Illuminate key combinations
keyboardFX also features the {{HOLD}} special code, which lets you light up key combinations or entire sections of the keyboard.
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After Effects
keyboardFX
keyboardFX is a tool for Adobe After Effects designed to generate fully customizable keyboards together with user-defined typing animations. NEW: a complete symbol mode for Mobile and Tablet keyboards + realistic 3D key-press movement across all keyboards
$29.99
$29.99
Description
keyboardFX
keyboardFX is a tool for Adobe After Effects designed to create highly customizable keyboards together with user-defined typing animations.
It saves you an incredible amount of design time. If you want to create an animated typing keyboard, this tool is for you!
Update notice: v1.80 is free for all existing users.
Fully customizable keyboards
Every keyboard is fully and dynamically customizable, giving you the ability to create virtually any type of keyboard.
Choose between QWERTY, AZERTY, and Dvorak keyboard layouts.
Here are a few examples created entirely with keyboardFX.
Speed Slider or Marker-based animation timing
keyboardFX offers two ways to control animation timing. In Speed Slider mode, characters are typed at automatically spaced intervals, while the Type Speed effect control adjusts the speed of the entire sequence. For more precise timing, the secondary Using Markers mode creates a layer marker for every generated character. Moving these markers controls exactly when each character appears and its corresponding key is illuminated.
Automatic case detection
keyboardFX automatically inserts {{SHIFT}} codes whenever your input text changes between lowercase and uppercase. The keyboard layout updates automatically to reflect every case change.
Animation presets
keyboardFX includes several animation presets. Here are a few examples.
You can illuminate every available key, including Function, Modifier, Navigation, and Numeric Keypad keys.
Special-key codes
To illuminate non-alphanumeric keys —such as function keys or arrow keys— you enter a special code. A special code is simply the key name enclosed in double curly brackets.
For example, to animate the words Hello World! and then illuminate the Page Down key, your input should look like this:
Hello World!{{PAGE DOWN}}
Then press the Generate keyboard! button.
PC keyboard special-key codes
Similar lists for Apple, mobile/tablet, and Commodore keyboards are included in the PDF user guide.
Fine-tune your animation
Easily adjust the typing speed and glow-decay speed. The example below shows how different Glow Decay Speed values affect the animation.
Easy effect controls
After the keyboard has been created, its customization controls are available in the Effect Controls panel of the keyboardFX shape layer.
Physical 3D key presses
With 3D enabled, the new Simulate 3D key presses option gives illuminated keys real physical movement. Each key presses toward the backplate while its label follows automatically, creating a more realistic typing animation.
If you like our work, please visit:
www.realcreations.gr
Discussions
Want to talk about it?
Head over to r/aescripts to chat with fellow users about this product.
Need Support?
Please open a support ticket to be connected directly with the author of this product
Version History
1.80 -
Sep 7, 2026
-added: Mobile/Tablet symbol keyboard page
-added: simulated "physical" 3D key presses
-added: automatic ABC, case and symbol switching for Mobile/Tablet keyboards
-added: HOLD placement validation
-added: malformed special-code validation
-added: collision-safe generated layer names
-added: resting and pressed key-distance effect controls
-added: renderer-safe key extrusion effect controls
-added: backplate bevel and extrusion effect controls
-added: angular and convex bevel configurations
-added: glow-stroke width effect control for all renderers
-fixed: rebuilt Mobile/Tablet capitalization detection
-fixed: preserved explicit SHIFT commands correctly
-fixed: prevented automatic SHIFT codes altering UI text
-fixed: HOLD and PAUSE sequence processing
-fixed: removed timing codes from visible generated text
-fixed: repeated and consecutive key animations
-fixed: repeated-key marker expressions
-fixed: prevented zero-distance marker placement
-fixed: made unsupported extrusion optional and non-fatal
-optimized: language-independent Adobe matchnames
-optimized: generated separate layers only for animated keys
-optimized: combined unused keys into one static 3D layer
-optimized: removed unused glow fills, strokes and empty groups
-optimized: removed unsupported Glow effectsin3D renderers
-added: simulated "physical" 3D key presses
-added: automatic ABC, case and symbol switching for Mobile/Tablet keyboards
-added: HOLD placement validation
-added: malformed special-code validation
-added: collision-safe generated layer names
-added: resting and pressed key-distance effect controls
-added: renderer-safe key extrusion effect controls
-added: backplate bevel and extrusion effect controls
-added: angular and convex bevel configurations
-added: glow-stroke width effect control for all renderers
-fixed: rebuilt Mobile/Tablet capitalization detection
-fixed: preserved explicit SHIFT commands correctly
-fixed: prevented automatic SHIFT codes altering UI text
-fixed: HOLD and PAUSE sequence processing
-fixed: removed timing codes from visible generated text
-fixed: repeated and consecutive key animations
-fixed: repeated-key marker expressions
-fixed: prevented zero-distance marker placement
-fixed: made unsupported extrusion optional and non-fatal
-optimized: language-independent Adobe matchnames
-optimized: generated separate layers only for animated keys
-optimized: combined unused keys into one static 3D layer
-optimized: removed unused glow fills, strokes and empty groups
-optimized: removed unsupported Glow effectsin3D renderers
1.51 -
Sep 16, 2024
-fixed: an issue where on some AE installations, keyboardFX would freeze on setting-up expressions
-fixed: an issue where keyboardFX would not set the Arial Font name properly for the generated text layers
-fixed: an issue where keyboardFX would not set the Arial Font name properly for the generated text layers
1.5 -
Sep 5, 2024
-optimized: significant overall speed improvements in generating any type of keyboard
-fixed: a few annoying bugs
-updated: some special codes and also added a few more
-added: a Virtual Keyboard to easily input special codes for each type of keyboard
-added: numbers [0-9] on the mobile/tablet keyboard
-added: lower/case letters on the mobile/tablet keyboard
-optimized: the mobile/tablet keyboard which now automatically reads your text and inserts {{SHIFT}} codes on every lower/upper case change, updating the keyboard layout
-updated to license framework v4.2.0
-fixed: a few annoying bugs
-updated: some special codes and also added a few more
-added: a Virtual Keyboard to easily input special codes for each type of keyboard
-added: numbers [0-9] on the mobile/tablet keyboard
-added: lower/case letters on the mobile/tablet keyboard
-optimized: the mobile/tablet keyboard which now automatically reads your text and inserts {{SHIFT}} codes on every lower/upper case change, updating the keyboard layout
-updated to license framework v4.2.0
1.2 -
Nov 24, 2019
- fixed: a bug which prevented the complete generation of Commodore64 keyboards on AE CS6
- fixed: the random preset for Commodore64 was not random. It now fixed.
- fixed: a few typing errors on some of the presets
- fixed: a bug where the custom input text field was locked on first run on AE CS6
- fixed: carriage returns no longer mess the timing of the animations and properly light up the "Enter" key
- fixed: the order of the layers became shuffled, if there were other existing layers in the timeline. It's now fixed.
- fixed: some layer properties stayed open in the timeline after the generation of the keyboard. It's now fixed and every property is closed (twirled up)
- changed: the glow and key layers are no longer locked
- changed: renamed the effect control "Glow Decay" to "Glow Decay Speed" for better clarity
- changed: smaller UI + a few cosmetic changes
- added: the {{HOLD}} special code which allows the illumination of key combinations (like Ctrl+Alt+Del)
- added: a second mode of controlling the keystroke animations through markers! (Using Markers Mode)
- optimized: before generating any keyboard, keyboardFX checks the input text and informs the user about mistyped special codes
- optimized: when deleting keyboardFX layers, expression errors are now suppressed
- optimized: the -initial- typing speed and glow decay speed is automatically adjusted at a comfortable pace of approximately 8 characters per second
- optimized: redesigned progress bar that is more accurate, more informative, and works both in window and in dockable panel mode. Also added a enable/disable checkbox for it, in the settings tab (CS6 only)
- optimized: compatibility with macOS Catalina
- optimized: compatibility with After Effects 2020
- optimized: instead of typing multiple {{PAUSE}} codes to further prolong a pause you can now type {{PAUSE1}} through {{PAUSE30}} (the same applies with the HOLD code)
- fixed: the random preset for Commodore64 was not random. It now fixed.
- fixed: a few typing errors on some of the presets
- fixed: a bug where the custom input text field was locked on first run on AE CS6
- fixed: carriage returns no longer mess the timing of the animations and properly light up the "Enter" key
- fixed: the order of the layers became shuffled, if there were other existing layers in the timeline. It's now fixed.
- fixed: some layer properties stayed open in the timeline after the generation of the keyboard. It's now fixed and every property is closed (twirled up)
- changed: the glow and key layers are no longer locked
- changed: renamed the effect control "Glow Decay" to "Glow Decay Speed" for better clarity
- changed: smaller UI + a few cosmetic changes
- added: the {{HOLD}} special code which allows the illumination of key combinations (like Ctrl+Alt+Del)
- added: a second mode of controlling the keystroke animations through markers! (Using Markers Mode)
- optimized: before generating any keyboard, keyboardFX checks the input text and informs the user about mistyped special codes
- optimized: when deleting keyboardFX layers, expression errors are now suppressed
- optimized: the -initial- typing speed and glow decay speed is automatically adjusted at a comfortable pace of approximately 8 characters per second
- optimized: redesigned progress bar that is more accurate, more informative, and works both in window and in dockable panel mode. Also added a enable/disable checkbox for it, in the settings tab (CS6 only)
- optimized: compatibility with macOS Catalina
- optimized: compatibility with After Effects 2020
- optimized: instead of typing multiple {{PAUSE}} codes to further prolong a pause you can now type {{PAUSE1}} through {{PAUSE30}} (the same applies with the HOLD code)
1.1 -
Jan 9, 2019
- added: the DVORAK keyboard layout
- added: five lighting key animation presets
- optimized: broadened compatibility. keyboardFX in now compatible with older versions of After Effects (CC + CS6)
- changed: keyboardFX no longer uses the "Arial" font as the default font for every text layer it generates. It will now use what ever font is selected in the After Effects Character Panel upon generation.
- added: five lighting key animation presets
- optimized: broadened compatibility. keyboardFX in now compatible with older versions of After Effects (CC + CS6)
- changed: keyboardFX no longer uses the "Arial" font as the default font for every text layer it generates. It will now use what ever font is selected in the After Effects Character Panel upon generation.
1.0 -
Oct 23, 2018
initial release
Compatibility
After Effects
2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
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Updated: Oct 21, 2025 1:35 AM