aescripts + aeplugins

Will Frazier

what is the .manifest file?  I've never seen that before, and the documentation doesn't seem to reference it at all.

Theodoros Tziatzios

Hello Will,

The manifest file is a simple Json file, needed only during the installation by the Aescripts Manager Application which describes the contents of the .zip archive, the type of the tool, the application that the tool is for and which version is compatible with.

You can view its contents with any text editor. If you don't use the Aescripts Manager Application then the manifest file is not needed.

Cheers

christian murray

Does the animation in the HUD/EQ's auto sync and respond to the audio? 

Theodoros Tziatzios

Hello Christian,

No, there isn't any 'auto-sync to audio' feature. At least, not for now.

Here is how you can set-up a ruler pointer to respond to audio in 4 easy steps:

• Create any ruler and in the effect control panel, enable the pointer (in the "Pointer Settings")
• Also enable the "Secondary Color" in the "Division Colors" and finally check the "Link to Pointer Completion%".
• Place any audio track on the timeline and with the audio track selected go to the menu Animation -> Keyframe Assistant -> Convert Audio To Keyframes
• This will create a new layer called Audio Amplitude. Open its properties on the timeline and with the pick-whip, connect the "Completion" effect control of easyRulers to any of the audio channels. You're all set.
  
  

Here is a screenshot of the pick-whip linking:

The pick-whip linking actually creates an expression in the "Completion" effect control. If you open it up in the timeline you will see something like this:
thisComp.layer("Audio Amplitude").effect("Right Channel")("Slider")

If you preview your comp and see that the amplitude is too low (the pointer movement doesn't cover the whole length of the ruler, you can try changing the expression and multiplying by *2, like this:

thisComp.layer("Audio Amplitude").effect("Right Channel")("Slider") * 2

Hope this helps.

Koray Birand

Thank you for such a an amazing time save. I am trying to make a simple history timeline animation.

Lets say from 1920 to 2020.. I have successfully generated my timeline without a glitch.

I want to keep the Pointer in the middlee of my composition and roll the timeline. Is there a way to do it easily or

do I have to hard code the pointer.

Theodoros Tziatzios

Hello Koray,

That's a brilliant idea!

Unfortunately, the only way to achieve the effect you are looking for is to have a position keyframe along with a keyframe in the "Pointer Completion %" (probably the way you have done it).

1. You create a position keyframe for the easyRulers shape layer
2. Move the easyRulers shape layer in the center of the screen (starting "year")
   
3. Create a keyframe for the "Pointer Completion %" and adjust the completion value so that the pointer is also in the center of the screen.
4. Move forward in your timeline 3-4 seconds.
   
5. Move the easyRulers shape layer so that the destination "year" is in the center of the screen (a second position keyframe is created automatically)
6. Create a second keyframe for the "Pointer Completion %" and adjust the completion value so that the pointer is also under the destination "year" (and also in the middle of the screen)

I find your request quite interesting and I have noted it down for the next update.
I will probably add a checkbox in the "Pointer Settings" of easyRulers effect controls in the flavor of "Keep Pointer Position Fixed". This would combine the shape's position, the Gap value and "pointer completion %" so as to give the impression that the pointer is always in a fixed position.

Cheers!

Koray Birand

Theodoros Tziatzios said:

Hello Koray,

That's a brilliant idea!

Unfortunately, the only way to achieve the effect you are looking for is to have a position keyframe along with a keyframe in the "Pointer Completion %" (probably the way you have done it).

1. You create a position keyframe for the easyRulers shape layer
2. Move the easyRulers shape layer in the center of the screen (starting "year")
   
3. Create a keyframe for the "Pointer Completion %" and adjust the completion value so that the pointer is also in the center of the screen.
4. Move forward in your timeline 3-4 seconds.
   
5. Move the easyRulers shape layer so that the destination "year" is in the center of the screen (a second position keyframe is created automatically)
6. Create a second keyframe for the "Pointer Completion %" and adjust the completion value so that the pointer is also under the destination "year" (and also in the middle of the screen)

I find your request quite interesting and I have noted it down for the next update.
I will probably add a checkbox in the "Pointer Settings" of easyRulers effect controls in the flavor of "Keep Pointer Position Fixed". This would combine the shape's position, the Gap value and "pointer completion %" so as to give the impression that the pointer is always in a fixed position.

Cheers!

Thats What i did but it is very difficult to center the years and the completion.

I am going to try to write an expression to get the whole width of the subject and convert it to percentage and bing the percentage to completion.

Second suggestion is to have a option to precomp all the text and shape layers and have the controllers in the precomp. It gets messy when you have a lot of layers.

Theodoros Tziatzios

Here is a fast and dirty solution:

After you create the ruler, copy the following expression in the position of the easyRulers Shape Layer:

var lines = 99;

var total_length = (lines-1) * effect("easyRulers")("Gap");

[width/2 - (total_length * effect("easyRulers")("Completion")/100), value[1]];

IMPORTANT! Replace the number "99" in the first row with the number of lines your ruler actually has.

This will place you ruler in the center of your comp (you can still move it up or down).
You can now play around with the "Pointer Completion %" and the "Gap" effect controls.
The pointer should remain in the center of the comp!

Cheers!

Kenneth Shaw

Hi,

I have to make an animated timeline to move between different dates over 5 months.

I was using the (g) /12 +1/1 (time/clock) preset.

Is there any way I can change the 12 small marks bracketed by larger marks to 30 or 15?

I know some months are 31 days long but I can fake that and work with 30.

Thanks,

-Ken

Theodoros Tziatzios

Hello Kenneth,

I see what the problem is.

For now, the only dirty solution I can think of, is to use the (d) preset (/10) and use the mask tool to mask-out the excess lines between every 30 lines. Not the most elegant one, but I think it will do for now.

In the attached image I manually selected the 10,20,40,50 texts and changed the font size from the Character Panel. You can see the two masks I used to mask-out the excess lines for the 10,20,40,50 marks.

Hope this solution can effectively be applied to your project.

Your problem raises a nice suggestion, though.

I've noted down to add 2 more presets in the next update (a /30 and a /31 preset) and maybe a full yearly preset (/365).

Cheers

Theodoros

Kenneth Shaw

Thanks so much Theodoros!

A timeline aspect to EasyRulers would be incredibly helpful.

I am doing some infographic work for documentaries and stretching or contracting timelines will be a great storytelling tool.

Best,

-Ken

Simon King

I currently have my numbers with both a scale and distance effect applied. Is there a way to also get the height of the divisions to expand under the pointer as well?

Theodoros Tziatzios

Hello Simon,

Unfortunately, there is no built-in feature to individually change the height of the divisions.

If you are comfortable with expressions you can do the following using an adjustment layer with a Bulge effect:

1. Create your easyRuler.
2. Create an Adjustment Layer and apply an Effect > Distort > Bulge Effect.
   Make sure to zero-out the "Bulge Center" parameter [ 0, 0 ] in the Effect Controls Panel. (this is important)
   
3. Put the Adjustment Layer just above the easyRuler shape layer
   
4. Copy the expression below and paste it on the "Bulge Center" parameter:
   
   easyRuler_layer = thisComp.layer("easyRuler 1");
   pointer = easyRuler_layer.toComp(thisComp.layer("easyRuler 1").content("Ruler").content("pointer").transform.position);
   value + fromComp(pointer);
   
   (this expression connects the "Bulge Center" to the pointer of easyRulers layer, converting the layer space coordinates to comp space coordinates)
   
   
5. All done. Now the bulge center is connected to the easyRuler Pointer.
   

You can of course adjust the look of the bulge effect and even adjust the bulge center.

Here is a screenshot for reference:


Hope this helps.

Nikolaus Schwarten

Jassou Kirios Tziatzios. Awesome Script.
Yu have so many cool examples on your page. Yet when not using rulers often, it is hard to get all the settings right.
A great idea would be to find a way to implement presets and provide us with all the great presets of your examples - that would be a great starter for those who just have to make a ruler here and there.
Efcharisto poli!
Nik

Theodoros Tziatzios

Geia sou Nik,

Thank you for your kind comment.

I understand what you mean. The script is so powerful and has so many options that it might be a bit overwhelming, when you just want to create a simple ruler, fast.

I have incorporated a presets functions on one of my other scripts (LoadUP!) and it went very well. I think a similar thing can be added to easyRulers 2 as well.

Noted it down for future releases.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Me ektimisi,

Theodoros

Nick Natteau

I tried installing Easy Rulers 2 where it tells me to, but I keep getting this message:

"The easyRulers.plugin file could

not be detected in your After

Effects Plug-ins folder. Please,

copy the easyRulers.plugin file

(that is included in the .ZIP file

you've downloaded), into your

After Effects Plug-ins directory

and then restart After Effects."

I did that. But the instructions aren't clear:

Copy the file easyRulers.aex(onWindows)or easyRulers.plugin (onmacOs) into the folder: ".SupportFiles/Plugins"

Please tell me where I can find "...SupportFiles/Plugins" only Adobe Illustrator has that folder name. The path isn't clear. Thank you in advance. 

Theodoros Tziatzios

Hello Nick,

Sorry about that.

From the type of message I figure that you are on a mac.

You should put the easyRulers.plugin file inside the highlighted Plug-ins folder and then restart After Effects:

Cheers!

Nick Natteau

Thanks very much for your help Theodoros. I'm opening a support ticket, sorry to post my issue here on this page. 

eric ramirez

I'm having the same issue as Nick Natteau, 

"The easyRulers.plugin file could

not be detected in your After

Effects Plug-ins folder. Please,

copy the easyRulers.plugin file

(that is included in the .ZIP file

you've downloaded), into your

After Effects Plug-ins directory

and then restart After Effects."

I've tried using the aescripts installer app and manually installing with no success. The easyRulers panel does open up in AE however I doesn't create the ruler after I select the options and click on create. 

Running most up to date AE version on a 2022 Macbook Pro. 

Theodoros Tziatzios

New version just landed!

easyRulers v2.20 brings mostly user requests, lots of fixes and increased compatibility.

optimised: support for Apple Silicon
optimised: multithreaded-flag added for AE2022
optimised: better handling of mistyped digits/characters on input fields
optimised: improved support and better error messaging for online activation

fixed: the grouping of text layers for better scaling
fixed: a handful of bugs + strong optimization of the whole code overall

added: checkbox for "Locking the pointer in place"
added: date function to create dates with the following formats: 31/12/2022, 31-12-2022, 31.12.2022, 12/31/2022, 12-31-2022, 12.31.2022, 12/2022, 12-2022, 12.2022
added: you can also loop through weekdays [Monday...Sunday] & [Mon...Sun], months [January...December] & [Jan...Dec]
added: pointer blink function
added: completion % Wiggle options with Speed, From, To, and Seed controls
added: separate size, position offset and tracking for the prefix + suffix of the text layers. You can now individually adjust the size, position and tracking of the suffix or prefix

Enjoy!

Michael Thomas

Are there any presets or is it all build from scratch?

Theodoros Tziatzios

Hey Michael,

There are no presets in easyRulers, yet.

What kind of presets would you be interested in?

Can you describe what you want to create?

Maybe it's easier than you imagine

Cheers

ken gorrie

Hello Michael

Is it possible to get 'render only' versions of Easy Rulers 2.2 to use on Render machines?

Cheers

ken 

Theodoros Tziatzios

ken gorrie said:

Hello Michael

Is it possible to get 'render only' versions of Easy Rulers 2.2 to use on Render machines?

Cheers

ken 

Hello Ken,

Unfortunately, Aescripts License Framework does not support "render-only" licenses.

On how many machines do you want to deploy easyRulers?

Also, Black Friday/Cyber Monday is just around the corner 

Cheers

ken gorrie

Hello Theodoros
We are currently using 4 render machines.
Black Friday appears to be tomorrow. Will see what happens then

Cheers

Ken

Stephen Aganan

Hello,

Is there a way to add our own custom preset? I make a lot of PSI gauges, and doing them from scratch each time is cumbersome. There can be months between each use, and I have to try to remember "how many ruler lines or which division was it?"  Then, I have to rotate the ruler, adjust the sizing of the text, change the font, etc. 

Side note - I really enjoy the plugin and it does save me time!

Thanks

Theodoros Tziatzios

Stephen Aganan said:

Hello,

Is there a way to add our own custom preset? I make a lot of PSI gauges, and doing them from scratch each time is cumbersome. There can be months between each use, and I have to try to remember "how many ruler lines or which division was it?"  Then, I have to rotate the ruler, adjust the sizing of the text, change the font, etc. 

Side note - I really enjoy the plugin and it does save me time!

Thanks

Hello Stephan,

Yes, a custom preset save, is definitely on the to do list

Cheers!