Mapped Data

Templater makes an After Effects project file dynamic by allowing you to map data to composition layers and to expressions.

Data Mapped to Layers

Data is mapped to layers by marking them with the Templater Settings effect and matching their names to column names or property keys. When previewing, rendering, or replicating target compositions, Templater updates mapped layers with the corresponding column data at a particular row.

WARNING  For Google Sheets documents, Templater does not currently support column names that begin with a numeral, contain spaces, or contain underscores. Avoid these characters to ensure spreadsheet data will map to your layers.

NOTE  If you are using a JSON-formatted text file or a URL feed as your data source, property keys in JSON objects are equivalent to column names in a spreadsheet.

Data Mapped to Expressions

Data is mapped to expressions using After Effects' JSON footage layers. As of version 2.8.0 Templater can generate and import a special footage file named templater-data.json. Once you add this file as a layer to a composition, expression code can reference values from Templater's JSON footage layer.

WARNING  Mapping data to expressions is an experimental feature, and is supported as such until a future release of After Effects. As of After Effects 15.1.1, a modal dialog requires user interaction when an imported JSON footage item changes structure or data types. This dialog notice can interfere with Templater's batch processes.

NOTE  Templater's rules-based layout engine adjusts dynamic layers that are directly mapped. Expression code takes precedence over any layout logic Templater might apply to that layer.