Print PDF

app

Description

Provides access to objects and application settings within the After Effects application. The single global object is always available by its name, app.

Attributes of the Application object provide access to specific objects within After Effects. Methods of the Application object can create a project, open an existing project, control Watch Folder mode, purge memory, and quit the After Effects application. When the After Effects application quits, it closes the open project, prompting the user to save or discard changes as necessary, and creates a project file as necessary.

Attributes

Attribute Reference Description
project “Application project attribute” and “Project object” is The current After Effects project.
isoLanguage “Application isoLanguage attribute” The locale (language and region) in which the application is running.
version “Application version attribute” The version number of the After Effects application.
buildName “Application buildName attribute” Thename of this build of the application.
buildNumber “Application buildNumber attribute” The number of this build of the application.
isWatchFolder “Application isWatchFolder attribute” When true, the local application is running in Watch Folder mode.
isRenderEngine “Application isRenderEngine attribute” When true, the local After Effects application is running as a render engine.
settings “Application settings attribute” and “RQItemCollection object”

Application settings that can be set via scripting. on Error “Application onError attribute” A callback function that is called when an error occurs in the application.
exitCode “Application exitCode attribute” A numeric status code used when executing a script externally (that is, from a command line or AppleScript). 0 if no error occurred. A positive number indicates an error that occurred while running the script.
exitAfterLaunchAndEv a l “Application exitAfterLaunchAndEval attribute” When true, the application remains open after running a script from the command line on Windows.
saveProjectOnCrash “Application saveProjectOnCrash attribute” When true, the project is saved if the application closes unexpectedly.
memoryInUse “Application memoryInUse attribute” Memory in use by this application.
effects “Application effects attribute” The effects available in the application.
activeViewer “Application activeViewer attribute” The currently focused or last-focused viewer panel.

Methods

Method Reference Description
newProject() “Application newProject() method” Creates a new project in After Effects.
open() “Application open() method” Opens a project or an Open Project dialog box.
quit() “Application quit() method” Quits the application.
watchFolder() “Application watchFolder() method” Starts Watch Folder mode; does not return until Watch Folder mode is turned off.
pauseWatchFolder() “Application pauseWatchFolder() method” Pauses a current watch-folder process.
endWatchFolder() “Application endWatchFolder() method” Ends a current watch-folder process.
purge() “Application purge() method” Purges a targeted type of cached information(replicates Purge options in the Edit menu).
beginUndoGroup() “Application beginUndoGroup() method” Groups the actions that follow it into a single undoable step.
endUndoGroup() “Application endUndoGroup() method” Ends an undo group; needed only when a script contains more than one undo group.
beginSuppressDialogs() “Application beginSuppressDialogs() method” Begins suppression of dialogs in the user interface.
endSuppressDialogs() “Application endSuppressDialogs() method” Ends suppression of dialogs in the user interface.
setMemoryUsageLimits() “Application setMemoryUsageLimits() method” Sets memory usage limits as in the Memory & Cache preferences area.
setSavePreferencesOnQuit() “Application setSavePreferencesOnQuit() method” Sets whether preferences are saved when the application is quit.
activate() “Application activate() method” Brings the After Effects main window to the front of the screen.
scheduleTask() “Application scheduleTask() method” Schedules a JavaScript script for delayed execution.
cancelTask() “Application cancelTask() method” Cancels a scheduled task.
parseSwatchFile() “Application parseSwatchFile() method” Loads a color swatch from an Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE) file.