Use Dynamic Essential Properties

NOTE This feature, enabling you to control essential property values from your data, is supported for Templater 3.5 or later.

With the Templater Dynamic Essential Properties feature, you can use data to change values for properties promoted to the After Effects Essential Properties panel. This method does not change the essential property values of the primary composition itself. Rather, Templater updates essential property values on layer instances, or "pre-comp" layers, of the primary composition. The pre-comp layer must have the Templater settings effect applied to it, and your data source must use specially formatted column headers or JSON keys that include the exact property name.

The Dynamic Essential Properties feature allows Templater to support pre-built templates, including Adobe Motion Graphics Templates (or .mogrt files). You can now easily apply automation to properties that the template author has promoted to the Essential Properties panel.

However, reversioning in this way may not be as robust as the functionality Templater already offers. For example, Templater features like Time Sculpting affect more than a single layer, so Templater can't change those layers using this feature.

For this reason power users may prefer to use the existing Templater methodology, alone or in combination with Dynamic Essential Properties, to reversion After Effects comps using data and automation.

A closer look

Adobe created the Essential Properties panel so that video designers can quickly promote the properties they use to one place. This makes it easier to find and adjust those specific properties for a given layer. It also allows you to create a set of essential properties for a primary composition. When you configure values for those properties, and then nest that primary composition as a pre-comp layer inside another comp, those values become the defaults for the pre-comp layer.

Since the pre-comp layer exists as an instance of the primary, Templater can use data to adjust the values of essential properties on that layer.

Key points to remember

Remember these key points as you set up Dataclay QUE or another JSON-based data source to control essential properties:

When you drag one composition into another to create a pre-comp layer, After Effects gives the new layer the same name as the source comp by default. You must explicitly name the layer so Templater recognizes it as dynamic and you can refer to it in your data source. We recommend you give the layer an entirely new name. This will help you easily differentiate the source composition and the instance of that comp which is the pre-comp layer. You should not use spaces in layer names.
The name of each property key in the data source must be an exact match for the name of the property key in the Essential Properties panel. For example, if certain property keys are nested in a group, the name of the group must be included in your JSON key.
The property key value in the data source must match the data type used in the panel. Use the following table as a guide. If the type of data in your data source doesn't match what is expected, Templater skips that property key and writes an error to its log file. If the mismatched property is a media asset, Templater respects the preference you have set for this scenario.
Your data source doesn't have to include a key for every essential property, just those you want to change. Each time the comp is reversioned, Templater reloads all the default essential property key/value pairs you set in your primary comp. Then it changes only those key/value pairs found in the data for that job. If a property key isn't in your data for that job, or the property key value is null or undefined, Templater uses the default value instead.

Data Type	In the Essential Properties Panel	In the Data Source
Color		Enter as an RGB array: [51,255,172] Enter as a hex code: #FFFFFF
Numeric		Enter as a numeric value: 67
Boolean		Enter true if the value should be On. Enter false if the value should be Off.
Grouped properties		See example in the following task
Media asset property keys	Templater supports media layers that have been promoted to essential properties. In the primary comp, drag the entire media layer to the Essential Properties panel. This allows you to control the media asset with data, just like any essential property. We do not recommend reversioning video assets in this way. After Effects does not support any of the following in video layers promoted to the Essential Properties panel: Time Sculpting Audio files Videos with audio For this reason, we recommend using the existing Templater method for versioning video footage.	See example in the following task

Before you begin

These instructions assume you have already either:

Created a primary composition with your essential properties promoted to and configured in the Essential Properties panel, or
Created or purchased a Motion Graphics template

In either case, you have opened the primary comp, have a nested comp (that is, a pre-comp layer) for Templater to reversion, have given the pre-comp layer an explicit name, and have applied the Templater settings effect to the pre-comp layer.

Set up a JSON-based data source

NOTE Replace italicized values in this task with values from your data source.

In your JSON data source, create a new element for the pre-comp layer to control its essential properties. The element name must use this syntax: layer name@egp. For example, to style a dynamic layer named "assembly", use the name assembly@egp for a property in your Templater-connected data source.
Can I specify each essential property value in its own property?
Yes. To do so, use the following syntax and replace the italicized values with your own:
```
 {"layer name@[property name]":"property value"}
```
You can also use a combination of the two methods. For example, you could have an assembly@egp element that controls a particular set of properties you want to change for every iteration. You could then use individual "layer name@[property name]" elements for a few properties you want to change less often. The following image of a partial JSON object shows a combination of both methods:
```
{"assembly@egp":{
    "SRT font-face": "NotoSansArabicCondensedBlack"}
{"assembly@[Labels>Ethnicity]":"UAE"},
{"assembly@{Labels>SRT Language]":"Arabic"}
}
```
NOTE If you combine methods, and the same property is in both the assembly@egp object and the"layer name@[property name]" object, the individual property object takes precedence.
NOTE In the next steps, you will configure individual properties in this JSON element. As you do so, the configuration structure in the element must match the structure of the Essential Properties panel.
To configure a regular property value, enter a key in the JSON element using this syntax: {"property name":"property value"}. For example, to set a property named "Title Fill Color" to white, you could use "Title Fill Color":"#FFFFFF" or "Title Fill Color":[255,255,255].
To configure a media property, enter a key in the JSON element using this syntax: {"property name":"path to media asset"}. Both local and remote footage paths are supported.

See an example of a media replacement essential property

To configure a value for a property inside a group, enter a key in the JSON object using this syntax:

{"layer name@egp:"
	{"property group name:"
		{"prop1 name":"prop1 value",
		 "prop2 name":"prop2 value",
		 "prop3 name":"prop3 value"}
	}
}

For example, the data source entry to configure a property like the grouped type example in the previous table might look like this:

{"assembly@egp":{
    "Labels": 
	{"SRT Ethnicity":"UAE",
	 "SRT Language":"Arabic"}
	}
}

Connect your data source to the composition.

Set up a spreadsheet-based data source

In your data source, create a new column for each of the essential graphics properties you want to control with data. The syntax for the column header must be "layer name@[property name]". For example, to control a color-based essential property named "Subheader Fill" for a dynamic layer named "assembly", enter the name "assembly@[Subheader Fill]." If that property is part of a "Colors" group in the Essential Properties panel, the syntax would be "assembly@[Colors > Subheader Fill]".
Can I put multiple properties in a single column?
If your spreadsheet supports JSON in cells, you can enter one or more properties in a single column named "assembly@egp". If you choose to do this, follow the instructions in the previous task for setting up a JSON-based data source.
You can also use a combination of the two methods. For example, you could have an assembly@egp column that controls a particular set of properties you want to change for every iteration. You could then use individual "layer name@[property name]" columns for a few properties you want to change less often.
NOTE If you combine methods, and the same property is in both the assembly@egp column and the "layer name@[property name]" column, the individual property column takes precedence.
To configure a regular property value, enter the data in the cell for each row in your data source that you want to change. For example, to set the "Subheader Fill" color in the previous example to white, just enter that value in the cell. There is no special syntax required, but the data type must match as explained earlier.
To configure a media property key, enter {"property name":"path to media asset"}. Both local and remote footage paths are supported.

See an example of a media replacement essential property
Connect your data source to the composition.