Using new text expression in AE2020 to apply multiple styles to a single text layer

Hello everyone!

I'm struggeling with this issue as well... any updates and solutions with new versions since we're in 2022 now?

Thanks

For anyone that finds this in future,  Text Chain on aescripts worked well to combine various styles and dynamic / expression based text.

I think I found a way to do with one text entry, however you’d need 2 additional text layers to render the text.

Crate layer 1 “srctxt” - enter you text here then hide the layer

Create layer 2 “reg” - Regular weight text Layer. in the source text expression, enter :

thisComp.layer("srctxt").text.sourceText.substr(1,thisComp.layer("srctxt").text.sourceText.length)

Then move the layer anchor point to the right edge of the layer.

Duplicate layer 2 and rename to “bold”, parent to layer 2 (reg), and make the text bold. Then replace the source text expression with:

thisComp.layer("srctxt").text.sourceText.substr(0,1)

Then twirl down to position in "bold" and enter this expression:

x = -1*thisComp.layer("text").sourceRectAtTime().width;

y = 0;

[x,y]

You may need to add a slider to control or some math to control the space between the "reg" and "bold" layers.

I also hope we will soon get setStyleAt() or for the text-animator engine the property to change beside leading, stroke, etc. also a different font. Because it will be so useful to animate important things in MORGT for subscriptions.

I too assumed this would be possible with the new text expressions and am sad to see it isn't. But a good start! Someday we'll be able to setStyleAt(). Hopefully.

Currently, you can "getStyleAt()" but "setStyleAt()" is not a function. If you reference another layer and you have manually set the first character to Faux Bold or even a different font you should be able to have that show up in a new text layer, but I don't see any method defined that would set a style at a specific character index. It would be a great feature request.

Not tested, but try simple string methods:

a = "T";

a.styleOfFirstLetter;

b = "e";

b.styleOfSecondLetter;

a+b;

*Martin

The expression needs to start with style. They look like this:

var fs=effect("Slider Control")("Slider");
style.setBaselineShift(100);
style.setFont("TimesNewRomanPS-BoldMT");
style.setFontSize(fs)

I added an expression control slider and called it fs, then I set the baseline shift to 100, the font to Times New RomanPS-BoldMT, and set the font size to the value of the slider.

The language is covered a bit in the new features page for AE. The expression language menu will also give you a clue to the right syntax. Anytime there is another panel that pops up with properties, one of the methods listed in the previous panels must precede it. 

Everything listed in the far left column must be preceded by either style. or getStyleAt(charindex, t=time). or createStyle(). I am sure that there will be more information coming soon.

I have the same issue. I tried making 2 layers. The first had this expression to the text source :

value + thisComp.layer("layer2").text.sourceText.style.setFont("TimesNewRomanPS-BoldMT")

I expected to get the value plus the second layer content in bold TNR. Instead, i got the value plus "[object Object]" and no change to the style whatsoever.