Element values in expressions

In the expression editor, the Elements tab shows the current values of every element, for example its edges and its size. You use them to line other elements up with it. How to enter an expression is explained in Use the expression editor.

You write the element's name, a dot and the value: headline.bottom. That is the name shown in the layers panel. If you set a caption's Y to headline.bottom + 20, for example, the caption always sits 20 pixels below the headline, even when the headline gets longer. The values update right away.

Values of every element

• left, right, top, bottom: the left, right, top and bottom edge.
• centerX, centerY: the middle, horizontally and vertically.
• width, height: width and height.
• x, y: the top left corner, the way you placed the element. Paths and masks don't have these values.

These values leave out the element's own rotation and scaling. If the element sits inside a group, they are measured from the group, not from the canvas. If a group with Layout Mode moves the element somewhere else, the edges and the middle include that, x and y don't.

What the edges cover depends on the element:

• Rectangle, ellipse, image, video: the area of the element.
• Text: the visible text lines, not the text frame. You read the frame with .frame.
• Group: the area around all elements in the group.
• Mask: the visible part.
• Path: the area around the path.

Extra boxes

Each box has the values left, right, top, bottom, centerX, centerY, width and height.

• .bbox, for example logo.bbox.right: the element's area after its own rotation and scaling. Use it to line up with a rotated or scaled element. Masks don't have .bbox. For groups, .bbox only holds x, y, width and height of the area around their elements.
• .abs, for example logo.abs.top: the edges on the canvas instead of inside the group. This helps with elements inside groups. The values are only right when neither the element nor its groups are rotated or scaled.
• .frame, on texts only, for example headline.frame.bottom: the text frame you drew.

More values of a text

• .text: the current text, for example headline.text.
• .lines.length: the number of lines, for example headline.lines.length.
• .fontSize: the font size that is set.

Text Frame, Text and Per Line under Background Clip only decide what the background of a text looks like. They don't change any of these values.

The canvas

canvas stands for the open canvas. It has the values canvas.left, canvas.right, canvas.top, canvas.bottom, canvas.centerX, canvas.centerY, canvas.width and canvas.height. canvas.bottom - 40, for example, places an element 40 pixels above the bottom edge.

canvas is not listed in any tab of the expression editor. Type it in the code view or straight into a property.

Collections

The variable of a collection is a list. .length gives the number of its entries, for example team.length. You find the collection in the Variables tab, not in the Elements tab.