aescripts + aeplugins

Tom Theys · June 2023

The script doesn't seem to work in After Effects 23.4.0 Almost every expression applied gives an error. After Effects 22.6 works fine. I have not tested in 23.3.0 because it's a very buggy release.

Christian Lengger · June 2023

Tom Theys said:

The script doesn't seem to work in After Effects 23.4.0 Almost every expression applied gives an error. After Effects 22.6 works fine. I have not tested in 23.3.0 because it's a very buggy release.

It sounds like the expressions engine is set to "Legacy ExtendScript". Go to project settings/expressions and set it to "JavaScript". It should work perfectly then. Please let me know, if that is the case.

(The script uses expressions, that are not available in the older engine)

Tom Theys · June 2023

Christian Lengger said:

Tom Theys said:

The script doesn't seem to work in After Effects 23.4.0 Almost every expression applied gives an error. After Effects 22.6 works fine. I have not tested in 23.3.0 because it's a very buggy release.

It sounds like the expressions engine is set to "Legacy ExtendScript". Go to project settings/expressions and set it to "JavaScript". It should work perfectly then. Please let me know, if that is the case.
(The script uses expressions, that are not available in the older engine)

Thank you, that fixed it. Love the script, this saves me so much time.

Jay Kaslo · June 2023

Hmmm... I want to love this script, but I'm running into some issues already. Perhaps this is just because of it being trial version, but... when I'm testing out the Position (of Master Text)... when I choose Position and then try out Align to: Composition, whether I choose Align X to Right, Center, or Left... and likewise for Align Y to Top, Center, or Bottom... it's not working. It's just kind of randomly moving around here and there. Is there some key step I'm missing? (Btw I'm trying this out on my old 2019 iMac, running AE 23.4. And I saw the previous comment, but mine is already set to "Javascript", so that's not the problem here.)

Christian Lengger · June 2023

Jay Kaslo said:

Hmmm... I want to love this script, but I'm running into some issues already. Perhaps this is just because of it being trial version, but... when I'm testing out the Position (of Master Text)... when I choose Position and then try out Align to: Composition, whether I choose Align X to Right, Center, or Left... and likewise for Align Y to Top, Center, or Bottom... it's not working. It's just kind of randomly moving around here and there. Is there some key step I'm missing? (Btw I'm trying this out on my old 2019 iMac, running AE 23.4. And I saw the previous comment, but mine is already set to "Javascript", so that's not the problem here.)

Hi Jay,

this is indeed just a restriction of the trial version. The trial doesn't allow you to change "Align To" to anything else than "None". In this mode, changing "Align X" and "Align Y" will only set the anchor point alignment. Let's say you change "Align X" to "Left", then it will move the text box so the anchor point is on the left side of the box. When doing this, you will notice, that the anchor point doesn't change it's absolute position (only the box) so the movement is not random. I hope this clarifies the issue.

Maybe I have to rethink the trial restrictions so people don't get confused.

Jay Kaslo · June 2023

Ahhhhh okay, I was under the impression that the only limited functionality was not allowing "Elements" to be created, but thanks for clarifying there. In that case... I guess I'll bite the bullet and go ahead and buy it, since I really want to use this to build all the titles for my new YouTube channel. Just *hoping* that everything works out okay with the script on my M1 Mac.
But hey, moving forward, I'd definitely recommend allowing for full functionality in the trial period, so people can really determine whether the script will meet their needs. Even if you shorten the trial period... just key to know that something will actually work right before making the purchase. Just my two cents, but hey... gonna buy it shortly, and I hope this works out, cuz... does seem like a great script!

Christian Lengger said:

Hi Jay,
this is indeed just a restriction of the trial version. The trial doesn't allow you to change "Align To" to anything else than "None". In this mode, changing "Align X" and "Align Y" will only set the anchor point alignment. Let's say you change "Align X" to "Left", then it will move the text box so the anchor point is on the left side of the box. When doing this, you will notice, that the anchor point doesn't change it's absolute position (only the box) so the movement is not random. I hope this clarifies the issue.
Maybe I have to rethink the trial restrictions so people don't get confused.

Ed Vizenor · June 2023

So, looks cool BUT... the trial is essentially useless. When I select the text layer and press "box it" nothing happens. Then I go to press "Add" element and it says I need the full version. So the trails version DOES NOTHING.

I would love to see it work before I buy it. I would hate to have to go through a potential refund hassel etc..

Here is a recording of Box-It BROKENESS.

LINK:

Using Windows 11 PC - 500 GIGS of Ram 3090 TI and um yeah... no good on Box it.

Christian Lengger · June 2023

Jay Kaslo said:

Ahhhhh okay, I was under the impression that the only limited functionality was not allowing "Elements" to be created, but thanks for clarifying there. In that case... I guess I'll bite the bullet and go ahead and buy it, since I really want to use this to build all the titles for my new YouTube channel. Just *hoping* that everything works out okay with the script on my M1 Mac.
But hey, moving forward, I'd definitely recommend allowing for full functionality in the trial period, so people can really determine whether the script will meet their needs. Even if you shorten the trial period... just key to know that something will actually work right before making the purchase. Just my two cents, but hey... gonna buy it shortly, and I hope this works out, cuz... does seem like a great script!

Christian Lengger said:

Hi Jay,
this is indeed just a restriction of the trial version. The trial doesn't allow you to change "Align To" to anything else than "None". In this mode, changing "Align X" and "Align Y" will only set the anchor point alignment. Let's say you change "Align X" to "Left", then it will move the text box so the anchor point is on the left side of the box. When doing this, you will notice, that the anchor point doesn't change it's absolute position (only the box) so the movement is not random. I hope this clarifies the issue.
Maybe I have to rethink the trial restrictions so people don't get confused.

Thanks for your feedback. I will consider removing this one trial limitation in the future.

I have used "Box It!" on a MacBook Air M1 with no problems.

Christian Lengger · June 2023

Ed Vizenor said:

So, looks cool BUT... the trial is essentially useless. When I select the text layer and press "box it" nothing happens. Then I go to press "Add" element and it says I need the full version. So the trails version DOES NOTHING. I would love to see it work before I buy it. I would hate to have to go through a potential refund hassel etc..

Here is a recording of Box-It BROKENESS.

LINK:

Using Windows 11 PC - 500 GIGS of Ram 3090 TI and um yeah... no good on Box it.

Hi, sorry to hear that you are having trouble. Please make sure the expression engine is set to "JavaScript" and not "Legacy ExtendScript". You can find this setting under the expressions tab in the project settings. The trial should work fine then. Also make sure that Caps Lock is not activated by accident.

Test Me · June 2023

Is it applicable to any shape layer as well as text boxes?

Christian Lengger · June 2023

Test Me said:

Is it applicable to any shape layer as well as text boxes?

I am not quite sure I fully understand. "Box It" gets applied to a text layer. A shape layer is then generated which will adapt to the text.

Does this answer your question?

Test Me · June 2023

Christian Lengger said:

Test Me said:

Is it applicable to any shape layer as well as text boxes?

I am not quite sure I fully understand. "Box It" gets applied to a text layer. A shape layer is then generated which will adapt to the text.
Does this answer your question?

Ah I thought it was a tool that could use Expression to fix any responsive design or position. Features may be similar but probably not what I want.

Good enough script though? I'm sure it's a tool. Thank you for your reply.

latop peter · June 2023

How can I avoid the rounded rectangle to be deformed in many lines of text?

Christian Lengger · June 2023

latop peter said:

How can I avoid the rounded rectangle to be deformed in many lines of text?

Hi, for now you would have to disable the expression on the roundness property of the shape layer box and set a pixel value by hand.

I have an update planned, where you will be able to choose between percentage-based and pixel-based roundness.

The reason I went with percentage-based roundness was that if there were multiple boxes with greater expansion/padding the roundness of all the boxes would match.

Jennifer Hughes · July 2023

I just wanted to say: I just lovethis! I'm really getting the hang of it and it makes my work so much easier!! Thank you so much for this cool product!!!

Carlos Rodriguez · August 2023

Hi, I'm trying to create two boxes with Box It! next to each other. Both have texts that change depending on the composition, and I would like the box on the right to align perfectly with the box on the left when the width of the box changes. I have done some tests and I don't get it. Can you help me to do it?

Thanks in advance!

Christian Lengger · August 2023

Carlos Rodriguez said:

Hi, I'm trying to create two boxes with Box It! next to each other. Both have texts that change depending on the composition, and I would like the box on the right to align perfectly with the box on the left when the width of the box changes. I have done some tests and I don't get it. Can you help me to do it?
Thanks in advance!

Hi Carlos, sure I can help:

1. Parent "Text 2" to the shape layer Box of "Text 1"

2. With "Text 2" selected set "Align To" to "Parent Layer".

3. Change "Align X" to "Right"

4. Check "Flip Sides X"

5. With "Text 1" selected, change "Align X" to either "Left" or "Right" depending on if the text boxes should grow from the left or from the center.

Make sure, that you set your expansions on the text layer's "Box It! - Master Text" effect (and not on the Shape Layer Box).

I hope this helps. If you still have questions or this was not what you were looking for, it would be great if you could open a support ticket and add screenshots of what you want to accomplish and I am sure, we will figure it out:

https://aescripts.com/contact/

Carlos Rodriguez · August 2023

Christian Lengger said:
Hi Carlos, sure I can help:

1. Parent "Text 2" to the shape layer Box of "Text 1"
2. With "Text 2" selected set "Align To" to "Parent Layer".
3. Change "Align X" to "Right"
4. Check "Flip Sides X"
5. With "Text 1" selected, change "Align X" to either "Left" or "Right" depending on if the text boxes should grow from the left or from the center.

Make sure, that you set your expansions on the text layer's "Box It! - Master Text" effect (and not on the Shape Layer Box).

I hope this helps. If you still have questions or this was not what you were looking for, it would be great if you could open a support ticket and add screenshots of what you want to accomplish and I am sure, we will figure it out:
https://aescripts.com/contact/

Hi, Christian,

it works perfect!!!

Thank you so much!

Erik Suarez · August 2023

Hi, I believe I may have found a bug.

I added Line Elements to the box. I made some modifications to each line such as changing color and adding keyframes.

When I go to master settings to adjust "Roundness". The box becomes round but not the line elements.

It also seems that the box is not expanding when i add the "Typewriter" effect to it.

Is there anything I am doing wrong?

Christian Lengger · August 2023

Erik Suarez said:

Hi, I believe I may have found a bug.

I added Line Elements to the box. I made some modifications to each line such as changing color and adding keyframes.

When I go to master settings to adjust "Roundness". The box becomes round but not the line elements.

It also seems that the box is not expanding when i add the "Typewriter" effect to it.

Is there anything I am doing wrong?

Hi Erik,

The Lines Element draws 4 separate straight lines that adapt to the bounding box. They won't get affected by the roundness or skew settings. If you want an outline with roundness you would have to create a box without a fill and set your stroke width.

For the typewriter preset to work as expected you must add the scale property to the text animator (small arrow next to Add > Property > Scale) and set it to 0 %. This is because by default the preset uses the opacity property, which does not change the bounding box of the text (but scale does). The newer “Blinking Cursor Typewriter Console” preset works as expected out of the box.

Ed Vizenor · August 2023

How do we do dynamic "wordwrap" Like it can't go past these bounds and then it goes to next life if it does? ACTUALLY I FIGRUED IT OUT. For any one else you just need to CREAT Paragraph text like you normally would in AE and then in the Box It settings check Paragraph. So excited about this.

Next question. How can we animate it... like have a bounce in etc? The position is locked. Thanks

Paul Carder · September 2023

Hi, I'm thinking of buying this, but wondered if I give my finished template to my client to use (and it's made with BoxIt) how does that work with the license. Can they use it with no problems?

Christian Lengger · September 2023

Paul Carder said:
Hi, I'm thinking of buying this, but wondered if I give my finished
template to my client to use (and it's made with BoxIt) how does that
work with the license. Can they use it with no problems?

Hi Paul,
Yes, they can use it without problems. They do not have to have Box It installed or have a license.
Every project created with Box It! can be opened by anyone.

Peter Rollo · September 2023

Any plans to control which corners are rounded and which aren't? Looking to make a "teardrop" box, where one corner isn't rounded.

Christian Lengger · September 2023

Peter Rollo said:

Any plans to control which corners are rounded and which aren't? Looking to make a "teardrop" box, where one corner isn't rounded.

Yes, I have a big update planned in the near future and this will be only one of many cool new features. For now, there is a workaround (with some limitations like you can't add a stroke). I made a quick screen recording:

Adrian Letechipia · September 2023

Hey! Love the piugin - curious how you get it to work with 3D? Can't seem to find documentation about that but it's in the promo video?

colin woodcock · September 2023

Love how this is giving me the option of working from the x-height of the type. When producing the padding/expansion of the box, is there any way of setting the left/right/top/bottom to be a percentage of the x-height itself?

Christian Lengger · September 2023

Adrian Letechipia said:

Hey! Love the piugin - curious how you get it to work with 3D? Can't seem to find documentation about that but it's in the promo video?

Hi, glad to hear that! To make your layers 3d check the 3d layer switch for both the text and box layer in the timeline panel. You can then position and rotate your text layer in 3d and the box will follow. To extrude shapes (like the text or the box), go to the composition settings and change the 3d renderer from "Classic 3d" to "Cinema 4D". If you now twirl down the properties of the shape layers you will see "Geometry Options", where you can set your extrusion depth and more.

Christian Lengger · September 2023

colin woodcock said:

Love how this is giving me the option of working from the x-height of the type. When producing the padding/expansion of the box, is there any way of setting the left/right/top/bottom to be a percentage of the x-height itself?

This is not a built in feature but you can add the following expression to "Expand All":
thisComp.layer(effect("Box It! - Master Text")("heightReference")).sourceRectAtTime().height / 100 * effect("Box It! - Master Text")("Expand All");

You can now enter a percentage value and it will automatically change to the corresponding pixel value.

For left/right/top/bottom you can simply change "Expand All" (marked yellow) to "Expand Left", "Expand Right" etc. and copy the expression into the corresponding slider.

Julian Platte · December 2023

Hey there,

I own "box it" and I have the issue, that the box will always be under the text furthermore I have anchor point problems with the plugin.

Have you ever heard of such problems? Do you have any recommandations?

Thank you very much in advance!

Cheers Julian

Christian Lengger · January 1

Julian Platte said:

Hey there,

I own "box it" and I have the issue, that the box will always be under the text furthermore I have anchor point problems with the plugin.

Have you ever heard of such problems? Do you have any recommandations?

Thank you very much in advance!
Cheers Julian

Hi Julian,

I haven't heard of any anchor point problems before. Could you please open a support ticket and describe exactly what kind of problem you have? (or attach a screen capture): https://aescripts.com/contact/. I am sure we will figure it out.

As for your other issue: The box is a shape layer, that is always created under the text layer. You can always change the layer order by hand. What is the reason that you want to cover up the text by the box?

Cheers,

Christian

Christian Lengger · January 5

Christian Lengger said:

Julian Platte said:

Hey there,

I own "box it" and I have the issue, that the box will always be under the text furthermore I have anchor point problems with the plugin.

Have you ever heard of such problems? Do you have any recommandations?

Thank you very much in advance!
Cheers Julian

Hi Julian,
I haven't heard of any anchor point problems before. Could you please open a support ticket and describe exactly what kind of problem you have? (or attach a screen capture): https://aescripts.com/contact/. I am sure we will figure it out.
As for your other issue: The box is a shape layer, that is always created under the text layer. You can always change the layer order by hand. What is the reason that you want to cover up the text by the box?
Cheers,
Christian

For anyone else having similar issues: Paragraph text was used and therefore "Paragraph Mode" has to be checked in the effect controls. (After Effects automatically creates paragraph text, when you click and drag with the text tool.)

Finn Glink · February 16

Really lovely plugin! The only thing I can't figure out: Is there a way to create a new box per line (in the trial)? Or would I need to split the text manually?

Thanks

Christian Lengger · February 16

Finn Glink said:

Really lovely plugin! The only thing I can't figure out: Is there a way to create a new box per line (in the trial)? Or would I need to split the text manually?

Thanks

Hi Finn,

thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately it is not possible directly but here is the workflow that I use:

1. Design and animate a single-line-textbox in a composition that has the height of the textbox but the width of your final render comp. Lets say 1920 x 150px

2. Drag the "source text" property of the text layer into the Essential Graphics panel. (You can also drag other properties in there, like the alignment properties)

3. Drag the textbox comp into the render comp which is 1920 x 1080px in this example.

4. You can now duplicate the textbox comp several times and adjust the text for each duplicate using the essential properties.

5. This way you can have dozens of different textboxes in your project and if you need to change your design or animation, you only have to adjust a single composition. The drawback is, that for each line you have to make a new duplicate and position it by hand (or with other alignment scripts)

I hope this helps.

Étienne Brûlé · February 26

Hi!
The script is awesome BUT it is REALLY slow. I have a beast computer (i9-9900K with 64g RAM). Is it normal??

Is there a way to bake all the expressions to obtain a shape and a text without the effect applied to it, after a animation for example.

Because, currently, the plug-in is unusable... Previewing at 2 FPS at 1/4 resolution...

Étienne

Christian Lengger · February 27

Étienne Brûlé said:

Hi!
The script is awesome BUT it is REALLY slow. I have a beast computer (i9-9900K with 64g RAM). Is it normal??

Is there a way to bake all the expressions to obtain a shape and a text without the effect applied to it, after a animation for example.

Because, currently, the plug-in is unusable... Previewing at 2 FPS at 1/4 resolution...

Étienne

Hi Étienne,

depending on your project, the expressions can get a little bit slow but 2 fps definitely doesn’t seem right. Maybe your cache is full. AE really slows down when the cache is full.

Go to Edit > Purge > All Memory & Disc Cache

This should hopefully do the trick.

You can bake the expressions but you won’t be able to make easy changes afterwards: Select all the layers > double tap the "e" key to reveal all the properties with expressions on them > click and drag to select them > right click > Keyframe Assistant > Convert Expression to Keyframes

If you are still having troubles, please open a support ticket and send a screen capture or project file (if possible) so we can figure this out.

Best regards,

Christian

Étienne Brûlé · February 27

Christian Lengger said:

Étienne Brûlé said:

Hi!
The script is awesome BUT it is REALLY slow. I have a beast computer (i9-9900K with 64g RAM). Is it normal??

Is there a way to bake all the expressions to obtain a shape and a text without the effect applied to it, after a animation for example.

Because, currently, the plug-in is unusable... Previewing at 2 FPS at 1/4 resolution...

Étienne

Hi Étienne,

depending on your project, the expressions can get a little bit slow but 2 fps definitely doesn’t seem right. Maybe your cache is full. AE really slows down when the cache is full.
Go to Edit > Purge > All Memory & Disc Cache
This should hopefully do the trick.

You can bake the expressions but you won’t be able to make easy changes afterwards: Select all the layers > double tap the "e" key to reveal all the properties with expressions on them > click and drag to select them > right click > Keyframe Assistant > Convert Expression to Keyframes

If you are still having troubles, please open a support ticket and send a screen capture or project file (if possible) so we can figure this out.

Best regards,
Christian

I made a video capture to show you

You can see the lack of responsiveness.

Christian Lengger · February 28

Étienne Brûlé said:

I made a video capture to show you You can see the lack of responsiveness.

Ah ok, you mean the UI isn't very responsive (in this case: scrubbing through the timeline). This is a common issue with After Effects, especially with 4K displays. The best thing you can do is turn off the layer controls (View > Show Layer Controls) and make sure the UI is hardware accelerated (Edit > Settings > Display and select "Hardware Accelerate Composition, Layer, And Footage Panels" ).

Here is a screen capture of a crazy amount of text boxes and how this setting improves the scrubbing performance:

Étienne Brûlé · February 28

Christian Lengger said:

Étienne Brûlé said:

I made a video capture to show you You can see the lack of responsiveness.

Ah ok, you mean the UI isn't very responsive (in this case: scrubbing through the timeline). This is a common issue with After Effects, especially with 4K displays. The best thing you can do is turn off the layer controls (View > Show Layer Controls) and make sure the UI is hardware accelerated (Edit > Settings > Display and select "Hardware Accelerate Composition, Layer, And Footage Panels" ).
Here is a screen capture of a crazy amount of text boxes and how this setting improves the scrubbing performance:

I have no problem with laggy UI when I work in AE. Only when I use Box It!.
Is it related to the expression system? Or the way the script works?

Christian Lengger · February 29

Étienne Brûlé said:

Christian Lengger said:

Étienne Brûlé said:

I made a video capture to show you You can see the lack of responsiveness.

Ah ok, you mean the UI isn't very responsive (in this case: scrubbing through the timeline). This is a common issue with After Effects, especially with 4K displays. The best thing you can do is turn off the layer controls (View > Show Layer Controls) and make sure the UI is hardware accelerated (Edit > Settings > Display and select "Hardware Accelerate Composition, Layer, And Footage Panels" ).
Here is a screen capture of a crazy amount of text boxes and how this setting improves the scrubbing performance:

I have no problem with laggy UI when I work in AE. Only when I use Box It!.
Is it related to the expression system? Or the way the script works?

Unfortunately this a problem with expression-heavy projects and due to the versatility of Box It! it uses a fair amount of expressions. You have to weigh whether the simplicity of creation is more valuable to you than the performance of the project.

Greg Lash · March 15

I'm using a simple text animator to create a type-on effect. The box is not updating with the text animating on. It is only the size of the whole piece of text regardless of the animator. It isn't getting larger as the text types on. Expressions are set java script. What am I doing wrong here?

Christian Lengger · March 15

Greg Lash said:

I'm using a simple text animator to create a type-on effect. The box is not updating with the text animating on. It is only the size of the whole piece of text regardless of the animator. It isn't getting larger as the text types on. Expressions are set java script. What am I doing wrong here?

Hi Greg,

if you are using opacity for the type-on effect the bounding box doesn't change, therefore the box won't change. You have to use scale and set it to 0%.

I covered this in the quickstart tutorial at 09:47:

Hope this helps.

Ryo Shimabukuro · April 3

Dear Developer,

I've been using this for work. What I've noticed from daily use is that it would be incredibly helpful if the box layer could automatically trim to match the length of the text layer, reducing the number of steps and making the process much smoother. Thank you for creating such an amazing tool! I'll continue to support it!

Cheers

Christian Lengger · April 4

Ryo Shimabukuro said:

Dear Developer,

I've been using this for work. What I've noticed from daily use is that it would be incredibly helpful if the box layer could automatically trim to match the length of the text layer, reducing the number of steps and making the process much smoother. Thank you for creating such an amazing tool! I'll continue to support it!

Cheers

Hello Ryo,

thank you for the kind words.

Just so I understand you correctly, you mean that the box layer should automatically trim to match the length of the text layer IN THE TIMELINE? That is a great idea and I will implement it in the next update.

Thanks for the feedback. Cheers,

Christian

Julian Platte · May 23

Dear Developer,

I'm using your Template LT Flat 01. When I want to add boundary nulls to the name it works. When I want to add them to the title it doesn't work.

Do you have any advice?

I'm using the latest version of AE.

Many thanks in advance!

Cheers

Julian Platte

Christian Lengger · May 23

Julian Platte said:

Dear Developer,

I'm using your Template LT Flat 01. When I want to add boundary nulls to the name it works. When I want to add them to the title it doesn't work.
Do you have any advice?

I'm using the latest version of AE.

Many thanks in advance!
Cheers
Julian Platte

Hi Julian,

I just tried it and with me it works.

By "not working", do you mean that the Nulls don't follow the corners? If so, be aware that in this template the trimming of the box is done on the box layer and not on the text layer with the master controls. Thats why the position of the Nulls will only match the corners, when the trimming animation is over.

You could delete the trim keyframes on the box layer and add the trimming on the text layer, then the Nulls should always stick to the corners.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Christian

Stephan Bondar · August 28

Hi Christian,

Can I use Box it in my templates for sale?

Thx in advance

Christian Lengger · August 30

Stephan Bondar said:

Hi Christian,

Can I use Box it in my templates for sale?

Thx in advance

Hi Stephan,

Yes, you can use Box It to create templates for sale, as long as they include your own work and don’t just copy the functionality of Box It.

Allowed: Create your own lower thirds with Box It and sell them.
Not Allowed: Use the templates that come with Box It! and sell them.

If you have any further questions feel free to reach out via the support ticket system.

Best regards,

Christian

adam brustein · October 28

I see you have a template that includes a triangle for the tail of a message bubble. Is this easily customizable to have the bubble tails match the shape you typically see in Apple iOS?

aescripts + aeplugins

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