I have long dreamed of a way to work in After Effects that feels calm, focussed, efficient, and importantly - Keyboard First.

There are still so many things in the way of getting to that point, but I’ve gotten to the point now where I know there are some things that can be done. The scripts and tools I use in After Effects have gotten so numerous I’m actually overwhelmed by them. + I’m starting to write my own.

So, lets get organized.

I have been using KBAR for a while now. I thought it would fit into my workflow. The idea is to reduce the number of tools you have on screen by putting them into these neat little icons.

You can make it look cool, but really… you still have the same number of things on screen, they are just smaller. I also forget what many of the icons mean. And it's just more clicking… 😓.

Even though it looks a bit neater, the workspace still isn't focussed and clean. So we need to find something else.

The answer to this overwhelming feeling is, in my opinion, searching.

FX Console has been a common tool for people for years. However, it does not run scripts or launch a user interface. Recently, I have been using QuickMenu, which is much better.

Essentially, you need a clean and focussed single launcher for AE that allows you to immediately:

So let’s get this set up.

Firstly, you need to assign a shortcut to QM. After you install it, it will appear in AE’s keyboard shortcuts editor.

There are tons of tools that let you have your own expression library right in After Effects. MoCode, Expressionist, Quiver, etc. To be honest, I think they are all slightly overengineered for my purpose. I just want to have a library of code I can manage in a normal editor and then search and quickly apply those expressions right away. If I need to do tweaks, I'll do it in the normal way—by opening the property expression editor.

QuickMenu lets you do this just like you do with animation presets. You have to select the property you want to apply it to, but that takes only a moment with a shortcut or ⌘F.

Now there’s often confusion (for me anyway) between scripts, scriptUI, .jsx and .jsxbin files. Let me clear that up.

Both file types can either execute actions without opening UI or they can load a UI panel that gives you more control over what you want to do.

For the purposes of our launcher, this distinction doesn’t really matter — either way, you’re just launching a script. It might do something, or it might load UI for you to do stuff.

99% of the time, .jsxbin files go in the Script UI folder and .jsx files go in the top level Scripts folder.

I’ve decided to keep any premium scripts I install in this normal area. But for all my own custom scripts I write, I’m going to manage my own library in Google Drive.

This allows me to manage it away from the clutter of the Application folder, let’s me structure it how I want and also gives me peace of mind that they’re backed up.

The default scripts and script ui folders are already setup with your QM install. To point Quick Menu to additional folders - click on ‘Scripts’ and then ‘Add Resource Folder’.

Last time I checked, the only way to refresh QM’s search index is through quitting and re-opening After Effects. Although I know Edgar the developer wants to work on a way of improving this.

You’ll see another area in the image above called ‘Extensions’. If you’re confused like I was, extensions are basically more ‘official’ Script UI panels. (or you could think of script UI panels as extensions… up to you).

Extensions are things that you install like a regular file however. You don’t put script files in the scripts folder.

After you’ve installed however, this distinction is not really important - you’re just loading a new UI window that does stuff. But, for interest, there is a separate path for this in QM’s settings. You can’t change this.

Some menu items seem to be automatically in the search index. Some don’t.

If you want an item in the index and it’s not, head to the Menu Commands area and make sure Make Command Searchable is ticked .

QM can also quickly add shapes and apply shape layer filters.

And finally with the customization — custom icons.

QM loads with these pretty average looking icons. I love good interface design, so at some point I might upgrade these for a better user experience. In the image above you’ll see an icon. At various areas in the settings panel, you’ll find you can change these - just by clicking on it and pointing it to a path where your new image is stored.

This is the second killer feature for me after search. Let me explain why and recap where we’re at in this process:

But then a new problem emerges. You start to forget what tools you have and when you are working in a certain scenario, you can’t remember what tools you have at your disposal.

I can theoretically see how command groups could help with this. I haven't done much with them yet, so I don't have great examples. But, for instance, if you do a lot of drawing and shape making in After Effects, you can save animation presets, shape extensions, scripts, etc. related to your drawing workflow. Then, you can access the command group to remind yourself of the tools available for the particular task.

You can also even setup shortcuts for these, but I haven’t had lots of success with this yet. QM still feels like a slightly underbaked product. Looking forward to when these kinks are ironed out.