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Rodan_Shiner
Inspiring
January 8, 2015
Question

is there any good way to get layer property path?

  • January 8, 2015
  • 1 reply
  • 536 views

Hello. I always connect properties using pick whip but If I need to connect another layer properties of another compositions, It's kinda bothering me.

For example, there are 3 compositions and they are not nested, all separated,

Comp A

     layer A(Gaussian Blur)

Comp B

     layer B(Gaussian Blur)

Comp C

     layer C(Gaussian Blur)

layer A ,layer B and layer C have Gaussian Blur effect, and I want all Gaussian Blur to have same Blurriness,

So I get this one from layer A using pick whip

comp("A").layer("layer A").effect("Gaussian Blur")("Blurriness");

And copied them and pasted them in Blurriness of layer B and layer C.

And question is can I get this expression

comp("A").layer("layer A").effect("Gaussian Blur")("Blurriness");

without using pick whip?  Pick whip is hard to use when I need to connect separated compositions because I have to open lots of timeline panels.

Can I copy that expression by simply Ctrl + C or something? I just don't want to use pick whip.

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

R
Rick Gerard
Community Expert
January 8, 2015

If I'm following you correctly you want to link the Gaussian Blur value in one layer in Comp A to all layers in comp B and comp C....

If that is correct then you can simply create your first expression by typing comp("A").layer("layer A").effect("Gaussian Blur")("Blurriness");

You can then copy that and paste it to as many layers as you want in as many comps as you want and all will be controlled by the value in Layer A in Comp A.

I don't follow your second question at all. You can create any expression you want by typing, you don't need the pickwhip at all. Except for very simple expressions I never use the pickwhip. A little practice is all that is required. I also use multiple comp windows, lock effects control panels to a comp layer and do all kinds of other things when I'm creating expressions that link back to a nested comp. It's fairly easy. For example, If I was using layer a in comp a as a master controller I'd just lock the Effects Control Panel, then open the other comps, add a new Gaussian blur effect to a new layer and then simply pickwhip to the locked ECP. It would look something like this:

Another approach is to set an external comp as a variable by simply typing something like this at the start of your expression:

mstr = comp("Comp A");

Then if you have a bunch of parameters from that comp that you want to link you can use this kind of language.

mstr.layer("Layer A").effect("Gaussian Blur")("Blurriness")

I use variables all the time to simplify the writing of expressions.

Also, you should be aware of the Copy Expression only function. That's another feature that I use all the time to grab expressions from one layer and apply them to a bunch of other layers.

R
Rodan_ShinerAuthor
Inspiring
January 8, 2015

Thank you. Creating master layer and locking its Effects control panel is nice idea. I will try it.

So, I just can't simply copy expressions like these without using pick whip or typing those manually?

comp("A").llayer("A).transform.opacity;

comp("B").layer("B").effect("Simple Choker")("Choke Matte");

comp("C").layer("C").effect("Levels")("Histogram");

There are lots of properties(including 3rd party plug-in effects properties), and if I need to connect them with other layer's properties, I always want to copy those expressions just like using expression snippets.

R
Rick Gerard
Community Expert
January 8, 2015

Rodan_Shiner wrote:

Thank you. Creating master layer and locking its Effects control panel is nice idea. I will try it.

So, I just can't simply copy expressions like these without using pick whip or typing those manually?

That's not what I said. I said you can copy the expression and paste, you can create an animation preset that not only copies the expression but copies the effects as well. You can select the property that has an expression and go to Edit>Comp Expression Only in the menu, then in your new comp with the layer selected and the effect applied just paste.

To copy an expression either use the menu or select the expression for editing and copy there. Copying Expression Only and then doing a paste is the easiest way to do what you want to do. You will find those instructions in my previous post. Creating an animation preset is the most efficient. I have more than 200 custom animation presets in my library that speed up my work on some projects by factors of 20 or more. You should consider doing the same

One more thought. I don't see much use in tying layers in one comp to controllers in several different comps. I can't see the efficiency in that. I can see using a master controller comp to control everything in a series of comps using basically the same design. I routinely set up a master controller layer with a bunch of sliders to control effects on several layers. Production notes are part of every project I do. If you open up a project that you did 3 months ago and you can't figure out what you did in about 30 seconds then you should look at refining your workflow so you are more efficient. I can pull up projects from 4 or 5 years ago and know exactly what's going on. BTW, I also am in the habit of keeping meticulous records and very organized file structures, and updating comps that have techniques that I think I may use again on a regular basis so I will not run into the problem of needing a project I did 10 versions back and having something that won't open in my current system.

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