After Effects Customizer

To bound the extension and your composition in After Effects (ti set up colors, text editing, etc.) use special comments for layers. A spesial comment is a kind of a mark for the extention to specify a layer with certain tasks.

Steps to create a bond with the customizer are simple:

  1. Switch on the comments display (if they are off)
    Right-click a bar with columns (inscriptions #, Layer Name, ...), find a comments column, switch on their display.

    Show comments on layers

  2. Add a special comment to the layer (more details on comments and their value see further). Add special comment on layer

  3. After that, you can run the extension again, choose a composition layer or stay inside the composition and push the customer button.
    The customizer will pick up the layers with the comments and specify what they relate to, what you need to do with them.

note

If the comments bother yoy after you added them, or there is no need to see them, you can hide them (the same way you switched on their display), they will still remain on the layers.

The main operating mark

The mark is the main one for bonding the extention with your compositions. The purpose of the mark is to make operating of layers effects comfortable, straight inside the extension.

warning

Without a layer with the mark (comment) - other marks will not work (as the main mark is basic for the bond with the extension).

Fx Layer Control

Features:

  1. The layer of effects controle has to be one and onlycinside the main composition.
  2. All your effects in the extension will be grouped according to their types on the control layer, their names too (see the example above).
  3. If you use another operating effect instead of common ones, you will not see it in the customizer (for standart effects only - Effects > Expression Controls).
    Expression Controls

Usage:

Add the comment: ATOM_CUSTOMIZER_LAYER to the layer with your operation effects

Mark of text editing

The mark applied on the layer will be displayed in the extension with ability to edit the text in the customizer (or shift to the original layer by opening its composition and highlighting the text).

Edit Text Layers into customizer

Features:

  1. It searches for the marker in all inner compositions inside the main one (due to that there is no matter, in what inner composition the text is located, it will be found and displayed in the extension).
  2. The amount of text layers is not limited (they have to have the special comment, otherwise the text layers without the mark will not be displayed in the customizer).

Usage:

Add the comment ATOM_TEXT_EDITOR_LAYER to each text layer (that you want to edit in the customizer)

Mark of the timeline control

note

This option is not displayed in the customizer, but is bonded with the marks system that is described in this chapter.

The option adds a control system for the time of the animation (by means of markers) for the compositions applied.

To use the settings of timing control of your elements you need to use the mark and the marker with a point in time, and the additional option (layer_timing) on your element.

To the left - the composition, to the right - out of the composition (the composition is applied in the extension and is appointed as a layer)

Timing Control Example

Features:

  1. Allows to add the markers In & Out, Reverse to control the composition time, and other types (as long as there are timing control layers in the composition and the option [layer_timing] is used1)
  2. There can be only one timing control layer in a composition.

Usage:

Add the comment ATOM_TIMING_CONTROL_LAYER to your layer