If Else Conditional Expression - Adobe After Effects tutorial

[@adrianfels2985]

Another channel I found which is an extreme goldmine for After Effects Tutorials! I'm impressed of what you are giving us for free! Many thanks for that!

[@MCappuc1]

PLEASE make more videos explaining expressions! You have always explained concepts in AE with such clarity and I think your descriptions are more helpful for my learning process than just trying to find the info online or copy/pasting expressions from the web.

[@luizfernandoalves857]

you inspire and help people more than you think, bro! your portifolio, your tutorials, and everything else. thanks for doing this

[@ZimoNitrome]

great vid for animators/editors not familiar with programming

[@EpicDonutDudeMemes]

Keep up your wednesday videos dude! They are amazing

[@Evokans]

What is this? A crossover episode?

[@puckthemadness]

You are the real hero. I've been watching your videos since the I discovered Motion Design. You helped me and others alot.

[@warlock242]

Love your tutorials Evan, you are concise, comprehensive and amusing to boot.

[@ECAbrams]

thanks!

[@Freelancer1001]

Hey Evan, really fantastic video you've made here. I love all the visual examples and how you break down each expression into parts to make it more digestible. Clearly a lot of time and thought went into this, so thank you!

[@ECAbrams]

Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoy it :)

[@snalvershipuchka6385]

Thank you so mutch !!!You are the best ! Your video helped a lot with the project !!!

[@MudanTV]

Dude, this is amazing, your tutorials are next level stuff. I never knew you could do conditional expressions in AE. Also, your last video about Essential Graphics. The box was dope, made my own version and using it quite a lot in some work related videos. Been following you for many years now and even though you don't post regularly, when you do, it's totally worth it!

[@ECAbrams]

Glad you dig it! I'm trying to get more regular. Maybe this is the year I get back to a schedule.

[@AmitabhJangra]

Your speaking style is awesome. 💙💚💛

[@UNKNOWNMAER]

Огромное спасибо за Ваш труд! Очень помогли в освоение темы с переменными!

[@Scott.Sandifer]

Awesome! Thank you for this one. I think I’ll have to watch this a couple of times, since it didn’t quite stick. Trying to understand how the language of the expression works- and at the same time trying to take in what exactly that expression is making happen on screen got a bit fuzzy in my brain, but imma give it a few more viewings.

[@ECAbrams]

It can be a hard one to crack. It took a while for me to grok expressions when I started getting into it and I'm still getting those ah-ha moments.

[@Videos-gk6yt]

Hi, thanks for the video, it's really interesting. This is completely new for me, so I would like to know more fundamentals, where could I learn it from the beginning?

[@GammelSami]

haha, i looked this up, because i'm working on a dial display like composition. and you have one in the video too...

[@goodgamist5113]

I like how he used if/else for the intro

[@LongerTomTV]

Awesome! Expressions in AE were always a thing I would like to use more often but I didn't have enough knowledge about. Pls Evan, do more of those :D

[@ECAbrams]

I think that can be arranged :)

[@Hexentanz12345]

simple question, let's take the first expression as an example: If (x>45) {100} else {0} it works, but it's too sudden, from 0 to 100 and 100 to 0, would it be possible to smooth the process? like, once the x hits 45 the value goes from 0 to 100 but not instantly?

[@ECAbrams]

I suppose the solution will depend on what you expect to see happen. If you mean that once a number crosses 45 it sould trigger an animation, that's a little complex. I would recommend looking at the work of Dan Ebberts at motionscript.com to get into triggering animations using values or markers. But, you might find what you want in the interpolation functions like linear(). For example you could do linear(x,45,100,0,100). That would give you an output that got from zero to 100 as x goes from 45 to 100. So from 0 till 45 the output is zero, then it has a linear change from 45 up to 100. You might also use the ease() functions for a more gradual roll on and off. Does that make sense?

[@TheSoul1988]

Can you do something similar but with position. Like if NULL is in position (X,Y) then something

[@ECAbrams]

Absolutely. You can do any inputs and outputs that you like so long as you phrase them correctly. So it might be something like if (transform.position==[10,50]) {something} else {something else}

[@dmellis]

At 6:18 that statement if (R>0 && R

[@ECAbrams]

It looks like you've made an error in there. the structure should be if (condition in parentheses) {then what happens in curly braces} else {then what happens if else again in curly braces} if the expression is exactly as you've got it in this comment, using a [ in place of a { that would be my suggestion for where to start trouble shooting. But let me know what error you're getting and I'll try to help if I can.

[@DamonBowe]

awesome tutorial, eca!

[@ECAbrams]

Thanks! Glad you dig it.

[@squeakycleanbday]

Thank you!

[@ericburnett8163]

excellent teaching!

[@pent_mo]

great video!🔥

[@alexaraya2018]

what was the command to output a value to a .....window in after effects to monitor variables and other changing values.....was it put?

[@ECAbrams]

Sorry, you would like to send the value of a property out of after effects? Is that the idea?

[@alexaraya2018]

@@ECAbrams Sorry I got confused with old flash or director...they used to have a window for monitoring values for debugging, you would ad a line of code "put [variable]" and the value would come up in that window...I think that in aftereffects you have to pickwhip a text layer value to that other layer's variable.. :Can you do that?

[@phendan]

Really well-done video. Only thing that could make it better is if you also made the intro bit available for download/purchase :P

[@Feisproductions]

I did not know you could skip the " { } " symbols in the statement. That's kind of convenient! although it might get a bit confusing for me without the full syntax because now its just a bunch of numbers together.

[@ECAbrams]

Absolutely. It's a good habit to have for formatting. There is also a plugin people use for expressions that reformats the expression window to be more like a proper code editor that can really help with organization.

[@abacadusale]

Very, very interesting topic to tackle, Evan :D

[@andriyprvdn1777]

Hi! Thanks. But how do I make the value change gradually? Does anybody know? For instance if scale is more than 50, then I want opacity grow from 50 to 70 within 2 seconds. Is that possible?

[@ECAbrams]

Hi. As we say about expressions "anything is possible". Are you looking to use the scale as a trigger in this example?

[@andriyprvdn1777]

@@ECAbrams Thanks for the reply! I have a null with keyframed rotation. The rotation varies, it goes from 0 to -184, then from -184 to -94, etc. It is, basically, a steering wheel. Whenever my steering wheel starts to rotate counter-clockwise I want to have this effect: scale gradually (within 1 second) goes from 100 to 90. When the wheel starts to rotate clockwise I want scale to go from 90 to 100. It's like when you have two buttons which rotate the wheel; when press left - it rotates counter-clockwise, right - clockwise. Except, it is the opposite - it's the wheel that pushes buttons. (Wow I hope it is understandable).

[@nseriously2704]

I didnt understand! but thx! hope I can get it soon!

[@keifferbuckles8976]

more expressions videos!

[@talwag]

amazing! thanks so much!

[@JoeSparks]

I've learned so much from you over the past year. I hope it shows in my latest music video: "After Effects, I Love You"

[@karlamata7421]

i tried to put an expression in scale property but i keep getting error that needs 2 dimensions not 1?looks something like this this is in the scale property i also added a checkbox control ,basicly i want scale to change when checkbox is on ?can u help var checkbox=effect("Checkbox Control")("Checkbox") if(checkbox==0); 100; }else{ 0; };

[@ECAbrams]

Absolutely. When you get an error like that, it's because you're not formatting the output in a way the property needs. Scale for example is of dimension 2. We always see it displayed as [x,y]. It has two dimensions, a horizontal and vertical. So you would need your outputs to be something like [100,100] and [0,0]. Right now your outputs are of dinemsion 1, would would be fine for opacity or rotation, properties of dimension 1 that only need a single number. If you format your outputs as an array [this,that] you'll be fine.

[@karlamata7421]

ECAbrams thanks for the reply I understand but seems something is still wrong var checkbox=effect("Checkbox Control")("Checkbox") if(checkbox==0); [100,100]; }else{ [0,0]; }; Or am i still doing it wrong how would you right the code?

[@ECAbrams]

@@karlamata7421 well, there is a lot off about what you've got. You have a lot of ";" and not in the right places. Some { } that don't open. Let's simplify to: checkbox=effect("Checkbox Control")("Checkbox"); if(checkbox==0) { [100,100] } else {[0,0] }

[@karlamata7421]

@@ECAbrams thanks i saw the problem now and its working!thank you!

[@ranjeetkumarsingh4752]

where i can find this expression script?

[@ECAbrams]

I'm not totally sure what you mean. As in to copy/paste what was in the video?

[@bishalscreation9793]

Amazing 😁 thanks a lot

[@paulscholesisgod]

Evan, I know this is completely unrelated to expressions, but can you tell me how you got that infinity symbol looking so god damn perfect? Did you pull that from Illustrator or did you make it in AE? If you did make it in AE.... blink twice.

[@ECAbrams]

I think I drew it in Ae. I just used the grid.

[@paulscholesisgod]

Thanks, Evan. Really appreciate you taking the time out making these tutorials.

[@NerdGeekFutureSpeak]

Woo! So expressive 🙂

[@ECAbrams]

Just like Dr. Dre says, "There's no fessing or guessing while I'm expressing myself" ;)

[@TheFiXNormal]

Great vid, Evan. As someone who literally never used any kind of programming in AE (or in fact anywhere else), could you, please, recommend me some material to study while I'm not on PC? :) Cheers and keep it up!

[@ECAbrams]

Well, since expression language is based on JavaScript, some light reading on the basics of JS would be a good move. Something like "JavaScript: The Good Parts" by Douglas Crockford might be a nice read. I've heard good things but never read After Effects Expressions by Marcus Geduld as well.

[@TheFiXNormal]

Thank you for the reply. I will look into both. Cheers!

[@luizfernandoalves857]

Just on my studying time! Brazil likes, you, bro! lol

[@ECAbrams]

Obrigado! Gostaria de aproveitar.

[@rodgerhunter41]

Great tutorial, how do I use multiple if statements. I’m trying to change the display text based on the output of a slider control A eg...... if (A=-180){“white”} if(A=-108){“blue”} If(A=-32){“green”} A Thanks to anyone who may be able to help

[@ECAbrams]

Hey Roger, you're actually very close already. You just need more "elses" in there. so it would be if (this) {that} else if (this) {that} else if (this) {that} else {that} Let me know if that gets you the results you're after.

[@SaeedDesigner7]

thank yyyyyyyyyyyyyooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[@ManexFX]

Awesome video!

[@anikaschulz6433]

If you get an expression error in Adobe 2019: File > Project Setting > Expressions > change Java Script to Legacy ExpandScript

[@LeonVeryNeijs]

Awesome tutorial, as always!

[@bluebearcreativeAU]

thank you

[@lenisiojardim]

Thanks!

[@KhalidObi]

Thank you for sharing this. I fell in love with expressions after your video on sourceRectAtTime. It's very fun and time-saving to play around with and use expressions.

[@bush9686]

Thank you mister)

[@SlimeyNoCommentary]

Thankk you

[@SlimeyNoCommentary]

Thann you

[@hqproductionpotfolio2067]

You forgot to nitce that ar AE 2018 toy fhould put == (or >= or

[@ECAbrams]

We use many logical operators in the video, and there are more besides, it's true.

[@thiroux]

Great!!

[@khanlakhno2757]

Hello! Wchich language these scripts work on? I began to study php and JS and for me these expressions look like they've been written in JS. Am I wrong?

[@khanlakhno2757]

btw, thank you for your tutorials) Greetings from Russia :D

[@ECAbrams]

Not wrong at all, actually very right. I believe that the Ae Expression Language is based on, and incredibly similar to, JavaScript.

[@-________9732]

Cool. +++

[@brunopoplocker]

MAN, just a tip: most of the times when we are looking for a tutorial we are in a hurry, so, the longer it takes you to say what matters, the more it bothers you. Try to leave the presentations until the end, when we have already seen the tutorial and solved our problem. then we will be happier and more willing to listen to what else you have to say.

[@floppydisk9541]

After effects is basically adobe flash + Photoshop..

[@ECAbrams]

+ illustrator + premiere ;)

[@joshbradyvideo1713]

"go outside" thanks

[@AaliDGr8]

help mere

[@aagfx2958]

SHOW ME how can i to give you 1000 like?

[@Berserker_BG]

expressions..... ugh

[@Berserker_BG]

Oh wow, i just watched the actual tutorial and I have to say this guy presented boring expressions in a very entertaining way. It wasn't even boring as I expected, in fact, it was pleasing. Great job mister, you are my new hero.

[@MiasSteenberg]

Hey, so I'm trying to count from one date to next and set the date via slider, but just not winning with expression. Would also like to be able to only count from "mmm-yyyy" to "dd-mmm-yyyy" this is what I have: monthnames=["JANUARY", "FEBRUARY", "MARCH", "APRIL", "MAY", "JUNE", "JULY", "AUGUST", "SEPTEMBER", "OCTOBER", "NOVEMBER", "DECEMBER"]; Speed=effect("Time")("Slider"); date_1=new Date(2020,0,12); // watchout month 0= january, 11=:december ! milli_1=date_1.getTime(); date_2=new Date(2023,3,20); milli_2=date_2.getTime(); t=linear(time,0,Speed,milli_1,milli_2); date_3=new Date(t); date_3.getDate() + " " + monthnames[date_3.getMonth()] + " " + date_3.getFullYear() ;

[@ECAbrams]

Maybe this article on the date function will help: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date As I understand it we need to count or convert into milliseconds when adjusting dates. Maybe I'm wrong on that, though. I don't do much formatting of values into dates. BUT what I gather is that to count from one date to another we want to be adding to the milliseconds that the date constructor is referencing which might require something as simple as multiplying that linear result by a very large number and then converting that number (milliseconds) back into a date? Does that help at all?

[@mediocreape]

haha did you say "aboot" instead of about. you candians are funny.

[@ECAbrams]

Oh no! You caught me being a Canadian on the internet. You win 3 wishes I guess?