layer
Layer object
Section titled “Layer object”app.project.item(index).layer(index)
Description
Section titled “Description”The Layer object provides access to layers within compositions. It can be accessed from an item’s layer collection either by index number or by a name string.
Layer is a subclass of PropertyGroup, which is a subclass of PropertyBase. All methods and attributes of PropertyGroup, in addition to those listed below, are available when working with Layer, with the exception that propertyIndex attribute is set to undefined.
Layer is the base class for CameraLayer object, LightLayer object, and AVLayer object, so Layer attributes and methods are available when working with all layer types. Layers contain AE properties, in addition to their JavaScript attributes and methods. For examples of how to access properties in layers, see PropertyBase object.
Example
Section titled “Example”If the first item in the project is a CompItem, this example disables the first layer in that composition and renames it. This might, for example, turn an icon off in the composition.
var firstLayer = app.project.item(1).layer(1);firstLayer.enabled = false;firstLayer.name = "DisabledLayer";Attributes
Section titled “Attributes”Layer.autoOrient
Section titled “Layer.autoOrient”app.project.item(index).layer(index).autoOrient
Description
Section titled “Description”The type of automatic orientation to perform for the layer.
An AutoOrientType enumerated value; read/write. One of:
AutoOrientType.ALONG_PATHLayer faces in the direction of the motion path.AutoOrientType.CAMERA_OR_POINT_OF_INTERESTLayer always faces the active camera or points at its point of interest.AutoOrientType.CHARACTERS_TOWARD_CAMERAEach character in a per-character 3D text layer automatically faces the active camera.AutoOrientType.NO_AUTO_ORIENTLayer rotates freely, independent of any motion path, point of interest, or other layers.
Layer.comment
Section titled “Layer.comment”app.project.item(index).layer(index).comment
Description
Section titled “Description”A descriptive comment for the layer.
String; read/write.
Layer.containingComp
Section titled “Layer.containingComp”app.project.item(index).layer(index).containingComp
Description
Section titled “Description”The composition that contains this layer.
CompItem object; read-only.
Layer.hasVideo
Section titled “Layer.hasVideo”app.project.item(index).layer(index).hasVideo
Description
Section titled “Description”When true, the layer has a video switch (the eyeball icon) in the Timeline panel; otherwise false.
Boolean; read-only.
Layer.id
Section titled “Layer.id”app.project.item(index).layer(index).id
Description
Section titled “Description”Instance property on Layer which returns a unique and persistent identification number used internally to identify a Layer between sessions.
The value of the ID remains the same when the project is saved to a file and later reloaded.
However, when you import this project into another project, new IDs are assigned to all Layers in the imported project. The ID is not displayed anywhere in the user interface..
Integer; read-only.
Layer.index
Section titled “Layer.index”app.project.item(index).layer(index).index
Description
Section titled “Description”The index position of the layer.
Integer, in the range [1..numLayers]; read-only.
Layer.inPoint
Section titled “Layer.inPoint”app.project.item(index).layer(index).inPoint
Description
Section titled “Description”The “in” point of the layer, expressed in composition time (seconds).
Floating-point value, in the range [-10800.0..10800.0] (minus or plus three hours); read/write.
Layer.isNameSet
Section titled “Layer.isNameSet”app.project.item(index).layer(index).isNameSet
Description
Section titled “Description”true if the value of the name attribute has been set explicitly, rather than automatically from the source.
Boolean; read-only.
Layer.label
Section titled “Layer.label”app.project.item(index).layer(index).label
Description
Section titled “Description”The label color for the item. Colors are represented by their number (0 for None, or 1 to 16 for one of the preset colors in the Labels preferences).
Integer (0 to 16); read/write.
Layer.locked
Section titled “Layer.locked”app.project.item(index).layer(index).locked
Description
Section titled “Description”When true, the layer is locked; otherwise false. This corresponds to the lock toggle in the Layer panel.
Boolean; read/write.
Layer.marker
Section titled “Layer.marker”app.project.item(index).layer(index).marker
Description
Section titled “Description”A PropertyGroup object that contains all a layer’s markers. Layer marker scripting has the same functionality as Comp markers.
See MarkerValue object.
PropertyGroup object or null; read-only.
Example
Section titled “Example”The following sample code creates two layer markers with different properties
var solidLayer = comp.layers.addSolid([1, 1, 1], "mylayer", 1920, 1080, 1.0);
var layerMarker = new MarkerValue("This is a layer marker!");layerMarker.duration = 1;
var layerMarker2 = new MarkerValue("Another comp marker!");layerMarker2.duration = 1;
solidLayer.marker.setValueAtTime(1, layerMarker);solidLayer.marker.setValueAtTime(3, layerMarker2);Layer.nullLayer
Section titled “Layer.nullLayer”app.project.item(index).layer(index).nullLayer
Description
Section titled “Description”When true, the layer was created as a null object; otherwise false.
Boolean; read-only.
Layer.outPoint
Section titled “Layer.outPoint”app.project.item(index).layer(index).outPoint
Description
Section titled “Description”The “out” point of the layer, expressed in composition time (seconds).
Floating-point value, in the range [-10800.0..10800.0] (minus or plus three hours); read/write.
Layer.parent
Section titled “Layer.parent”app.project.item(index).layer(index).parent
Description
Section titled “Description”The parent of this layer; can be null.
Offset values are calculated to counterbalance any transforms above this layer in the hierarchy, so that when you set the parent there is no apparent jump in the layer’s transform.
For example, if the new parent has a rotation of 30 degrees, the child layer is assigned a rotation of -30 degrees.
To set the parent without changing the child layer’s transform values, use the setParentWithJump method.
Layer object or null; read/write.
Layer.selectedProperties
Section titled “Layer.selectedProperties”app.project.item(index).layer(index).selectedProperties
Description
Section titled “Description”An array containing all of the currently selected Property and PropertyGroup objects in the layer.
Array of PropertyBase objects; read-only.
Layer.shy
Section titled “Layer.shy”app.project.item(index).layer(index).shy
Description
Section titled “Description”When true, the layer is “shy”, meaning that it is hidden in the Layer panel if the composition’s “Hide all shy layers” option is toggled on.
Boolean; read/write.
Layer.solo
Section titled “Layer.solo”app.project.item(index).layer(index).solo
Description
Section titled “Description”When true, the layer is soloed, otherwise false.
Boolean; read/write.
Layer.startTime
Section titled “Layer.startTime”app.project.item(index).layer(index).startTime
Description
Section titled “Description”The start time of the layer, expressed in composition time (seconds).
Floating-point value, in the range [-10800.0..10800.0] (minus or plus three hours); read/write.
Layer.stretch
Section titled “Layer.stretch”app.project.item(index).layer(index).stretch
Description
Section titled “Description”The layer’s time stretch, expressed as a percentage. A value of 100 means no stretch. Values between 0 and 1 are set to 1, and values between -1 and 0 (not including 0) are set to -1.
Floating-point value, in the range [-9900.0..9900.0]; read/write.
Layer.time
Section titled “Layer.time”app.project.item(index).layer(index).time
Description
Section titled “Description”The current time of the layer, expressed in composition time (seconds).
Floating-point value; read-only.
Methods
Section titled “Methods”Layer.activeAtTime()
Section titled “Layer.activeAtTime()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).activeAtTime(time)
Description
Section titled “Description”Returns true if this layer will be active at the specified time.
To return true, the layer must be enabled, no other layer may be soloing unless this layer is soloed too, and the time must be between the inPoint and outPoint values of this layer.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
time | Floating-point value | The time in seconds. |
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Boolean.
Layer.applyPreset()
Section titled “Layer.applyPreset()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).applyPreset(presetName);
Description
Section titled “Description”Applies the specified collection of animation settings (an animation preset) to all the currently selected layers of the comp to which the layer belongs. If no layer is selected, it applies the animation preset to a new solid layer.
Predefined animation preset files are installed in the Presets folder, and users can create new animation presets through the user interface.
The animation preset is applied to the the selected layer(s) of the comp, not to the layer whose applyPreset function is called. Hence, the layer whose applyPreset function is called effectively just determines the comp whose layers are processed.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
presetName | Extendscript File object | The file containing the animation preset. |
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Nothing.
Layer.copyToComp()
Section titled “Layer.copyToComp()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).copyToComp(intoComp)
Description
Section titled “Description”Copies the layer into the specified composition. The original layer remains unchanged.
Creates a new Layer object with the same values as this one, and prepends the new object to the LayerCollection object in the target CompItem. Retrieve the copy using into Comp.layer(1).
Copying in a layer changes the index positions of previously existing layers in the target composition.
This is the same as copying and pasting a layer through the user interface.
As of After Effects 13.7 (13.6, has not been tested), if the copied layer has an effect on it and the user undoes the action, After Effects will Crash.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
intoComp | CompItem object | The target composition. |
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Nothing.
Layer.doSceneEditDetection()
Section titled “Layer.doSceneEditDetection()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).doSceneEditDetection(applyOptions)
Description
Section titled “Description”Runs Scene Edit Detection on the layer that the method is called on and returns an array containing the times of any detected scenes. This is the same as selecting a layer in the Timeline and choosing “Layer > Scene Edit Detection” with the single argument determining whether the edits are applied as markers, layer splits, pre-comps, or are not applied to the layer.
Just as in the UI, doSceneEditDetection will fail and error if called on a non-video layer or a video layer with Time Remapping enabled.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
applyOptions | SceneEditDetectionMode enum | How the detected edits will be applied. One of: |
- SceneEditDetectionMode.MARKERS: Create markers at edit points. | ||
- SceneEditDetectionMode.SPLIT: Split layer. | ||
- SceneEditDetectionMode.SPLIT_PRECOMP: Split layer at edit points and pre-compose each one. | ||
- SceneEditDetectionMode.NONE: Detected edits are not applied to the layer. |
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Array of floating-point values; the times of the detected edit points expressed in composition time.
Layer.duplicate()
Section titled “Layer.duplicate()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).duplicate()
Description
Section titled “Description”Duplicates the layer. Creates a new Layer object in which all values are the same as in this one. This has the same effect as selecting a layer in the user interface and choosing Edit > Duplicate, except the selection in the user interface does not change when you call this method.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”None.
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Layer object.
Layer.moveAfter()
Section titled “Layer.moveAfter()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).moveAfter(layer)
Description
Section titled “Description”Moves this layer to a position immediately after (below) the specified layer.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
layer | Layer object | The target layer in the same composition. |
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Nothing.
Layer.moveBefore()
Section titled “Layer.moveBefore()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).moveBefore(layer)
Description
Section titled “Description”Moves this layer to a position immediately before (above) the specified layer.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
layer | Layer object | The target layer in the same composition. |
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Nothing.
Layer.moveToBeginning()
Section titled “Layer.moveToBeginning()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).moveToBeginning()
Description
Section titled “Description”Moves this layer to the topmost position of the layer stack (the first layer).
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”None.
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Nothing.
Layer.moveToEnd()
Section titled “Layer.moveToEnd()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).moveToEnd()
Description
Section titled “Description”Moves this layer to the bottom position of the layer stack (the last layer).
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”None.
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Nothing.
Layer.remove()
Section titled “Layer.remove()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).remove()
Description
Section titled “Description”Deletes the specified layer from the composition.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”None.
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Nothing.
Layer.setParentWithJump()
Section titled “Layer.setParentWithJump()”app.project.item(index).layer(index).setParentWithJump([newParent])
Description
Section titled “Description”Sets the parent of this layer to the specified layer, without changing the transform values of the child layer.
There may be an apparent jump in the rotation, translation, or scale of the child layer, as this layer’s transform values are combined with those of its ancestors.
If you do not want the child layer to jump, set the parent attribute directly. In this case, an offset is calculated and set in the child layer’s transform fields, to prevent the jump from occurring.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
newParent | Layer object | Optional. A layer in the same composition. If not specified, it sets the parent to None. |
Returns
Section titled “Returns”Nothing.