How to Use the Dropdown Menu in After Effects

[@NerdSyncProductions]

Thank you for not just saying what works, but actually explaining why things work or don't work. This is stuff I wish I knew when I was first learning.

[@ukramedia]

Thank you for your kind words, NerdSync!

[@fernsehdesign]

Finally some real professional who does not assume everybody is born as a coder, too. I wish Adobe would explain stuff the way you do. Thanks for that.

[@sarahmills3989]

i watched so many videos trying to get my drop down to change the color value of a layer and was getting so frustrated. you solved my problem in 2 minutes of scrubbing and watching your code. THANK YOU

[@AntonKrinichniy]

You're not overexplaining! I've got 0 knowledge in coding. And the way you explain it is probably the only way to explain it to me. Yep, as if I'm 7. Thanks a lot!

[@catsband]

Absolutely agree

[@dozypawz]

Where was this video when I was first starting coding. Honestly this has helped me understand scripts so much more.

[@tiotito31]

You're the only person I've been able to find on the internet that bothered explaining what the semicolon is in the expression language. Thank you so much. The detailed explanation helps people learn more thoroughly and quickly.

[@GarrickEnright]

I've said it time and time again - Thank you for explaining this to me like i'm a 5-year old. I finally get this.

[@mindsize]

I keep coming back to this video. It's hands down the best video on hooking up menus. Thank you Ukramedia

[@tiotito31]

For those having trouble, here's another way he's describing it. This is like algebra. When you're using the term "dropmenu =" it's essentially saying "x equals" where x can be any variable. In this case you're saying dropmenu equals an address: the composition, layer, and effect value. That way instead of having to write the full address in your coding, you can just write "dropmenu"

[@processandbeing]

Thank you so much! I was 75% thru figuring out how to use this for a client and you got me the rest of the way. My code was just a little off. Love your channel and story!

[@BaileyBurritt]

Thanks, Serg. Honestly, you just cemented the concept of if-else statements for me. I knew them and could create and work with them, but it never clicked like that before. Love your work.

[@ukramedia]

Wow. That's great to hear, Bailey! Thanks for watching the video!

[@RoiDeMai]

Thanks a lot, Sergei! The information you provide is quite rare on KZbin. Please keep it up ;)

[@ukramedia]

Thank you for your kind words, Eugene!

[@shabbirmerchant7678]

Its great to learn with a tutor who works in Industry. Tips and tricks are nice but efficient tips and tricks are great. Thank you.

[@ukramedia]

Glad it was helpful, Shabbir!

[@nickwoolgarfilms]

Only just discovered your channel but your AE tutorials are far and away the best I've seen. Your explanations are so clear, you make expressions and coding make sense in such logical terms. Fantastic work!

[@NicolasSeijas]

Thank you, im doing a map pick overlay for a csgo tournament and this tutorial is all that a needed to make the editable file much easier to work for the editors.

[@ЕвгенийЧернов-й3н]

A very useful lesson. Thank you very much! You are the best! Special congratulations to Sergey, health and all the best!

[@ukramedia]

Thank you for your kind words, Евгений!

[@Georgie-M]

I've been looking for something like this all night! thank you so much - way tidier than what I initially thought the solution was too!

[@ukramedia]

Glad it helped, Georgie!

[@nyakahumaronald]

This is totally helpful, the way u explain is pretty legit, if u don't mind show us some more advanced rigging. Thank you

[@davewoodhead2452]

Thanks for taking the time, awesome tutorial.

[@daneclassen5366]

This was a great tutorial. I managed to take this info and then use a rbg decimal array to tie a specific color to a value in the dropdown expression. var dropMenu = comp("Main Comp").layer("Expressions Controllers").effect("Dropdown Menu Control")("Menu").value; var bColor = [.1569, .2235, .3412, 1]; var rColor = [.7294, .0196, .0588, 1]; var r2Color = [.9255, .1255, .1529, 1]; if (dropMenu == 1) { color = bColor } else if (dropMenu == 2) { color = rColor; } else if (dropMenu == 3) { color = r2Color }

[@SkyScar7]

Thanks Sergei! it makes changing artwork a lot easier!

[@ukramedia]

Glad to hear that!

[@igorturok1228]

This is amazing, thank you Sergei

[@BigPixelBlues]

This was super helpful, bless you Sergei!

[@ukramedia]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Chapelhillmedia]

Good tutorial. It may help code newbies to understand that list items, such as your "dropMenu", are numbered just like you would count them (1, 2, 3, 4). Arrays, such as your "teamNames" can be thought of as a city block. The array name designates the top of the block, and the supplied index indicates how far down the block you want to go. Imagine houses on a street. If you are standing on the corner and you want to go to the location of the first house (on the corner), how many houses down do you need to go? Zero. Therefore, teamNames[0] is the location of the first item ("One"); teamNames[1] is the location of the next item (One house away from the corner). Please forgive the hijacking of your comments for a bonus lesson. :)

[@tommyallan9351]

You Legend, Sergei! Great work and thank you for teaching!!!

[@ukramedia]

Thank you for your kind words, Tommy!

[@laurenroundy4717]

Awesome as always. Thanks for great, to-the-point tutorials!

[@ukramedia]

Thank YOU, Lauren!

[@edgarciagal13]

excellent video, now you have a new subscriber

[@ronnyt5914]

very handy feature, thanks

[@erans]

VERY informative and helpful. thanks!

[@JonJagsNee]

THANK YOU, SERGEI

[@ukramedia]

Thank you, Jon!

[@dzignerdigital3331]

You are a legend !

[@GregPlatt]

So helpful! Thank you for explaining as always!

[@sergedruz7261]

Thank you, Sergei, it's a great tutorial.

[@ukramedia]

Thank YOU, Serge!

[@solovyovslava]

Thank you very much, Sergey! A very useful tutorial!

[@ukramedia]

Thank YOU, Solovyov!

[@viruxx]

Awesome explanation! Thank you very much!

[@ukramedia]

Glad it was helpful, Frederik!

[@TomMcGuigan-qr9jt]

thank you dude!

[@jurizx7985]

Hi Sergei, this tutorial is really good like usual...THX :))

[@ukramedia]

Thank YOU!

[@chrishooper7179]

Please show your workflow tips for taking 3d sports graphics and compositing team names and colors in AE! Always looking for new ways to do things! love your tutorials and even did your 3D Sports Bumper course on your website. Keep up the great work!

[@davidlwinegar]

Thank you! This was amazing!

[@_nui_]

Thanks for this video! Really helped me out

[@ukramedia]

That's great to hear, Nicholas! I'm glad you found it useful!

[@maureis]

Great video!! congrats. Please feed us with more

[@GajuKharche]

great tutorials thanks

[@markomilanov3860]

Thank you very, very, VERY MUCH!:')

[@xfundesign7279]

It´s working ! thank you a lot for your tips and tricks in after effect and blender as well... :))

[@ukramedia]

Thank you for watching my tutorials!

[@iamdrewinla3557]

Great help! Thanks! Would love to see it rigged in Premiere.

[@goranthoren5522]

Awesome stuff! Def show us some more advanced rigging!

[@sosweis]

life changer , thanks

[@shakils1921]

Amazing work.

[@ukramedia]

Thank you, Shakil!

[@acalsmo]

Thank you man!

[@noicerone]

Saved it for later!

[@BLXKMNTN]

THank you! This was a great learning experience. Question though: When keyframing a dropdown, it sticks to that keyframed dropdown menu item. Further in the composition I'd like to keyframe the menu item to some other item, but it stays showing me the results of the first menu item. Help please?

[@brokenstudiotv]

Thanks for the tutorial! I have a question, is there a way to grab the String text from the selected item on the list? To be more specific, I am trying to setup a Dropdown Menu Control with a bunch of Comp Names, so that for example when I want to access the position of a certain layer from a specific Composition, all I have to do is change the value on the Dropdown Menu so that it references the "String" from that value and in turn gives us the name of that composition. I hope this makes sense, here's an Example of the Expression: compName = effect("Dropdown Menu Control")("Menu") - Somehow this has to reference the "String" of the item selected and not the value. comp(compName).layer("Control").effect("Position")("Point"); - This would then use the compName variable to reference that specific composition's name.

[@adiraimaji]

Is there any way to add items to Dropdown Menu using expression??

[@madebyhaych5925]

Beautifully explained. Thanks for the upload. Have a question though. I worked with a file recently that had two Dropdown Menus, One for the 'Home' Team, a second for the 'Away'. Both referenced logos from only one 'Team Logo' Comp, but each displayed as the selected team from either Dropdown. I tried to read through the expression but it contained Pseudo in the code. Do you have an idea how this was accomplished?

[@daviddelayat-dnapictures]

Hey Sergei ! Hope you're doing well. Is there a way to fill a dropdown menu with a .csv file ? I can make a script with ES, but if there's something built in it'd be great !

[@evaristphi]

thank you Sir sergei

[@ukramedia]

Thank YOU, Phi Tutorials!

[@sudeshprathap]

You are GREATTT! :D

[@ukramedia]

Thank you for your kind words, Sudesh!

[@NetoMotion]

thanks

[@rotationmagnum]

Hello, great tutorial. thanks a lot ! I'm trying to figure out, what happen if we have multiple copy of the same composition in the same main comp. For me impossible to toggle each of them separately, Any idea ? thanks (i'm bad at code)

[@T_Armstrong]

Great tutorial. Does anyone know why keyframing doesnt work? As soon as I start to keyframe the dropdown menu, the expression gets killed. comes back when I delete all keyframes.

[@alinarangi7826]

awesome...!

[@ukramedia]

Thank you, Ali!

[@suancho]

Thanks! I have a huge list and it will change. I couldn't access the key-value property to make it dinamic. I can only see the value of the dropdown. Do you know how to change the list items name with expressions?

[@josephb1884]

Question - Is it possible to use a .csv or .tsv to change the value of the dropdown to help automate the process of creating these animations rather than do it all manually? I have tried manipulating the dropdown using my limited knowledge of JavaScript, but I can't quite get it to work. Also - Thanks for all of the videos. You have no idea of the positive impact they have made on me. :)

[@martinvanhouten]

Thank you for another great tutorial! Still though, there's one question driving me crazy: Is there any possibility to extract the text string from the item names to use them? In your example you were forced to write the team names twice: once in the menu for interface intentions and once in the expression for the actual name shown on the canvas. When you released this video 2 years ago, there seemed to be no solution for this issue. Has this changed in the meantime? Best regards and keep rocking :)

[@Leonidas909]

I came here to see if this was solved in the video, it is not...

[@jo.da.6240]

This was a very helpful tutorial, thanks so much! Just on question: In case I animated the layer's opacity in the pre-comp, is there a way to keep the keyframes because if I use your expression the layer's opacity is either 0 or 100. Is that possible?

[@bobvictor1962]

Great video - but I’m having a problem. Followed your instructions and created a control layer and linked every layer in the separate precomp (for mouth sprites); in the precomp, everything works. In the original comp, I made key frames and can see the changes in the composition panel. But when I run it, the mouth sprites do not change. They do change in the precomp but not in the comp. any thoughts?

[@cardermedia]

Hi, could I please ask - how do you change text colour with drop-down menus? I’ve been searching for hours and no-one has talked about it online. Hope you can help 👍🏻

[@licivarolo]

Hi Segei. Great video! Whats the name of the "after effect legend" that yo named in the video? Victoria ...? Does she have a KZbin chanel? Thanks!

[@kanadiou]

Nice ! on other video you tell you can change duration ;) it would be a nice trick in video !

[@ukramedia]

Thanks for the feedback! I'll have to do a tutorial on that soon.

[@doguztv]

Hi. One thing i have trouble with when learning this type of thing is what is a variable and what is an After Effects command. Since both in your example is using camelCase. I wonder if it would make it a whole lot simpler if you started to make all your variables UPPERCASE. Just so we know it's a variable and not a AE command.

[@nathitappan]

Dropdown menus driven by other dropdown menus? I'm currently setting up a template that involves 8 different teams with 8 players each. I'm used to the dropdowns driven by opacity and/or lists, but I was curious if you have a good trick to tie one line from a dropdown to drive what is available on the second dropdown. This is what I mean: First dropdown: Team Name (that'll drive colors, and logos). Second dropdown: Team Player (that'll drive player's name and photo). What I'm trying to accomplish is streamlining the second dropdown. Instead of having over 60 names in it with dividers per team, I was hoping to having only displayed the applicable team's players when the first dropdown is used. Does that make sense? I'll keep searching, but I thought I'd ask here too! Thanks for any insight!

[@DemoSin]

You solved my problems good sr! Have a like and subscribe

[@DinuGranaci]

Thank you very mutch Sergei. What is the name Victoria Niss?

[@ukramedia]

Thank YOU, Dinu! Victoria Nece is the Product Manager for motion graphics and visual effects at Adobe. In a previous life, she was a motion designer for documentaries, as well as a developer of scripts and extensions for After Effects

[@goodfellas6590]

Hello there! Could you tell me? For example, I want the opacity of one layer to be tied to several Dropdown Menu items! In this lesson, a Dropdown Menu item is attached to each layer! This is so that , for example , the opacity level is broken down by Dropdown Menu items ! Thanks

[@gugaestrada]

hey, you metioned about Victoria, what´s her social media conecctions?

[@AjeetSinghMotion]

please upload this team rig video...

[@11305205219]

14:52 maybe teach how to import that in premiere

[@shozibdesign9403]

If I want Drop Down menu for the null object "scale control" Like: Drop Down menu 1= Scale 50% Drop Down menu 2= Scale 100%

[@muhamadbagus9327]

how to change setFont if we use Dropdown menu

[@goodfellas6590]

Здраствуйте! Не могли бы подсказать? Я например хочу чтобы непрозрачность одного слоя была привязана к нескольким пунктам Dropdown Menu! В этом уроке для каждого слоя привязывается свой пункт Dropdown Menu! Спасибо !

[@goodfellas6590]

Это для того чтобы например уровень непрозрачности был разбит по пунктам Dropdown Menu

[@zulfiquarabbas3933]

This Tutorial was helpful but it was confusing because you named them one, two, three, four

[@josearcentales2899]

How isn't there a way to directly refer to the text in the dropdown through expression? I know it's simple once you get the hang of it but let's say i need to add another item, then i also need to edit the expression to manually add that item. It almost takes away the benefit of having a dropdown

[@stickerman8247]

g.o.a.t

[@BorsukLIVE]

value.name?

[@LinKaaxMu]

Very useful tutorial! Thank you!! 👏