I have added a script to the tutorial on volumetric lighting without plug-ins. The script mimics the procedure described, creating and rigging effects to simulate volumetric cones of light for the selected Light Layers. Usage: Download VolumeLight.jsx in to After Effects' scripts folder. Create one ...

I've never been able to get borderStyle to work, either. Maybe in AE7?

I presume icon buttons are buttons that can contain an image, rather than (or in addition to) text. I imagine that system.callSystem() takes a string argument that is a command to be executed by the system's command interpreter, as if it were typed at the system shell. Previously, as Impudent allude...

The script UI API doesn't expose any such listbox functionality as of AE 6.5. However, it seems that this was added for AE 7.

Take a look at UIChooser.jsx (http://www.aenhancers.com/viewtopic.php?t=128) for my approach to solving this problem in 6.5.

Oh my, list controls, scheduleTask()... my mouth is watering.

Aside from the ESTK and auto-rewriting named references in expressions, are there any other new scripting (or expression) features that may prompt me to upgrade now?

It looks like the choice is less of an issue now. AE7 has an integrated script editing environment. The syntax highlighting seems rather basic, though.

It's been a while since I've looked at it, but I think you could use an expression or script in conjunction with the TextInfo plug-in I wrote (see Determining Width and Height of a Text Layer ). Despite its name, it should provide information (as wireable effect properties) about the visible portion...

I've enjoyed using TextPad on Windows and Emacs under Linux for years. However, I've been meaning to try jEdit for some time. The next time I have a lull in my work, I'll give it a go. Does jEdit have an IntelliSense-like autocompletion feature, as in Visual Studio? Even if it doesn't reflect the st...

PropertyValueType is the object that contains the constants where as propertyValueType is the property of Property objects. I'm not certain these notions are available to expressions, likely just scripts. However, a switch statement is often useful for these sort of comparisons as in: var retval; sw...

The following expression will count an increasing monotonic sequence: var nFrames = 30; var startValue = 0; timeToFrames() / nFrames + startValue; The variables are for your convenience. startValue is the number from which to start counting. nFrames is the number of frames for which each value will ...

The AE preferences file should contain all of the items you want (i.e. Output Modules, Workspaces). There may be some items specific to a particular installation that may cause difficulties. In my experience, however, copying the preferences file between machines generally works. An AE script could ...

I am curious if anyone has had problems running these scripts on a Mac. Specifically, I have had a report that, on a Mac, at most 64KB of a file has been transfered. On a PC, the entire file is transferred. Has anyone else run across this problem or have you been successful in sending more than 64KB...

The script below generates a mask shape for the selected layer that may be a regular (or stretched) polygon or a star shape. Parameters include number of sides or points, rotation, and rounding. This script is dependent upon: UILayout_13.jsx Usage: Simply copy the script in to After Effects' scripts...

Alex,
Have you had any luck getting PrecompToDuration to run? I've been looking through UILayout and haven't come across anything that could cause the problem.
Peter

I had started working on a script to assist in tracking mask vertices. I ended up taking a different approach for the project as it is difficult to manage and associate all such data through scripting. One particular drawback is the inability to access mask vertices through expressions. The suggeste...