SplitText.jsx - Documentation

📖 Description

SplitText.jsx is a script for Adobe After Effects designed for intelligent text layer splitting with respect to formatting rules, geographical names, company names, and other special terms.

Version: 1.2
Author: tannenspiel@gmail.com
Language: ExtendScript (JavaScript for Adobe)

🎯 Main Features

1. Split Text into Layers

• Splits a text layer into two separate layers (or multiple layers if "Split into Layers by Lines" is enabled)
• Supports multiple layer selection
• Automatically copies source layer properties (position, scale, rotation, opacity)
• Supports splitting by symbol, by lines, or automatically at the middle
• "Split into Layers by Lines" mode: When enabled, divides text by lines - each line becomes a separate layer

2. Split Text into Lines

• Splits a long line into two lines in the same layer
• Recursively processes all lines in the text
• Supports different line break types (\r\n, \r, \n)

3. Rename and Number Layers

• Renames and numbers selected layers (text and non-text layers)
• Sorts layers by start time (inPoint)
• Supports name masks with {num} placeholder
• 4-digit numbering (0001, 0002, 0003...)
• "Up" checkbox: Inverts numbering and sorting order
  • When disabled: earliest inPoint → number 0001 (at top)
  • When enabled: earliest inPoint → highest number (at bottom)

🚀 Usage

Tutorial Video

📹 Watch the tutorial: SplitText v1.2 Tutorial

Installation

1. Copy the SplitText v1.2.jsx file to the After Effects scripts folder:

   • Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects [version]\Support Files\Scripts\
   • Mac: /Applications/Adobe After Effects [version]/Scripts/

2. Run the script through After Effects menu:

   • File → Scripts → Run Script File...
   • Or use the Window → Scripts panel

Interface

"Actions" Panel

• Split into Layers - splits text into two separate layers
• Split into Lines - splits text into two lines in the same layer

"Options" Panel

• Split into Layers by Lines - when enabled, "Split into Layers" divides text by lines (each line becomes a separate layer)
• Split at Layer Middle - automatically split at the middle of layer duration
• Use Split Symbol - use a split symbol (specified in the field below)
• Split Symbol - field for entering the split symbol (default: $)

"Rename and Number Layers" Panel

• Name Mask - mask for layer name (you can use {num} for the number)
• Rename & Number Layers - button for renaming and numbering
• Up - checkbox to invert numbering and sorting order
  • Disabled (default): Earliest inPoint gets number 0001 and is placed at top
  • Enabled: Earliest inPoint gets highest number and is placed at bottom

📋 Formatting Rules

The script uses intelligent rules to prevent incorrect text splitting:

1. Words that should not be at the end of a line

• ONLY: prepositions, articles, conjunctions, pronouns (Russian and English)
• DOES NOT include: auxiliary verbs, adverbs, quantifiers (removed in v1.2 to eliminate conflicts)

2. Words that are never split

• Abbreviations ("т.е.", "и т.д.", "etc.", "e.g.", etc.)
• Units of measurement ("kg", "km", "sec", "min", etc.)
• Combinations of abbreviations with numbers ("рис. 1", "стр. 5")

3. Compound Expressions

• ONLY: multi-word prepositions, geographical names, companies
• DOES NOT include: "subject+verb" pairs like "i have", "we will" (removed in v1.2 to eliminate conflicts)
• Phraseological constructions ("так как", "потому что", "in order to", "according to", etc.)
• Geographical names:
  • Cities: "New York", "Los Angeles", "Нижний Новгород", "Великий Новгород", etc.
  • Regions: "New South Wales", "British Columbia", "Республика Саха", etc.
• Companies and brands:
  • "General Motors", "Goldman Sachs", "Альфа Банк", "Яндекс Такси", etc.

4. Special Characters

• Opening characters: ", ', (, [, {, «
• Special characters: ,, ., !, ?, :, ;

🔧 Technical Details

Supported Line Break Types

• \r\n (CRLF - Windows)
• \r (CR - old Mac)
• \n (LF - Unix/Linux)

Split Priorities

1. "Split into Layers by Lines" mode (if enabled): Simple line-by-line splitting - each line becomes a separate layer
2. Line breaks (only for "Split into Layers" when "Split into Layers by Lines" is disabled)
3. Split symbol (if "Use Split Symbol" checkbox is enabled)
4. Automatic search - nearest space to the middle of the text with respect to rules

Formatting Rules Application Order (for automatic search)

1. Compound expressions (multi-word prepositions, geographical names, companies) - priority #1
2. Words from avoidEndWords (prepositions, articles, conjunctions, pronouns) - priority #2
3. Words that are never split (abbreviations, units of measurement) - priority #3
4. Special terms (cities, brands) - priority #4
5. Basic rules (opening characters, special characters) - priority #5

Multiple Layer Selection

• When selecting multiple layers for "Split into Layers" - splitting occurs at the middle of each layer's duration
• When selecting multiple layers for "Split into Lines" - each layer is processed separately
• When renaming - all selected layers are renamed and sorted by inPoint

Layer Renaming

• If the mask contains {num} - it is replaced with a 4-digit number
• If {num} is not present - the number is added at the end
• Numbering order depends on "Up" checkbox:
  • "Up" disabled: Layers are numbered from earliest to latest inPoint (0001, 0002, 0003...)
  • "Up" enabled: Layers are numbered from latest to earliest inPoint (highest number for earliest inPoint)
• Examples (with "Up" disabled):
  • Mask: "Text {num}" → "Text 0001", "Text 0002"
  • Mask: "Scene" → "Scene 0001", "Scene 0002"

⚠️ Limitations

• The script works only with text layers for splitting
• All layer types are supported for renaming
• An active composition is required
• At least one selected layer is required

🐛 Known Issues

• For multiple selection in "Split into Layers", the middle of layer duration is always used (cursor position is not taken into account)
• Recursive line splitting may take time with a large number of lines

📚 Code Structure

A detailed map of all functions and data structures is available in SCRIPT_MAP.md.

Main Components:

1. UI initialization (lines 1-85)
2. Data arrays (lines 91-243)
3. Validation functions (lines 248-283, 1002-1047)
4. Splitting functions (lines 288-621)
5. Formatting rules functions (lines 626-978)
6. Renaming functions (lines 1052-1177)
7. Event handlers (lines 1182-1195)

Additional Documentation:

• SCRIPT_MAP.md - Map of all functions with line numbers

🔄 Version History

v1.2

• Critical fix: Cleaned up avoidEndWords and compoundExpressions lists to eliminate conflicts
  • Removed auxiliary verbs, adverbs, quantifiers from avoidEndWords
  • Removed "subject+verb" pairs from compoundExpressions
  • Now "I have a dream" correctly splits into "I have" + "a dream"
• Simplified compound expression checking logic
• Improved findCompoundSafePosition function for more accurate position search
• Fixed lineSplitInfo.position check in updateLayerText
• Added "Up" checkbox for inverted numbering and sorting order
  • When enabled: earliest inPoint gets highest number and is placed at bottom
  • Fixed numbering to follow chronological order of inPoints
• Added "Split into Layers by Lines" checkbox for simple line-by-line splitting
  • When enabled: "Split into Layers" divides text by lines - each line becomes a separate layer
  • Ignores formatting rules and simply splits at line breaks
• All alert messages translated to English
• Removed debug messages
• Updated documentation

v1.1

• Added support for multiple layer selection
• Added layer renaming and numbering function
• Extended formatting rules (geographical names, companies)
• Improved line break handling
• Added recursive processing of multiple lines

v1.0

• Initial version
• Basic text splitting
• Basic formatting rules

📞 Contact

Email: tannenspiel@gmail.com

📄 License

The script is provided "as is" without any warranties.