoBezier() returns whether the keyframe has auto bezier
method” on page 140

s e t S p a t i a l Co n t i nu o u s At Ke y ( ) see “Property setSpatialContinuousAt- specifies whether the keyframe has spatial

Key() method” on page 145 continuity

ke y S p a t i a l Co n t i nu o u s ( ) see “Property keySpatialContinuous() returns whether the keyframe has spatial con-
method” on page 140 tinuity

set S p a ti a l Au to B ezi erAtKe y see “Property setSpatialAutoBezierAt- specifies whether the keyframe has spatial
Key() method” on page 145 auto bezier

ke ySpatialAutoBezier() see “Property keySpatialAutoBezier() returns whether the keyframe has spatial auto
method” on page 139 bezier

s e t Rov i n g At Ke y ( ) see “Property setRovingAtKey() specifies whether the keyframe is roving

method” on page 144

ke yRov in g () see “Property keyRoving() method” on returns whether the keyframe is roving
page 139

s e t S e l e c te d At Ke y ( ) see “Property setSelectedAtKey() sets whether the keyframe is selected

method” on page 145

ke y S e l e c te d ( ) see “Property keySelected() method” on returns whether the keyframe is selected

page 139

Examples

1 Getting and setting the value of an opacity

opacity has propertyValueType of OneD, and is stored as a float.
var my Proper t y = myLayer. opacit y ;
my Proper t y.setValue(0.5);
/ / T h i s n e w v a r i a b l e my O p a c i t y w il l b e a fl o a t v a l u e .
var my Opacit y = my Proper t y.value;

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2 Getting and setting the value of a position

position has propertyValueType of ThreeD_SPATIAL and is stored as an array of three floats.
var my Proper t y = myLayer. position;
myProper t y.setValue([10,30,0]);
// T hi s n ew va r ia bl e my Po si ti o n be an a r r ay of 3 fl oa t s :
var my Position = my Proper t y.value;

3 Changing the value of a mask shape to be open instead of closed

var my Ma sk = my l ayer. ma sk (1);
var my Pro p er t y = my Ma sk . ma sk S ha pe ;
myShape = my Proper t y.value;
my S h a p e . c l o s e d = f a l s e ;
my Proper t y.setValue(myShape);

4 Getting the value of a color at a particular time

A color is stored as an array of four floats (r,g,b,opacity). The following code sets the value of the red
component of a light's color at time 4 to be half of that at time 2:
var my Proper t y = myLig ht.color ;
var colorValue = my Proper t y.valueAtTime(2,t r ue);
colorValue[0] = 0.5 * colorValue[0];
my Proper t y.setValueAtTime(4,colorValue);

5 How to check that a scale calculated by an expression at time 3.5 is the expected value of [10,50]
var my Proper t y = myLayer.scale;
// false value of preExpression means e v aluate the ex pression
var scaleValue = my Proper t y.valueAtTime(3.5,false);
if (scaleValue[0] == 10 && scaleValue[1] == 50) {
aler t("hur r ay");
else {
aler t("oops");
}

6 Keyframing a rotation from 0 to 90 and back again

The animation is 10 seconds, and the middle keyframe is at the 5 second mark. Rotation properties are stored
as a OneD value.
myProper t y = myLayer. rotation;
myProper t y.setValueAtTime(0, 0);
myProper t y.setValueAtTime(5, 90);
myProper t y.setValueAtTime(10, 0);

7 Changing the keyframe values for the first three keyframes of some source text
myProper t y = my TextLayer.sourceText;
i f ( my Prop e r t y. nu m Ke ys < 3 ) {
aler t("er ror, I thoug ht there were 3 ke y fr ames");
}
my Proper t y.setValueAtKe y(1, new TextDocument("ke y number 1");
my Proper t y.setValueAtKe y(2, new TextDocument("ke y number 2");

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my Proper t y.setValueAtKe y(3, new TextDocument("ke y number 3");

8 Setting values using the convenience syntax for position, scale, color, or source text
// These two are equivalent. The second fills in a default of 0.
myLayer. p o sitio n . setVa l u e([ 20, 30, 0 ] ) ;
myLayer. p o sitio n . setVa l u e([ 20, 30 ] ) ;
// These two are equivalent. The second fills in a default of 100.
myLayer.scale.setValue([ 50, 50, 100]);
myLayer.scale.setValue([ 50, 50 ]);
// These two are equivalent. The second fills in a default of 1.0
myLig ht.color.setValue([ .8, .3, .1, 1.0]);
myLig ht.color.setValue([ .8, .3, .1]);
/ / T h e s e t wo a re e q u iv a l e n t . T h e s e con d c re a te s a Tex t D o c u m e n t
myTextL ayer. so u rceText. setVa l u e(n ew Tex t D oc u m e n t ( " f oo" ) ) ;
my TextLayer.sourceText.setValue("foo");

Property addKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . a d d Ke y ( t im e )

Description

The property addKey method adds a new keyframe at the given time and returns the index of the new
keyframe.

Parameters

time floating-point value; the time at which the keyframe is added

Returns

Integer; the index of the new keyframe.

Property canVaryOverTime attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .canVar yOverTime

Description

The Property canVaryOverTime attribute is true if this property can vary over time, in other words, if
keyframe values or expressions can be written to this property.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

Property expression attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .expression

Description

The Property expression attribute is the expression for this property, expressed as a string. This attribute forces
an evalution of the given expression string. The value always changes to the given expression string even if the
string is not a valid expression.

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If the given string is a valid expression, expressionEnabled becomes true. If the given string is not a valid
expression, an error is generated, and expressionEnabled is set to false. If you set a property’s expression to the
empty string, expressionEnabled will be set to false.

Type

String; read/write.

Property expressionEnabled attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .expressionEnabled

Description

The Property expressionEnabled attribute, if true, uses the expression to generate the value for the property.
If the attribute is false, then the expression is not used; keyframe information or the static value of the property
is used. This attribute can be set to true only if the expression contains a valid expression string.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

Property expressionError attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .expressionEr ror

Description

The Property expressionError attribute contains the error if the last expression string given to the expression
attribute evaluated with an error.
If no expression string has been given to the expression, or if the last expression string given to expression
evaluated without error, it contains the empty string ("").

Type

String; read-only.

Property hasMax attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . h a s Ma x

Description

The Property hasMax attribute is true if there is a maximum permitted value for this property.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

Property hasMin attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . h a s Mi n

Description

The Property hasMin is true if there is a minimum permitted value for this property.

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Type

Boolean; read-only.

Property isInterpolationTypeValid() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .isInter polationTy p eValid( t he Ty p e )

Description

This method returns true if this Property can be interpolated using the theType.

Parameters

t h eTy p e KeyframeInterpolationType

Returns

Boolean.

Property isSpatial attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . i s S p a t i a l

Description

The Property isSpatial attribute is true if the property defines a spatial value. Examples are position and effect
point controls.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

Property isTimeVarying attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . i s Ti m e Va r y i n g

Description

The Property isTimeVarying attribute is true if the property is time varying. A property is time varying if it
has keyframes or an enabled expression. If isTimeVarying is true, then canVaryOverTime must also be true.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

Property KeyframeInterpolationType attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e t In te r p ola t i on Ty p e At Ke y
(1,Ke y fr ameInter polationTy p e.LINEAR,Ke y fr ameInter polationTy p e.BEZIER)

Description

This enumerated type specifies the type of interpolation used at a keyframe.

Enumerated Types

Possible values are:

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Ke y fr ameInter polationTy p e.LINEAR specifies a linear keyframe

Ke y fr ameInter polationTy p e.BEZIER specifies a bezier keyframe.

Ke y fr ameInter polationTy p e.HOLD specifies a hold keyframe

Property keyInInterpolationType() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . ke yIn In ter p ola t i on Ty p e ( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns the 'in' interpolationType for the given key.

Parameters

ke yIndex Integer; the keyframe being evaluated

Returns

KeyframeInterpolationType.

Property keyInSpatialTangent() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke y InSpatialTangent( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns the 'in' spatial tangent for the given key.
If the PropertyValueType is TwoD_SPATIAL, the return value contains 2 floating-point values. If the Proper-
tyValueType is ThreeD_SPATIAL, the return value contains 3 floating-point values.
If the PropertyValueType is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters

ke yIndex Integer; the keyframe being evaluated

Returns

Array of floating-point values.

Property keyInTemporalEase() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke yIn Tempor alEase( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns the 'in' temporal ease for the given key.
The return value is an array of KeyframeEase objects. The dimension of the array depends on the dimension
of the property's keyframeValueType. For ThreeD, the dimension of the array is 3. For TwoD, it is 2. For all
other keyframeValueTypes, it is 1.

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Parameters

ke yIndex Integer; the keyframe being evaluated

Returns

KeyframeEase expressed as an array.

Property keyOutInterpolationType() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke yOutInter polationTy p e( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns the 'out' interpolationType for the given key.

Parameters

ke yIndex Integer; the keyframe to be evaluated

Returns

KeyframeInterpolationType.

Property keyOutSpatialTangent() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke yOutSpatialTangent( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns the 'out' spatial tangent for the given key.
If the PropertyValueType is TwoD_SPATIAL, the return value contains 2 floating-point values. If the Proper-
tyValueType is ThreeD_SPATIAL, the return value contains 3 floating-point values.
If the PropertyValueType is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters

ke yIndex Integer; the keyframe being set

Returns

Array of floating-point values.

Property keyOutTemporalEase() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke yOutTempor alEase( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns the 'out' temporal ease for the given key.
The return value is an array of KeyframeEase objects. The dimension of the array depends on the dimension
of the property's keyframeValueType. For ThreeD, the dimension of the array is 3. For TwoD, it is 2. For all
other keyframeValueTypes, it is 1.

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Parameters

ke yIndex Integer; the keyframe being set

Returns

KeyframeEase expressed as an array.

Property keyRoving() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . ke yRov i n g( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns whether the keyframe is roving.

If the PropertyValueType is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being evaluated

Returns

Boolean.

Property keySelected() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . ke yRov i n g( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns whether the keyframe is selected.

Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being evaluated

Returns

Boolean.

Property keySpatialAutoBezier() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke ySpatialAutoBezier( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns whether the keyframe has spatial auto-bezier interpolation.
If the PropertyValueType is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.
Note that spatial auto-bezier has an effect at this keyframe only if keySpatialContinuous(keyIndex) is true.

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Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being evaluated

Returns

Boolean.

Property keySpatialContinuous() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . ke y S p a t i a l Co n t i nu o u s ( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns whether the keyframe has spatial continuity.

If the PropertyValueType is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being evaluated

Returns

Boolean.

Property keyTemporalAutoBezier() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke y Tempor alAutoBezier( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns whether the keyframe has auto-bezier interpolation.

Note that temporal auto-bezier has an effect at this keyframe only if the KeyframeInterpolationType is
BEZIER for both keyInInterpolation(keyIndex) and keyOutInterpolation(keyIndex).

Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being evaluated

Returns

Boolean.

Property keyTemporalContinuous() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke yTempor alContinuous( ke y In d e x )

Description

This method returns whether the keyframe has temporal continuity.

Note that temporal continuity has an effect at this keyframe only if the KeyframeInterpolationType is BEZIER
for both keyInInterpolation(keyIndex) and keyOutInterpolation(keyIndex).

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Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being evaluated

Returns

Boolean.

Property keyTime() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . ke yTi m e ( ke y In d e x )
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . ke yTi m e ( m a r ke r Co m m e n t )

Description

The property keyTime method finds the keyframe or marker specified in the arguments and returns the time
at which it occurs.
If no keyframe or marker can be found that matches the argument, this method generates an exception, and
an error is displayed.

Parameters

ke yIndex integer; the keyframe index number, (in range 0..numKeys)

mar kerComment string; the comment attached to a marker (see “MarkerValue Comment attribute” on page 116)

Returns

Floating-point value; the time at which the keyframe or marker occurs.

Property keyValue() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke yVa lue( ke y In d e x )
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .ke yVa lue( m a r ke r Co m m e n t )

Description

The property keyValue method finds the keyframe or marker specified in the arguments and returns the time
at which it occurs.
If no keyframe or marker can be found that matches the argument, this method generates an exception, and
an error is displayed.

Parameters

ke yIndex integer; the keyframe index number, (in range 0..numKeys)

mar kerComment string; the comment attached to a marker (see “MarkerValue Comment attribute” on page 116)

Returns

Floating-point value; the time at which the keyframe or marker occurs.

Property maxValue attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .maxValue

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Description

The Property maxValue attribute contains the maximum permitted value of the property. If the hasMax
attribute is false, an exception occurs, and an error is generated.

Type

Floating-point value; read-only.

Property minValue attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .proper t y ( n a m e ) .minValue

Description

The Property maxValue attribute contains the minimum permitted value of the property. If the hasMax
attribute is false, an exception occurs, and an error is generated.

Type

Floating-point value; read-only.

Property nearestKeyIndex() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .nearestKe yIn dex( t im e )

Description

The property nearestKeyIndex method returns the index of the keyframe nearest to the given time.

Parameters

time floating-point value; the time at which to search for the nearest key

Returns

Integer; the index of the nearest keyframe.

Property numKeys attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . nu m Ke ys

Description

The Property numKeys attribute contains the number of keyframes in this property. If this attribute’s value is
0, then the property is not being keyframed.

Type

Integer; read-only.

Property propertyValueType attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .proper t yValueTy p e

Description

The Property numKeys attribute contains the type of value stored in this property.

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The enumerated type associated with this attribute has one value for each type of data that can be stored in
and/or retrieved from a property. All property objects store data that falls into one of these categories.
Each type of data is stored and retrieved in a different kind of structure. For example, a 3D spatial property
(like a layer's position) is stored as an array of three floating point values. When setting a value for position,
you'd pass in such an array, as in:
my layer. proper t y("position").setValue([10,20,0]);
For another example, a shape property (such as a layer's mask shape) is stored as a Shape object. When setting
a value for a shape, pass in a shape object, as in:
v a r my S h a p e = n e w S h a p e ( ) ;
mySha p e. ver ti ces = [[0, 0], [0, 100], [1 0 0 , 1 0 0 ] , [ 1 0 0 , 0 ] ] ;
var my Mask = my layer. proper t y("ADBE Mask Pa r a de").proper t y(1);
my Ma s k . p rop e r t y ( " A D B E Ma s k S h a p e " ) . s e t Va l u e ( my S h a p e ) ;

Enumerated Types

Proper t yValueTy p e.NO_VALUE stores no data

Proper t y ValueTy p e.ThreeD_SPATIAL array of three floating point positional values, e.g., Anchor
Pont [10, 20.2, 0]

Proper t y ValueTy p e.ThreeD array of three floating point quantitative values, e.g., Scale
[100, 20.2, 0]

Proper t y ValueTy p e.TwoD_SPATIAL array of 2 floating point positional values, e.g., Anchor Pont
[5.1, 10]

Proper t y Va lueTy p e.Two D array of 2 floating point quantitative values, e.g., Scale [5.1,
100]

Proper t y Va lueTy p e.OneD a floating point value

Proper t yValueTy p e.COLOR array of 4 floating point values in the range 0..1, e.g., [.8, .3, .1,
1.0]

Proper t y ValueTy p e.CUSTOM_VALUE unimplemented type; you cannot get and set values for
properties with this type

Proper t yValueTy p e.MARKER MarkerValue object (see “MarkerValue object” on page 114)

Proper t yValueTy p e.LAYER_INDEX integer; a value of 0 means none (no layer)

Proper t y ValueTy p e.MASK_INDEX integer; a value of 0 means none (no mask)

Proper t y Va lueTy p e.SHAPE shape object

Proper t y ValueTy p e.TEXT_D O CUMENT TextDocument object (see “TextDocument object” on

page 177)

Property removeKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .removeKe y ( ke y In d e x )

Description

The property removeKey method removes a keyframe with the given keyIndex. If no keyframe with that
keyIndex exists, this method generates an exception and an error is displayed.

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Parameters

ke yIndex integer; the index of the keyframe being removed

Returns

None.

Property selectedKeys attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e l e c te d Ke y s

Description

The Property selectedKeys attribute yields an array of indices of all the selected keyframes in this Property. If
no keys are selected, or if the property has no keyframes, an empty array is returned.

Type

Array of integers; read-only.

Property setInterpolationTypeAtKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e t In te r p ola t i on Ty p e At Ke y( inTy p e, outTy p e )

Description

This method sets the in and out interpolation types for the given key.
If an outType is not provided, then outType will be set equal to the inType.

Parameters

in Ty p e KeyframeInterpolationType; the incoming interpolation type

outTy p e KeyframeInterpolationType (optional); the outgoing interpolation type

Returns

None.

Property setRovingAtKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e t Rov i n g At Ke y( ke y In d e x , n e w Va l )

Description

This method specifies whether the keyframe is roving.

If the PropertyValueType is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.
Note: The first and last key in any property never will rove. Setting to true will be ignored and the value will remain
false.

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Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being set

newVal Boolean; if set to true, keyframe is set to be roving

Returns

None.

Property setSelectedAtKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e t S e l e c te d At Ke y( ke y In d e x , o n O f f )

Description

This method specifies whether the keyframe is selected.

Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being specified

onOff the new setting to use; if true, keyframe is selected, if false, deselected

Returns

None.

Property setSpatialAutoBezierAtKey() method

app. project.item(index).layer(index).proper t y(name).setSpatialAutoBezierAtKe y(ke yIn dex, newVal)

Description

This method specifies whether the keyframe has spatial continuity.

If the PropertyValueType is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being set

newVal Boolean; if set to true, keyframe is set to be auto-bezier

Returns

None.

Property setSpatialContinuousAtKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e t S p a t i a l Co n t i nu o u s At Ke y( ke y In d e x , n e w Va l )

Description

This method specifies whether the keyframe has spatial continuity.

If the PropertyValueType is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

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Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being set

newVal Boolean; if set to true, keyframe is set to be continuous

Returns

None.

Property setSpatialTangentsAtKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e t S p a t i a lTa n ge n t s At Ke y( ke yIn d e x, in Ta n g e n t ,
outTange n t )

Description

This method sets the in and out tangent vectors for the given key.
If no outTangent argument is provided, outTangent will be set equal to inTangent. If the PropertyValueType
is TwoD_SPATIAL, the inputs should be arrays containing 2 floating-point values. If the PropertyValueType
is ThreeD_SPATIAL, the inputs should be arrays containing 3 floating-point values.
If the PropertyValueType is neither TwoD_SPATIAL nor ThreeD_SPATIAL, an exception is generated.

Parameters

ke yIndex Integer; the keyframe being set

inTangent Floating-point value; the in tangent vector for this keyframe

outTangent Floating-point value (optional); the out tangent vector for this keyframe

Returns

None.

Property setTemporalAutoBezierAtKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .setTempor alAutoBezierAtKe y( ke y In d e x , n e w Va l )

Description

This method specifies whether the keyframe has temporal auto-bezier interpolation.
Note that spatial auto bezier has an effect at this keyframe only if keySpatialContinuous(keyIndex) is true.

Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being set

newVal Boolean; if set to true, keyframe is set to be continuous

Returns

None.

Property setTemporalContinuousAtKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e t Te m p or a lCon t i nu ou s At Ke y( ke y In d e x , n e w Va l )

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Description

This method specifies whether the keyframe has temporal continuity.

Note that temporal continuity has an effect at this keyframe only if the KeyframeInterpolationType is BEZIER
for both keyInInterpolation(keyIndex) and keyOutInterpolation(keyIndex).

Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being set

newVal Boolean; if set to true, keyframe is set to be continuous

Returns

None.

Property setTemporalEaseAtKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e t Te m p or a lE a s e At Ke y( ke y In d e x , i n Te m p o ra l E a s e ,
o u t Te m p o ra l E a s e )

Description

This method sets the in and out temporal ease for the given key.
If outTemporalEase is not provided, then outTemporalEase will be set equal to the inTemporalEase.
InTemporalEase and outTemporalEase are arrays of KeyframeEase objects. The dimension of the array
depends on the dimension of the property's keyframeValueType. For ThreeD, the dimension of the array is 3.
For TwoD, it is 2. For all other keyframeValueTypes, including TwoD_SPATIAL and ThreeD_SPATIAL types,
it is 1.

Parameters

keyIndex Integer; the keyframe being set

inTemporalEase KeyframeEase; the incoming temporal ease setting

outTemporalEase KeyframeEase; the outgoing temporal ease setting

Returns

None.

Property setValue() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .setValue( n e w Va lu e )

Description

The property setValue method sets the static value of the property.
If the property has keyframes, this method cannot be used; see “Property setValueAtTime() method” on
page 148 or “Property setValueAtKey() method” on page 148 instead. If used with a property that has
keyframes, this method generates an exception and an error is displayed.
The type of value to use as an argument depends on the propertyValueType.

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Parameters

newValue propertyValueType; a value appropriate for the type of property being set

Returns

None.

Property setValueAtKey() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .setValueAtKe y( ke y In d e x , n e w Va l u e )

Description

The property setValueAtKey method finds the keyframe with the given keyIndex and sets the value at that
keyframe.
If the property has no keyframes, or no keyframe with the given keyIndex, this method generates an exception
and an error is displayed.
The type of value to use as an argument depends on the propertyValueType.

Parameters

ke yIndex integer; the index of the keyframe to receive a value

newValue propertyValueType; a value appropriate for the type of property being set

Returns

None.

Property setValueAtTime() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .setValueAtTime( t im e , n e w Va lu e )

Description

The property setValueAtTime method creates a keyframe at the given time (if none exists) and sets the value
at that keyframe.
If no keyframes yet exist, this method creates and sets the first keyframe at the given time. If no keyframe exists
at the given time, this method creates one. If a keyframe does exist at the given time, this method sets its value.
The type of value to use as an argument depends on the propertyValueType.

Parameters

time floating point value; the time at which to set a keyframe

newValue propertyValueType; a value appropriate for the type of property being set

Returns

None.

Property setValuesAtTimes() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .setValuesAtTimes( [ t im e s] , [ n e w Va lu e s] )

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Description

The property setValuesAtTimes method creates keyframes at a given series of times (for those times where no
keyframes exist) and sets values of those keyframes.
If no keyframes yet exist, this method creates a set of keyframes and sets the first keyframe at the given time.
If no keyframe exists at the given time, this method creates one. If a keyframe does exist at the given time, this
method sets its value.
Times and values are expressed as arrays. The type of value to use as arguments depends on the propertyVal-
ueType.

Parameters

[times] floating point value; an array of times at which to set keyframes

[newValues] propertyValueType; an array of values appropriate for the type of property being set

Returns

None.

Property unitsText attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . u n i t s Tex t

Description

The Property unitsText attribute is a text description of the units in which the value is expressed.

Type

String; read-only.

Property value attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .value

Description

The Property value attribute contains the value of the property at the current time. If expressionEnabled is
true, value returns the evaluated expression value; if there are keyframes, value returns the keyframed value at
the current time; in all other cases, value returns the static value for the property.
The type of value returned depends on the propertyValueType of the stream.

Type

Dependent on stream being evaluated; read-only.

Examples

See “Getting and setting the value of an opacity” on page 132, “Getting and setting the value of a position” on
page 133, and “Changing the value of a mask shape to be open instead of closed” on page 133 under Property
Object Examples.

Property valueAtTime() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .valueAtTime( t ime, preEx pression )

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Description

The property valueAtTime method returns the value of the property as evaluated at the given time. Time is in
seconds with the beginning of the composition represented as zero.
The preExpression option is relevant only if the property has an expression applied; otherwise it is ignored. It
controls whether any expression is used to calculate the value.
Note that the type of value returned is not made explicit; it will be of a different type, depending on the
property evaluated.

Parameters

time floating point value; the time at which to set a keyframe

preExpression boolean; determines whether to evaluate the property before or after applying any active
expression

Returns

Value (type depends on the propertyValueType).

PropertyBase object
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . prop er t y B ase

Description

PropertyBase is the base class for both PropertyGroup and Property, so PropertyBase attributes and methods
are also available to PropertyGroup and Property. Because PropertyGroup is the base class for Layer, its
attributes and methods are available for Layers as well.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

n am e see “PropertyBase name attribute” on name of the property

page 154

matchNa me see “PropertyBase matchName special name for the property used to build
attribute” on page 153 unique naming paths

prop er t y In dex see “PropertyBase propertyIndex index of a PropertyBase within its ParentGroup
attribute” on page 155

prop er t y Depth see “PropertyBase propertyDepth indicates number of levels of parent Property-
attribute” on page 154 Groups between the PropertyBase and the
layer

prop er t yTy p e see “PropertyBase propertyType returns the PropertyType describing this Prop-
attribute” on page 155 ertyBase

parentProper t y see “PropertyBase parentProperty returns the PropertyGroup that is the parent of
attribute” on page 154 this PropertyBase

i s Mo d i fi e d see “PropertyBase isModified attribute” returns true if the PropertyBase has been
on page 153 changed since its creation

canSetEnabled see “PropertyBase canSetEnabled true if the user interface displays an eyeball
attribute” on page 151 icon for this property

enabled see “PropertyBase enabled attribute” on corresponds to the setting of the eyeball icon,
page 152 if there is one

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Attribute Reference Description

a c t ive see “PropertyBase active attribute” on determines if PropertyBase is active

page 151

elided see “PropertyBase elided attribute” on returns whether this property is elided (not
page 152 displayed) in the user interface

isEffect see “PropertyBase isEffect attribute” on true if this property is an effect PropertyGroup
page 153

isMa sk see “PropertyBase isMask attribute” on true if this property is a mask PropertyGroup
page 153

s e l e c te d see “PropertyBase selected attribute” on determines whether this PropertyBase is

page 156 selected

Methods

Method Reference Description

proper t y Group() see “PropertyBase propertyGroup() returns the parent PropertyGroup

method” on page 155

rem ove() see “PropertyBase remove() method” on removes the PropertyBase from the project
page 156

moveTo () see “PropertyBase moveTo() method” moves the PropertyBase to the specified
on page 154 newIndex within its PropertyGroup

duplicate() see “PropertyBase duplicate() method” duplicates the PropertyBase and returns the
on page 152 duplicate

PropertyBase active attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . a c t ive

Description

This attribute specifies whether the property is active. For a layer, this corresponds to the setting of the eyeball
icon. For an effect and all properties, it is the equivalent to the “enabled” attribute.
This attribute can be written only if canSetEnabled is true.

Type

Boolean; read/write (read-only if canSetEnabled is false).

PropertyBase canSetEnabled attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . c a n S e t E n a b l e d

Description

This attribute specifies whether you can write as well as read the enabled attribute. As a rule of thumb, this
attribute is set to true if the user interface displays an eyeball icon for this property (thus it is true for all layers).

Type

Boolean; read-only.

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PropertyBase duplicate() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .duplicate()

Description

The PropertyBase duplicate method duplicates the PropertyBase and returns the duplicate.
This method is valid only for children of indexed groups; if not, an exception is generated and an error is
displayed.

Parameters

None.

Returns

PropertyBase; the duplicate.

PropertyBase elided attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . e l i d e d

Description

This attribute specifies whether this property is elided in the user interface. If elided, then this property is just
a group used to organize other properties. The property is not displayed in the user interface and its child
properties are not indented in the Timeline window.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

Example

Given a text layer with two animators and no properties twirled down, you would see:
• Text
• Path Options
• More Options
• Animator 1
• Animator 2
However, Animator 1 and Animator 2 are actually contained in a PropertyBase called “Text Animators”, which
is not displayed in the user interface, and so these two properties are not indented in the Timeline window.

PropertyBase enabled attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .enabled

Description

This attribute specifies whether this property is enabled. It corresponds to the setting of the eyeball icon, if
there is one.
If there is no eyeball icon, this attribute will default to true; you can write this attribute only if canSetEnabled
is true.

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If you try to write this attribute and canSetEnabled is false, an exception will be generated.

Type

Boolean; read/write (read-only if canSetEnabled is false).

PropertyBase isEffect attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . i s E f f e c t

Description

This attribute specifies whether this property is an effect PropertyGroup (in which case it is set to true).

Type

Boolean; read-only.

PropertyBase isMask attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . i s Ma s k

Description

This attribute specifies whether this property is a mask PropertyGroup (in which case it is set to true).

Type

Boolean; read-only.

PropertyBase isModified attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . i s Mo d i fi e d

Description

The PropertyBase isModified attribute returns true if the PropertyBase has been changed since its creation.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

PropertyBase matchName attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . m a tch Na m e

Description

The PropertyBase matchName attribute is a special name for the property used to build unique naming paths.
This name helps to identify that the property is part of a unique classification.
Every property has a unique matchName identifier. MatchNames are meant to be stable from version to
version regardless of its "name" in the user interface or any changes to the application. You can't see match-
Names directly through the user interface. But you can refer to them through scripting and sample them via
this attribute.
Note: Unlike names, matchNames do not change based on the language of the After Effects user interface (English/
French/German/Japanese).

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Children of INDEXED_GROUP PropertyGroups (see “PropertyBase propertyType attribute” on page 155)

do not always have a “name,” defaulting instead to an empty string, but in all cases, they have a matchName.

Type

String; read-only.

PropertyBase moveTo() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . m ove To( n e w In d e x )

Description

The PropertyBase moveTo method moves the PropertyBase to the specified newIndex within its Property-
Group.
This method is valid only for children of indexed groups; if not, or if newIndex is not valid, an exception is
generated and an error is displayed.

Parameters

newIndex integer; the index within the same PropertyGroup to which the PropertyBase is to be moved.

Returns

None.

PropertyBase name attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . n a m e

Description

The PropertyBase name attribute is the name of the property.

It is an error to attempt to set the name if the property is not a child property of an INDEXED_GROUP.

Type

String; read/write.

PropertyBase parentProperty attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .parentProper t y

Description

The PropertyBase parentProperty returns the PropertyGroup that is the parent of this PropertyBase, or null
if this PropertyBase is a layer.

Type

PropertyGroup; read-only.

PropertyBase propertyDepth attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . p rop e r t y D e p t h

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Description

The PropertyBase propertyDepth is 0 for a layer. Add 1 (one) for each level of parent PropertyGroup above
this PropertyBase until the layer has been reached.

Type

String; read-only.

PropertyBase propertyGroup() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .proper t yGroup()
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) .proper t y ( n a m e ) .proper t yGroup( c o u n t Up )

Description

The PropertyBase propertyGroup method returns the parent PropertyGroup, found by moving up the
hierarchy the number of levels proscribed by countUp.
The countUp is optional and defaults to 1 if not provided. Range of countUp must be within [1 ...property-
Depth]. Returns NULL if countUp takes you as far up as the parent of the layer containing this propertyBase.

Parameters

cou n tUp integer (optional); defaults to 1; the number of levels to ascend within the range 1..property-
Depth.

Returns

PropertyGroup. Null if countUp reaches the layer parent.

PropertyBase propertyIndex attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .proper t yIndex

Description

The PropertyBase propertyIndex is the index of a PropertyBase within its ParentGroup.

Note that some properties, such as Layers or "position," will not have a propertyIndex. Others, such as
individual effects or masks, will have an index within their parent PropertyGroup.

Type

Integer; read-only.

PropertyBase propertyType attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .proper t yTy p e

Description

The PropertyBase propertyType returns the PropertyType describing this PropertyBase.

Enumerated Types

PropertyType is an enumerated type returned by propertyType (read-only). It specifies a particular type of

PropertyBase, as follows:

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PROPE RTY specifies a single property such as position or zoom

IN D E X E D _ GROU P specifies a PropertyGroup whose members have an editable name and

an index, e.g., the “Masks” property of a layer, which refers to a variable
number of individual masks by index number.

NA ME D _ GROU P specifies a PropertyGroup whose members have an uneditable name

and an index, e.g., a layer

PropertyBase remove() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) .remove()

Description

The PropertyBase remove method removes the PropertyBase from its parent group. If the PropertyBase is a
PropertyGroup, it removes the child properties as well.
This method is valid only for children of indexed groups; if not, an exception is generated and an error is
displayed.
This method may be called on a text animation property (any animator that has been set to a text layer).

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

PropertyBase selected attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t y ( n a m e ) . s e l e c te d

Description

This attribute specifies whether this PropertyBase is selected. Setting selected to true selects the property;
setting it to false deselects.
The value of this attribute can be read for any Property, PropertyGroup or Layer. The value can be written on
a PropertyGroup only if it is an effect or mask; attempting to set this attribute for any other kind of Property-
Group will generate an exception.
Note that sampling this attribute can slow down system performance if it is used repeatedly to sample a large
number of properties. To read the full set of selected Properties for a Comp or Layer, use the selectedProperties
attribute of Comp or Layer.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

PropertyGroup object
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . prop er t yGroup

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Description

The PropertyGroup object represents a group of PropertyBase objects, (i.e., Property objects and/or Proper-
tyGroup objects). PropertyGroups may be nested to provide a chain all the way from the Layer at the top down
to a single Property (such as the mask feather of the third mask).

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

nu m Prop e r t i e s see “PropertyGroup numProperties number of indexed properties in the group

attribute” on page 158

Methods

Method Reference Description

prop er t y() see “PropertyGroup property() method” returns the child PropertyGroup or Property
on page 158 with the given propertyIndex or name

c a n Ad d Prop e r t y ( ) see “PropertyGroup canAddProperty() true if a property with the given name can be
method” on page 158 added to the PropertyGroup

a d d Prop e r t y ( ) see “PropertyGroup addProperty() adds a property with the given name to the
method” on page 157 PropertyGroup

PropertyGroup addProperty() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t yGro u p ( i n d e x ) . a d d Prop e r t y ( n a m e )

Description

This method adds a property with the given name to this group.
Properties may only be added to a PropertyGroup whose propertyType is PropertyType.INDEXED_GROUP.
The only exception to this rule is a text animator property, which is contained in a NAMED_GROUP.
This method generates an exception if a property cannot be created with the given name, so it is always a good
idea to call PropertyGroup canAdd Property() method first to check. (See “PropertyGroup canAddProperty()
method” on page 158.)
The following names are supported:
• Any matchName for a property that can be added normally using the user interface. For example, ADBE
Mask Atom, ADBE Paint Atom, ADBE Text Position, ADBE Text Anchor Point.
• When adding to an ADBE Mask Parade: ADBE Mask Atom, Mask.
• When adding to an ADBE Effects Parade, any effect by matchName, such as ADBE Bulge, ADBE Glo2, APC
Vegas.
• Any effect by display name, such as Bulge, Glow, Vegas.
• For text animators and selectors, Text Animator maps to ADBE Text Animator, Range Selector maps to
ADBE Text Selector, Wiggly Selector maps to ADBE Text Wiggly Selector, and Expression Selector maps to
ADBE Text Expressible Selector.

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Parameters

n a me string; the name to be added to the PropertyGroup

Returns

PropertyBase.

PropertyGroup canAddProperty() method

app. project.ite m(index).laye r ( i n d e x ) . p rop e r t y Grou p ( i n d e x ) . c a n Ad d Prop e r t y ( n a m e )

Description

This method returns true if a property with the given name can be added to this PropertyGroup.

Parameters

n a me string; the name to be added to the PropertyGroup

Returns

Boolean.

Example

The maskGroup can only add masks. The only legal input arguments are as follows:
• mask
• ADBE Mask Atom
Any other argument is illegal. Therefore:
• maskGroup.canAddProperty("mask") returns true
• maskGroup.canAddProperty("ADBE Mask Atom") returns true
Any other input for maskGroup argument is false. For example, maskGroup.canAddProperty("blend")
returns false

PropertyGroup numProperties attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t yGro u p ( i n d e x ) . nu m Prop e r t i e s

Description

This attribute represents the number of indexed properties in this group.

Note: For Layers only, this can appear misleading, as it returns a value of 3. These correspond to the mask, effect,
and motion tracker groups inside the Layer. However, Layers also have a host of other properties available only by
name; see the “PropertyGroup property() method” on page 158.

Type

Integer; read-only.

PropertyGroup property() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t yGro u p ( i n d e x ) . prop er t y ( i n d e x )
a p p. p ro j e c t . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . l ay e r ( i n d e x ) . p ro p e r t yGro u p ( i n d e x ) . prop er t y ( n a m e )

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Description

This method finds and returns the child PropertyBase, using either its propertyIndex or its name.
If using a string to provide the name argument, you may use any of the following:
• Any name used in expressions “parenthesis style” syntax, meaning the display name or the compact English
name
• Any match name
• Any expressions intercap sytax
See below for examples of these various types of names. Essentially, the method replicates syntax available with
expressions. In other words, the following are all allowed and are virtually interchangeable (where “mylayer”
is an already identified layer):
• my l ayer. p o s i t i o n
• my l ayer ( " p o s i t i o n " )
• my layer. proper t y("position")
as well as the following, which are also interchangeable with one another:
• my l ayer(1)
• my layer. proper t y(1)
• Note that some properties of a Layer, such as position and zoom, can be accessed only by name. When using
the name argument to find a property that is multiple levels down, you will need to make more than one
call of this method; for example,
myLayer. proper t y("ADBE Masks").proper t y(1)
will search two levels down, and return the first mask in the mask group.
If no Property or PropertyGroup can be found with the given name, this method returns a value of null.
Properties that can be accessed using this method with the name argument include:

Properties that can be accessed by name from any • "ADBE Mask Parade", or “Masks”
Layer
• "ADBE Effect Parade", or “Effects”

• "ADBE MTrackers", or “Motion Trackers”

Properties that can be accessed by name from an • "Anchor Point" or "anchorPoint"

AVLayer
• "Position" or "position"

• "Scale" or "scale"

• "Rotation" or "rotation"

• "Z Rotation" or "zRotation" or "Rotation Z" or "rotationZ"

• "Opacity" or "opacity"

• "Marker" or "marker"

Properties that can be accessed by name from a cam- • "Zoom" or "zoom"

era layer
• "Depth of Field" or "depthOfField"

• "Focus Distance" or "focusDistance"

• "Aperture" or "aperture"

• "Blur Level" or "blurLevel"

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Properties that can be accessed by name from a light • "Intensity" or "intensity"

layer
• "Color" or "color"

• "Cone Angle" or "coneAngle"

• "Cone Feather" or "coneFeather"

• "Shadow Darkness" or "shadowDarkness"

• "Shadow Diffusion" or "shadowDiffusion"

• "Casts Shadows" or "castsShadows"

Properties that can be accessed by name from a 3D • "Accepts Shadows" or "acceptsShadows"

layer
• "Accepts Lights" or "acceptsLights"

• "Ambient" or "ambient"

• "Diffuse" or "diffuse"

• "Specular" or "specular"

• "Shininess" or "shininess"

• "Casts Shadows" or "castsShadows"

• "Light Transmission" or "lightTransmission"

• "Metal" or "metal"

Properties that can be accessed by name from a cam- • "X Rotation" or "xRotation" or "Rotation X" or "rotationX"
era, light or 3D layer
• "Y Rotation" or "yRotation" or "Rotation Y" or "rotationY"

• "Orientation" or "orientation"

Properties can be accessed by name from a text layer • "Source Text" or "sourceText" or "Text" or "text"

Properties that can be accessed from an AVLayer with • "Time Remap" or "timeRemapEnabled"
a non-still source

Properties that can be accessed from an AVLayer with • "Audio Levels" or "audioLevels"
an audio

Properties that can be accessed by name from a Prop- • "ADBE Mask Atom"
ertyGroup "ADBE Mask Parade"

Properties that can be accessed by name from a Prop- • "ADBE Mask Shape", or “maskShape”
ertyGroup "ADBE Mask Atom"
• "ADBE Mask Feather", or “maskFeather”

• "ADBE Mask Opacity", or “maskOpacity”

• "ADBE Mask Offset", or “maskOffset”

Parameters

index integer; the propertyIndex of the target PropertyBase, in the range [1..numProperties]

n a me string; the name of the target PropertyBase, which is a child of the current one.

Returns

PropertyBase; or NULL if no property with the given string name can be found.

Examples

1 If a layer (e.g., myLayer) has a Box Blur effect, you can retrieve the effect in any of the following ways:
myLayer. proper t y(“Effects”).proper t y(“Box Blur”);
myLayer.proper t y(“Effects”).proper t y(“ boxBlur”);

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myLayer. proper t y(“Effects”).proper t y(“ADBE Box Blur”);

2 If a layer (e.g., myLayer) has a mask named “Mask 1” you can retrieve it as follows:
myLayer. proper t y(“Masks”).proper t y(“Mask 1”);
3 To get a Bulge Center value from a Bulge effect, you could use any of the following:
myLayer. proper t y(“Effects”).proper t y(“Bulge”).proper t y(“Bulge Center”);
myLayer. proper t y(“Effects”).proper t y(“Bulge”).proper t y(“ bulgeCenter”);

RenderQueue object
app. project. renderQueue

Description

The RenderQueue object enables access to data and functionality within the Render Queue area of a particular
After Effects project. This object is pivotal to render automation.
Attributes of the RenderQueue object provide access to items in the Render Queue and their render status.
Methods of the RenderQueue object can start, pause, and stop the render process.
The RenderQueueItem object provides access to the specific settings for an item to be rendered.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

render ing see “RenderQueue rendering attribute” determines whether a render is in progress
on page 163

num Items see “RenderQueue numItems attribute” total number of items in the Render Queue
on page 162

items see “ItemCollection” on page 99 collected items in the Render Queue

Methods

Method Reference Description

showWindow() see “RenderQueue showWindow() boolean to show/hide the Render Queue win-
method” on page 163 dow

render() see “RenderQueue render() method” on starts the render; does not return until render
page 162 is complete

pauseRender ing() see “RenderQueue pauseRendering() pauses the render

method” on page 162

stopRender ing() see “RenderQueue stopRendering() stops the render

method” on page 163

item() see “RenderQueue Item() method” on returns a RenderQueueItem

page 161

RenderQueue Item() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . item( i n d e x )

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Description

This method returns a render queue item with the given index number.

Parameters

index integer; the index of the item

Returns

RenderQueueItem.

RenderQueue items attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e .items

Description

The items attribute of renderQueue provides a collection of all items in the Render Queue as a collection.

Type

RQItemCollection; read-only.

See also

“RQItemCollection” on page 164

RenderQueue numItems attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . nu mItems

Description

The numItems attribute indicates the total number of render queue items in the Render Queue.

Type

Integer; read-only.

RenderQueue pauseRendering() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . pauseRender ing( p a u s e )

Description

Pauses the Render Queue; equivalent to use of the Pause button in the Render Queue window during a render.

Parameters

pa u se boolean; set to true, it pauses the render, set to false, it continues a paused render

Returns

None.

RenderQueue render() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . render()

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Description

Starts the Render Queue; equivalent to use of the Render button in the Render Queue window. Does not
return until render is complete.
Set the app.onError if you wish to be notified of errors during the rendering process.
Set the RenderQueueItem.onStatusChanged attribute of a particular RenderQueueItem to get updates while
the render is progressing.

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

See also

“Application open() method” on page 33

“RenderQueueItem onStatusChanged attribute” on page 167

RenderQueue rendering attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e .render ing

Description

The rendering attribute indicates whether rendering is in progress. This is a read-only attribute; use the
render() and stopRendering() methods to control it. If the render is paused, this is set to true.

Type

Boolean; read-only.

RenderQueue showWindow() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . showWindow ( doShow )

Description

The showWindow method of RenderQueue is a boolean; if true, it makes the Render Queue window visible,
if false, it hides the window.

Parameters

doShow boolean; if true, shows the Render Queue window; if false, conceals it

Returns

None.

RenderQueue stopRendering() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . stopRender ing()

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Description

Stops the Render Queue; equivalent to use of the Stop button in the Render Queue window during a render.
Useful to call in the event of an onStatusChanged callback.

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

See also

“RenderQueueItem onStatusChanged attribute” on page 167.

RQItemCollection
app. project .renderQueue.items

Description

The RQItemCollection contains all of the Render Queue items. This is the equivalent of all of the items found
in the Render Queue window of a given project.

Attributes

length number of objects in the collection (applies to all collections)

Methods

[] retrieves an object or objects in the collection via its index number

add() adds a RenderQueueItem for a specified composition

See also

“Collection object” on page 53

RenderQueueItem object
app.project.renderQueue.item(index )

Description

The RenderQueueItem object is an individual item in the Render Queue.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

numOutputMo dules see “RenderQueueItem numOutput- total number of Output Modules assigned to a
Modules attribute” on page 166 given Render Queue item

render see “RenderQueueItem render boolean that shows true if this item will render
attribute” on page 168 when the queue is started

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Attribute Reference Description

st ar tTi me see “RenderQueueItem startTime Date object representing time program began
attribute” on page 169 rendering the item

e l a p s e d S e co n d s see “RenderQueueItem elapsedSeconds time elapsed in the current render, in seconds

attribute” on page 166

timeSpanStart see “RenderQueueItem timeSpanStart start time, in seconds, in the comp to be ren-
attribute” on page 170 dered

timeSpanDuration see “RenderQueueItem timeSpanDura- duration of the comp to be rendered, in sec-

tion attribute” on page 169 onds

skipFr a mes see “RenderQueueItem skipFrames number of frames to skip when rendering
attribute” on page 168

com p see “RenderQueueItem comp attribute” composition being rendered by this RQ item
on page 166

outputMo dules see “RenderQueueItem outputModules collection of the Output Modules

attribute” on page 167

tem p l a tes see “RenderQueueItem templates array of the Render Settings templates
attribute” on page 169

status see “RenderQueueItem status attribute” current status of a Render Queue item
on page 169

onStatusChanged see “RenderQueueItem onStatus- condition in which the status of an item

Changed attribute” on page 167 changes (e.g., from RENDERING to DONE sta-
tus)

l o g Ty p e see “RenderQueueItem logType returns one of the log types

attribute” on page 166

Methods

Method Reference Description

outputMo dule() see “RenderQueueItem outputModule() returns an Output Module for the item
method” on page 167

rem ove() see “RenderQueueItem remove() deletes the item from the Render Queue
method” on page 167

saveAsTemp l a te() see “RenderQueueItem saveAsTem- saves a new Render Settings Template with the
plate() method” on page 168 given name

applyTemplate() see “RenderQueueItem applyTemplate() applies a pre-set Render Settings Template

method” on page 165

RenderQueueItem applyTemplate() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m . applyTemplate( te mplateName )

Description

The applyTemplate method of renderQueueItem applies a Render Settings template to the item.

Parameters

tem p l a teNa me name of the template to apply

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Returns

None.

RenderQueueItem comp attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . com p

Description

The comp attribute returns the CompItem object that will be rendered by this Render Queue item. This is a
read-only attribute; to change the Composition, the Render Queue item must be deleted and re-created.

Type

CompItem; read-only.

RenderQueueItem elapsedSeconds attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . e l a p s e d S e co n d s

Description

The elapsedSeconds attribute shows the number of seconds spent rendering the item.

Type

Integer, or null if item has not been rendered; read-only.

RenderQueueItem logType attribute

app. p rojec t . re n d erQ u eu e. i t e m (i n d ex ). o u t p u t Mo d u le . l o g Ty p e

Description

The logType attribute returns one of the log types (listed below).

Enumerated Type

LogType (read/write); one of the following:

LogTy p e.ERRORS_ONLY
LogTy p e.ERRORS_AND_SET TINGS
LogTy p e.ERRORS_AND_PER_FRAME_INFO

RenderQueueItem numOutputModules attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . numOutputMo dules

Description

The numOutputModules attribute represents the total number of Output Modules assigned to a given Render
Queue item.

Type

Integer; read-only.

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RenderQueueItem onStatusChanged attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . onStatusChanged

Description

The onStatusChanged attribute is invoked whenever the value of the RenderQueueItem.status attribute is
changed.
Note that changes cannot be made to render queue items (or to the application) while a render is in progress
(including when paused). This mirrors the regular application functionality.

Type

Function.

Example
fu n cti o n my S ta tu sC ha n g ed () {
aler t(app. project.renderQueue.item(1).status)
}

app. project.renderQueue.item(1).onStatusChanged = myStatusChanged();

app. project.renderQueue.item(1).render = false; //shows dialog

RenderQueueItem outputModules attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . outputMo dules

Description

The outputModules attribute returns the collection of Output Modules for the item.

Type

OMCollection; read-only.

RenderQueueItem outputModule() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . outputMo dule( i n d e x )

Description

This method returns an output module with the given index.

Parameters

index integer; the index of the output module

Returns

OutputModule.

RenderQueueItem remove() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . rem ove ( )

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Description

The remove method of renderQueueItem deletes the referenced item from the Render Queue.

Parameters

None.

Returns

None.

RenderQueueItem render attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . render

Description

The render attribute determines whether an item will render when the Render Queue is started.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

RenderQueueItem saveAsTemplate() method

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . s ave As Tem p la te ( n a m e )

Description

The saveAsTemplate method of RenderQueueItem saves the item’s current render settings as a new template
with the name passed as a parameter.

Parameters

n a me name of the new template

Returns

None.

RenderQueueItem skipFrames attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . s k i p Fr a m e s

Description

The skipFrames attribute specifies the number of frames to skip when rendering. It is used to do quicker
rendering tests than a full render. The total length of time remains unchanged.
A value of 0 specifies no skipped frames and results in regular rendering of all frames. A value of 1 specifies
that every other frame is to be skipped. This is equivalent to "rendering on twos." Higher values will skip a
larger number of frames. For example, if skip has a value of 1, for sequence output you'd get half the number
of frames and for movie output each frame would be double the duration.
The permissible range of values for skipFrames is [0..99].

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Type

Integer. Read/write.

RenderQueueItem startTime attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . s t a r t Ti m e

Description

The startTime attribute returns a Date object showing the day and time that the item started rendering.

Type

Date; null if the item has not started rendering. Read-only.

RenderQueueItem status attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . status

Description

The status attribute represents the current render status of the item.

Enumerated Type

RQItemStatus - one of the following attributes:

RQItemStatus.WILL_CONTINUE render has been paused

RQItemStatus.NEEDS_OUTPUT item lacks a valid output path

RQItemStatus.UNQUEUED render item is listed in the Render Queue window but is not ready to render

RQItemStatus.QUEUED composition is ready to render

RQItemStatus.RENDERING composition is rendering

RQItemStatus.USER_STOPPED rendering process was stopped by the user

RQItemStatus.ERR_STOPPED rendering process was stopped due to an error

RQItemStatus.D ONE rendering process for the item is complete

RenderQueueItem templates attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . tem p la te s

Description

The templates attribute returns an array of the names of Render Settings templates available for the item. It is
a read-only attribute.

Type

Array; read-only.

RenderQueueItem timeSpanDuration attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . t i m e S p a n D u r a t i o n

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Description

The timeSpanDuration attribute determines the duration, in seconds, of the comp to be rendered. This
achieves the same effect as setting a custom end time in the Render Settings dialog box, although the duration
is determined by subtracting the start time from the end time.

Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

RenderQueueItem timeSpanStart attribute

a p p. p ro j e c t . re n d e r Q u e u e . i t e m ( i n d e x ) . t i m e S p a n S t a r t

Description

The timeSpanStart attribute determines the time in the comp, in seconds, at which rendering will begin. This
is the equivalent of setting a custom start time in the Render Settings dialog box.

Type

Floating-point value; read/write.

Settings object
Description

The Settings object provides an easy way to manage settings for scripts. The settings are persistent between
application launches, saved in the After Effects Preferences file.

Methods

Method Reference Description

s ave S e t t i n g ( ) see “Settings saveSetting() method” on can save a default value for a preferences item
page 171

getSetting() see “Settings getSetting() method” on retrieves a setting found in the Prefs file
page 170

h ave S e t t i n g ( ) see “Settings haveSetting() method” on used to determine whether a given section
page 171 name and key name have a setting assigned

Settings getSetting() method

app. s e tt ing s . g e t S e t t i n g ( s e c t i o n Na m e , ke y Na m e )

Description

The getSetting method retrieves a setting found in the Prefs file.

Parameters

s e c t i o n Na m e text string that holds the name of a section of settings; in the prefs file these are the names
enclosed in brackets and quotation marks

ke yNa me text string that describes an individual setting name; these are listed in quotation marks below
the sectionName

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Returns

String representing the value of the setting.

Example
v a r n = a p p. s e t t i n g s . g e t S e t t i n g ( " E r a s e r - Pa i n t S e t t i n g s " , " A l i g n e d C l o n e " ) ;
alert("The setting is " + n);

See also

“Settings haveSetting() method” on page 171

“Settings saveSetting() method” on page 171

Settings haveSetting() method

app. s e tt ing s . h ave S e t t i n g ( s e c t i o n Na m e , ke y Na m e )

Description

The haveSetting method is used to determine whether a given section name and key name have a setting
assigned.

Returns

Boolean.

See also

“Settings getSetting() method” on page 170

“Settings saveSetting() method” on page 171

Settings saveSetting() method

app. s e tt ing s . s ave S e t t i n g ( s ec t i o n Na m e , ke y Na m e , v a l u e )

Description

The saveSetting method can save a default value for a scripting preferences item.

Parameters

s e c t i o n Na m e text string that holds the name of a section of settings; in the prefs file these are the names
enclosed in brackets and quotations

ke yNa me text string that describes an individual setting name; these are listed in quotations below the
sectionName

v a lu e value assigned to the setting

See also

“Settings getSetting() method” on page 170

“Settings haveSetting() method” on page 171

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Shape object
app. p rojec t . i te m (i n d ex ). l ay er(i n d e x ) . p rop e r t y ( 1 ) . p rop e r t y ( i n d e x ) . p rop e r t y( " m a s k S h a p e " ) . v a lu e

Description

The Shape object holds information describing the outline shape of a Mask.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

closed see “Shape closed attribute” on specifies whether the shape is a closed curve
page 173

ver t ices see “Shape vertices attribute” on array of floating-point pairs specifying the
page 174 anchor points of the shape

inTangents see “Shape inTangents attribute” on array of floating-point pairs specifying the tan-
page 173 gent vectors coming into the shape vertices

outTangents see “Shape outTangents attribute” on array of floating-point pairs specifying the tan-
page 173 gent vectors coming out of the shape vertices

Methods

Method Reference Description

shape() see “Shape Shape() method” on constructor to create a new Shape

page 174

Examples

1 Creating a square mask

A square is a closed shape with 4 points. The inTangents and outTangents for connected straightline segments
are always 0, the default. Since the default values are the desired values, you do not need to set them here.
v a r my S h a p e = n e w S h a p e ( ) ;
mySha p e. ver ti ces = [ [0, 0], [0, 1], [1, 1 ] , [ 1 , 0 ] ] ;
my S h a p e . c l o s e d = t r u e ;

2 Creating a “U” shaped mask

A "U" is an open shape with the same 4 points used in Example 1:
v a r my S h a p e = n e w S h a p e ( ) ;
mySha p e. ver ti ces = [ [0, 0], [0, 1], [1, 1 ] , [ 1 , 0 ] ] ;
my S h a p e . c l o s e d = f a l s e ;

3 Creating an oval
An oval is a closed shape with 4 points and inTangents and outTangents:
v a r my S h a p e = n e w S h a p e ( ) ;
mySha p e. ver ti ces = [[300, 50], [200, 1 5 0 ] , [ 3 0 0 , 2 5 0 ] , [ 4 0 0 , 1 5 0 ] ] ;
mySha p e. in Ta n g en ts = [[55. 23, 0], [0, - 5 5 . 2 3 ] , [ - 5 5 . 2 3 , 0 ] , [ 0 , 5 5 . 2 3 ] ] ;
mySha p e. o u tTa n g en ts = [[- 55. 23, 0], [ 0 , 5 5 . 2 3 ] , [ 5 5 . 2 3 , 0 ] , [ 0 , - 5 5 . 2 3 ] ] ;
my S h a p e . c l o s e d = t r u e ;

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Shape closed attribute

app. p rojec t . i te m (i n d ex ). l ay er(i n d e x ) . p rop e r t y ( 1 ) . p rop e r t y ( i n d e x ) .proper t y("maskShape").value.closed

Description

This attribute specifies whether the shape is a closed curve. If true, the first and last vertices will be connected
to form a closed curve. If false, the closing segment will not be drawn.

Type

Boolean; read/write.

Shape inTangents attribute

app. p rojec t . i te m (i n d ex ). l ay er(i n d e x ) . p rop e r t y ( 1 ) . p rop e r t y ( i n d e x ) . p rop e r t y( " m a s k S h a p e " ) . v a lu e . i n Ta n -
gents

Description

This attribute describes an array of float pairs specifying the tangent vectors (direction handles) associated
with the vertices of the shape.
Each float pair specifies one inTangent. There is one inTangent and one outTangent associated with each
vertex in the vertices array. However, when creating a shape to set as a keyframe value, you may leave inTangent
and/or outTangent null, or you may leave entries unfilled; they will be automatically padded with zeroes. This
will result in straight line segments in the non-RotoBezier case; in the RotoBezier case the zeros will be ignored
and the inTangents/outTangents will be automatically calculated.
Each vertex on the shape has two direction handles. The inTangent is the direction handle associated with the
line segment 'coming into' the vertex from the preceding vertex in the shape.
The inTangents are x,y coordinates specified relative to the associated vertex. For example, an inTangent of [-
1,-1] is located above and to the left of the vertex and has a 45 degree slope, regardless of the actual location
of the vertex. The longer a handle is, the greater an influence it has, so an incoming shape segment will hug
the tangent vector closer for an inTangent of [-2,-2] than it will for an inTangent of [-1,-1], even though both
of these come toward the vertex from the same direction.
If a shape is not closed, the inTangent for the first vertex and the outTangent for the final vertex will be ignored.
These two vectors would otherwise specify the dirction handles of the final connecting segment out of the final
vertex and back into the first vertex.
Note that if a shape is used in a mask with Rotobeziers, then the tangent values will be ignored on write (i.e.,
ignored when you set the new shape), because RotoBezier masks calculate their tangents automatically. This
means that, for RotoBezier masks, you can construct a shape by setting only the vertices attribute and setting
inTangents and outTangents both to null. If you set the shape without tangents, then follow this by getting the
shape once again; the new shape's tangent values will be filled with the automatically-calculated tangent
values.

Type

Array of floating-point pairs; read/write.

Shape outTangents attribute

app. p rojec t . i te m (i n d ex ). l ay er(i n d e x ) . p rop e r t y ( 1 ) . p rop e r t y ( i n d e x ) .proper t y("maskShape").value.outTan-
gents

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Description

This attribute describes an array of float pairs specifying the tangent vectors (direction handles) associated
with the vertices of the shape.
Each float pair specifies one inTangent. There is one inTangent and one outTangent associated with each
vertex in the vertices array. However, when creating a shape to set as a keyframe value, you may leave inTangent
and/or outTangent null, or you may leave entries unfilled; they will be automatically padded with zeroes. This
will result in straight line segments in the non-RotoBezier case; in the RotoBezier case the zeros will be ignored
and the inTangents/outTangents will be automatically calculated.
Each vertex on the shape has two direction handles. The outTangent is the direction handle associated with
the line segment 'going out of ' the vertex toward the next vertex in the shape.
The outsTangent are x,y coordinates specified relative to the associated vertex. For example, an inTangent of
[-1,-1] is located above and to the left of the vertex, and has a 45 degree slope, regardless of the actual location
of the vertex. The longer a handle is, the greater an influence it has, so an incoming shape segment will hug
the tangent vector closer for an inTangent of [-2,-2] than it will for an inTangent of [-1,-1], even though both
of these come toward the vertex from the same direction.
If a shape is not closed, the inTangent for the first vertex and the outTangent for the final vertex will be ignored.
These two vectors would otherwise specify the dirction handles of the final connecting segment out of the final
vertex and back into the first vertex.
Note that if a shape is used in a mask with Rotobeziers, then the tangent values will be ignored on write (i.e.,
ignored when you set the new shape), because RotoBezier masks calculate their tangents automatically. This
means that, for RotoBezier masks, you can construct a shape by setting only the vertices attribute and setting
inTangents and outTangents both to null. If you set the shape without tangents, then follow this by getting the
shape once again, the new shape's tangent values will be filled with the automatically-calculated tangent
values.

Type

Array of floating-point pairs; read/write.

Shape Shape() method

New S h a p e ( )

Description

This method is the constructor to create a new shape. After constructing a shape with this method, set the
various attributes individually to fill the shape with desired values.

Parameters

None.

Returns

Shape.

Shape vertices attribute

Description

This attribute describes an array of float pairs specifying the anchor points of the shape. Each float pair is an
array of two floats.

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Type

Array of floating-point pairs; read/write.

SolidSource object
app. project.ite m(index) . m a i n S o u rce
app. project.ite m(index) .proxySource

Description

The SolidSource object holds information describing a solid color footage source. It is a subclass of Footage-
Source and so it inherits all attributes and methods of the “FootageSource object” on page 89.

Attributes

color see “SolidSource color specifies the color of the solid

attribute” on page 175

SolidSource color attribute

app. project.ite m(index).s olidSource. color

Description

The color attribute of SolidSource specifies the color of the solid. The value is an array of three floats for red,
green, and blue, where those floats are in the range [0..1].

Type

Array of three floating-point values from 0 to 1: [R, G, B]); read/write.

System object
system

Description

The System object provides access to attributes found on the user’s system, such as the user name or the name
and version of the operating system.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

userName see “System userName attribute” on user name logged in to the current session of
page 176 the operating system

m a ch i n e Na m e see “System machineName attribute” name of the host machine

on page 176

o sNa me see “System osName attribute” on name of the operating system currently run-
page 176 ning

osVersion see “System osVersion attribute” on version of the operating system currently run-
page 176 ning

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System machineName attribute

sy ste m . m a ch i n e Na m e

Description

The machineName attribute specifies the name of the machine on which the program is running, and is
expressed as a text string.
Type
String; read-only.

Example

alert ( "Your machine is called " + system.machineName + ".");

System osName attribute

sy ste m . o sNa me

Description

The osName attribute specifies the name of the operating system on which the program is running, and is
expressed as a text string.

Type

String; read-only.

Example

alert ( "Your OS is " + system.osname + ".");

System osVersion attribute

sy ste m . osVersion

Description

The osVersion attribute specifies the version of the current local operating system, and is expressed as a text
string.

Type

String; read-only.

Example

alert ( "Your OS is " + system.osname + " running version " + system.osversion);

System userName attribute

sy ste m . userName

Description

The userName attribute specifies the name of the user logged on to the system, and is expressed as a text string.

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Type

String; read-only.

Example
confir m( "You are: " + system.userName + " r unning on " + system.machineName + ".");

TextDocument object
Description

The TextDocument object holds a string an attribute named "text." It is used to store values for a text layer's
Source Text property.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description

text see “TextDocument text attribute” on text string stored in the TextDocument
page 177

Methods

Method Reference Description

Tex t D o c u m e n t ( ) see “TextDocument TextDocument() constructor to create a TextDocument

method” on page 178

Examples

1 Set a value of some source text and then display an alert showing the new value:
var my TextD o cu men t = n ew TextD o c u m e n t ( " Ha p py C a ke " ) ;
myTextLayer. proper t y("Source Text").setValue(myTextDocument);
aler t(myTextLayer. proper t y("Source Text").getVa lue());

2 Set keyframe values for text that will show different words over time:
var textProp = my TextLayer. proper t y("Source Text");
textProp.setValueAtTime(0, new TextDocument("Happy"));
tex t Prop. setVa l u eAtTi me(. 33, n ew Tex t D oc u m e n t ( " c a ke " ) ) ;
tex t Prop. setVa l u eAtTi me(. 66, n ew Tex t D oc u m e n t ( " i s " ) ) ;
tex t Prop. setVa l u eAtTi me(1, n ew Text D oc u m e n t ( " yu m my! " ) ) ;

TextDocument text attribute

Tex t D o c u m e n t . text

Description

The actual text string stored in this TextDocument.

Type

String; read/write.

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TextDocument TextDocument() method

New TextD o cu mn en t(d o cText)

Description

This method is the constructor for a new TextDocument.

Parameters

do cText string; text contents of the TextDocument

Returns

TextDocument.

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Examples
Following are sample scripts included on your CD with an overview of what they do and a step-by-step
breakdown of how they work. This set of examples is by no means exhaustive, but it does demonstrate some
of scripting’s more complex features in action. It also shows some typical programming constructions from
JavaScript that apply to scripting.
For examples specific to the use of the user interface, see “Creating User Interface Elements” on page 197. For
more examples from Adobe, as well as from other After Effects users, visit Adobe Studio Exchange at http://
share.studio.adobe.com, and choose Scripting under the Adobe After Effects section.

Apply effect
This example is a rather simple one; it first requires that the user select an AVLayer and, if that condition is
met, sets a 10-pixel Fast Blur to the selected layer (or layers), with Repeat Edge Pixels set to true.
The comments that appear on lines beginning with double forward slashes (//) describe what is occurring in
each section of the script. The script does the following, in order:
• checks that at least one selected layer can have effects applied to it
• adds Fast Blur to any selected layer that can
• sets Blurriness to 10 and turns on Repeat Edge Pixels
• returns a boolean stating whether the effect was added
• starts an undo group so that if the effect is being applied to more than one layer, the entire script operation
can be undone in one step rather than several
• sets an error with instructions to the user should the script fail to apply an effect to any layer
{
/ / T h i s f u n c t i o n a p p l i e s t h e e f f e c t to o n e s i n g l e l ayer
//
function applyFastBlurToLayer(the_layer)
{
v a r a d d e d It = f a l s e ;

// Can only add an effect if there's an effects g roup in the layer.

// Some layers don't have one, like camer a and lig ht layers.
i f ( t h e _ l ayer ( " E f f e c t s " ) ! = nu l l ) {
// Always best to check if it's safe before adding:
if (the_layer("Effects").canAddProper t y("Fast Blur")) {
// add a new Fast Blur effect to the effects g roup of the layer
t h e_ l ayer("E ffects"). a d d Prop er t y ("Fa s t B lu r " ) ;

/ / s e t t h e p a r a m e ter v a l u e s
the_layer("Effects")("Fast Blur").blur r iness.setValue(10);
t h e_ l ayer("E ffects")("Fa st B l u r"). rep e a t E d ge P i xe ls . s e t Va lu e ( t r u e ) ;

a d d e d It = t r u e ;
}

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}
/ / Re t u r n a b o o l e a n s ay i n g w h e t h e r we a d d e d t h e e f f e c t
re t u r n a d d ed It;
}

// Star t an undo g roup. By using this w ith an endUndoGroup(), you

// al l ow u sers to u n d o the who l e scr ipt w ith one undo oper ation.
app. beg inUndoGroup("Apply Fast Blur to Selections");

// If we d o n ' t fi n d a ny sel ected l ayers , we ' ll p u t u p a n a le r t a t t h e e n d .

var numLayersChanged = 0;

/ / G e t t h e a c t ive com p
v a r a c t ive Ite m = a p p. p ro j e c t . a c t ive Item ;
i f ( a c t ive Item ! = nu l l & & ( a c t ive Item i n s t a n ce o f Com p Item ) ) {

v a r a c t iveCom p = a c t iveIte m ;

/ / t r y to a p p l y to e ve r y s e l e c te d l ayer
v a r s e l e c te d L ayer s = a c t iveCom p. s e l e c te d L ayer s ;
f o r ( v a r i = 0 ; i < s e l e c te d L ayer s . l e n g t h ; i + + ) {

v a r c u r L ayer = s e l e c te d L ayer s [ i ] ;

/ / T h e m e t h o d re t u r n s t r u e i f i t a d d s t h e e f f e c t , f a l s e o t h e r w i s e .
if (applyFastBlurToLayer(curLayer) == t r ue) {
numLayersChanged++;
}
}
}
// Pr in t a messa g e i f n o l ayers were af f e c te d
if (numLayersChanged == 0) {
a l e r t ( " P l e a s e s e l e c t a n AV l ayer o r l ayer s a n d r u n s c r i p t a g a i n " ) ;
}

app. endUndoGroup();
}

Replace text
This script performs an action much too specific to be useful as it is, but it shows the basics for a very useful
general operation, which is the automatic editing of text layers. Quite simply, the script looks for selected text
layers that contain the text string “blue” and changes this string to read “monday”--note that “blue” could
appear anywhere in the selected layer, even as part of another word, and still be changed. For example,
“bluejean” will read “mondayjean” after the effect is applied.
The comments that appear on lines beginning with double forward slashes (//) describe what is occurring in
each section of the script. The script does the following, in order:

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• sets a function that replaces all instances of “blue” with “monday”

• sets a function that applies the first function to a single layer, looking for all Source Text keyframes where
“blue” might appear, evaluating each time whether any text was changed (and returning a boolean stating
whether it was changed)
• sets a single undo group for all changes made by the script
• pops up a warning if no layers were changed, instructing the user how to properly apply the script
{
/ / T h i s s c r i p t rep l a ce s tex t i n a l l t h e s e l e c te d tex t l ayer s .
//
// It finds all instances of the word "blue" and changes them to "monday"
//

// T hi s fu n cti o n ta kes theS t r i n g a n d rep la ce s fi r s t Word w i t h s e con d Word .

// It rep ea ts, so it w i l l rep l a ce a l l i n s t a n ce s of fi r s t Word i n t h e S t r i n g .
// Re tu r n s the cha n g ed st r i n g .
function replaceTextInSt r ing(theSt r ing , firstWord, secondWord)
{
var n ewS t r in g = theS t r i n g ;
while(newSt r ing .indexOf(firstWord) != -1) {
newSt r ing = newSt r ing .replace(firstWord,secondWord);
}
re tur n newSt r ing;
}

// T hi s fu n cti o n a p p l i es the cha n g e to on e s i n g le layer

//
function replaceTextInLayer(theLayer, firstWord, secondWord)
{
v a r ch a n g e d S o m e t h i n g = f a l s e ;

// Get the sourceText proper t y, if there is one.

var so u rceText = theL ayer. so u rceText ;
i f ( s o u rceTex t ! = nu l l ) {
if ( s o u rceText. nu mKe ys == 0) {
// textValue is a TextDocument. Re t r ie ve the st r ing inside
var oldSt r ing = sourceText.value.text;
if (oldSt r ing .indexOf(firstWord) != -1) {
var newSt r ing = replaceTextInSt r ing(oldSt r ing , firstWord, secondWord);
if ( ol d S t r i n g ! = n ewS t r i n g ) {
sourceText.setValue(newSt r ing);
ch a n g e d S o m e t h i n g = t r u e ;
}
}
} else {
// Do i t fo r ea ch ke y fr a me:
for (var ke yIndex = 1; ke yIndex <= source Text.numKe ys; ke yIndex++) {
// textValue is a TextDocument. Re t r ie ve the st r ing inside
var oldSt r ing = sourceText.ke y Value(ke y In dex).text;

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if (oldSt r ing .indexOf(firstWord) != -1) {

var newSt r ing = replaceTextInSt r ing(oldSt r ing , firstWord, secondWord);
if ( ol d S t r i n g ! = n ewS t r i n g ) {
sourceText.setValueAtKe y(ke y In dex,newSt r ing);
ch a n g e d S o m e t h i n g = t r u e ;
}
}
}
}
}
/ / Re t u r n a b o o l e a n s ay i n g w h e t h e r we rep l a ce d a ny tex t
re t u r n ch a n g e d S o m e t h i n g ;
}

// Star t an undo g roup. By using this w ith an endUndoGroup(), you

// al l ow u sers to u n d o the who l e scr ipt w ith one undo oper ation.
app. beg inUndoGroup("Apply Text Change to Selections");

// If we don't make any changes, we'll put up an aler t at the end.

var numLayersChanged = 0;

/ / G e t t h e a c t ive com p
v a r a c t ive Ite m = a p p. p ro j e c t . a c t ive Item ;
i f ( a c t ive Item ! = nu l l & & ( a c t ive Item i n s t a n ce o f Com p Item ) ) {

v a r a c t iveCom p = a c t iveIte m ;

/ / t r y to a p p l y to e ve r y s e l e c te d l ayer
v a r s e l e c te d L ayer s = a c t iveCom p. s e l e c te d L ayer s ;
f o r ( v a r i = 0 ; i < s e l e c te d L ayer s . l e n g t h ; i + + ) {

v a r c u r L ayer = s e l e c te d L ayer s [ i ] ;

// T he metho d re tu r n s t r u e i f it cha nge s a ny tex t , f a ls e ot h e r w i s e .

if (replaceTextInLayer(curLayer, "blue", "monday") == t r ue) {
numLayersChanged++;
}
}
}
// Pr in t a messa g e i f n o l ayers were af f e c te d
if (numLayersChanged == 0) {
// No te : if you put quotes in the inter ior of the st r ing ,
// t he y mu st be p reced ed by a ba ck sl a s h , a s i n \ " b lu e \ " b e low.
aler t("P l ea se sel ect a text l ayer o r l ayer s con t a i n i n g t h e word \ " b lu e \ " a n d r u n s c r i p t a ga i n " ) ;
}

app. endUndoGroup();
}

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Save and increment

Although much of the functionality of this script has been superseded by the incremental save feature that is
new to After Effects 6.5, it is still included here because it makes effective use of conditionals, functions, and
the File and FileSystem objects.
This script automatically saves a new copy of the open After Effects project and increments a three-digit
number in its name to distinguish it from preceding versions of the project. This script is saved as
save_and_increment.jsx on your install CD.
The first step is to determine whether the currently open project has ever been saved. This is accomplished
with an opening if/else statement. The first condition, “!app.project.file” is saying that if the project has not
been saved, an alert telling the user to save the project is popped up, and the script ends.
if ( ! a p p. p ro j ect. fi l e) {
ale r t ("This p ro j ect mu st be save d b e f ore r u n n i n g t h i s s c r i p t . " ) ;

Next, if the project has been saved at least once before, we set some variables to point to the name of the file
and to the numbering and file extension that we plan to add to it. The lastIndexOf() JavaScript searches a
string backwards (from end to start) and in this case looks for the dot that separates the name from the
extension.
} else {
var cu r rFi l e = a p p. p ro j ect. fi l e;
var cu r rFi l eNa me = cu r rFi l e. n a me;
var extPo s = cu r rFil eNa me. l a stIn d ex O f ( " . " ) ;
v a r ex t = " " ;

Now we set the currFileName variable to the current name, before the dot.
if (extPo s ! = - 1) {
ext = cur rFileName.subst r ing(extPos, cur rFileName.length);
cur rFileName = cur rFileName.subst r ing(0, extPos);
}

Next we set a variable that will increment versions starting with 0, and we check to see if there is an underscore
character four characters from the end of currFileName. If there is, we assume that the incrementer has run
before, as its job is to assign a 3-digit suffix after an underscore incremented one higher than the last suffix. In
that case we set incrementer to the current numerical string and extract the name without this numerical
extension.
var incrementer = 0;
if (cur rFileName.charAt(cur rFileName.length -4) == "_") {
incrementer = cur rFileName.subst r ing(cur rFileName.length - 3, cur rFileName.length);
cur rFileName = cur rFileName.subst r ing(0, cur rFileName.length -4);
}

Now we add an incrementer loop and test for whether numbering has extended to two or three digits (e.g., if
the numbering has reached “_010” or above, or “_100” or above), assigning a zero for each if not.
incrementer++;
var ist r ing = incrementer + "";
if (incrementer < 10) {
ist r i n g = "0" + ist r in g ;
}

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if (incrementer < 100) {

ist r i n g = "0" + ist r in g ;
}

Finally we create a new file using our updated name and extension, display an alert letting the user know the
new file name being saved, and save the project with the new file name.
var n ewFil e = Fi l e(cu r rFil e. p a th + " / " + c u r r F i le Na m e + " _ " + i s t r i n g + ex t ) ;
ale r t(n ewFi l e. fsNa me);
app. p ro j ect. save(n ewFil e);
}

Render named items

This script allows you to find compositions in the open project with a particular text string in their names and
send all such compositions to the Render Queue.
To start, we check to see if a default string for rendering has already been set in the user preferences. If so, we
set this as a user prompt, handy if you’re always looking for the same string (for example, “FINAL” or
“CURRENT”). If not, we set a new sectionName and keyName for the preferences file along with a placeholder
value for the string that will be entered by the user.
v a r s e c t i o n Na m e = " A E E x a m p l e S c r i p t s " ;
var ke yName = "Render comps w ith this st r ing";
v a r s e a rch S t r i n g = " " ;

i f ( a p p. s e t t i n g s . h aveS e t t i n g ( s e c t i o n Na m e , ke y Na m e ) ) {
s e a rch S t r i n g = a p p. s e t t i n g s . g e t S e t t i n g ( s e c t i o n Na m e , ke y Na m e ) ;
}

Now we display a prompt to the user asking for what text string we should use.
searchSt r ing = prompt("What st r ing to render?", searchSt r ing);

We next go through the project looking for the text entered by the user, and seeing if the item that contains
that text is a composition, sending all compositions with that text string in their names to the Render Queue.
If the user cancels, the text is undefined. Otherwise, we save the new setting in preferences, convert it to all
lowercase letters for consistency’s sake (keeping in mind that the search will not be case sensitive).
if ( s ea rchS t r i n g ) {

a p p. s e t t i n g s . s aveS e t t i n g ( s e c t i o n Na m e , ke y Na m e , s e a rch S t r i n g ) ;
searchSt r ing = searchSt r ing .toLowerCase();
for (i = 1; i <= app. project.numItems; ++i) {
var curItem = app. project.item(i);
if (cu rItem i n sta n ceo f Comp Item ) {
if (curItem.name.toLowerCase().indexOf(searchSt r ing) != -1) {
app. project.renderQueue.items.add(curItem);
}
}
}

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Finally, we make the Render Queue window visible and bring it to the front, ready for the user to assign save
locations for the new render queue items.
app. project.renderQueue.showWindow(t r ue);
}

New render locations

This script allows the user to select queued items in the Render Queue and assign a new render destination for
them.
First, we prompt the user for a new folder to use as a render destination.
var newLocation = folderGetDialo g ( " S e l e c t a ren d e r d e s t i n a t i o n . . . " ) ;

Next, we make certain that the user entered a new location (and didn’t cancel the dialog). Then we create a
loop for each selected render queue item. If this item is queued, we take the current render location, give it a
new name and location, and then display an alert stating the new file path.
i f ( n e w L o c a t i o n ) { / / b o o l e a n to s e e i f t h e u s e r c a n ce l l e d
for (i = 1; i <= app. project.renderQueue.numItems; ++i) {
var curItem = app. project.renderQueue.item(i);
if (curItem.status == RQItemStatus.QUEUED) {
for (j = 1; j <= curItem.numOutputMo dules; ++j) {
var curOM = curItem.outputMo dule(j);
va r o l d L o ca tio n = cu rOM. fi l e;
curOM.file = new File(newLocation.toSt r ing() + "/" + oldLocation.name);
a l er t(cu rOM. fi l e. fsNa me);
}
}
}
}

Smart import
This script allows the user to import the full, nested contents of a folder just by selecting it. It attempts to detect
whether each item is a still, moving footage, or an image sequence. The user still has to make other choices via
dialogs, such as which layer of a multi-layer image (e.g., a .psd file) to import.
First, we prompt the user for a folder whose contents are to be imported, and ascertain that the user chooses
a folder rather than cancelling the dialog. We then call a function that appears below to import all of the files,
one by one.
var targetFolder = folderGetDialog("Impor t Items from Folder...");
//ret u r n s a fo l d er o r nu l l
if (targetFolder) {
f u n c t i o n p ro ce s s F i l e ( t h e F i l e ) {
v a r i m p o r t O p t i o n s = n e w Imp o r tO p t i o n s ( t h e F i l e ) ;
/ / c re a te a v a r i a b l e con t a i n i n g Im p o r t O p t i o n s
impor tSafeWithEr ror (impor tOptions);
}

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Now we add a function to test whether a given file is part of a sequence. This uses Regular Expressions, which
are a special type of JavaScript designed to reduce the number of steps required to evaluate a string. The first
one tests for the presence of sequential numbers anywhere in the file name, followed by another making
certain that the sequential files aren’t of a type that can’t be imported as a sequence (moving image files).
We then check adjacent files to see if a sequence exists, stopping after we’ve evaluated ten files to save
processing time.
fu n cti o n testFo rS equ en ce (fi l es){
var searcher = new Re gExp ("[0-9]+");
va r mov ieFil eS ea rcher = n ew Re gE x p ( " ( m ov |av i |m p g) $ " , " i " ) ;
var parseResults = new Ar r ay ;

for (x = 0; (x < files.length) & x < 10; x++) {

//test that we have a sequence, stop parsing after 10 files
var mov ieFileResult = mov ieFileSearch er.exe c(files[x].name);
if (! mov ieFileResult) {
var cur rentResult = searcher.exe c(files[x].name);

If no match is found using the Regular Expression looking for a number string, we get null and assume there
is no image sequence. Otherwise, we want an array consisting of the matched string and its location within
the file name.
if (cur rentResult) {
//we have a match - the st r ing contains numbers
//the match of those numbers is stored in the ar r ay[1]
//take that number and save it into parseResults
parseResults[parseResults.length] = cur rentResult[0];
}
else {
parseResults[parseResults.length] = nu ll;
}
}
else {
parseResults[parseResults.length] = nu ll;
}
}

Now if all of the files just evaluated indicated that they are part of a numbered sequence, we assume that we
have a sequence and return the first file of that sequence. Otherwise, we end this function.
v a r res u l t = nu l l ;
for (i = 0; i < parseResults.length; ++i) {
if (parseResults[i]) {
if (! result) {
result = files[i];
}
} else {
/ / ca se i n which a fi l e n a me d i d n ot con t a i n a nu m b e r
res u l t = nu l l ;
break;
}

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}
re tur n result;
}

Next we add a function to pop up error dialogs if there is a problem with any file we are attempting to import.
f u n c t i o n i m p o r t S a f e Wi t h E r ror ( i m p o r t O p t i o n s ) {
try {
a p p. p ro j ect. imp o r tFil e (imp o r tO p t i on s ) ;
} catch (er ror) {
aler t(er ror.toSt r ing() + impor tOptions.file.fsName);
}
}

Next comes a function to actually import any image sequence that we discover using testForSequence(),
above. Note that there is an option for forcing alphabetical order in sequences, which is commented out in the
script as written. If you want to force alphabetical order, un-comment the line “importOptions.forceAlpha-
betical = true” by removing the two slashes at the beginning of that line.
function processFolder(theFolder) {
var files = theFolder.getFiles();
//Get an ar r ay of files in the target folder
//test whether theFolder contains a sequence
var sequenceStar tFile = testForSequence(files);
//if it does contain a sequence, impor t the sequence
if (sequenceStar tFile) {
va r imp o r tOp ti o n s = n ew Imp o r t O p t i on s ( s e q u e n ce S t a r t F i le ) ;
/ / c re a te a v a r i a b l e con t a i n i n g Imp o r t O p t i o n s
impor tOptions.sequence = t r ue;
/ / i m p o r t O p t i o n s . f o rceA l p h a b e t i c a l = t r u e ;
//un-comment this if you want to force alpha order by default
impor tSafeWithEr ror (impor tOptions);
}

//other w ise, impor t the files and re curse

for (index in files) {

/ / Go thro u g h the a r r ay, set ea ch e le m e n t to s i n g le F i le , r u n t h i s :
if (files[index] instanceof File) {
if (! sequenceStar tFile) {
//if file is already par t of a sequence, don't impor t it indiv i dually
processFile (files[index]);
/ / c a l l s t h e p ro ce s s F i l e f u n c t i o n a b ove
}
}
if (files[index] instanceof Folder) {
processFolder (files[index]); // re cursion
}
}
}

processFolder(targetFolder);

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Render and email

This script renders all queued items in an open project and sends an email report to indicate when the render
has completed. It makes use of two other scripts that follow, email_methods.jsx (to send the email properly)
and email_setup.jsx (which establishes the sender, recipient, and email server).
We start by establishing conditions under which the script will run. An open project with at least one item
queued is required.
{
var sa feTo Ru n S cr ip t = t r u e;

s a f e To Ru n S c r i p t = a p p. p ro j e c t ! = nul l ;
if (! a p p. p ro j ect) {
a l er t ("A p ro j ect mu st be o p en to r u n t h i s s c r i p t . " ) ;
}
if (sa feTo Ru n S cr i p t) {
debugger ;
//check the render queue and make cer tain at least one item is queued
sa feTo Ru n S cr i p t = fa l se;
for (i = 1; i <= app. project.renderQueue.numItems; ++i) {
if (app. project.renderQueue.item(i).status ==
RQItemStatus.QUEUED) {
sa feTo Ru n S cr i p t = t r u e;
break;
}
}
if (! sa feTo Ru n S cr ip t) {
aler t ("You do not have any items set to render.");
}
}

Now we check whether we have email settings already saved in the Preferences. If so, we don’t need to prompt
the user. If not, we run the email_setup.jsx script, which prompts the user as to the mail gateway, sender and
recipient addresses. If there are saved settings that you need to change, you can always run email_setup.jsx to
make new settings that overwrite the existing ones.
if (sa feTo Ru n S cr i p t) {

v a r s e t t i n g s = a p p. s e t t i n g s ;
i f ( ! s e t t i n g s . h aveS e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Ma i l S e r ve r " ) | |
! s e t t i n g s . h aveS e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Re p l y - to Ad d re s s " ) | |
! s e t t i n g s . h aveS e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Re n d e r Rep o r t
Re cipient")){

// We don't have the setting s ye t, so r un email_setup.jsx

// to prompt for them
var email_setupfile = new File("email_setup.jsx");
email_setupfile.open("r");

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e v al( email_setupfile.read() );
email_setupfile.close();
}

var myQueue = app. project.renderQueue //creates a shor tcut for RQ

Now we’re ready to render. Once rendering is complete, the script creates a text string for the email message
that contains the start time of the render, the render time of each item in the queue, and the total render time.
myQueue.render();

v a r p ro j e c t Na m e = " Un s ave d Pro j e c t " ;

if (a p p. p ro j ect. fi l e) {
p ro j e c t Na m e = a p p. p ro j e c t . fi l e . n a m e ;
}
var my Message = "Render ing of " + projectName + " is complete.\n\n";

Now email the message, using the three settings from the email_methods.jsx script that has been automatically
run to prompt the user for the server, above.
i f ( ! s e t t i n g s . h aveS e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Ma i l S e r ve r " ) | |
! s e t t i n g s . h aveS e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Re p l y - to Ad d re s s " ) | |
! s e t t i n g s . h aveS e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Re n d e r Rep o r t
Re cipient")){
aler t("Can't send an email, I don't have all the setting s I need.
Ab or ting .");
} else {
/ / L o a d co d e fro m a fi l e w ith han dy e m a i li n g m e t h od s :
va r ema i l Co d eFi l e = n ew Fi l e("e m a i l_ m e t h od s . js x " ) ;
emailCodeFile.open("r");
e v a l ( ema il Co d eFil e. rea d () );
emailCodeFile.close();

Finally, we send an error if for any reason we are unable to send the mail.
v a r s e r ve r S e t t i n g = s e t t i n g s . g e t S e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Ma i l
Ser ver");
v a r f ro m S e t t i n g = s e t t i n g s . g e t S e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Re p l y -
to Ad d ress");
v a r to S e t t i n g = s e t t i n g s . g e t S e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Re n d e r
Repor t Re cipient");
v a r my Ma i l = n e w E m a i l S o c ke t ( s e r ve r S e t t i n g ) ;
i f ( ! my Ma i l . s e n d ( f ro m S e t t i n g , toS e t t i n g , " A E Ren d e r Com p l e te d " , myMe s s a g e ) ) {
aler t("Sending mail failed");
}
}
}
}

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Email methods
This script creates an email object for use with the Render and Email script, described above. It uses code that
is specific to the socket object and therefore requires advanced understanding of networking to edit; the
comments below describe its operation.
/ / Cre a te a n e m a i l o b j e c t . T h e f u n c t i o n m ay b e c a l l e d b o t h
/ / a s a g l o b a l f u n c t i o n a n d a s a con s t r u c to r. It t a ke s t h e
// name of the email ser ver, and an optional Boolean that,
// if t r ue, pr ints debugg ing messages.
/ / T h i s o b j e c t i s n o t g u a r a n te e d to wor k f o r a l l S M T P s e r ve r s ,
// some of them may re quire a different set of commands.

// functions:
// send (fromAddress, to Address, subject, text) - send an email
// auth (name, pass) - do an author ization v ia POP3
// both functions re tur n false on er rors

// sa mp l e:
// e = new EmailSocke t ("mail.host.com");
// au tho r i ze v i a P OP 3 (n o t a l l ser vers re quire author ization)
// e.auth ("myname", "my pass");
// send the email
// e. sen d ("me@ my. com", "yo u @ yo u . com " , " My Su b je c t " , " Hi t h e re ! " )

// T hi s scr i p t ma kes u se o f the S o cke t ob je c t , a n d c re a te s a n e w c la s s

// called EmailSocke t that is der ived from Socket. For more infor mation on
// creating new classes in this way, consult chapter 7 of JavaScr ipt, The
/ / D e fi n i t ive Gu i d e , by D av i d F l a n a g a n ( O ' Re i l l y ) .

//This is the const r u ctor for the email socket. It takes as arguments:
//ser ver - the address of the email ser ver (is not ch ecke d for validit y here)
//dbg - a boolean, if t r ue, pr ints additional er ror infor mation

function EmailSocke t (ser ver, dbg) {

var o bj = n ew S o cket;
obj._host = ser ver ;
obj._debug = (dbg == t r ue);
o bj. _ _ p ro to _ _ = E ma i l S o cke t. p ro to t y p e ;
re t u r n o bj ;
}

// cor rect the p ro toy p e cha i n to p o i n t to t h e S oc ke t p rotot y p e ch a i n

/ / - t h i s i s w h a t a c t u a l l y c a u s e s t h e der iv ation from Socket.

Ema il S o cke t. p ro to t y p e. _ _ p ro to _ _ = S oc ke t . p rotot y p e ;

// T hi s sets u p the sen d () member fu n c t i on . s e n d ( ) t a ke s a s a r gu m e n t s :

// from - the email address of the sender. This is not validated.
// to - the email address of the re cipient. If there is an er ror,
/ / a n d t h e f ro m a d d re s s i s i n co r re c t , yo u w i l l n o t b e n o t i fi e d .
/ / s u b j e c t - t h e con te n t s o f t h e s u b j e c t fi e l d .

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// text - the bo dy o f the messa g e.

//
// Re tur ns:
// t r u e i f sen d i n g su cceed ed
// false other w ise (if there was an er ror)
//
/ / No te t h a t t h i s co d e u s e s a l o c a l f u n c t i o n o b j e c t to c re a te
/ / t h e f u n c t i o n t h a t i s a s s i g n e d to s e n d .

E m a i l S o c ke t . p ro to t y p e . s e n d = f u n c t i o n ( f ro m , to, s u b j e c t , tex t ) {
// open the socket on por t 25 (SMTP)
if (!this.open (this._host + ":25"))
re tur n false;
try {
/ / d i s c a rd t h e g re e t i n g
v a r g re e t i n g = t h i s . re a d ( ) ;
if (this._debug)
w r i te ( " R E C V: " + g re e t i n g ) ;
// issue EHLO and other commands
this._SMTP ("EHLO " + from);
this._SMTP ("MAIL FROM: " + from);
this. _ S MTP ("RC P T TO: " + to );
this. _ S MTP ("DATA ");
// send subject and time stamp
this.w r ite ln ("From: " + from);
this. w r i te l n ("To : " + to );
this. w r i te l n ("D a te: " + n ew D a te( ) . toS t r i n g( ) ) ;
i f ( t y p e o f s u b j e c t ! = u n d e fi n e d )
t h i s . w r i te l n ( " Su b j e c t : " + s u b j e c t ) ;
this. w r i te l n ();
// send the text
if (t y p eof text != undefined)
this. w r i te l n (text);
// ter minate w ith a sing le dot and wait for response
this. _ S MTP (". ");
// ter minate the session
this._SMTP ("QUIT");
this.close();
re tur n t r ue;
}
catch (e) {
this.close();
re tur n false;
}
}

// Author ize v ia POP3. Su pply name and password.

//
// Re tur ns:
// t r u e i f sen d i n g su cceed ed
// false other w ise (if there was an er ror)

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//
// Arguments:
// name - the userName of the account
// pass - the password

E m a i l S o c ke t . p ro to t y p e . a u t h = f u n c t i o n ( n a m e , p a s s ) {
// o p en the con n ectio n o n p o r t 110 ( P O P 3 )
if (!this.open (this._host + ":110"))
re tur n false;
try {
/ / d i s c a rd t h e g re e t i n g
v a r g re e t i n g = t h i s . re a d ( ) ;
if (this._debug)
w r i te ( " R E C V: " + g re e t i n g ) ;
// issue POP3 commands
this. _ P OP 3 ("U S E R " + n a me);
this. _ P OP 3 ("PA S S " + p a ss);
this._POP3 ("QUIT");
this.close();
re tur n t r ue;
}
catch (e) {
this.close();
re tur n false;
}
}

// Users of the EmailSocke t do not need to be concer ned w ith

/ / t h e f o l l ow i n g m e t h o d . It i s a n i m p l e m e n t a t i o n h e l p e r.

// loca l fu n ctio n to sen d a comma n d & ch e c k a P O P 3 rep ly

// throws in case of er ror
E m a i l S o c ke t . p ro to t y p e . _ P O P 3 = f u n c t i o n ( c m d ) {
if (this._debug)
w r i te l n ( " S E N D : " + c m d ) ;
if (! this. w r i te l n (cmd ))
throw "E r ror";
var rep l y = thi s. rea d ();
if (this._debug)
w r ite ("RECV: " + reply);
// the reply star ts by either + or -
if (reply [0] == "+")
re tu r n ;
t h row "E r ror";
}

// Users of the EmailSocke t do not need to be concer ned w ith

/ / t h e f o l l ow i n g m e t h o d . It i s a n i m p l e m e n t a t i o n h e l p e r.

// loca l fu n ctio n to sen d a comma n d & ch e c k a S M T P rep ly

// throws in case of er ror

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E m a i l S o c ke t . p ro to t y p e . _ S M T P = f u n c t i o n ( c m d ) {
if (this._debug)
w r i te l n ( " S E N D : " + c m d ) ;
if (! this. w r i te l n (cmd ))
throw "E r ror";
var rep l y = thi s. rea d ();
if (this._debug)
w r ite ("RECV: " + reply);
/ / t h e rep l y i s a t h re e - d i g i t co d e f o l l owe d by a s p a ce
var match = reply.match (/^(\d{3})\s/m);
if (match.length == 2) {
va r n = Nu mber (ma tch [1]);
if (n >= 200 && n <= 399)
re tu r n ;
}
t h row "E r ror";
}

// n i ce to have: a to S t r i n g ()
/ / T h i s f u n c t i o n a l l ow s t h e e m a i l o b j e c t to b e p r i n te d .

E m a i l S o c ke t . p ro to t y p e . to S t r i n g = f u n c t i o n ( ) {
re t u r n " [ o b j e c t E m a i l ] " ;
}

Email setup
A simple script that prompts the user for the server name, email sender, and email recipient that are saved as
Settings for the Render and Email script (above). You can run this script as standalone any time you want to
change the settings. The script will run email_setup.jsx whenever the settings don't exist; under normal
circumstances this would happen only the first time, or if the settings/preferences file is deleted.
This script is a good example of how a script can create settings that are saved in Preferences for the sole use
of scripting (as opposed to altering existing After Effects Preferences settings).
{
// This script sets up 3 email settings.
/ / It c a n b e r u n a l l by i t s e l f , b u t i t i s a l s o c a l l e d
// w i thin "3- Ren d er a n d Ma i l . j sx" i f t h e s e t t i n g s a re n ' t ye t s e t .

var ser verValue = prompt("Enter name of mail ser ver :");

var fromValue = prompt("Enter reply-to email address:");
var toValue = prompt("Enter re cipient's email address");
if (ser verValue != nu ll && ser verVa lue != "") {
a p p. s e t t i n g s . s aveS e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Ma i l S e r ve r " ,
ser verVa lue);
}
if (fromValue != nu ll && fromValue != "") {
a p p. s e t t i n g s . s aveS e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Re p l y - to Ad d re s s " ,
fromVa lue);
}
if (toValue != nu ll && to Va lue != "") {

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a p p. s e t t i n g s . s aveS e t t i n g ( " E m a i l S e t t i n g s " , " Re n d e r Rep o r t

Re cipient", toValue);
}
}

Dialogs and console

This script shows how to use the various dialogs (alert(), prompt(), confirm()) and how to write to the info
palette (write(), writeLn() and clearOutput()). Although this script serves no practical use, these dialogs and
info palette prompts are highly useful and should be familiar to all script creators.
/ / Us e con fi r m ( ) to l e t t h e u s e r te l l u s w h e t h e r h e c a n s e e t h e " i n f o " w i n d ow.
// Depending how the user clicks, t r ue or false is re tur n ed.
if (confir m("Can you see the \"info\" palette?")){

// Star t by clear ing the infor mation area.

clearOutput();

// w r ite and w r iteLn w ill w r ite to the info tab w ith or w ithout a
//'newline'
// at the end.
w r ite("Ro ses a re re d , ");
w r iteLn("v iolets are blue");
w r i te ( " Su g a r i s s we e t , " ) ;
w r iteL n ("a n d so i s E qu a l . ");

var reply = prompt( "Did you like my poem?");

if (reply == "yes" || reply == "YES"){
aler t("See the info w indow for a special secret for tune.");
// This gets r id of the old w r iting on the info tab.
clearOutput();
w r iteLn("You have a future as a liter ar y cr itic.");
}
else {
aler t("Hmm, I'll t r y once more...");
w r i teL n (". . . . . . . ");
w r iteLn("Roses are re d, v iolets are blue,");
w r iteLn("I've got some gum, on the sole of my shoe.");
}

aler t("Okay, all done w ith this test.");

}
else {
// aler t() just displays a message in a dialog box.
ale r t("P l ea se ma ke it so yo u ca n see t h e i n f o p a le t te a n d r u n t h i s s c r i p t
again");
}

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File fun
This script shows how to open files, open projects, collect names of the Comps in the scene, prompt a user for
where to write a file, write to a text file, and save the text file. It is useful only as an example of how the
individual methods and attributes operate; it doesn’t serve any useful production purpose.
// First, close any project that mig ht be open.
i f ( a p p. p ro j e c t ! = nu l l ) {
// 3 choices here, CloseOptions.D O_NOT_SAVE_CHANGES,
/ / C l o s e O p t i o n s . P RO M P T _ TO _ S AV E _ C H A N G E S , a n d C l o s e O p t i o n s . S AV E _ C H A N G E S
app. p ro j ect. cl o se(C l o seOp tio n s. D O _ N OT _ S AV E _ C HAN G E S ) ;
}

// Prompt the user to pick a project file:

// First argument is a prompt, second is the file t y pe.
v a r p fi l e = fi l e G e t D i a l o g ( " S e l e c t a p ro j e c t fi l e to o p e n " , " Eg g P a e p " ) ;

i f ( p fi l e = = nu l l ) {
a l e r t ( " No p ro j e c t fi l e s e l e c te d . Ab o r t i n g . " ) ;
} else {
/ / O p e n t h a t fi l e . It b e com e s t h e c u r ren t p ro j e c t .
var my_pro ject = app. open( pfile );

// Build a default text file name from the project's filename.

// Remove the ".aep" file extension (if present), then add
//_compnames.txt.
var default_text_filename;
var suffix_index = pfile.name.lastIndexOf(".aep");
if (suffix_index != -1){
default_text_filename = pfile.name.subst r ing(0,suffix_index);
}else {
default_text_filename = pfile.name;
}
default_text_filename += "_compnames.txt";

// Crea te a n o ther fi l e o bj ect fo r the fi le we ' ll w r i te ou t .

// First argument is the prompt, second is a default file name, third is
/ / t h e fi l e t y p e .
v a r tex t _ fi l e = fi l e Pu t D i a l o g ( " S e l e c t a fi l e to o u t p u t yo u r res u l t s " ,
default_text_filename, "TEXT txt");

i f ( tex t _ fi l e = = nu l l ) {
a l e r t ( " No o u t p u t fi l e s e l e c te d . Ab o r t i n g . " ) ;
} else {
// opens file for w r iting . First argument is mode ("w" for w r iting),
// second argument is file t y pe (for mac only),
// third argument is creator (mac only, "????" is no specific app).
text_file.open("w","TEXT","????");

// Wr ite the heading of the file:

text_file.w r ite ln("Here is a list of all the comps in " +
pfile.name);

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text_ fi l e. w r ite l n ();

for (var i = 1; i <= app. project.numItems; i++){
if (app. project.item(i) instanceof CompItem){
text_file.w r ite ln(app. project.item(i).name);
}
}

text_file.close();

aler t("All done!");

}
}

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Creating User Interface Elements

A JavaScript framework for creating user interface (UI) elements is included in After Effects 6.5.
This framework allows developers to use JavaScript to create UI components such as windows, panels,
buttons, checkboxes, and so on. The framework--called the scripting user interface--is built as an abstraction
layer on top of the windowing framework provided by the host platform on which After Effects is running.
Both Windows and MAC OS X native windowing systems are supported.
The motivation behind the creation of this scripting user interface was twofold:
• To enable JavaScripts to create dialogs and interact with controls. This satisfies a fundamental need on the
part of developers to create parameterized scripts, whose actions can be controlled more directly by the end
user.
• To extend the JavaScript environment to allow scripts to create UI elements dynamically. In this way, devel-
opers can create specialized interactive access to an application’s functionality.

Types of interface elements

The following controls and UI elements are supported:
• Panels (frames) -- (classname Panel) a container to group and organize other control types
• Push buttons -- (classname Button) a button containing a text string
• Radio buttons-- (classname RadioButton) a dual-state control, usually grouped with other radio buttons,
only one of which is set
• Checkbox buttons -- (classname Checkbox) a dual-state control showing a checked box (if true) or an
empty box (if false)
• Edit text -- (classname EditText) an text field that the user can change.
• Static text -- (classname StaticText) a text field that the user cannot change
• Scrollbars -- (classname Scrollbar) a standard scrollbar with a moveable element and stepper buttons to
incrementally move the element.
• Sliders -- (classname Slider) a standard slider with a moveable position indicator
In addition, the given classnames described above can used in window resource specifications to define
controls within a window or panel. See “Creating a window using window resource specifications” on
page 203 for more information.

JavaScript UI interface
This section provides a description of the scripting user interface programming model.

UI objects
The scripting user interface defines Window objects that wrap native windows and various control elements
(Buttons, StaticText, etc.), which wrap simple native controls. These objects share common methods such as
“query the element type”, “move the elements around”, and “set the title, caption or content”. For a complete
list of properties and methods, see “Reference” on page 21.

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Creating a window
To create a new window, use the Window constructor function. The constructor takes the desired type of the
window (dialog) as a parameter. You can supply optional arguments to specify an initial window title and
bounds.
The code examples provided in the JavaScript Interface section consist of short segments from a complete
script that is included later in this document. The examples presented build upon each other.
The following example creates an empty dialog with the variable name dlg. This dialog is carried though to
subsequent examples:
// Create an empt y dialog w indow near upper left of the screen var
var dlg = new Window('dialog', 'Aler t Box Builder', [100,100,480,245]);
d l g . s h ow ( ) ;

.Newly created windows are initially invisible; the show() method makes them visible.

Roughly speaking, the numeric parameters to the constructor correspond to the top left and bottom right
coordinates of the window. The bounds supplied when creating the dialog specify the requested size of the
client area, which is the area of the dialog on which you can create controls. It does not include the title bar
and borders around the client area. The size and position of the dialog as a whole are automatically adjusted
to maintain the requested client area size.
For a more detailed description of window bounds, see “Element size and location” on page 198.

Container elements
All windows are containers, which is to say that they contain other elements such as panels, buttons, and check-
boxes within their boundaries.
Within a window, you can create other types of container elements and add interface components to them,
just as you add elements to a window. Elements added to a container are considered children of that container,
and certain operations performed on a container element also apply to its children. For instance, calling the
container’s hide() method makes the container invisible and makes all of its visible children invisible as well.
Along the same lines, calling the container’s show() method makes the container visible as well as any child
elements that were visible before the container was hidden. The following properties and methods of
containers also apply to all children of that container: visible, enabled, hide(), show().

Element size and location

To set the size and location of windows and controls, use the bounds property. As is typical when working with
window systems, the location of a window is defined as the point (pair of coordinates) where the top left
corner of the window is specified in the screen coordinate system.

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The location of an element within a window or other container element is defined as the point where the top
left corner of an element is specified in the window coordinate system, relative to the container the element
lies within. Size is specified by width and height in pixels. A complete bounds specification therefore consists
of 4 integer values that define the position of the upper left corner of the object and its dimensions.
The value of the bounds property can take several forms: a string with special contents, an inline JavaScript
“Bounds” object, or a four-element array. The following examples show equivalent ways of placing a 380-by-
390 pixel window near the upper left corner of the screen:
var d l g = n ew Wi n d ow(‘d i a l o g’, ‘Al e r t B ox Bu i ld e r ’, [ 1 0 0 , 1 0 0 , 4 8 0 , 4 9 0 ] ) ;
dlg.bounds = [100,100,480,490];
d l g . b o u n d s = { l e f t : 1 0 0 , top : 1 0 0 , r ig h t : 4 8 0 , b o t to m : 4 9 0 } ;
d l g . b o u n d s = “ l e f t : 1 0 0 , top : 1 0 0 , r ig h t : 4 8 0 , b o t to m : 4 9 0 ” ;

Note that the window dimensions define the size of the “client area” of the window, which is the portion of
the window that an application can directly control. The actual window size will typically be larger, because
the host platform’s window system can add title bars and borders to windows.
When read, the bounds property returns a Bounds object--an array of four values representing the coordi-
nates of the upper left and lower right corners of the element: [left, top, right, bottom].

Adding elements
To add elements to a window or other container, use the container’s add() method. This method accepts the
type of the element to be created and some optional parameters, depending on the element type. The return
value is the UI object created or null on errors. The value of the element’s visible property defaults to “true”.
The element is initially visible, but it will remain invisible as long as its parent object is invisible.
A second (optional) parameter may be used to specify the initial bounds. The bounds is relative to the working
area of its parent container. For elements that display text, the text may be specified as the third (optional)
parameter--other types of elements have different semantics for a third argument.
For more information on the way in which each type of element interprets optional parameters, see “JavaS-
cript UI reference” on page 213. These optional parameters are positional, meaning that if you want to specify
some text for an element, but don’t care about its bounds, you must still provide an argument for the second
parameter in order to supply a value for the third (text) parameter. You can ‘skip over’ a positional parameter
by specifying the ‘undefined’ value as its argument value. In the example below, a Button element is created
with an initial text value, but no bounds value.
d l g . b t n Pn l = d l g . a d d ( ‘p a n e l ’, [ 1 5 , 3 3 0 , 3 6 5 , 3 7 5 ] , ‘ Bu i l d i t’ ) ;
d l g . b t n Pn l . te s t B t n = d l g . b t n Pn l . a d d ( ‘ b u t ton’, u n d e fi n e d , ‘ Te s t’ ) ;

Dynamically creating a property such as btnPnl to reference the control object returned by add() is not
required, but can make it easier to later refer to the control. See “Accessing child elements” on page 200 for
more information.

Creation properties
Some element types have attributes that may only--in fact, can only--be specified when the element is created.
These are not normal properties of the element, in that they cannot be changed during the element’s lifetime,
and they are needed only once. For these element types, an optional creation properties argument may be
supplied to the add() method--this argument is an object with one or more properties that control things like
the element’s appearance, or special functions like ‘read-only’ for an edit text element.

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All UI elements have a creation property called name, which can be used to assign a name for identifying that
element. In the following example, the new Button element is assigned the name ‘ok’:
d l g . b t n Pn l . b u i l d B t n = d l g . b t n Pn l . a d d ( ‘ b u t ton’, [ 1 2 5 , 1 5 , 2 2 5 , 3 5 ] , ‘ Bu i l d ’,
{n a me: ’o k’});

Accessing child elements

A reference to each element added to a window is appended to the window’s children property.
The children collection is an array containing every defined element, indexed from 0 to the number of
elements minus 1. For controls or other elements that do not have children, the children collection is empty.
The number of child elements in a window is equal to the value of the length property of the children
collection. In the example below, since the ‘msgPnl’ panel was the first element created in dlg, the text for the
panel’s title can be set as follows:
var dlg = new Window('dialog', 'Aler t Box Builder',[100,100,480,245]);
d l g . m s g Pn l = d l g . a d d ( ' p a n e l ' , [ 2 5 , 1 5 , 3 5 5 , 1 3 0 ] ) ;
dl g . chil d ren [0]. text = ' Messa g es' ;
d l g . s h ow ( ) ;

Using creation properties, a name can be assigned to a newly created element. If this is done, a child can be
referred to by its name. For instance, the Button in the example in the previous section was named ‘ok’, so the
Button could now be referred to like this:
d l g . b t n Pn l . ch i l d re n [ ‘o k’ ] . tex t = “ Bu i l d ” ;

An even simpler way to refer to a named child element is to use its name as a property of its parent element.
We can also refer to the Button from the previous example like this:
d l g . b t n Pn l . o k . tex t = “ Bu i l d ” ;

The value of an element’s internal name property is used by the scripting user interface when a script accesses
a property of the element’s parent object that does not match any of the predefined properties.
In this case, the framework searches the names of the parent element’s children to see if a match exists, and if
so, returns a reference to the matching child object.

Types of UI elements
This section introduces the types of user interface elements you can create within a Window or other type of
container element.

The Panel element

The Panel element is the only type of non-window container that is currently defined. Panels are typically used
to visually organize related controls.

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You can also use panels as separators: panels with width = 0 appear as vertical lines and panels with height =
0 appear as horizontal lines. When you create a Panel, you can specify an optional borderStyle property (used
only at creation time) to control the appearance of the border drawn around the panel.
var dlg = new Window('dialog', 'Aler t Box Builder',[100,100,480,245]);
d l g . m s g Pn l = d l g . a d d ( ' p a n e l ' , [ 2 5 , 1 5 , 3 5 5 , 1 3 0 ] , ' Me s s a g e s ' ) ;
d l g . s h ow ( ) ;

The Static Text element

StaticText elements are typically used to display text strings that are not intended for direct manipulation by
a user, like informative messages or identifying information for other elements. In the following example, a
Panel is created, and several StaticText elements are added to it:
// sample co de for section 2.6.2
var dlg = new Window('dialog', 'Aler t Box Builder',[100,100,480,245]);
d l g . m s g Pn l = d l g . a d d ( ' p a n e l ' , [ 2 5 , 1 5 , 3 5 5 , 1 3 0 ] , ' Me s s a g e s ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . t i t l e S t = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' s t a t i c tex t ' , [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 1 0 5 , 3 5 ] ,
' A l e r t b ox t i t l e : ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . m s g S t = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' s t a t i c tex t ' , [ 1 5 , 6 5 , 1 0 5 , 8 5 ] ,
'Aler t message:');
d l g . s h ow ( ) ;

The EditText element

EditText elements are typically used to provide a means for users to enter text to be supplied to the script when
the dialog is dismissed. Text in EditText elements can be selected by a user and copied from or pasted into. The
text property can be assigned to in order to display text in the element, and it can be read from to obtain the
current text value.
The textselection property can be assigned to in order to replace the current selection with new text, or to insert
text at the cursor (insertion point). It can be read from to obtain the current selection, if any.
Using the same panel pictured above, the example now adds some EditText elements, with initial values that
a user can accept or replace:
var dlg = new Window('dialog', 'Aler t Box Builder',[100,100,480,245]);
d l g . m s g Pn l = d l g . a d d ( ' p a n e l ' , [ 2 5 , 1 5 , 3 5 5 , 1 3 0 ] , ' Me s s a g e s ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . t i t l e S t = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' s t a t i c tex t ' , [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 1 0 5 , 3 5 ] ,
' A l e r t b ox t i t l e : ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . t i t l e Et = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' e d i t tex t ' , [ 1 1 5 , 1 5 , 3 1 5 , 3 5 ] , ' S a m p l e A l e r t ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . m s g S t = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' s t a t i c tex t ' , [ 1 5 , 6 5 , 1 0 5 , 8 5 ] , ' A l e r t m e s s a g e : ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . m s g Et = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' e d i t tex t ' , [ 1 1 5 , 4 5 , 3 1 5 , 1 0 5 ] ,
'<your message here>', {multiline:t r ue});
d l g . s h ow ( ) ;

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Note the creation property on the second EditText field, where multiline:true is specified. multiline:true
indicates that the text in the item should wrap to the next page. In other words, it specifies a field in which a
long text string may be entered, and the text will wrap to appear as multiple lines.

The Button element

Button elements are typically used to initiate some action from a Window when a user clicks the mouse pointer
over the button; for example: accepting a dialog’s current settings, canceling a dialog, bringing up a new dialog
box, etc. The text property provides a label to identify a Button’s function:
var dlg = new Window('dialog', 'Aler t Box Builder',[100,100,480,245]);
d l g . b t n Pn l = d l g . a d d ( ' p a n e l ' , [ 1 5 , 5 0 , 3 6 5 , 9 5 ] , ' Bu i l d i t ' ) ;
d l g . b t n Pn l . te s t B t n = d l g . b t n Pn l . a d d ( ' b u t ton ' , [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 1 1 5 , 3 5 ] , ' Te s t ' ) ;
d l g . b t n Pn l . b u i l d B t n = d l g . b t n Pn l . a d d ( ' b u t ton ' , [ 1 2 5 , 1 5 , 2 2 5 , 3 5 ] ,
' Bu il d ' , {n a me: ' o k ' });
d l g . b t n Pn l . c a n ce l B t n = d l g . b t n Pn l . a d d ( ' b u t ton ' , [ 2 3 5 , 1 5 , 3 3 5 , 3 5 ] ,
' C a n cel ' , {n a me: ' ca n cel ' });
d l g . s h ow ( ) ;

The Slider element

Slider elements are typically used to select within a range of values, allowing the user to hold the mouse pointer
down over a moveable position indicator on the slider and drag this indicator within the range of the slider.
If you click the mouse pointer on a point on the slider bar, the position indicator will jump to that location.
A Slider has a value property that reflects the position of the moveable indicator, and minvalue and maxvalue
properties to define the endpoints of the slider’s range of values.
To make a slider control appear like those used in After Effects, adjust the height of the control until the slider
bar appears as a single line.

The Scrollbar element

Scrollbar elements are similar to Slider elements, in that they are often used to select within a range of values,
and have a moveable position indicator. They have all the properties of sliders, and in addition, they have
‘stepper buttons’ at each end of the scrollbar for moving the position indicator in fixed-size steps.

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You can control the size of each ‘step’ by setting the stepdelta property. Clicking ahead of or behind the position
indicator makes the position indicator jump a fixed number of values toward the point where you clicked. You
can control the size of this jump by setting the jumpdelta property.
You can create scrollbars with horizontal or vertical orientation; if width is greater than height, the orientation
is horizontal, otherwise it is vertical. The following example creates a Scrollbar element with associated
StaticText and EditText elements within a panel:
d l g . s i ze Pn l = d l g . a d d ( ‘p a n e l ’, [ 6 0 , 2 4 0 , 3 2 0 , 3 1 5 ] , ‘ D i m e n s i o n s’ ) ;
d l g . s i ze Pn l . w i d t h S t = d l g . s i ze Pn l . a d d ( ‘s t a t i c tex t’, [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 6 5 , 3 5 ] ,
‘Wid th: ’;
d l g . s i ze Pn l . w i d t h S c r l = d l g . s i ze Pn l . a d d ( ‘s c ro l l b a r ’,
[75, 15, 195, 35], 300, 300, 800) ;
d l g . s i ze Pn l . w i d t h Et = d l g . s i ze Pn l . a d d ( ‘e d i t tex t’, [ 2 0 5 , 1 5 , 2 4 5 , 3 5 ] ) ;

Note that the last 3 arguments to the add() method that creates the scrollbar define the values for the value,
minvalue and maxvalue properties. Scrollbars are often created with an associated EditText field to display the
current value of the scrollbar, and to allow setting the scrollbar’s position to a specific value.

Creating a window using window resource specifications

A specially formatted string provides a simple and compact means of creating a window and its component
elements as a resource specification. A resource specification allows you to define and configure multiple
window components in one easy-to-reference script.
The special string is passed as the type parameter to the Window constructor function, as follows:
/ / c re a te a n e w d i a l o g f ro m a re s o u rce s p e c i fi c a t i o n
var aler tBuilderResource =
“d ia l o g { text: ‘Al er t B ox Bu i ld e r ’, b ou n d s : [ 1 0 0 , 1 0 0 , 4 8 0 , 4 9 0 ] , \
m s g Pn l : Pa n e l { tex t : ‘ Me s s a g e s’, b o u n d s : [ 2 5 , 1 5 , 3 5 5 , 1 3 0 ] , \
t i t l e S t : S t a t i c Tex t { tex t : ’ A l e r t b ox t i t l e : ’, \
bounds:[15,15,105,35] }, \
titl eEt: E d i tText { text: ’S a mp le Ale r t’, b ou n d s : [ 1 1 5 , 1 5 , 3 1 5 , 3 5 ] } , \
msg S t: S ta ticText { text: ’A l e r t m e s s a ge : ’, \
bounds:[15,65,105,85] }, \
msg Et: E d i tText { text: ’<yo u r m e s s a ge h e re > ’, \
bounds:[115,45,315,105], proper ties:{multiline:t r ue} } \
}, \
hasBt nsCb: Checkbox { text:’Has aler t buttons?’, alig nment:’center’, \
bounds:[125,145,255,165] }, \
aler tB t n sPn l : Pa n el { text: ‘Bu tton a li g n m e n t’, b ou n d s : [ 4 5 , 1 8 0 , 3 3 5 , 2 2 5 ] , \
a l ig n LeftR b: R a d io Bu tton { tex t : ’ Le f t’, b ou n d s : [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 9 5 , 3 5 ] } , \
alig nCenterRb:RadioButton { text:’Center’, \
bounds:[105,15,185,35] }, \
a l ig n R ig htR b: R a d io Bu tton { tex t : ’ R i g h t’, b ou n d s : [ 1 9 5 , 1 5 , 2 7 5 , 3 5 ] } \
}, \
si zePn l : Pa n el { text: ‘D i men sio n s’, b ou n d s : [ 6 0 , 2 4 0 , 3 2 0 , 3 1 5 ] , \
w i d t h S t : S t a t i c Tex t { tex t : ’ Wi d t h : ’, b o u n d s : [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 6 5 , 3 5 ] } , \
w i d thS crl : S cro l l ba r { minva l u e : 3 0 0 , m a x v a lu e : 8 0 0 , \
bounds:[75,15,195,35] }, \
w i d t h Et : E d i t Tex t { b o u n d s : [ 2 0 5 , 1 5 , 2 4 5 , 3 5 ] } , \
h e i g h t S t : S t a t i c Tex t { tex t : ’ He i g h t : ’, b o u n d s : [ 1 5 , 4 5 , 6 5 , 6 5 ] } , \
heig htS crl : S cro l l ba r { minva l u e : 2 0 0 , m a x v a lu e : 6 0 0 , \
bounds:[75,45,195,65] }, \
hei g htEt: E d itText { bo u n d s: [2 0 5 , 4 5 , 2 4 5 , 6 5 ] } \
}, \
b t n Pn l : Pa n e l { tex t : ‘ Bu i l d i t’, b o u n d s : [ 1 5 , 3 3 0 , 3 6 5 , 3 7 5 ] , \
testB t n : Bu tton { text: ’Test’, b ou n d s : [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 1 1 5 , 3 5 ] } , \
buildBt n:Button { text:’Build’, bounds:[125,15,225,35], \
proper ties:{name:’ok’} }, \

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ca n cel B t n : Bu tton { text: ’C a n ce l’, b ou n d s : [ 2 3 5 , 1 5 , 3 3 5 , 3 5 ] , \

proper ties:{name:’cancel’} } \
} \
} ”;
dlg = new Window (aler tBuilderResource);

The general structure of a window resource specification is a Window type specification (i.e., “dialog”),
followed by a set of braces enclosing one or more property definitions. Controls are defined as properties
within windows and other containers by specifying the classname of the control in a property definition, with
properties of the control enclosed in braces {}, for example: testBtn: Button { text: ‘Test’ }.
Creation properties are specified in a properties property as named properties of an inline object (see example
above). The syntax of window resource specification strings is completely described below.

Window resource specification syntax

The window resource specification syntax is given in BNF (Backus-Naur Form) below:
re s o u rce S p e c = ‘ ” ’ w i n d ow Ty p e Na m e i n l i n e O b j e c t ‘ ” ’
w i n d owTy p e Na m e = [a modal dialog]
in lin eO bj ect = “ {“ p ro p er ti e s L i s t “ } ”
proper tiesList = proper t y De fn { “,” proper t yDefn }
proper t y Defn = proper t y Name “:” proper t yValue
proper t yName = [a JavaScr ipt proper t y name]
proper t y Value = “null” | “t r u e” | “false” | st r ing | number
| i n l i n e Ar r ay | o b j e c t D e f n
st r ing = [a JavaScr ipt st r ing liter al]
number = [any JavaScr ipt integer or real number liter al]
inlineAr r ay = “[“ proper t y Va lue { “,” proper t yVa lue } “]”
objectDefn = ( namedObject | inlineObject )
namedObject = [ a ny o b j e c t c l a s s n a m e ] i n l i n e O b j e c t

Note: To create a UI element, the classname in the namedObject definition above can be any element classname
referred to in “Types of interface elements” on page 197. For example:
“d i a l o g { \
tex t : ‘ From Re s o u rce’, b o u n d s : [ 1 0 , 1 0 , 2 1 0 , 1 1 0 ] , \
b ox : Pa n e l { \
bounds: [10, 10, 190, 90], \
o k : But to n { \
tex t : ‘O K ’, b o u n d s : [ 4 0 , 3 0 , 1 4 0 , 5 0 ] , \
} \
} \
}” ;

Interacting with controls: events and event callbacks

When a script creates a window, it typically adds control elements to the window that a user can manipulate,
for instance, by clicking a button, entering text in a text box, moving a scrollbar, etc.
These user actions or manipulations generate events within the user interface system. The script that creates a
window needs a way to be notified of events from that window or from controls within the window. The
scripting user interface provides a number of event callback methods that a script can define as properties of
any UI element that the script needs to interact with.

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Each class of UI element has a set of callback methods defined for it. For windows, there are callbacks like
onClose(), onMove(), and onResize(). For controls, callbacks vary from type to type. A typical callback is
onClick() for button, radiobutton, and checkbox elements, and onChange() for edittext fields, scrollbars, and
sliders.
To handle a given event for some UI element, simply define a property of the same name as the event callback
in the element and assign a JavaScript function you have defined to it. The example below uses "in line"
functions, which employ a unique syntax and do not require a name. However, you can also define the
function elsewhere in the script. In that case, simply assign the name of the function to the event handler
property. The scripting user interface calls these functions on event notifications if defined.
Examples:
/*‘ has buttons’ checkbox enables or disables the panel that
deter mines the justification of the ‘aler t’ button g roup */
dlg .hasBt nsCb.onClick =
function () { this.parent.aler tBt nsPnl.enabled = this.value; };

//The Build and Cancel buttons close this dialog

w i t h ( d l g . b t n Pn l ) {
buildBt n.onClick =
fu n cti o n () { this. p a ren t. p a re n t . c los e ( 1 ) ; } ;
cancelBt n.onClick =
fu n cti o n () { this. p a ren t. p a re n t . c los e ( 2 ) ; } ;
};
Because event callback functions work as methods of the object in which they are defined, the functions have
access to the object via the “this” JavaScript keyword. In the examples above, “this” refers to the UI object a
given callback is defined in, so properties of the UI object can be accessed relative to the “this”. For example,
because each UI object has a parent property which is a reference to its container object, this.parent gets you a
reference to the object’s parent object.
To elaborate further on this point, a button( ) is contained within a panel, which is contained within a window,
all of which are ultimately closed. The progression is from smaller to larger UI moving from left to right.
buildBtn.onClick = function () {this.parent.parent.close(1);};

button

panel

dialog

Also be aware that you can simulate user actions by sending an event notification directly to a UI element, via
the element’s notify() method. In this manner, a script can generate events in the controls of a window, as if a
user was clicking buttons, entering text, moving a window, etc.
radiobutton and checkbox elements have a boolean value property; using notify() to simulate a click on these
elements also changes the value of this property, just like clicking the element would do. For instance, if the
value of a checkbox ‘hasBtnsCb’ in our example above is true, the following example changes the value to false:
if (d l g . ha sB t n sC b. va l u e == t r u e)
d l g . h a s B t n s C b. n o t i f y ( ) ;
// d l g . ha sB t n sC b. va l u e i s n ow fa l se

For a complete description of the different event callback methods and notify(), see “Common methods and
event handlers” on page 217.

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Modal dialogs
A modal dialog is initially invisible. When calling its show() method, the dialog is displayed and starts
executing. The call to show() does not return until the dialog has been dismissed, typically by the user clicking
an OK or Cancel button.
When calling the hide() or close() methods during the execution of a modal dialog, the dialog is dismissed.
The close() method accepts an optional argument that the call to show() returns.
Warning: You cannot use the JavaScript Debugger to debug event callback functions for modal dialogs, because
once the dialog starts executing, it captures all mouse events. Setting a breakpoint in an event callback function for
a modal dialog will result in an apparent application hang if the breakpoint is ever reached.
To work around this restriction, an effective debugging technique is to create your dialog, but not call its show()
method to make it visible. Then use the debugger to call the notify() method on controls whose event callback
functions you wish to debug. It’s considered good design practice to keep the code in the event callback functions
simple, while deferring the primary script logic execution until after the dialog has been dismissed.

Default and Cancel elements

Modal dialogs can usually be dismissed by typing certain keyboard shortcuts. In addition to clicking the ‘OK’
or ‘Cancel’ buttons, typing the ‘Enter’ key normally produces the same results as clicking the ‘OK’ (or default)
button, and typing the ‘Esc’ key is equivalent to clicking the ‘Cancel’ button. In each case, the keyboard
shortcut is the same as if your script had called the notify() method for the associated Button. The dialog
designer has explicit control over which Button elements are notified by these keyboard shortcuts: a newly-
created dialog has defaultElement and cancelElement properties that are initially undefined. The dialog
designer can set these properties to the objects representing the buttons that should be notified when the
respective keyboard shortcut is typed.
The scripting user interface provides reasonable defaults if the defaultElement and cancelElement properties
are still undefined when the dialog is about to be shown for the first time.
Default values for the defaultElement property are determined by the following algorithm:
• The scripting user interface searches the dialog’s buttons for a button whose name property has the string
value “ok” (case is not important). If one is found, defaultElement is set to that object.
• If no matching named object is found, the scripting user interface searches the dialog’s buttons for a button
whose text property has the string value “ok” (case is not important). If one is found, defaultElement is set
to that object.
Default value for the cancelElement property are determined by the following algorithm:
• The scripting user interface searches the dialog’s buttons for a button whose name property has the string
value “cancel” (case is not important). If one is found, cancelElement is set to that object.
• If no matching named object is found, the scripting user interface searches the dialog’s buttons for a button
whose text property has the string value “cancel” (case is not important). If one is found, cancelElement is
set to that object.
These algorithms handle most dialog boxes without the designer having to explicitly set these properties.
When you add buttons to a dialog that will be used to dismiss the dialog, use creation properties to set the name
property of such buttons to ‘ok’ or ‘cancel’, depending on the desired semantics; this precaution makes the
above algorithm work properly even when the text of such buttons is localized. If the scripting user interface
cannot find a matching button for either case, the respective property is set to null, which means that keyboard
shortcuts for default or cancel will not notify any elements.

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Guidelines for creating and using modal dialogs

When your script creates a dialog, you typically create controls that the user must interact with in order to
enter values that your script will use. In general, you can minimize the number of event callback functions you
attach to various controls in your dialogs, unless interaction with those controls changes the operation of the
dialog itself. In most cases where you simply want to read the states of various controls when the dialog is
dismissed, you do not need to handle events for them. For instance, you often don’t need onClick() functions
for every checkbox and radiobutton in your dialog: when the dialog is dismissed, read their states using their
value properties.
Some exceptions to this guideline:
• onChange() functions are needed for edittext elements, if users enter values which must be validated (like a
number within a range). The event callback must perform any necessary validation, and interact with the
user on errors.
• Define onClick() for OK and Cancel buttons which close the dialog with a given value.
Note: Perform this function only if you have not defined the defaultElement and/or cancelElement properties or
named these buttons in such a way that they will automatically be identified as the OK and Cancel buttons.

Prompts and Alerts

Some JavaScript environments provide functions on the global window object to display message boxes or
alert boxes and a prompt box that displays one or two lines of text and then allows the user to enter one line
of text.
The scripting user interface defines functions alert(), confirm() and prompt() on the Window class that
provides this standard functionality. The host application controls the appearance of these simple dialog
boxes, so they are consistent with other alert and message boxes displayed by the application. See the “JavaS-
cript UI reference” on page 213 for details.

JavaScript UI example
Having explored the individual scripting components that make up the user interface, you are now ready to
see the parts assembled into real-world JavaScript code that produces a fully functional user interface.
The JavaScript UI code sample described below includes the following functions, which creates a simple user
interface builder window populated with various panels, checkboxes, buttons and controls. When you run the
builder, you can then cause it to create an Alert Box.
• createBuilderDialog() -- Creates an empty dialog window near the upper left of the screen and adds a title
panel, a checkbox, a control panel and a panel with buttons to test parameters and create the Alert Box
specification.
• initializeBuilder() --Sets up initial control states and attaches event callback functions to controls.
• runBuilder() -- Runs the builder dialog and returns the resulting Alert Box UI
• createResource() -- Creates and returns a string containing a dialog resource specification that creates the
Alert Box UI using the parameters entered
• stringProperty() -- Returns a formatted string
• arrayProperty() -- Returns a formatted array
• createTestDialog() -- Creates a new Test dialog
These functions are bundled together into a Main script, which assembles the final Alert Box dialog.

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createBuilderDialog
Most of the heavy-lifting for visual components of the JavaScript UI code sample occurs in the createBuilder-
Dialog() function, where the main components of the dialog are configured, as displayed below.
f u n c t i o n c re a te Bu i l d e r D i a l o g ( )
{
//Create an empt y dialog w indow near the upper left of the screen
var dlg = new Window('dialog', 'Aler t Box Builder', [100,100,480,490]);
1
/ / Ad d a p a n e l to h o l d t i t l e a n d ' m e s s a g e tex t ' s t r i n g s
d l g . m s g Pn l = d l g .a d d ( ' p a n e l ' , [ 2 5 , 1 5 , 3 5 5 , 1 3 0 ] , ' Me s s a g e s ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . t i t l e S t = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' s t a t i c tex t ' , [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 1 0 5 , 3 5 ] , ' A l e r t b ox t i t l e : ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . t i t l e Et = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' e d i t tex t ' , [ 1 1 5 , 1 5 , 3 1 5 , 3 5 ] , ' S a m p l e A l e r t ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . m s g S t = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' s t a t i c tex t ' , [ 1 5 , 6 5 , 1 0 5 , 8 5 ] , ' A l e r t m e s s a g e : ' ) ;
d l g . m s g Pn l . m s g Et = d l g . m s g Pn l . a d d ( ' e d i t tex t ' , [ 1 1 5 , 4 5 , 3 1 5 , 1 0 5 ] , ' < yo u r m e s s a g e h e re > ' ,
{ mu l t i l i n e : t r u e } ) ;

//Add a ch eckbox to cont rol the presence of buttons to dismiss the aler t box
d l g . h a s B t n s C b = d l g .a d d ( ' ch e c k b ox ' , [ 1 2 5 , 1 4 5 , 2 5 5 , 1 6 5 ] , ' Ha s a l e r t b u t ton s ? ' ) ; 2
//Add panel to deter mine alig nment of buttons on the aler t box
d l g . a l e r t B t n s Pn l = d l g .a d d ( ' p a n e l ' , [ 4 5 , 1 8 0 , 3 3 5 , 2 2 5 ] , ' Bu t ton a l i g n m e n t ' ) ;
d l g .a ler tBt nsPnl.a li g nLeftRb = dlg .a ler tB t nsPnl.add( 'r adio bu tton', [ 15,15,95,35] , 'Left') ;
dlg .aler tBt nsPnl.alig nCenterRb = dlg .aler tBt nsPnl.add('r adiobutton', [105,15,185,35], 'Center');
d l g .a ler tBt nsPnl.a li g nRi g h tRb = dlg .a ler tB t nsPnl.add( 'r adio bu tton', [ 195,15,275,35] , 'Rig ht') ;

//Add a panel w ith cont rols for the dimensions of the aler t box
d l g . s i ze Pn l = d l g . a d d ( ' p a n e l ' , [ 6 0 , 2 4 0 , 3 2 0 , 3 1 5 ] , ' D i m e n s i o n s ' ) ;
d l g . s i ze Pn l . w i d t h S t = d l g . s i ze Pn l . a d d ( ' s t a t i c tex t ' , [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 6 5 , 3 5 ] , ' Wi d t h : ' ) ;
d l g . s i ze Pn l . w i d t h S c r l = d l g . s i ze Pn l . a d d ( ' s c ro l l b a r ' , [ 7 5 , 1 5 , 1 9 5 , 3 5 ] , 3 0 0 , 3 0 0 , 8 0 0 ) ;
d l g . s i ze Pn l . w i d t h Et = d l g . s i ze Pn l . a d d ( ' e d i t tex t ' , [ 2 0 5 , 1 5 , 2 4 5 , 3 5 ] ) ;
d l g . s i ze Pn l . h e i g h t S t = d l g . s i ze Pn l . a d d ( ' s t a t i c tex t ' , [ 1 5 , 4 5 , 6 5 , 6 5 ] , ' He i g h t : ' ) ;
3
d l g . s i ze Pn l . h e i g h t S c r l = d l g . s i ze Pn l . a d d ( ' s c ro l l b a r ' , [ 7 5 , 4 5 , 1 9 5 , 6 5 ] , 2 0 0 , 2 0 0 , 6 0 0 ) ;
d l g . s i ze Pn l . h e i g h t Et = d l g . s i ze Pn l . a d d ( ' e d i t tex t ' , [ 2 0 5 , 4 5 , 2 4 5 , 6 5 ] ) ;

/ / Ad d a p a n e l w i t h b u t ton s to te s t p a r a m e ter s a n d c re a te t h e a l e r t b ox s p e c i fi c a t i o n
d l g .b t n Pn l = d l g .a d d ( ' p a n e l ' , [ 1 5 , 3 3 0 , 3 6 5 , 3 7 5 ] , ' Bu i l d i t ' ) ;
d l g . b t n Pn l . te s t B t n = d l g . b t n Pn l . a d d ( ' b u t ton ' , [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 1 1 5 , 3 5 ] , ' Te s t ' ) ;
d l g . b t n Pn l . b u i l d B t n = d l g . b t n Pn l . a d d ( ' b u t ton ' , [ 1 2 5 , 1 5 , 2 2 5 , 3 5 ] , ' Bu i l d ' , { n a m e : ' o k ' } ) ;
4
d l g . b t n Pn l . c a n ce l B t n = d l g . b t n Pn l . a d d ( ' b u t ton ' , [ 2 3 5 , 1 5 , 3 3 5 , 3 5 ] , ' C a n ce l ' , { n a m e : ' c a n ce l ' } ) ;

re t u r n d l g ;

/ / c re ate Bui lder Di a log

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This code snippet, when broken down into smaller segments--and run in the context of the entire UI sample
code that follows--produces the following succession of dialogs, which coalesce into one final Alert Box
window.

Final Dialog
Created

For the final dialog to actually display, supporting code to initialize and run the Alert Box Builder must be
included, as illustrated below.
function initializeBuilder(builder)
{
/ / S e t u p i n i t i a l con t ro l s t a te s
w ith (builder) {
hasBt nsCb.value = t r ue;
aler tBt nsPnl.alig nCenterRb.value = t r ue;
w i th (si zePnl) {
w i dth Et.tex t = w i dth S crl.valu e;
heig htEt.text = heig htScrl.value;
}

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/ / At t a ch e ve n t c a l l b a c k f u n c t i o n s to con t ro l s

/*'has buttons' ch eckbox enables or disables the panel that

deter mines the justification of the 'aler t' button g roup */

builder.hasBt nsCb.onClick =
function () { this.parent.aler tBt nsPnl.enabled = this.value; };

/ * T h e e d i t tex t fi e l d s a n d s c ro l l b a r s i n s i ze Pn l a re con n e c te d * /
w ith (builder.sizePnl) {
w idthEt.onChange =
f u n c t i o n ( ) { t h i s . p a re n t . w i d t h S c r l . v a l u e = t h i s . tex t ; } ;
w idthScrl.onChange =
functi on () { th i s.pa ren t.w idthEt.text = this.valu e; } ;
heig htEt.onChange =
f u n c t i o n ( ) { t h i s . p a re n t . h e i g h t S c r l . v a l u e = t h i s . tex t ; } ;
heig htScrl.onChange =
functi on () { th i s.pa ren t.heig htEt.text = this.valu e; } ;
}

w ith (builder.bt nPnl) {

//T h e Tes t b utton crea tes a t r ial Aler t box fro m the c u r rent spec ifi c ations
testBt n.onClick =
function () {
Window.aler t('Ty p e Enter or Esc to dismiss the test Aler t box');
crea teTestDi a log(c reateResou rce( this.parent.parent) ) ;
};

//The Build and Cancel buttons close this dialog

buildBt n.onClick =
functi on () { th i s.pa ren t.parent.c lose( 1) ; } ;
cancelBt n.onClick =
functi on () { th i s.pa ren t.parent.c lose( 2) ; } ;
};
} // initializeBuilder

function r unBuilder(builder)
{
/ / Ru n t h e b u i l d e r d i a l o g , re t u r n i t s res u l t
re tur n builder.show();
}

/ * T h i s f u n c t i o n c re a te s a n d re t u r n s a s t r i n g con t a i n i n g a d i a l o g
re s o u rce s p e c i fi c a t i o n t h a t w i l l c re a te a n A l e r t d i a l o g u s i n g
the par ameters the user entere d. */

function createResource(builder)
{
//Define the initial par t of the resource spec w ith dialog par ameters
var dlgWidth = Number(builder.sizePnl.w idthEt.text);
var dlgHeig ht = Number(builder.sizePnl.heig htEt.text);
v a r re s = " d i a l o g { " +
st r ingProper t y("text", builder.msgPnl.titleEt.text) +
a r r ay Prop e r t y ( " b o u n d s " , 0 , 0 , d l g Wi d t h , d l g He i g h t ) +
" \n" ;

/ / D e fi n e t h e a l e r t m e s s a g e s t a t i c tex t e l e m e n t , s i z i n g i t to t h e a l e r t b ox
var margin = 15; var l, t;
v a r m s g Wi d t h , m s g He i g h t ;
var hasButtons = builder.hasBt nsCb.value;
v a r b t n s He i g h t Us e d = h a s Bu t ton s ? 2 0 + m a r g i n : 0 ;
m s g He i g h t = 6 0 ;
m s g Wi d t h = d l g Wi d t h - ( m a r g i n * 2 ) ;

l = ma r g i n;
t = ( d l g He i g h t - m s g He i g h t - b t n s He i g h t Us e d ) / 2 ;
re s + = " m s g : S t a t i c Tex t { " +
st r ingProper t y("text", builder.msgPnl.msgEt.text) +
a r r ay Prop e r t y ( " b o u n d s " , l , t , l + m s g Wi d t h , t + m s g He i g h t ) +
"justify :'center', proper ties:{multiline:t r ue} }";

//Define buttons if desired

if (hasButtons) {
v a r b t n Wi d t h = 9 0 ;
/ / A l i g n b u t ton s a s s p e c i fi e d
w ith (builder.aler tBt nsPnl) {
if (alig nLeftRb.value)

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l = ma r g i n;
else if (alig nCenterRb.value)
l = ( d l g Wi d t h - ( b t nWi d t h * 2 + 1 0 ) ) / 2 ;
else
l = d l g Wi d t h - ( ( b t nWi d t h * 2 + 1 0 ) + m a r g i n ) ;
}
t = d l g He i g h t - b t n s He i g h t Us e d ;
res + = " ,\n" +
" o k B t n : But to n { " +
s t r i n g Prop e r t y ( " tex t " , " O K " ) +
a r r ay Prop e r t y ( " b o u n d s " , l , t , l + b t n Wi d t h , t + 2 0 ) +
" },\n" ;
l + = b t n Wi d t h + 1 0 ;
re s + = " c a n ce l B t n : But to n { " +
s t r i ngProper t y (" tex t" , "Cancel") +
a r r ay Prop e r t y ( " b o u n d s " , l , t , l + b t n Wi d t h , t + 2 0 ) +
" }" ;
}

//All done!
res + = " \n}" ;
re tur n res;
}

f u n c t i o n s t r i n g Prop e r t y ( p n a m e , p v a l )
{
re t u r n p n a m e + " : ' " + p v a l + " ' , " ;
}

f u n c t i o n a r r ay Prop e r t y ( p n a m e , l , t , r, b )
{
re tur n pna me + " :[" + l + " ," + t + "," + r + "," + b + "] , ";
}

f u n c t i o n c re a te Te s t D i a l o g ( re s o u rce)
{
var target = new Window (resource);
re tur n ta r get.s h ow();
}

/ / ------------- Ma i n s cr i pt ------------- //
var builder = createBuilderDialog();
initializeBuilder(builder);
if (r unBuilder(builder) == 1) {
//Crea te th e A ler t di a log res ource spec ifi c atio n st r ing
va r res S pec = crea teResource(b ui l der) ;
/ / Wr i te t h e re s o u rce s p e c i fi c a t i o n s t r i n g to a fi l e , u s i n g t h e s t a n d a rd fi l e o p e n d i a l o g
v a r f n a m e = F i l e . o p e n D i a l o g ( ' S ave re s o u rce s p e c i fi c a t i o n ' ) ;
var f = File(fname);
if (f.open('w')) {
v a r o k = f . w r ite ( re s S p e c ) ;
i f (ok)
ok = f.close();
i f (! ok)
Window.aler t("Er ror creating " + fname + ": " + f.er ror);
}
}

Sample code summary

This sample code is used to demonstrate some practical applications of the scripting interface. Here a few of
the major intentions of the script:
• To provide a simple real-world example of creating a user interface with multiple components and controls.
• To show how certain controls such as sliders and edit text boxes can interact.
• To show how radio buttons work and how to set radio buttons to true and initialize them.
• To show a multi-line text edit box as displayed in the messages panel of the dialog box.
• To show how you can associate static text fields with edit text fields and static text with other types of
controls.

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• To show how simple event callback functions work and how you can attach event handler functions to any
controls that can generate events.
• To show how to enable and disable sets of controls. For example, in the alert checkbox,
if you unclick the checkbox then everything in the button alignment field suddenly gets greyed out.
• To demonstrate how you typically dismiss a modal dialog by providing an OK and Cancel button.
• To show you can still read property values out of the dialog and its controls after the dialog has been
dismissed.

Resource-specification sample code

To run this JavaScript UI code using a resource specification, change the lines indicated below and include the
resource specification sample code. For more information on resource specifications, refer to “Creating a
window using window resource specifications” on page 203.
Note: This is a complete example of a resource specification string. The alertBuilderResource() code displayed
below is a way to create the same main dialog box created by the createBuilderDialog() function.

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/ / - - - - - - - - - - - - - A l ter n a te d i a l o g c re a t i o n u s i n g re s o u rce s p e c i fi c a t i o n - - - - - - - - - - - - - / /
/*
To u s e t h i s co d e , rep l a ce t h e l i n e a b ove t h a t s ay s
var builder = createBuilderDialog();
w i th
var builder = createBuilderDialogFromResource();
*/

var aler tBuilderResource =

" di a log { tex t: ' A ler t Box Bui lder ' , bo u nds:[ 100,100,480,490] , \
m s g Pn l : Pa n e l { tex t : ' Me s s a g e s ' , b o u n d s : [ 2 5 , 1 5 , 3 5 5 , 1 3 0 ] , \
t i t l e S t : S t a t i c Tex t { tex t : ' A l e r t b ox t i t l e : ' , b o u n d s : [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 1 0 5 , 3 5 ] } , \
ti tleEt:Edi tTex t { tex t:'Sam ple Aler t', bo u nds:[ 115,15,315,35] } , \
ms gS t: S ta ti cTex t { text:'Aler t m essage:', bo u nds:[ 15,65,105,85] } , \
ms gEt: E di tTex t { text:'<you r m essage here>', bo u nds:[ 115,45,315,105] ,
proper ties:{multiline:t r ue} } \
}, \
hasBt nsCb: Checkbox { text:'Has aler t buttons?', alig nment:'center',
bounds:[125,145,255,165] }, \
a ler tBt ns Pnl: Pa nel { tex t:' Button alig nm ent', bou nds:[ 45,180,335,225] , \
a li g nLeftRb :Ra di oButton { text:'Left', bo u nds:[ 15,15,95,35] } , \
alig nCenterRb:RadioButton { text:'Center', bounds:[105,15,185,35] }, \
a li g nRi g h tRb :Ra di oBut ton { text:'Rig ht', bo u nds:[ 195,15,275,35] } \
}, \
s i zePnl: Pa nel { tex t: ' Di mensio ns', bo u nds:[ 60,240,320,315] , \
w i d t h S t : S t a t i c Tex t { tex t : ' Wi d t h : ' , b o u n d s : [ 1 5 , 1 5 , 6 5 , 3 5 ] } , \
w i d t h S c r l : S c ro l l b a r { m i nv a l u e : 3 0 0 , m a x v a l u e : 8 0 0 , b o u n d s : [ 7 5 , 1 5 , 1 9 5 , 3 5 ] } , \
w i d t h Et : E d i t Tex t { b o u n d s : [ 2 0 5 , 1 5 , 2 4 5 , 3 5 ] } , \
h e i g h t S t : S t a t i c Tex t { tex t : ' He i g h t : ' , b o u n d s : [ 1 5 , 4 5 , 6 5 , 6 5 ] } , \
h ei g h tS cr l:S crollb a r { minvalu e:200, m axvalu e:600, bou nds:[ 75,45,195,65] } , \
h ei g h tEt:E di tTex t { b ounds:[ 205,45,245,65] } \
}, \
b t n Pn l : Pa n e l { tex t : ' Bu i l d i t ' , b o u n d s : [ 1 5 , 3 3 0 , 3 6 5 , 3 7 5 ] , \
testBt n: Button { tex t:' Test', bou nds:[ 15,15,115,35] } , \
buildBt n:Button { text:'Build', bounds:[125,15,225,35], proper ties:{name:'ok'} }, \
cancelBt n:Button { text:'Cancel', bounds:[235,15,335,35], proper ties:{name:'cancel'} } \
} \
}" ;

f u n c t i o n c re a te Bu i l d e r D i a l o g From Re s o u rce ( )
{
//Create from resource
re tur n new Window(aler tBuilderResource);
} / / crea teBui lder Di a logFromRes ource

JavaScript UI reference
The JavaScript user interface defines the global elements of the Window object and properties and methods
of all the UI classes.

Global elements of the Window object

The following functions are class methods of the global Window class only; windows created via new Window()
do not have these functions defined.
To call class methods, use the following example syntax: Window.alert("Class method!");

aler t (text)
Displays the specified string in a user alert box that provides an OK button. The alert dialog is not intended
for lengthy messages. When the string argument to the alert method is too long, the alert dialog truncates it.
con fi r m (text)
Displays the specified string in a self-sizing modal dialog box that provides Yes (default) and No buttons.
When this user clicks one of these buttons, this method hides the dialog and returns a value indicating the
button the user clicked to dismiss the dialog. A return value of true indicates that the user clicked the Yes
button to dismiss the confirm box. The confirmation dialog displays lengthier messages than the alert and
prompt dialogs do, but if this string is too long, the dialog truncates it.

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fi n d ( t y p e , t i t l e )
return value: Object
Finds an existing window already created by a script. title is the title of the window and type is modal dialog.
This value is a hint in case more than one window has the same title; if the type is unimportant, null or an
empty string can be passed. If the window was found, the corresponding JavaScript Window object is
generated and returned; if the window cannot be determined, the return value is null.
prompt (prompt [, default])
Displays a modal dialog that returns the user’s text input. When the dialog opens, it displays the given prompt
text and its text edit field is initialized with any specified default text. When the user clicks OK to dismiss the
dialog, it returns the text the user entered. If the user clicks the Cancel button in this dialog, this method’s
result is the value null.

Common object properties

The following table shows the common properties defined for each element type.

RadioButton
StaticText

Checkbox

Scrollbar
Window

EditText

Button

Slider
Panel

active x x x x x x x

bounds x x x x x x x x x

children x x x x x x x x x

enabled x x x x x x x x x

jumpdelta x

justify x x x x x x x

maxvalue x x

minvalue x x

parent x x x x x x x x x

stepdelta x

text x x x x x x x

textselection x

type x x x x x x x x x

value x x x x

visible x x x x x x x x x

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Properties

Following are the properties defined for each element types listed above.
Property Type Description
active Boolean Contains true if the object is active, false otherwise. An active floating dialog
is the front-most dialog. A modal dialog that is visible is by definition the
active dialog. An active control is the one which will accept keystrokes, or in
the case of a Button, be activated (clicked) when the user types a return. Set
this true to make a given control or dialog active.
bounds Bounds Contains a Bounds object describing the location and size of the element as
array values representing the coordinates of the upper left and lower right
corners of the element: [left, top, right, bottom]. These are screen coordinates
for window elements, and window-relative coordinates for other elements.
See “Element Size and Location “

for a definition of the Bounds object.

children Object The collection of UI elements that the UI object contains. This is an array
indexed by number or by a string containing an element’s name. The length
property of this array is the number of child elements for container elements
and is zero for controls; future implementations may return additional ele-
ments for composite controls. Read only.
enabled Boolean Contains true if the object is enabled, false otherwise. If set to true, control
elements will accept input. If set to false, control elements will not accept
input, and all types of elements may change to a ‘grayed-out’ appearance.
jumpdelta Number Contains the value to increment or decrement a Scrollbar element’s position
by, when the user clicks ahead or behind the moveable element of the Scroll-
bar to make the scroll position ‘jump’.
justify String Controls justification of text in static text and edit text controls. The value is
either “left”, “center”, or “right” and the default value is left-justified. Some
implementations may not fully support this property, and it may be ignored
for some types of controls.
maxvalue Number Contains the maximum value that the value property can have. If maxvalue
is reset less than value, value will be reset to maxvalue. If maxvalue is reset less
than minvalue, minvalue will be reset to maxvalue.
minvalue Number Contains the minimum value that the value property can have. If minvalue is
reset greater than value, value will be reset to minvalue. If minvalue is reset
greater than maxvalue, maxvalue will be reset to minvalue.
parent Object The parent object of a UI object. This property returns null for window
objects. Read only.
placement Bounds An alternate name for the bounds property; bounds is the preferred name,
and use of placement is deprecated.
stepdelta Number Contains the value to increment or decrement a Scrollbar element’s position
by, when a stepper button at either end of the scrollbar is clicked.
text String The title, label or text. May be ignored for certain window types. For controls,
its usage depends on the control type. Many controls like buttons use the
text as a label, while other controls, such as edit fields, use the text to access
its content.
textselection String Replace the current text selection with the specified text string, modifying
the value of the text property. If there is no selection, the specified text is
inserted into the text property string at the current insertion point. Reading
the textselection property returns any selected text, or an empty string if
there is no selection.
type String Contains the type name of the element. For Window objects, this is the value
of the first argument to the Window constructor function. For controls, this is
the value of the first argument to the add() method. Read only.
value Boolean (for Checkbox and RadioButton) true if the control has been set (i.e., a check-
box shows a check mark), false if not set.

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Property Type Description

value Number (for Scrollbar and Slider) the value of the control, for instance, the position of
the moveable part of a Scrollbar or Slider. If value is reset outside the
bounded range minvalue, maxvalue, value is set to the closest boundary.
visible Boolean Contains true if the object is physically visible, false otherwise. If set to false,
the UI object is hidden, and if set to true, the object is made visible.

Properties found only in Window elements

Window elements contain the following properties, in addition to those described in the previous section.
defaultElement -- Object
The element to notify when a user types the Enter key, with the intent to dismiss the dialog as if the “OK”
button had been clicked.
cancelElement -- Object
The element to notify when a user types the Esc key (or the <Cmd .> combination on a Mac), with the intent
to dismiss the dialog as if the “Cancel” button had been clicked.

Objects used as property values

The values of certain properties are represented by objects that the scripting interface defines. This section
describes those objects. It includes a description of their semantics, ways to create them, and descriptions of
their properties.

The Bounds Object

A Bounds object is used to define the boundaries of a Window or UI element within its
coordinate space. You cannot directly create a Bounds object; one is created when you set an
element’s bounds property. Reading the bounds property always yields a Bounds object. Bounds
contains an array describing the position and size of a UI element. The array values represent
the coordinates of the upper left and lower right corners of the element: [left, top, right,
bottom]. These are screen coordinates for window elements, and are relative to the coordinate
space of the parent (container) element for other element types.

You can set an element’s bounds property and indirectly create a Bounds object in any of
these ways:

e . b o u n d s = O b j ec t
The object must contain properties named left, top, right, bottom, or x, y, width, height, where each property
has an integer coordinate value.
e . b o u n d s = Ar ray
The array must have integer coordinate values in the order [left, top, right, bottom].
e . b o u n d s = St r i n g
The string must be an executable JavaScript inline object declaration, containing the same property names as
in the object case just described.

See “Element size and location” on page 198 for examples.

A Bounds object may be accessed as an array. In addition, it supports the following properties
Property Type Description
left Number The ‘x’ coordinate value of the left edge of the element.
top Number The ‘y’ coordinate value of the top edge of the element.

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Property Type Description

r ig ht Number The ‘x’ coordinate value of the right edge of the element.
bottom Number The ‘y coordinate value of the bottom edge of the element.
x Number Same as left.
y Number Same as top.
w i d th Number right - left.
heig ht Number bottom - top.

Common methods and event handlers

Following are the common methods and event handlers defined for each element type.

RadioButton
StaticText

Checkbox

Scrollbar
Window

EditText

Button

Slider
Panel

add() x x
center() x
close() x
hide() x x x x x x x x x
notify() x x x x x x
show() x x x x x x x x x
onChange() x x x
onClick() x x x
onClose() x
onMove() x
onResize() x

Methods

Descriptions of the common methods and event handlers listed above follow:
Method Returns Description
add (type [, bounds, text, { Object Creates a new UI element and add it to the children
<creation array of its parent Window or Panel element. The
optional parameter bounds is a Bounds object
properties> } ]); describing its position and size. This may also be a
four-element array. The optional parameter text is
assigned to the UI element as the initial text or title.
The UI element itself decides how to use this string; it
may be ignored.

In general, a Button uses the text as its label, while a

edit field uses it as its initial content. Internally, the
text is assigned to the text property of the element.
The optional parameter <creation properties> is an
object with properties that specify attributes of the
UI element that are used only when the element is
created. <creation properties> are specific to the type
of UI element, and are described below in the sec-
tions for each element type. The return value is the
newly created UI element or null on errors.
center([window]) no return value Centers a Window on screen, or optionally, within the
specified window object.

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Method Returns Description

close ([value]) no return value Closes a Window. For modal dialogs, the optional
value is returned as the result of the show() call that
caused the dialog to display and execute.

hide() no return value Hides the element. If hide() is called on a modal dia-
log, dismiss the dialog and set the dialog result to 0.
The application may choose to ignore this call for cer-
tain UI object types.

notify([event]) no return value Sends a notification message to whatever listens to

the UI object. notify() effectively lets you control a
dialog programmatically. Calling this method with
no argument on a control simulates the activation of
the control; a Button signals that it has been clicked
via its onClick() method, an EditText element tells its
listener that it contents have changed via its
onChange() method, and so on. You can supply an
optional argument to notify(), which is the name of
the event handler to call. For instance, to simulate a
dialog dlg being moved by a user, you can send a
notification message as follows: dlg.notify(“onMove”).

show() Number Displays the UI object. A Window may choose to

ignore the setting of the visibility state if it is not
applicable, like for inspectors whose visibility is con-
trolled by the application only. If show() is called for a
modal dialog, the dialog is displayed and executed.
The call to show() will not return until the dialog has
been dismissed. The result of show() is the dialog
result as supplied to close(). For all other elements,
the result is 0.

onClick() no return value This method is called when a control has been acti-
vated by clicking it. Not all types of controls imple-
ment this callback. If you are interested in processing
this event, define a function of this name in the con-
trol element.

onChange() no return value This method is called when the content of a control
has been changed. Not all types of controls imple-
ment this callback. If you are interested in processing
this event, define a function of this name in the con-
trol element.

onClose() no return value This method is called when a Window is closed. If you
are interested in processing this event, define a func-
tion of this name in the Window object.

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Method Returns Description

onMove() no return value This method is called when a Window has been
moved. If you are interested in processing this event,
define a function of this name in the Window object.

onResize() no return value

This method is called when a Window has been

resized. If you are interested in processing this event,
define a function of this name in the Window object.

UI object descriptions
This section describes UI objects such as windows, panels, buttons, checkboxes and so on.

Window object

To create a new Window object:

Method Returns Description
n e w Wi n d ow ( “d i a l o g” [ , t i t l e , b o u n d s ] ) ; Object Creates a new Window. The required type argument
contains the requested element type for a modal dia-
log. The optional title argument is used to set the
window title, if specified. Optionally, a Bounds object
or array may be supplied that describes the bounds
of the window. If no bounds are given, a default
bounds is chosen. The return value is the newly cre-
ated window or null on errors.

The panel element

To add a Panel element to a window w:

Method Returns Description
w.a d d ( “p a n e l ” [ , b o u n d s , tex t , Object The optional parameter bounds defines the ele-
{<creation proper ties>} ]); ment’s position and size. The optional parameter text
is the text displayed in the border of the panel. The
optional parameter <creation properties> is an object
that can contain any of the following properties:

To add a border style around a panel.

Method Returns Description
borderSt yle String Specifies the appearance of the border drawn
around the panel. It can be one of: none, etched,
raised, sunken, black. The default borderStyle is
etched.

If you specify a Panel whose width is 0, it will appear as a vertical line; a panel whose height is 0 will appear as
a horizontal line. Making a panel invisible will also hide all its children; making it visible again will also make
visible those children that were visible when the panel was made invisible.

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The statictext control

To add a StaticText element to a window:

Method Returns Description
w.a d d ( “s t a t i c tex t” [ , b o u n d s , tex t , Object The optional parameter bounds defines the ele-
{<creation proper ties>}]); ment’s position and size. The optional parameter text
is the text displayed by the control. The optional
parameter <creation properties> is an object contain-
ing any of the following properties:
mu l t i l i n e Boolean If false (default) the control accepts a single line of
text. If true, the control accepts multiple lines, in
which case the text wraps within the width of the
control.
s c ro l l i n g Boolean If false (default), the text displayed cannot be
scrolled. If true, scrolling buttons appear and the text
displayed can be vertically scrolled; this case implies
multiline.

The edittext control

To add an EditText element to a window:

Method Returns Description
w.a d d ( “e d i t text” [ , b o u n d s , tex t , Object The optional parameter bounds defines the ele-
{<creation proper ties>}]); ment’s position and size. The optional parameter text
is the initial text displayed by the control. The
optional parameter <creation properties> is an object
containing any of the following properties:

mu l t i l i n e Boolean If false (default) the control accepts a single line of

text. If true, the control accepts multiple lines, in
which case the text wraps within the width of the
control.
readonly Boolean If false (default), the control accepts text input. If true,
the control will not accept input text, but simply dis-
plays the contents of its text property.
n o e ch o Boolean If false (default), the control displays text that is typed
as input. If true, the control will not display input text
(useful for password fields).

The EditText control calls the onChange() event method if the editable text is changed or if its notify() method
is called. It also has a textselection property to access any text selection within the edit field.

The button control

To add a Button element to a window:

Method Returns Description
w.ad d (“ bu tton” [, bo u n d s, text]); Object The optional parameter bounds defines the ele-
ment’s position and size. The optional parameter text
is the text displayed inside the button control.

The Button control calls the onClick() event method if the control is clicked or if its notify() method is called.

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The checkbox control

To add a Checkbox element to a window w:

Method Returns Description
w.add (“checkbox” [, bounds, Object The optional parameter bounds defines the ele-
text]); ment’s position and size. The optional parameter text
is the text displayed next to the checkbox control.

The Checkbox control calls the onClick() event method if the control is clicked or if its notify() method is called.
It also has a value property which indicates whether the control is set or not.

The radiobutton control

To add a RadioButton element to a window w:

Method Returns Description
w.add (“radiobutton” [, bounds, Object The optional parameter bounds defines the ele-
text]); ment’s position and size. The optional parameter text
is the text displayed next to the radiobutton control.

All RadioButtons in a group must be created sequentially, with no intervening creation of other element types.
Only one RadioButton in a group can be set at a time; setting a different RadioButton unsets the original one.
The RadioButton control calls the onClick() event method if the control is clicked or if its notify() method is
called. It also has a value property which indicates whether the control is set or not.

The scrollbar control

To add a Scrollbar element to a window w:

Method Returns Description
w.add (“scrollbar” [, bounds, Object The optional parameter bounds defines the ele-
value, minvalue, maxvalue]); ment’s position and size. The optional parameter
value is the initial position of the moveable element.
The optional parameters minvalue and maxvalue
define the range of values that can be returned by
changing the position of the moveable element.

The Scrollbar control will have a horizontal orientation if the specified width is greater than its height at
creation time; its orientation will be vertical if its height is greater than its width. It calls the onChange() event
method if the position of the moveable element is changed by the user, or if its notify() method is called. The
value property contains the current position of the scrollbar’s moveable position indicator within the scrolling
area, within the range of minvalue and maxvalue.

The slider control

To add a Slider element to a window w:

Method Returns Description
w.add (“slider” [, bounds, Object The optional parameter bounds defines the ele-
value, minvalue, maxvalue]); ment’s position and size. The optional parameter
value is the initial position of the moveable element.
The optional parameters minvalue and maxvalue
define the range of values that can be returned by
changing the position of the moveable element.

All Slider controls have a horizontal orientation. The Slider control calls the onChange() event method if the
position of the slider is changed by the user, or if its notify() method is called. The value property contains the
current position of the slider’s moveable position indicator, within the range of minvalue and maxvalue.

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Adobe After Effects Help The Socket Object

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Appendix A: The Socket Object

TCP connections are the basic transport layer of the Internet. Every time your Web browser connects to a
server and requests a new page, it opens a TCP connection to handle the request as well as the server's reply.
The JavaScript Socket object lets you connect to any server on the Internet and to exchange data with this
server.
The Socket object provides basic functionality to connect to a remote computer over a TCP/IP network or the
Internet. It provides calls like open() and close() to establish or to terminate a connection, or read() or write()
to transfer data. The object also contains a listen() method to establish a simple Internet server; the server uses
the method poll() to check for incoming connections.
Many of these connections are based on simple data exchange of ASCII data, while other protocols, like the
FTP protocol, are more complex and involve binary data. One of the simplest protocols is the HTTP protocol.
The following sample TCP/IP client connects to a WWW server (which listens on port 80); it then sends a very
simple HTTP GET request to obtain the home page of the WWW server, and then it reads the reply, which is
the home page together with a HTTP response header.
reply = "";
conn = new Socket;
// access Ado be' s ho me p a g e
if (conn.open ("www.adobe.com:80")) {
// send a HT TP GET re quest
conn.w r i te ("GET /index.ht ml HT TP/1.0\n\n");
// and read the ser ver's reply
reply = conn.read();
conn.close();
}

After executing above code, the variable homepage contains the contents of the Adobe home page together
with a HTTP response header.
Establishing an Internet server is a bit more complicated. A typical server program sits and waits for incoming
connections, which it then processes. Usually, you would not want your application to run in an endless loop,
waiting for any incoming connection request. Therefore, you can ask a Socket object for an incoming
connection by calling the poll() method of a Socket object. This call would just check the incoming connec-
tions and then return immediately. If there is a connection request, the call to poll() would return another
Socket object containing the brand new connection. Use this connection object to talk to the calling client;
when finished, close the connection and discard the connection object.
Before a Socket object is able to check for an incoming connection, it must be told to listen on a specific port,
like port 80 for HTTP requests. Do this by calling the listen() method instead of the open() method.
The following example is a very simple Web server. It listens on port 80, waiting until it detects an incoming
request. The HTTP header is discarded, and a dummy HTML page is transmitted to the caller.
conn = new Socket;
// listen on por t 80
if conn.listen (80)) {
// wait fore ver for a connection
var incoming;
do in co mi n g = con n . p o l l ();

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w h i l e ( i n co m i n g = = nu l l ) ;
// discard the re quest
rea d ( ) ;
// Reply w ith a HT TP header
incoming .w r ite ln ("HT TP/1.0 200 OK");
incoming .w r ite ln ("Content-Ty p e: text/ht ml");
incoming .w r ite ln();
// Tr ansmit a dummy homepage
i n co m i n g . w r i te l n ( " < h t m l > < b o dy > < h 1 > Ho m e p a g e < / h 1 > < / b o dy > < / h t m l > " ) ;
// done!
incoming .close();
delete incoming;
}

Often, the remote endpoint terminates the connection after transmitting data. Therefore, there is a connected
property that contains true as long as the connection still exists. If the connected property returns false, the
connection is closed automatically.
On errors, the error property of the Socket object contains a short message describing the type of the error.
The Socket object lets you easily implement software that talks to each other via the Internet. You could, for
example, let two Adobe applications exchange documents and data simply by writing and executing JavaScript
programs.

JavaScript Reference
Properties

con n e c te d Boolean Contains true if the connection is still active. Read only.

eof Boolean This property has the value true if the receive buffer is empty. Read only.

er ror String Contains a message describing the last error. Setting this value clears any error mes-
sage.

ho st String Contains the name of the remote computer when a connection is established. If the
connection is shut down or does not exist, the property contains the empty string.
Read only.

timeout Number The timeout in seconds to be applied to read or write operations. Defaults to 10 (ten
seconds).

Methods
[new] Socket ();

Creates a new Socket object.

Returns

Object.
close();

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Terminates the open connection. The return value is true if the connection was closed, false on I/O errors.
Deleting the connection has the same effect. Remember, however, that JavaScript garbage collects the object
at some null time, so the connection may stay open longer than you want to if you do not close it explicitly.

Returns

Boolean
listen (Number por t [, St r ing enco ding]);

Instructs the object to start listening for an incoming connection. The port argument is the TCP/IP port
number where the object should listen on; typical values are 80 for a Web server, 23 for a Telnet server and so
on. The encoding parameter is optional. The call to listen() is mutually exclusive to a call to open(). The result
is true if the connection object successfully started listening, false otherwise.

Parameters

p or t Number The port number to listen on. Valid port numbers are 1 to 65535.

enco ding String The encoding to be used for the connection. Typical values are "ASCII", "binary", or
"UTF-8". This parameter defaults to ASCII.

Returns

Boolean
open (St r ing computer [, St r ing enco ding]);

Open the connection for subsequent read/write operations. The computer name is the name or IP address,
followed by a colon and the port number to connect to. The port number is mandatory. Valid computer names
are, for example, "www.adobe.com:80" or "192.150.14.12:80". The encoding parameter is optional; currently,
it can be one of "ASCII", "binary" or "UTF-8". The call to open() is mutually exclusive to a call to listen().

Parameters

ho st String The name or IP address of the remote computer, followed by a colon and the port
number to connect to. The port number is mandatory. Valid computer names are e.g.
"www.adobe.com:80" or "192.150.14.12:80".

enco ding String The encoding to be used for the connection. Typical values are "ASCII", "binary", or
"UTF-8". This parameter defaults to ASCII.

Returns

Boolean
poll();

Check a listening object for a new incoming connection. If a connection request was detected, the method
returns a new Socket object that wraps the new connection. Use this connection object to communicate with
the remote computer. After use, close the connection and delete the JavaScript object. If no new connection
request was detected, the method returns null.

Returns

a new Socket object or null.

rea d ( [ Nu m b e r co u n t ] ) ;

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Read up to the given number of characters from the connection. Returns a string that contains up to the
number of characters that were supposed to be read. If no count is supplied, the connection attempts to read
as many characters it can get until the remote server closes the connection or a timeout occurs.

Parameters

cou n t Number The number of characters to read. If no count is supplied, the connection attempts to
read as many characters it can get until the remote server closes the connection or a
timeout occurs.

Returns

String
re a d l n ( ) ;

Read one line of text up to the next line feed. Line feeds are recognized as CR, LF, CRLF or LFCR pairs.

Returns

String
w r ite (S t r in g text, … );

Write the given string to the connection. The parameters of this function are concatenated to a single string.
Returns true on success.

Parameters

text String All arguments are concatenated to form the string to be written.

Returns

Boolean
w r i te l n ( S t r i n g tex t , … ) ;

Write the given string to the connection and append a Line Feed character. The parameters of this function
are concatenated to a single string. Returns true on success.

Parameters

text String All arguments are concatenated to form the string to be written.

Returns

Boolean

Chat server sample

The following sample code implements a very simple chat server. A chat client may connect to the chat server,
who is listening on port number 1234. The server responds with a welcome message and waits for one line of
input from the client. The client types some text and transmits it to the server who displays the text and lets
the user at the server computer type a line of text, which the client computer again displays. This goes back
and forth until either the server or the client computer types the word "bye".

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f u n c t i o n ch a t S e r ver ( ) {
var tcp = new Socket;
// listen on por t 1234
w r iteln ("Chat ser ver listening on por t 1234");
if (tcp.listen (1234)) {
for (;;) {
/ / p o l l f o r a n e w con n e c t i o n
v a r con n e c t i o n = tc p. p o l l ( ) ;
i f ( co n n e c t i o n ! = nu l l ) {
w r i te l n ( " Co n n e c t i o n f ro m " + con n e c t i o n . h o s t ) ;
/ / we h ave a n e w con n e c t i o n , s o we l co m e a n d ch a t
// until client ter minates the session
con n e c t i o n . w r i te l n ( " We l com e to a l i t t l e ch a t ! " ) ;
ch a t ( co n n e c t i o n ) ;
con n e c t i o n . w r ite l n ( " * * * G o o d bye * * * " ) ;
con n e c t i o n . c l o s e ( ) ;
d e l e te con n e c t i o n ;
w r i te l n ( " Co n n e c t i o n c l o s e d " ) ;
}
}
}
}

fu n cti o n cha tC l i en t() {

v a r con n e c t i o n = n e w S o c ke t ;
// connect to sample ser ver
if (connection.open ("remote-pc.cor p.adobe.com:1234")) {
// then chat w ith ser ver
ch a t ( co n n e c t i o n ) ;
con n e c t i o n . c l o s e ( ) ;
d e l e te con n e c t i o n ;
}
}

f u n c t i o n ch a t ( c ) {
// select a long timeout
c.timeout=1000;
while (true) {
/ / g e t o n e l i n e a n d e ch o i t
w r i te l n ( c . re a d ( ) ) ;
// stop if the connection is broken
i f ( ! c . co n n e c te d )
break;
// read a line of text
w r i te ("cha t: ");
v a r tex t = rea d l n ( ) ;
if (text == "bye")
// stop conversation if the user entere d "bye"
break;
else
// other w ise t r ansmit to ser ver

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Adobe After Effects Help The Socket Object

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c. w r i te l n (text);
}
}

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Help Encoding Names

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Appendix B: Encoding Names

Supported encoding names
The following list of names is a basic set of encoding names supported by the FileSystem object. Some of the
character encoders are built in, while the operating system is queried for most of the other encoders.
Depending on the language packs installed, some of the encodings may not be available. Names that refer to
the same encoding are listed in one line. Underlines are replaced with dashes before matching an encoding
name.
Note, however, that the FileSystem object cannot process extended Unicode character with values greater than
65535. These characters are left encoded as specified in the UTF-16 standard in as two characters in the range
from 0xD700-0xDFFF.
Built-in encodings are:
U S-A S C I I , A S C I I , I S O646- U S , I S O- 646 . I RV: 1 9 9 1 , I S O - I R- 6 , AN S I - X 3 . 4 -
1968 , C P 367, I B M367, U S , I S O646. 1991 - I RV
U CS - 2, U C S 2, I S O- 10646- U C S - 2
U CS 2L E , U C S - 2L E , I S O- 10646- U C S - 2 L E
U CS 2B E , U C S - 2B E , I S O- 10646- U C S - 2 B E
U CS - 4, U C S 4, I S O- 10646- U C S - 4
U CS 4L E , U C S - 4L E , I S O- 10646- U C S - 4 L E
U CS 4B E , U C S - 4B E , I S O- 10646- U C S - 4 B E
U TF- 8, U TF8, U N I C OD E - 1- 1- U TF- 8, UN I C O D E - 2 - 0 - U T F- 8 , X - U N I C O D E - 2 - 0 - U T F- 8
U TF16, U TF- 16, I S O- 10646- U TF- 16
U TF16L E , U TF- 16L E , I S O- 10646- U TF- 1 6 L E
U TF16B E , U TF- 16B E , I S O- 10646- U TF- 1 6 B E
CP1 252, W I N D OWS - 1252, MS - A N S I
ISO - 8859- 1, I S O- 8859- 1, I S O- 8859- 1: 1 9 8 7 , I S O - I R- 1 0 0 , L AT I N 1
MACI N TOS H , X - MAC - ROMA N
BINA RY

The ASCII encoder raises errors for characters greater than 127, and the BINARY encoder simply converts
between bytes and Unicode characters by using the lower 8 bits. This encoder is convenient for reading and
writing binary data.

Additional encodings
In Windows, all encodings use so-called code pages. These code pages are assigned numeric values. The usual
Western character set that Windows uses is, for example, the code page 1252. Windows code pages may be
selected by prepending the number of the code page with "CP" or "WINDOWS- like "CP1252" for the code
page 1252. The File object has a lot of other encoding names built-in that match predefined code page
numbers. If a code page is not present, the encoding cannot be selected.
On Mac OS, encoders may be selected by name rather than by code page number. The File object queries Mac
OS directly for an encoder. As far as Mac OS character sets are identical with Windows code pages, Mac OS
also knows the Windows code page numbers.

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Help Encoding Names

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Common encoding names

The following encoding names are implemented both on Windows and Mac OS:
U TF- 7, U TF7, U N I C OD E - 1- 1- U TF- 7, X - U N I C O D E - 2 - 0 - U T F- 7
ISO - 8859- 2, I S O- 8859- 2, I S O- 8859- 2: 1 9 8 7 , I S O - I R- 1 0 1 , L AT I N 2
ISO - 8859- 3, I S O- 8859- 3, I S O- 8859- 3: 1 9 8 8 , I S O - I R- 1 0 9 , L AT I N 3
ISO - 8859- 4, I S O- 8859- 4, I S O- 8859- 4: 1 9 8 8 , I S O - I R- 1 1 0 , L AT I N 4 , BALT I C
ISO - 8859- 5, I S O- 8859- 5, I S O- 8859- 5: 1 9 8 8 , I S O - I R- 1 4 4 , C Y R I L L I C
ISO-8859-6,ISO-8859-6,ISO-8859-6:1987,ISO-IR-127,ECMA-114,ASMO-708,ARABIC
ISO - 8859- 7, I S O- 8859- 7, I S O- 8859- 7: 1 9 8 7 , I S O - I R- 1 2 6 , E C M A- 1 1 8 , E LOT- 9 2 8 , G R E E K 8 , G R E E K
ISO - 8859- 8, I S O- 8859- 8, I S O- 8859- 8: 1 9 8 8 , I S O - I R- 1 3 8 , HE B R EW
ISO - 8859- 9, I S O- 8859- 9, I S O- 8859- 9: 1 9 8 9 , I S O - I R- 1 4 8 , L AT I N 5 , T U R K I S H
ISO - 8859- 10, I S O- 8859- 10, I S O- 8859- 1 0 : 1 9 9 2 , I S O - I R- 1 5 7 , L AT I N 6
ISO - 8859- 13, I S O- 8859- 13, I S O- I R- 17 9 , L AT I N 7
ISO - 8859- 14, I S O- 8859- 14, I S O- 8859- 1 4 , I S O - 8 8 5 9 - 1 4 : 1 9 9 8 , I S O - I R- 1 9 9 , L AT I N 8
ISO - 8859- 15, I S O- 8859- 15, I S O- 8859- 1 5 : 1 9 9 8 , I S O - I R- 2 0 3
ISO - 8859- 16, I S O- 885, I S O- 885, MS - E E
CP8 50, W I N D OWS - 850, I B M850
CP8 66, W I N D OWS - 866, I B M866
CP9 32, W I N D OWS - 932, S JI S , S H I FT- J I S , X - S J I S , X - M S - S J I S , M S - S J I S , M S - KAN J I
CP9 36, W I N D OWS - 936, GB K , W I N D OWS - 9 3 6 , G B 2 3 1 2 , G B - 2 3 1 2 - 8 0 , I S O - I R- 5 8 , C HI N E S E
CP9 49, W I N D OWS - 949, U H C , K S C - 56 0 1 , KS - C - 5 6 0 1 - 1 9 8 7 , KS - C - 5 6 0 1 - 1 9 8 9 , I S O - I R- 1 4 9 , KO R E AN
CP9 50, W I N D OWS - 950, B I G5, B I G- 5, B I G - F I V E , B I G F I V E , C N - B I G 5 , X - X - B I G 5
CP1 251, W I N D OWS - 1251, MS - C Y R L
CP1 252, W I N D OWS - 1252, MS - A N S I
CP1 253, W I N D OWS - 1253, MS - GR E E K
CP1 254, W I N D OWS - 1254, MS - TU R K
CP1 255, W I N D OWS - 1255, MS - H E B R
CP1256,WIND OWS-1256,MS-ARAB
CP1 257, W I N D OWS - 1257, W I N BA LTR I M
CP1 258, W I N D OWS - 1258
CP1 361, W I N D OWS - 1361, JOH A B
EU C - J P, E U C J P, X - E U C - J P
EU C - K R , E U C K R , X - E U C - K R
H Z, H Z - GB - 2312
X-MAC - JA PA N E S E
X-MAC - GR E E K
X-MAC - C Y R I L L I C
X-MAC-LATIN
X-MAC-ICELANDIC
X-MAC - TU R K I S H

Additional Windows encoding names

CP4 37, I B M850, W I N D OWS - 437
CP7 09, W I N D OWS - 709, A S MO- 449, B C O N V 4
EBC D I C
KO I- 8R
KO I- 8U
ISO - 2022- JP
ISO - 2022- K R

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Help Encoding Names

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Additional Mac OS encoding names

These names are alias names for encodings that Mac OS might know.
TIS- 620, TI S 620, TI S 620- 0, TI S 620. 252 9 - 1 , T I S 6 2 0 . 2 5 3 3 - 0 , T I S 6 2 0 . 2 5 3 3 - 1 , I S O - I R- 1 6 6
CP8 74, W I N D OWS - 874
JP,JI S - C 6220- 1969- RO, I S O646- J P, I S O - I R- 1 4
JIS-X 0201, J I S X 0201- 1976, X 0201
JIS-X 0208, J I S - X 0208- 1983, JI S - X 0208 - 1 9 9 0 , J I S 0 2 0 8 , X 0 2 0 8 , I S O - I R- 8 7
JIS-X 0212, J I S - X 0212. 1990- 0, J I S - X 02 1 2 - 1 9 9 0 , X 0 2 1 2 , I S O - I R- 1 5 9
CN, GB - 1988- 80, I S O646- C N , I S O- I R- 5 7
ISO - I R- 16, C N - GB - I S OI R 165
KSC- 5601, K S - C - 5601- 1987, K S - C - 560 1 - 1 9 8 9 , I S O - I R- 1 4 9
EU C - C N , E U C C N , GB 2312, C N - GB
E U C - T W, E U C T W, X - E U C - T W

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Help

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Object Properties
(output of dump_objects.jsx from After Effects 6.5)

====================================================================
=======
AlphaMode enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
AlphaMode.IGNORE
AlphaMode.PREMULTIPLIED
AlphaMode.STRAIGHT
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
Application object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
beginSuppressDialogs() no return
beginUndoGroup(string undoName) no return
buildName : string : readOnly
buildNumber : integer : readOnly
endSuppressDialogs(boolean showAlert) no return
endUndoGroup() no return
endWatchFolder() no return
exitAfterLaunchAndEval : boolean : read/write
exitCode : integer : read/write
isProfessionalVersion : boolean : readOnly
isRenderEngine : boolean : readOnly
isUISuppressed : boolean : readOnly
isWatchFolder : boolean : readOnly
language : Language : readOnly
newProject() no return
open([File file]) returns Project
pauseWatchFolder(boolean doPause) no return
project : Project : readOnly
purge(PurgeTarget target) no return
quit() no return
registeredCompany : string : readOnly
registeredName : string : readOnly
serialNumber : string : readOnly
setMemoryUsageLimits(float imageCachePercent,
float maximumMemoryPercent) no return
setSavePreferencesOnQuit(boolean doSave) no return
settings : Settings : readOnly
version : string : readOnly
watchFolder(File file) no return
onError(string errorString,
string severity) no return
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

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Help

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====================================================================
=======
AVLayer object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
(integer propertyIndex) returns
PropertyBase
(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
active : boolean : readOnly
activeAtTime(float atTime) returns boolean
addProperty(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
adjustmentLayer : boolean : read/write
audioActive : boolean : readOnly
audioActiveAtTime(float atTime) returns boolean
audioEnabled : boolean : read/write
blendingMode : BlendingMode : read/write
canAddProperty(string propertyName) returns boolean
canSetCollapseTransformation : boolean : readOnly
canSetEnabled : boolean : readOnly
canSetTimeRemapEnabled : boolean : readOnly
collapseTransformation : boolean : read/write
copyToComp(CompItem intoComp) no return
duplicate() returns AVLayer
effectsActive : boolean : read/write
elided : boolean : readOnly
enabled : boolean : read/write
frameBlending : boolean : read/write
guideLayer : boolean : read/write
hasAudio : boolean : readOnly
hasTrackMatte : boolean : readOnly
hasVideo : boolean : readOnly
height : float : readOnly
inPoint : float : read/write
index : integer : readOnly
isEffect : boolean : readOnly
isMask : boolean : readOnly
isModified : boolean : readOnly
isNameFromSource : boolean : readOnly
isTrackMatte : boolean : readOnly
locked : boolean : read/write
matchName : string : readOnly
motionBlur : boolean : read/write
moveAfter(Layer otherLayer) no return
moveBefore(Layer otherLayer) no return
moveTo(integer index) no return
moveToBeginning() no return
moveToEnd() no return
name : string : read/write
nullLayer : boolean : readOnly

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Help

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numProperties : integer : readOnly

outPoint : float : read/write
parent : Layer : read/write
parentProperty : PropertyGroup : readOnly
preserveTransparency : boolean : read/write
property(integer propertyIndex) returns
PropertyBase
property(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
propertyDepth : integer : readOnly
propertyGroup([integer countUp]) returns
PropertyGroup
propertyType : PropertyType : readOnly
quality : LayerQuality : read/write
remove() no return
selected : boolean : read/write
selectedProperties : Array of PropertyBase: readOnly
setParentWithJump(Layer newParent) no return
shy : boolean : read/write
solo : boolean : read/write
source : AVItem : readOnly
startTime : float : read/write
stretch : float : read/write
threeDLayer : boolean : read/write
time : float : readOnly
timeRemapEnabled : boolean : read/write
trackMatteType : TrackMatteType : read/write
width : float : readOnly
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
BlendingMode enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
BlendingMode.ADD
BlendingMode.ALPHA_ADD
BlendingMode.CLASSIC_COLOR_BURN
BlendingMode.CLASSIC_COLOR_DODGE
BlendingMode.CLASSIC_DIFFERENCE
BlendingMode.COLOR
BlendingMode.COLOR_BURN
BlendingMode.COLOR_DODGE
BlendingMode.DANCING_DISSOLVE
BlendingMode.DARKEN
BlendingMode.DIFFERENCE
BlendingMode.DISSOLVE
BlendingMode.EXCLUSION
BlendingMode.HARD_LIGHT
BlendingMode.HARD_MIX
BlendingMode.HUE

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BlendingMode.LIGHTEN
BlendingMode.LINEAR_BURN
BlendingMode.LINEAR_DODGE
BlendingMode.LINEAR_LIGHT
BlendingMode.LUMINESCENT_PREMUL
BlendingMode.LUMINOSITY
BlendingMode.MULTIPLY
BlendingMode.NORMAL
BlendingMode.OVERLAY
BlendingMode.PIN_LIGHT
BlendingMode.SATURATION
BlendingMode.SCREEN
BlendingMode.SILHOUETE_ALPHA
BlendingMode.SILHOUETTE_LUMA
BlendingMode.SOFT_LIGHT
BlendingMode.STENCIL_ALPHA
BlendingMode.STENCIL_LUMA
BlendingMode.VIVID_LIGHT
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
CloseOptions enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
CloseOptions.DO_NOT_SAVE_CHANGES
CloseOptions.PROMPT_TO_SAVE_CHANGES
CloseOptions.SAVE_CHANGES
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
CompItem object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
activeCamera : Layer : readOnly
bgColor : Array of float : read/write
comment : string : read/write
displayStartTime : float : read/write
draft3d : boolean : read/write
duplicate() returns
CompItem
duration : float : read/write
footageMissing : boolean : readOnly
frameBlending : boolean : read/write
frameDuration : float : read/write
frameRate : float : read/write
hasAudio : boolean : readOnly
hasVideo : boolean : readOnly

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height : integer : read/write

hideShyLayers : boolean : read/write
id : integer : readOnly
layer(integer layerIndex) returns Layer
layer(string layerName) returns Layer
layer(Layer otherLayer, integer relativeIndex) returns Layer
layers : LayerCollection: readOnly
motionBlur : boolean : read/write
name : string : read/write
numLayers : integer : readOnly
parentFolder : FolderItem : readOnly
pixelAspect : float : read/write
preserveNestedFrameRate : boolean : read/write
preserveNestedResolution : boolean : read/write
proxySource : FootageSource : readOnly
remove() no return
resolutionFactor : Array of integer : read/write
selected : boolean : read/write
selectedLayers : Array of Layer : readOnly
selectedProperties : Array of PropertyBase: readOnly
setProxy(File proxyFile) no return
setProxyToNone() no return
setProxyWithPlaceholder(string name,
integer width,
integer height,
float frameRate,
float duration) no return
setProxyWithSequence(File proxyFile,
boolean forceAlphabetical) no return
setProxyWithSolid(ArrayOfFloat color,
string name,
integer width,
integer height,
float pixelAspecRatio) no return
shutterAngle : integer : read/write
shutterPhase : integer : read/write
time : float : read/write
typeName : string : readOnly
useProxy : boolean : read/write
usedIn : Array of CompItem : readOnly
width : integer : read/write
workAreaDuration : float : readOnly
workAreaStart : float : readOnly
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
FieldSeparationType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
FieldSeparationType.LOWER_FIELD_FIRST

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FieldSeparationType.OFF
FieldSeparationType.UPPER_FIELD_FIRST
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
FileSource object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
alphaMode : AlphaMode : read/write
conformFrameRate : float : read/write
displayFrameRate : float : readOnly
fieldSeparationType : FieldSeparationType : readOnly
file : File : readOnly
guessAlphaMode() no return
guessPulldown(PulldownMethod pulldownMethod) no return
hasAlpha : boolean : readOnly
highQualityFieldSeparation : boolean : read/write
invertAlpha : boolean : read/write
isStill : boolean : readOnly
loop : integer : read/write
nativeFrameRate : float : readOnly
premulColor : Array of float : read/write
reload() no return
removePulldown : PulldownPhase : readOnly
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
FolderItem object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
comment : string : read/write
id : integer : readOnly
item(integer itemIndex) returns Item
items : ItemCollection : readOnly
name : string : read/write
numItems : integer : readOnly
parentFolder : FolderItem : readOnly
remove() no return
selected : boolean : read/write
typeName : string : readOnly
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
FootageItem object

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--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
comment : string : read/write
duration : float : readOnly
file : File : readOnly
footageMissing : boolean : readOnly
frameDuration : float : readOnly
frameRate : float : readOnly
hasAudio : boolean : readOnly
hasVideo : boolean : readOnly
height : integer : read/write
id : integer : readOnly
mainSource : FootageSource : readOnly
name : string : read/write
parentFolder : FolderItem : readOnly
pixelAspect : float : read/write
proxySource : FootageSource : readOnly
remove() no return
replace(File proxyFile) no return
replaceWithPlaceholder(string name,
integer width,
integer height,
float frameRate,
float duration) no return
replaceWithSequence(File proxyFile,
boolean forceAlphabetical) no return
replaceWithSolid(ArrayOfFloat color,
string name,
integer width,
integer height,
float pixelAspecRatio) no return
selected : boolean : read/write
setProxy(File proxyFile) no return
setProxyToNone() no return
setProxyWithPlaceholder(string name,
integer width,
integer height,
float frameRate,
float duration) no return
setProxyWithSequence(File proxyFile,
boolean forceAlphabetical) no return
setProxyWithSolid(ArrayOfFloat color,
string name,
integer width,
integer height,
float pixelAspecRatio) no return
time : float : readOnly
typeName : string : readOnly
useProxy : boolean : read/write
usedIn : Array of CompItem : readOnly
width : integer : read/write
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

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====================================================================
=======
ImportAsType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
ImportAsType.COMP
ImportAsType.COMP_CROPPED_LAYERS
ImportAsType.FOOTAGE
ImportAsType.PROJECT
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
ImportOptions object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
new ImportOptions(File fileToImport) returns
ImportOptions
canImportAs(ImportAsType asType) returns boolean
file : File : read/write
forceAlphabetical : boolean : read/write
importAs : ImportAsType : read/write
sequence : boolean : read/write
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
ItemCollection object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
addComp(string name,
integer width,
integer height,
float pixelAspectRatio,
float duration,
float frameRate) returns
CompItem
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
KeyframeEase object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
new KeyframeEase(float speed,

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float influence) returns

KeyframeEase
influence : float : read/write
speed : float : read/write
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
KeyframeInterpolationType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
KeyframeInterpolationType.BEZIER
KeyframeInterpolationType.HOLD
KeyframeInterpolationType.LINEAR
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
Language enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Language.ENGLISH
Language.FRENCH
Language.GERMAN
Language.JAPANESE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
Layer object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
(integer propertyIndex) returns
PropertyBase
(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
active : boolean : readOnly
activeAtTime(float atTime) returns boolean
addProperty(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
canAddProperty(string propertyName) returns boolean
canSetEnabled : boolean : readOnly
copyToComp(CompItem intoComp) no return
duplicate() returns Layer
elided : boolean : readOnly
enabled : boolean : read/write
hasVideo : boolean : readOnly

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inPoint : float : read/write

index : integer : readOnly
isEffect : boolean : readOnly
isMask : boolean : readOnly
isModified : boolean : readOnly
locked : boolean : read/write
matchName : string : readOnly
moveAfter(Layer otherLayer) no return
moveBefore(Layer otherLayer) no return
moveTo(integer index) no return
moveToBeginning() no return
moveToEnd() no return
name : string : read/write
nullLayer : boolean : readOnly
numProperties : integer : readOnly
outPoint : float : read/write
parent : Layer : read/write
parentProperty : PropertyGroup : readOnly
property(integer propertyIndex) returns
PropertyBase
property(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
propertyDepth : integer : readOnly
propertyGroup([integer countUp]) returns
PropertyGroup
propertyType : PropertyType : readOnly
remove() no return
selected : boolean : read/write
selectedProperties : Array of PropertyBase: readOnly
setParentWithJump(Layer newParent) no return
shy : boolean : read/write
solo : boolean : read/write
startTime : float : read/write
stretch : float : read/write
time : float : readOnly
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
LayerCollection object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
add(AVItem theItem,
[float duration]) returns AVLayer
addCamera(string name,
ArrayOfFloat centerPoint) returns Layer
addLight(string name,
ArrayOfFloat centerPoint) returns Layer
addNull([float duration]) returns AVLayer
addSolid(ArrayOfFloat color,
string name,

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integer width,
integer height,
float pixelAspectRatio,
[float duration]) returns AVLayer
addText([TextDocument textDoc]) returns AVLayer
addText(string text) returns AVLayer
byName(string name) returns Layer
precompose(ArrayOfInteger layerIndices,
string name,
[boolean moveAllAttributes]) returns
CompItem
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
LayerQuality enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
LayerQuality.BEST
LayerQuality.DRAFT
LayerQuality.WIREFRAME
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
LogType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
LogType.ERRORS_AND_PER_FRAME_INFO
LogType.ERRORS_AND_SETTINGS
LogType.ERRORS_ONLY
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
MarkerValue object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
new MarkerValue(string comment,
[string chapter],
[string url],
[string frameTarget]) returns
MarkerValue
chapter : string : read/write
comment : string : read/write
frameTarget : string : read/write
url : string : read/write

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--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
MaskMode enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
MaskMode.ADD
MaskMode.DARKEN
MaskMode.DIFFERENCE
MaskMode.INTERSECT
MaskMode.LIGHTEN
MaskMode.NONE
MaskMode.SUBTRACT
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
MaskMotionBlur enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
MaskMotionBlur.OFF
MaskMotionBlur.ON
MaskMotionBlur.SAME_AS_LAYER
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
MaskPropertyGroup object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
(integer propertyIndex) returns
PropertyBase
(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
active : boolean : readOnly
addProperty(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
canAddProperty(string propertyName) returns boolean
canSetEnabled : boolean : readOnly
color : Array of float : read/write
duplicate() returns
MaskPropertyGroup
elided : boolean : readOnly
enabled : boolean : readOnly
inverted : boolean : read/write
isEffect : boolean : readOnly

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isMask : boolean : readOnly

isModified : boolean : readOnly
locked : boolean : read/write
maskMode : MaskMode : read/write
maskMotionBlur : MaskMotionBlur : read/write
matchName : string : readOnly
moveTo(integer index) no return
name : string : read/write
numProperties : integer : readOnly
parentProperty : PropertyGroup : readOnly
property(integer propertyIndex) returns
PropertyBase
property(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
propertyDepth : integer : readOnly
propertyGroup([integer countUp]) returns
PropertyGroup
propertyIndex : integer : readOnly
propertyType : PropertyType : readOnly
remove() no return
rotoBezier : boolean : read/write
selected : boolean : read/write
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
OMCollection object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
add() returns
OutputModule
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
OutputModule object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
applyTemplate(string templateName) no return
file : File : read/write
name : string : readOnly
postRenderAction : PostRenderAction : read/write
remove() no return
saveAsTemplate(string templateName) no return
templates : Array of string: readOnly
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

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====================================================================
=======
PlaceholderSource object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
alphaMode : AlphaMode : read/write
conformFrameRate : float : read/write
displayFrameRate : float : readOnly
fieldSeparationType : FieldSeparationType : read/write
guessAlphaMode() no return
guessPulldown(PulldownMethod pulldownMethod) no return
hasAlpha : boolean : readOnly
highQualityFieldSeparation : boolean : read/write
invertAlpha : boolean : read/write
isStill : boolean : readOnly
loop : integer : read/write
nativeFrameRate : float : readOnly
premulColor : Array of float : read/write
removePulldown : PulldownPhase : read/write
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
PostRenderAction enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
PostRenderAction.IMPORT
PostRenderAction.IMPORT_AND_REPLACE_USAGE
PostRenderAction.NONE
PostRenderAction.SET_PROXY
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
Project object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
activeItem : Item : readOnly
bitsPerChannel : integer : read/write
close(CloseOptions closeOptions) returns boolean
consolidateFootage() returns integer
file : File : readOnly
importFile(ImportOptions importOptions) returns Item
importFileWithDialog() returns
ArrayOfItem
importPlaceholder(string itemName,
integer itemWidth,
integer itemHeight,
float frameRate,

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float duration) returns

FootageItem
item(integer itemIndex) returns Item
items : ItemCollection : readOnly
numItems : integer : readOnly
reduceProject(ArrayOfItem itemsToPreserve) returns integer
removeUnusedFootage() returns integer
renderQueue : RenderQueue : readOnly
rootFolder : FolderItem : readOnly
save(File toFile) returns boolean
saveWithDialog() returns boolean
selection : Array of Item : readOnly
showWindow(boolean doShow) no return
timecodeBaseType : TimecodeBaseType : read/write
timecodeDisplayType : TimecodeDisplayType : read/write
timecodeFilmType : TimecodeFilmType : read/write
timecodeNTSCDropFrame : boolean : read/write
transparencyGridThumbnails : boolean : read/write
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
Property object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
active : boolean : readOnly
addKey(float atTime) returns integer
canSetEnabled : boolean : readOnly
canVaryOverTime : boolean : readOnly
duplicate() returns
Property
elided : boolean : readOnly
enabled : boolean : readOnly
expression : string : read/write
expressionEnabled : boolean : read/write
expressionError : string : readOnly
hasMax : boolean : readOnly
hasMin : boolean : readOnly
isEffect : boolean : readOnly
isInterpolationTypeValid(
KeyframeInterpolationType type) returns boolean
isMask : boolean : readOnly
isModified : boolean : readOnly
isSpatial : boolean : readOnly
isTimeVarying : boolean : readOnly
keyInInterpolationType(integer keyIndex) returns
KeyframeInterpolationType
keyInSpatialTangent(integer keyIndex) returns
ArrayOfFloat
keyInTemporalEase(integer keyIndex) returns
ArrayOfKeyframeEase

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keyOutInterpolationType(integer keyIndex) returns

KeyframeInterpolationType
keyOutSpatialTangent(integer keyIndex) returns
ArrayOfFloat
keyOutTemporalEase(integer keyIndex) returns
ArrayOfKeyframeEase
keyRoving(integer keyIndex) returns boolean
keySelected(integer keyIndex) returns boolean
keySpatialAutoBezier(integer keyIndex) returns boolean
keySpatialContinuous(integer keyIndex) returns boolean
keyTemporalAutoBezier(integer keyIndex) returns boolean
keyTemporalContinuous(integer keyIndex) returns boolean
keyTime(integer keyIndex) returns float
keyTime(string markerName) returns float
keyValue(integer keyIndex) returns type-
stored-in-property
keyValue(string markerName) returns type-
stored-in-property
matchName : string : readOnly
moveTo(integer index) no return
name : string : readOnly
nearestKeyIndex(float atTime) returns integer
numKeys : integer : readOnly
parentProperty : PropertyGroup : readOnly
propertyDepth : integer : readOnly
propertyGroup([integer countUp]) returns
PropertyGroup
propertyType : PropertyType : readOnly
propertyValueType : PropertyValueType : readOnly
remove() no return
removeKey(integer keyIndex) no return
selected : boolean : read/write
selectedKeys : Array of integer : readOnly
setInterpolationTypeAtKey(integer keyIndex,
KeyframeInterpolationType inType,
[KeyframeInterpolationType outType]) no return
setRovingAtKey(integer keyIndex,
boolean isRoving) no return
setSelectedAtKey(integer keyIndex,
boolean isSelected) no return
setSpatialAutoBezierAtKey(integer keyIndex,
boolean isAutoBezier) no return
setSpatialContinuousAtKey(integer keyIndex,
boolean isContinuous) no return
setSpatialTangentsAtKey(integer keyIndex,
ArrayOfFloat inTangent,
[ArrayOfFloat outTangent]) no return
setTemporalAutoBezierAtKey(integer keyIndex,
boolean isAutoBezier) no return
setTemporalContinuousAtKey(integer keyIndex,
boolean isContinuous) no return
setTemporalEaseAtKey(integer keyIndex,
ArrayOfKeyframeEase inEase,

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[ArrayOfKeyframeEase outEase]) no return

setValue(type-stored-in-property newValue) no return
setValueAtKey(integer keyIndex,
type-stored-in-property newValue) no return
setValueAtTime(float atTime,
type-stored-in-property newValue) no return
setValuesAtTimes(ArrayOfFloat atTimes,
ArrayOf-type-stored-in-property newValues) no return
unitsText : string : readOnly
value : type-stored-in-property:
readOnly
valueAtTime(float atTime,
bool preExpression) returns type-
stored-in-property
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
PropertyGroup object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
(integer propertyIndex) returns
PropertyBase
(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
active : boolean : readOnly
addProperty(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
canAddProperty(string propertyName) returns boolean
canSetEnabled : boolean : readOnly
duplicate() returns
PropertyGroup
elided : boolean : readOnly
enabled : boolean : readOnly
isEffect : boolean : readOnly
isMask : boolean : readOnly
isModified : boolean : readOnly
matchName : string : readOnly
moveTo(integer index) no return
name : string : readOnly
numProperties : integer : readOnly
parentProperty : PropertyGroup : readOnly
property(integer propertyIndex) returns
PropertyBase
property(string propertyName) returns
PropertyBase
propertyDepth : integer : readOnly
propertyGroup([integer countUp]) returns
PropertyGroup
propertyIndex : integer : readOnly
propertyType : PropertyType : readOnly

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remove() no return
selected : boolean : readOnly
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
PropertyType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
PropertyType.INDEXED_GROUP
PropertyType.NAMED_GROUP
PropertyType.PROPERTY
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
PropertyValueType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
PropertyValueType.COLOR
PropertyValueType.CUSTOM_VALUE
PropertyValueType.LAYER_INDEX
PropertyValueType.MARKER
PropertyValueType.MASK_INDEX
PropertyValueType.NO_VALUE
PropertyValueType.OneD
PropertyValueType.SHAPE
PropertyValueType.TEXT_DOCUMENT
PropertyValueType.ThreeD
PropertyValueType.ThreeD_SPATIAL
PropertyValueType.TwoD
PropertyValueType.TwoD_SPATIAL
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
PulldownPhase enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
PulldownPhase.OFF
PulldownPhase.SSWWW
PulldownPhase.SWWWS
PulldownPhase.SWWWW_24P_ADVANCE
PulldownPhase.WSSWW
PulldownPhase.WSWWW_24P_ADVANCE
PulldownPhase.WWSSW
PulldownPhase.WWSWW_24P_ADVANCE

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PulldownPhase.WWWSS
PulldownPhase.WWWSW_24P_ADVANCE
PulldownPhase.WWWWS_24P_ADVANCE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
PulldownMethod enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
PulldownMethod.ADVANCE_24P
PulldownMethod.PULLDOWN_3_2
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
PurgeTarget enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
PurgeTarget.ALL_CACHES
PurgeTarget.IMAGE_CACHES
PurgeTarget.SNAPSHOT_CACHES
PurgeTarget.UNDO_CACHES
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
RenderQueue object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
item(integer itemIndex) returns
RenderQueueItem
items : RQItemCollection : readOnly
numItems : integer : readOnly
pauseRendering(boolean doPause) no return
render() no return
rendering : boolean : readOnly
showWindow(boolean doShow) no return
stopRendering() no return
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
RenderQueueItem object

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--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
applyTemplate(string templateName) no return
comp : CompItem : readOnly
elapsedSeconds : float : readOnly
logType : LogType : read/write
numOutputModules : integer : readOnly
outputModule(integer outputModuleIndex) returns
OutputModule
outputModules : OMCollection : readOnly
remove() no return
render : boolean : read/write
saveAsTemplate(string templateName) no return
skipFrames : integer : read/write
startTime : float : readOnly
status : RQItemStatus : readOnly
templates : Array of string: readOnly
timeSpanDuration : float : read/write
timeSpanStart : float : read/write
onStatusChanged() no return
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
RQItemCollection object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
add(CompItem compToAdd) returns
RenderQueueItem
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
RQItemStatus enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
RQItemStatus.DONE
RQItemStatus.ERR_STOPPED
RQItemStatus.NEEDS_OUTPUT
RQItemStatus.QUEUED
RQItemStatus.RENDERING
RQItemStatus.UNQUEUED
RQItemStatus.USER_STOPPED
RQItemStatus.WILL_CONTINUE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

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====================================================================
=======
Settings object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
getSetting(string sectionName,
string sectionKey) returns string
haveSetting(string sectionName,
string sectionKey) returns boolean
saveSetting(string sectionName,
string sectionKey,
string newValue) no return
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
Shape object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
new Shape() returns Shape
closed : boolean : read/write
inTangents : Array of float[2] : read/write
outTangents : Array of float[2] : read/write
vertices : Array of float[2] : read/write
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
SolidSource object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
alphaMode : AlphaMode : read/write
color : Array of float : read/write
conformFrameRate : float : readOnly
displayFrameRate : float : readOnly
fieldSeparationType : FieldSeparationType : readOnly
guessAlphaMode() no return
guessPulldown(PulldownMethod pulldownMethod) no return
hasAlpha : boolean : readOnly
highQualityFieldSeparation : boolean : readOnly
invertAlpha : boolean : read/write
isStill : boolean : readOnly
loop : integer : readOnly
nativeFrameRate : float : readOnly
premulColor : Array of float : read/write
removePulldown : PulldownPhase : readOnly
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

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====================================================================
=======
System object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
machineName : string : readOnly
osName : string : readOnly
osVersion : string : readOnly
userName : string : readOnly
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
TextDocument object
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
new TextDocument(string text) returns
TextDocument
text : string : read/write
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
TimecodeBaseType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
TimecodeBaseType.FPS100
TimecodeBaseType.FPS24
TimecodeBaseType.FPS25
TimecodeBaseType.FPS30
TimecodeBaseType.FPS48
TimecodeBaseType.FPS50
TimecodeBaseType.FPS60
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
TimecodeDisplayType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
TimecodeDisplayType.FEET_AND_FRAMES
TimecodeDisplayType.FRAMES
TimecodeDisplayType.TIMECODE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

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====================================================================
=======
TimecodeFilmType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
TimecodeFilmType.MM16
TimecodeFilmType.MM35
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

====================================================================
=======
TrackMatteType enum
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
TrackMatteType.ALPHA
TrackMatteType.ALPHA_INVERTED
TrackMatteType.LUMA
TrackMatteType.LUMA_INVERTED
TrackMatteType.NO_TRACK_MATTE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

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