Cycle Through After Effects Dropdown Menus Faster - Free Scripts

Using this set of simple scripts, you can set up shortcut keys to more easily cycle through selected After Effects properties such as dropdown menus.

INSTALLATION

Method 1:

Place both scripts into the following After Effects scripts folder:

AppData>Roaming>Adobe>After Effects>(version number)>Scripts

Restart After Effects if it was already open.

Method 2:

While in After Effects, navigate "File > Scripts > Install Script File" and install both through there. Restart After Effects.

With both scripts installed, navigate "Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts" and search for the two scripts (entering "selectedproperty" into the search bar should present both).

Add your choice of keyboard shortcut to each script.

Note: The -1 script will decrease property values by 1, and the +1 script will increase property values by 1. You may wish to invert your chosen shortcuts for a more natural feel when dealing with dropdown menus (as increasing the property of a dropdown menu will move to the next item, which is visually lower in the list, and vice versa).

USAGE

Select any layer property within a layer by clicking on the property name, then use your chosen shortcut keys to increase or decrease the property value.

ISSUES

Property names cannot be clicked on in the Effect Controls panel - to avoid navigating to such a property in the layer window, you can instead change the property in the Effect Control panel by any amount, which will cause that property to become selected. (Ex: Change the currently selected item in a dropdown menu to a different item)

The dropdown menus in some effects contain dividers between items, which unfortunately count as index values within the property. This means that when you increase or decrease your selected property into one of these dividers, it will default to the first item in the list and may cause strange visual artifacts. Increasing or decreasing once more will continue past the divider and resolve the issue.