settings
Settings object
app.settings
Description
The Settings object provides an easy way to manage settings for third-party scripts. The settings are saved in the main After Effects preferences file, and are persistent between application sessions.
Settings are identified by section and key within the file, and each key name is associated with a value.
In the settings file, section names are enclosed in brackets and quotation marks, and key names are listing in quotation marks below the sectionname. All values are strings.
You can create new settings with this object, as well as accessing existing settings.
As of Version 12/CC, preferences and settings methods now take a third argument to specify the target preferences file if Section/Key is not in the main preferences file. See Preferences object for more info.
Methods
Settings.getSetting()
app.settings.getSetting(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])
Description
Retrieves a script settings item value from the preferences file.
If the value is greater than 1999 bytes, getSetting that item will throw an error (seen in AE 15.0.1)
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
sectionName | String | The name of a settings section. |
keyName | String | The key name of the setting item. |
prefType | PREFType enum | Optional. Which preference file to use. |
Returns
String.
Example
If you have saved a setting named with the key name “trimPrecomps” in a section called “Precomp Cropper”, you can retrieve the value by:
var trimPrecompsSetting = app.settings.getSetting("Precomp Cropper", "trimPrecomps");alert("The setting is: " + trimPrecompsSetting);Settings.haveSetting()
app.settings.haveSetting(sectionName, keyName[, prefType])
Description
Returns true if the specified script settings item exists and has a value.
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
sectionName | String | The name of a settings section. |
keyName | String | The key name of the setting item. |
prefType | PREFType enum | Optional. Which preference file to use. |
Returns
Boolean.
Settings.saveSetting()
app.settings.saveSetting(sectionName, keyName, value[, prefType])
Description
Saves a value for a script settings item.
If the value is greater than 1999 bytes, saveSetting that item will throw an error (seen in AE 15.0.1)
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
sectionName | String | The name of a settings section. |
keyName | String | The key name of the setting item. |
value | String | The new value. |
prefType | PREFType enum | Optional. Which preference file to use. |
Returns
Nothing.
Example
If you want to save a setting called “trimPrecomps” for a script named “Precomp Cropper”, you could save that setting via
var trimPrecompsSetting = true;app.settings.saveSetting("Precomp Cropper", "trimPrecomps", trimPrecompsSetting);Note that the setting will be saved as a string. You’ll want to parse it into a bool later, if needed.