HyperImport Guide

Release Notes on the HyperImport release, including update process, installation, usage guide and known issues.

HyperImport Guide - 12th, January 2024

  • Latest version

  • Changelog

  • Compatibility

  • Installation

  • Keyboard shortcuts

  • Shortcuts Library

  • Main UI

  • Preferences

  • Shortcuts

  • Special moves | Shortcut

  • Special moves with parameters | Shortcut $/#

  • Executing moves

  • Executing moves with parameters

  • HyperImport - Local files

  • HyperImport - Cloud

  • HyperReduce

  • HyperReplace | SingleHyperReplace

  • Adding functions to library

  • Adding expressions to library

  • File handling

  • File download directory

  • Known issues

  • Upcoming features

  • Recommendations

Releases

Latest version

January 2024 release (V1.0.3).

Changelog

January 2024 release (V1.0.3)

  • Fixed Google Drive download link paths.

  • Added Google Cloud Drive download capabilities.

January 2024 release (V1.0.2)

  • Removed a part of script that shows alert that is supposed to be used for testing.

Compatibility

AE 2018 and above. Certain default special moves will not work on older versions of After Effects.

Please make sure that customized scripts are also compatible with their own respective AE versions by cross referencing After Effects Scripting Guide.

Curl version 7.73.0 and above for downloads from Google Drive. Mac and PC generally comes installed with curl. However, it could be a lower version.

Getting started

Installation

1. aescripts + aeplugins manager

The easiest way to install and license is by using the aescripts + aeplugins manager. To install a trial you can select 'Add Trial' from the 'Account' menu.

2. Scripts folder

To install script, place script in the scripts folder and not the ScriptsUI folder. By doing the former, we can assign a keyboard shortcut to HyperImport, which is how it is intended to be used.

HyperImport is not intended to be used as a dockable window.

Keyboard shortcuts

To force download a link that has not been added to the shortcuts list,
’Ctrl + Enter’ or ‘Cmd + Enter’.

To force open a site that has not been added to the shortcuts list,
’Alt + Enter’ or ‘Opt + Enter’.

Shortcuts library

To execute any shortcuts that has already been added to the shortcuts list,
type the shortcut and press ‘Enter’.

General user interface items

Main UI

  1. Link/Command text box

    Text box to enter links, commands or shortcuts.

  2. Reduce to text box

    More info at ‘HyperReduce’.

  3. Comment text box

    More info at ‘HyperReplace’.

  4. Preferences

  5. Help

  6. Shortcuts

  7. MainUI Listbox

    Listbox items dynamically populate as string is typed in the ‘Link/Command text box’. For quick access to listbox items while typing, press the ‘down’ or ‘up’ arrow keys on your keyboard. Hitting ‘Enter’ will execute the command in the listbox.

Preferences

  1. Select Curl Path Button

    Unlike Windows, curl can be installed in different paths in mac other than the default. Use this to select custom installed curl.

  2. Check Curl Version Button

  3. Disable auto-paste

    In order to speed up workflow, HyperImport comes with an auto-pasting feature that automatically pastes text into the ‘Link/Command text box’ from your clipboard. However, this methods causes a split second cmd.exe black box that flashes upon script execution in Windows. Check this to disable auto-pasting.

  4. Ignore same commands

    Check this to ignore same commands for different functions.

  5. Auto launch Google Link

    Check this to auto launch google links. Created specially for workstations with curl versions lower than 7.73.0. However this method of working might not be ideal and it is recommended to have the latest curl update.

  6. Auto replace project items with same comments

    After importing an AE file with hyperImport, checking this option will activate a bulk search of all the imported project items. If any imported project items with comment are found, any base project item with the same comment will be replaced with the imported project item.

  7. Auto replace layers with the same comments

    After importing an AE file with hyperImport, checking this option will activate a bulk search of all the layers in imported compositions. If any layers with comment are found, any base layer in any composition with the same comment will be replaced with the imported layer’s source.

  8. Auto install fonts on download

    If a valid font download link is entered to the ‘Link/Command text box’, the font will be automatically installed (Only for mac).

  9. Generate log file upon execution

    Generate a log text file for troubleshooting. Use this if you should run into any error with the script and send the generated text to the admin.

Shortcut commands window

  1. Shortcut search text box

    Text box for quick search

  2. Shortcuts listbox

  3. Description text box

    Select item from listbox to change the description. Only descriptions of non-default items can be changed.

  4. Shortcut Command text box

    Select item from listbox to change the shortcut.

  5. Default Action

    There are a total of 5 different actions.

    • Download (accepts: ’Download’, ‘download’, ‘dl’, ‘1').

      • Download cloud assets to workstation. If it’s a .zip file, it unzips automatically. If .aep file is found or supported assets file are found, import directly to After Effects.

      • Download cloud assets to workstation. If it’s a .otf or .ttf file, install it directly to the workstation (Only on mac).

      • Import local files to After Effects

    • Launch (accepts: ’Launch’, ‘launch’, ‘l’, ‘2').

      • Launches site in browser.

    • DL + Replace (accepts: ’dl + replace’, ‘replace’, ‘r’, ‘3').

      • Download cloud assets to workstation. If it’s a .zip file, it unzips automatically. If .aep file is found or supported assets file are found, import directly to After Effects. If layers are found to have the same comment as the layer assets in the imported AE file, replace latter as source.

    • Execute (accepts: ‘Execute’, ‘execute’, ‘exe’, ‘4').

      • To be used for executable jsx files in the custom library, containing functions.

    • Apply (accepts: ‘Apply’, ‘apply’, ‘app’, ‘5').

      • To be used for jsx files in the custom library, containing expressions to be applied to properties.

  6. Link / Expression / Script

    • Link

      • Downloadable link for downloads. (eg. Dropbox downloadable link would end with ‘&dl=1’).

      • Working link for launching in sites (eg. www.google.com).

    • Expression

      • For quick entries of expression in the Shortcut Command listbox (eg. wiggle(5,5);).

    • Script

      • Full path of scripts (eg. C:\Users\username\Desktop\Script).

      • Name of scripts if scripts are placed in the custom library folder (eg. Bounce.jsx).

    • Misc

      • Internal After Effects effects (eg. Guassian Blur).

      • External After Effects effects (eg. Optical Flares).

  7. Tick button

    Apply changes to the text boxes.

  8. Add Separator

  9. Add entry above selection

  10. Add entry below selection

  11. Shift selection up

  12. Shift selection down

  13. Delete selection

  14. Import shortcuts

  15. Export shortcuts

  16. Reset default

Additional functions

Special moves | Default shortcut

  • Selection

    • Select Inverse Layer(s) | sil

    • Select Random Layer(s) | srl

    • Select Text Layer(s) | stl

    • Select Null Layer(s) | snl

    • Select Shape Layer(s) | ssl

    • Select 3D Layer(s) | s3dl

    • Select Guide Layer(s) | sgl

    • Select Audio Layer(s) | sal

    • Select Parent Layer | sp

    • Select Child(ren) | sc

  • Project window

    • Reveal In Project | rip

    • Reveal In Explorer | rie

    • Assorted / Organize Project Assets | opa

  • Layers

    • Duplicate Layers - Shift Above | dupea

    • Duplicate Layers - Shift Below | dupeb

    • Trim In/Out | trimio

    • Trim In | trimi

    • Trim Out | trimo

    • Parent | p

    • Chain Parent | cp

    • Hide And Shy | hs

    • Lock And Shy | ls

    • Unlock All Layers | unlockall

    • Set Universal Key(s) | s

  • Puppeting & Rigging

    • Pins To Nulls | ptn

  • Viewport

    • Clear Viewport Guide(s) | clearguide

    • Split Viewport | splitv

  • Workflow

    • Consolidate Project | consolproj

    • Reduce Project | reduceproj

    • Font Collect | fc

    • Collect File | col

    • Download All In Textfile | dlall

Special moves with parameters | Default shortcut $/#

  • Project Window

    • Add Project Item Comment | pcomm $

  • Layers

    • Offset Layers | ol #

    • Rename Layer(s) | rename $

    • Rename Layer Source(s) | renameSource $

    • Set Layer Label Color | color #

    • Set Track Matte | stm $ (‘a’, ‘ai’, ‘l’, ‘li’, ‘none’)

    • Add Layer Comment | lcomm $

    • Add Marker(s) | mark $

  • Workflow

    • Save Exp to JSXfile | saveexp $

Executing moves

  • Text search

    To execute a move based on name search, start typing the name of the move into the Link/Command text box. When the desired command is found in the listbox, press the down key to select the desired command. Once the desired command is selected, press the Enter key to execute the command.

  • Shortcut key

    To execute a move based on the shortcut key, start typing the shortcut key into the Link/Command text box. Press enter to execute the command based on the shortcut key.

Executing moves with parameters

  • Shortcut key + ‘space’ + parameter

    • To execute a command with a parameter, enter the shortcut key, followed by a ‘space’, followed by the parameter.

    • For example, to offset layers by 4 frames, select the layers, type ‘ol 4’ into the Link/Command text box. Press Enter to execute the command.

  • Parameters ‘$’ and ‘#’

    • ‘$’ stands for a string parameter (eg. ‘asdf’, ‘word’, ‘layername’).

    • ‘#’ stands for a number parameter (eg. 1, 2, 3).

HyperImport - Local files

To execute HyperImport to import local files, you can do either of the following:

  • With nothing typed in the 'link / command text box', press Ctrl+Enter or Cmd+Enter. This will initiate a local file directory search box. Select file to import.

  • Typed in the full path of the local file in the 'link / command text box', press Ctrl+Enter or Cmd+Enter.

  • Add the full path of the local file into the Shortcut commands, import the local file with a shortcut key.

HyperImport - Cloud

To execute HyperImport to import cloud files, you can do either of the followwing:

  • Typed in the full downloadable path of the cloud file in the 'link / command text box', press Ctrl+Enter or Cmd+Enter.

  • Add the full downloadable path of the cloud file into the Shortcut commands, import the local file with a shortcut key.

  • Save all the asset links into a .csv and use ‘dlall’ to import all links in the .csv file.

HyperReduce

HyperReduce allows instant reduction of files after importing with HyperImport. This means HyperReduce allows for a neat workflow without keeping unnecessary files after import.

To use HyperReduce, type in the name or partial name of the assets you want to keep in the 'Reduce to text box' after typing in the 'Link/Command text box'.

Execute by pressing Enter.

HyperReplace | SingleHyperReplace

HyperReplace allows instant replacing of files after importing. Making assets switch automatic and seamless after import with HyperImport.

To use HyperReplace automatically after importing with HyperImport, go to preferences, and turn on 'Auto replace project items with the same comments' and/or 'Auto replace layers with the same comments'. With either of these 2 options turned on, HyperReplace will execute automatically after Importing with HyperImport if the conditions are met:

  • Imported file is a .aep project

  • Comments in the imported file are found in the base file

To use SingleHyperReplace, no options need to be turned on in the preferences. SingleHyperReplace will execute automatically after Importing with HyperImport if the conditions are met:

  • Imported file is a single asset file

  • Comment typed in the comment text box is found in the base file.

Library

Adding functions to library

To install functions in the library, place the .jsx or .jsxbin file into the HyperImport functions folder located in
’Documents/mzq_hyperImport/pref/jsx/functions’.

Scripts in the functions folder will be automatically added to the Shortcuts Command window listbox with a default action of ‘execute’.

Adding expressions to library

To install expressions in the library, place the .jsx or .jsxbin file into the HyperImport expressions folder located in
’Documents/mzq_hyperImport/pref/jsx/expressions’.

Expressions in the expressions folder will be automatically added to the Shortcuts Command window listbox with a default action of ‘Apply’.

File handling

File download directory

A folder named 'HyperImport-DL' will be created in the same project directory as the saved .AEP file. Downloads with HyperImport will be stored in this folder.

Knowledge base

Known issues

AE freezing while downloading

  • Presently, there's no method for ExtendScript to synchronize the download progress with a visual progress bar. Nonetheless, assuming an active link and a functional connection, downloads should proceed without issues.

HyperImport - Local

  • HyperImport for local files does not support .zip files currently.

Shortcut key on Macintosh

  • If the shortcut key to launch HyperImport includes the ‘spacebar’, for instance, 'Opt+Space' or 'Cmd+Opt+Space', HyperImport will be launched with a 'space' typed into the Link/Command text box. To prevent this, avoid setting shortcut keys with 'space' on mac.

Upcoming features

Default Action - Sequence
For sequential processes, for instance, create a shape, changing it’s size, changing it’s position, adding expression to its property all with a single shortcut.

Recommendations

For a faster workflow, it is recommended to disable the auto update feature and to manually update the script instead.