About JSX importing in AfterEffects 15.1

[takoboat]

I've been importing json files with stringified javascript and evaled them in my comps to reuse scripts.

Since updating to 15.1 I get an error when I try to import them and as the error tells me, I renamed them to jsx files and it works fine.

I would like to know the specification of the imported jsx files. (Not the extended script jsx)

Are they just basically the same as imported JSON only with different file extensions?

I was hoping if I can write javascript directly without the hassle of having to stringify it everytime.

Are there any documents related to this?

[Mathias Moehl · Accepted solution]

Not sure whether it is documented, yet. I actually plan a tutorial about this.

These jsx files are essentially json files with the great extra feature that they can contain functions as values (which is not allowed in normal JSON, that's why they renamed it to jsx).

Example file:

{
  "myColor":[0.5,0.5,0.5,1],
  "myOpacity":50,
  "foo":function(x){ return x+1;}
 }

Now you can access the function foo in an expression like this

var myLib = footage("myFile.jsx").sourceData;
myLib.foo(10) // result is 11

[esantosAr]

Hi! I'm fairly new at scripting and for some reason I don't get to know I can't load the jsx into AE.

I think the problem lays at how I save the script.

Can I use a Windows' document text, save it as a jsx and then import it into AE?

Thx!

[takoboat]

Thanks I that's exactly what I needed to know. (should have tried it out myself.)

I'm looking forward to your tutorial!

[Mathias Moehl]

Here is the tutorial

https://mamoworld.com/tutorials/after-effects-expressions-nerd-tip-1-building-your-own-expressions-l...

[takoboat]

Great tutorial! So much better than cramming a javascript string into a json! I had to do it through a gulp task just for that and it was so tedious.

[jamesVoodooMotion]

Hi, is it possible for the function to access the key values, for example

1. { 
2.   "myColor":[0.5,0.5,0.5,1], 
3.   "myOpacity":50, 
4.   "foo":function(x){ return x+myOpacity;} 
5. }

so that the expression

var myLib = footage("myFile.jsx").sourceData; 

myLib.foo(10)

results in 60;

I couldn't get this to work, really appreciate any help and advice.

Also will using JSON files to store functions be slower than having the function within the expression?

Many thanks!

[Dan Ebberts]

I think you'd have to create a local variable and retrieve the value from the library first, like this:

var myLib = footage("myFile.jsx").sourceData;

var myOpacity = myLib.myOpacity;

myLib.foo(10)

Dan

[jamesVoodooMotion]

Thanks Dan, that will work!

Is it possible for an expression to change the value of a JSON variable/key so that another expression will use the new value?

Cheers

[Dan Ebberts]

I don't think that's possible.

Dan

[jamesVoodooMotion]

Thanks Dan, i've been toying with this for a while and believe you're right, it's a pity.

[_ruminant]

Change:

  "foo":function(x){ return x+myOpacity;} 

to:

  "foo":function(x){ return x + this.myOpacity;}