Crash when attempting to reference sourceRectAtTime in shape layer path

[Snaileb]

I got an error dialog box today I've never seen before...

 

This occurred when I was trying to use the SourceRectAtTime from a text layer to define the path of a shape. You can see the expression that caused the crash. I'm a beginner with expressions so probably I should go watch some tutorials to learn the correct way to do this. 

But still... this project is now un-openable, it crashes before loading the timeline. (I'll need to use a previously saved version from 20 minutes ago and redo a bit of work). I'm surprised that instead of just throwing me a little caution symbol next to the expression and disabling it, that I crashed and corrupted the entire project. That doesn't seem right to me...? 

[JohnColombo]

Hi @Snaileb,

Thank you so much for reporting this issue. We are able to reproduce the same crash using the setup you've pictured and have now opened a ticket to investigate a fix.

You are correct, this should only result in an expression error and not a crash. I'd guess that the project is saved in the crashing state, so it is crashing when it attempts to render. You might try opening the project with Caps Lock enabled (to prevent rendering), then remove the broken expression.

Apologies for any frustration this issue has caused, and thank you again for reporting it,

- John, After Effects Engineering Team