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SCRIPTING GUIDE

Adobe®Creative Suite 3 After Effects®Scripting Guide

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Overview

The After Effects Scripting Guide demonstrates how to take procedural control of your After Effects projects via

scripting. This feature set is available in Adobe® After Effects® CS3 Professional 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 are new to scripting

After Effects is a visual tool with a graphical user interface; you are used to interacting with it via interface

elements such as menus, panels, 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. Scripting can be a shortcut around tedious tasks that would otherwise involve

repetitious pointing and clicking. 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). See “Examples” on page 173 for examples

of what scripts can do.

If you are new to scripting, see Adobe Introduction to Scripting, which introduces basic scripting concepts and

describes different scripting languages that are available, including JavaScript. JavaScript and other scripting

languages are object-oriented, and this book also describes the basic concepts of object-oriented programming

and document object models.

Even if you have no inclination to learn the JavaScript language, you can still harness the power of scripting via

third-party solutions such as Rush Network 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.adobeforums.com.

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.

Overview Editingscripts

The heart of a scriptable application is the object model. 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. This

guide describes the JavaScript objects that have been defined for After Effects projects.

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.

The After Effects object model is composed of a project, 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.

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. 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 or the Terminal command line in Mac OS and command-line

scripts on Windows systems) and a background in how to work with JavaScript.

NOTE: 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, mask, or

transform within an individual layer).

Expressions

Although both After Effects expressions and the After Effects scripting interface use JavaScript and can access

individual layer properties, they are entirely distinct entities. Expressions cannot access information from

scripts (such as variables and functions), although a script can be written to create or edit an expression.

Because both expressions and scripting use JavaScript, familiarity with either one is helpful in understanding

the other.

Motion math

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 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.

Editing scripts

After Effects includes a JavaScript editor. To start it, choose File > Scripts > Open Script Editor. This script

editor and debugger, called the ExtendScript Toolkit, provides a convenient interface for creating and testing

your own scripts.

You can use any text editor to create, edit, and save scripts, but it is recommended that you choose an appli-

cation 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]).

Overview Activating full scripting features

The ExtendScript JSX format

After Effects supports ExtendScript, Adobe’s extended implementation of JavaScript. ExtendScript is used by

all Adobe applications that provide a scripting interface. In addition to implementing the JavaScript language

according to the ECMA 262 and E4X ECMA 357 specifications, ExtendScript provides certain additional

features and utilities:

ExtendScript Toolkit: For help in developing, debugging, and testing scripts, ExtendScript provides an inter-

active development and testing environment, the ExtendScript Toolkit. It also defines a global debugging

object, the dollar ($) object, and a reporting utility for ExtendScript elements, the ExtendScript Reflection

interface.

File and Folder Objects: Because path name syntax is very different in different operating systems, Adobe

ExtendScript defines File and Folder objects to provide platform-independent access to the underlying file

system.

ScriptUI User Interface Module: The ExtendScript ScriptUI module provides the ability to create and interact

with user interface elements. ScriptUI provides an object model for windows and UI control elements that

you can use to create a user interface for your scripts.

Tools and Utilities: In addition, ExtendScript provides tools and features such as a localization utility for

providing user-interface string values in different languages and global functions for displaying short

messages in dialog boxes (alert, confirm, and prompt).

Interapplication Communication: ExtendScript provides a common scripting environment for all Adobe

applications, and allows interapplication communication through scripts.

External Communication: ExtendScript provides a Socket object that allows you to communicate with remote

systems from your After Effects scripts.

These features and more are described in detail in the JavaScript Tools Guide, which is available with After

Effects, and from partners.adobe.com.

ExtendScript script files are distinguished by the .jsx file extension, a variation on the standard .js extension

used with standard JavaScript files. After Effects scripts must include the .jsx file extension in order to be

properly recognized by the application. Any UTF-8 encoded text file with the .jsx extension is recognized as

an ExtendScript file.

You can use the ExtendScript Toolkit to export a binary version of an ExtendScript file, which has the

extension .jsxbin. Such a binary file may not be usable with all of the scripting integration features in After

Effects.

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.” This allows you to:

•Write to files

•Create folders and set the current folder

•Create a socket connection (for details of this JavaScript utility, see the JavaScript Tools Guide)

Overview Accessing and writing scripts

Adobe supplies a full-featured JavaScript debugger, called the ExtendScript Toolkit. The Toolkit is disabled by

default so that casual users do not encounter it. When editing or writing scripts, the Toolkit can help you

diagnose script problems more quickly. To activate the Toolkit on the local computer when a script error is

encountered, choose Preferences > General, and select Enable JavaScript Debugger. For detailed information

on the ExtendScript Toolkit, see the JavaScript Tools Guide.

Note that the Toolkit operates only when executing a script, not with expressions, even though expressions

also make use of JavaScript.

Accessing and writing scripts

To create and edit scripts for After Effects, you can use the ExtendScript Toolkit, or 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 application folder.

There is no built-in method for recording a series of actions in After Effects into a script, as you can with

Adobe Photoshop® actions. Scripts are created outside After Effects and then executed within it, or externally

via a command-line, the ExtendScript Toolkit, or third-party render management software.

The Scripts menu and Scripts folder

After Effects scripts reside in the Scripts folder, within the same folder as your After Effects application file.

Only scripts contained in this Scripts folder when the application starts 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 > Scripts > Run Script File, and choose

the script in the Open dialog box. Alternatively, you can send After Effects a script from the ExtendScript

Toolkit, 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, in alphabetical order, 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.

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 subsequent scripts during a given After Effects session. Once the application is quit, all such

globally defined variables and functions are cleared. Be sure to give variables in scripts unique names, so that

a script does not inadvertently reassign global variables intended to persist throughout a session.

Attributes can also be added to existing objects such as the Application object (see “Application object” on

page 19) 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.

Overview Sending a script to After Effects from the system

The Window menu and ScriptUI Panels folder

Within the Scripts folder, you can create another folder named ScriptUI Panels. Use this folder for scripts

whose user interface appears in a native panel (as opposed to a floating palette, dialog box, or window). The

advantage of a panel is that it can be docked with other panels, such as Project, Composition, and Time

Controls, and appear more integrated into the application. Like native panels, ScriptUI Panels scripts are

accessed from the Window menu.

Instead of creating a Window object an adding controls to it, a ScriptUI Panels script uses the "this" object that

represents the panel. For example, the following code adds a button to a panel:

var myPanel = this;

myPanel.add("button", [10, 10, 100, 30], "Tool #1");

myPanel.show();

If your script creates its user interface in a function, you cannot use "this" as it will refer to the function itself,

not the panel. In this case, you should pass the "this" object as an argument to your function. For example:

function createUI(thisObj) {

var myPanel = thisObj;

myPanel.add("button", [10, 10, 100, 30], "Tool #1");

return myPanel;

}

var myToolsPanel = createUI(this);

myToolsPanel.show();

You cannot use the File > Scripts > Run Script File menu command to run a script that refers to "this". To

make your script work with either a Window object (accessible from the File > Scripts menu) or a native panel

(accessible from the Window menu), check whether "this" is a Panel object. For example:

function createUI(thisObj) {

var myPanel = (thisObj instanceof Panel) ? thisObj : new Window("palette", "My Tools",

[100, 100, 300, 300]);

myPanel.add("button", [10, 10, 100, 30], "Tool #1");

return myPanel;

}

var myToolsPanel = createUI(this);

myToolsPanel.show();

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, so that the application automatically runs the script.

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

Following are examples of Windows command-line entries that will send an After Effects script to the appli-

cation without using the After Effects user interface to execute the script.

In the first example, you copy and paste your After Effects script directly on the command line and then run

it. The script text appears in quotation marks following the afterfx.exe -s command:

afterfx.exe -s "alert("You just sent an alert to After Effects")"

Overview Testing and troubleshooting

Alternatively, you can specify the location of the JSX file to be executed. For example:

afterfx.exe -r c:\myDocuments\Scripts\yourAEScriptHere.jsx

afterfx.exe -r "c:\myDocuments\Scripts\Script Name with Spaces.jsx"

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

Following are three examples of AppleScript scripts 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 Script Editor and then run it. The script

text appears within quotation marks following the DoScript command, so internal quotes in the script must

be escaped using the backslash escape character, as follows:

tell application "Adobe After Effects CS3"

DoScript "alert(\"You just sent an alert to After Effects\")"

end tell

Alternatively, you could display a dialog box asking for the location of the JSX file to be executed, as follows:

set theFile to choose file

tell application "Adobe After Effects CS3"

DoScript theFile

end tell

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:

This script sends the current selection to After Effects as a script.

tell application "TextEdit"

set the_script to selection as text

end tell

tell application "Adobe After Effects CS3"

activate

DoScript the_script

end tell

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.

Overview More resources to learn scripting

Additionally, After Effects includes a JavaScript debugger. For more information on activating and using the

debugger, see the ExtendScript Toolkit documentation in the JavaScript Tools Guide.

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, 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.

JavaScript variables

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 subsequent scripts during a given After Effects session. Once the application is quit, all such

globally defined variables and functions are cleared. Scripters should be careful about giving variables in

scripts unique names, so that a script does not inadvertently reassign global variables intended to persist

throughout a session.

JavaScript 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.

continue Standard JavaScript; cease execution of the current loop iteration.

case Label used in a switch statement.

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

do...while Standard JavaScript construct. Similar to the while loop, except loop condition evaluation occurs

at the end of the loop.

false Literal representing the boolean false value.

for Standard JavaScript loop construct.

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

Overview More resources to learn scripting

JavaScript 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

function Used to define a function.

if/if...else Standard JavaScript conditional constructs.

new Standard JavaScript constructor statement.

null Assigned to a variable, array element, or object property to indicate that it does not contain a legal

value.

return Standard JavaScript way of returning a value from a function or exiting a function.

switch Standard JavaScript way of evaluating a JavaScript expression and attempting to match the expres-

sion’s value to a case label.

this Standard JavaScript method of indicating the current object.

true Literal representing the boolean true value.

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 do...while loop, except loop condition evaluation

occurs at the beginning of the loop.

with Standard JavaScript construct used to specify an object to use in subsequent statements.

Operators Description

new Allocate object.

delete Deallocate object.

typeof 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.

Keyword/Statement Description

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