Edit the text and cursor

Change the words

Edit the layer’s text normally in After Effects. Clickety reads the underlying text, so you do not need to rebuild the animation after a plain text edit. In cps mode, the new length changes the typing time. In sec mode, it keeps the total duration.

Keep the layer long enough for the new text. If you use sound markers, refresh those markers after changing the words.

Adjust existing layers

Select one or more text layers with Clickety, then move into the panel. It refreshes when you enter it or the panel regains focus. Changes to style, speed, cursor, jitter, blink, and timing update those selected Clickety layers immediately. A drag updates After Effects when you release it.

When several Clickety layers are selected, the panel displays the first one’s values. A change to one control applies that change to all selected, unlocked Clickety layers. The rings on style buttons show which styles exist in the selection.

Fresh text layers in the same selection do not receive these live edits. Click Apply to apply the displayed setup to every selected, unlocked text layer. Reapplying replaces Clickety’s animator rather than stacking another copy. Each apply, committed adjustment, or removal is an After Effects undo step.

Choose a cursor

Pick no cursor ∅, a bar |, an underscore _, or a block █. In a smaller slot, click the glyph button to cycle through these choices. In the narrow strip, Cursor turns the cursor off, or on with the saved glyph named in its tooltip. If it restores a different glyph than you want, choose one in the full options.

The cursor stays solid while text is arriving or leaving. Blink sets the full blink cycle in seconds while idle, half visible and half hidden. Set it to 0, shown as Solid, to keep it visible. The default is a one-second cycle.

The cursor is part of the same text layer. Turning it on adds a Source Text expression. If the layer already has your own Source Text expression, Clickety keeps it and types that layer without a cursor.

Use the panel sample

Remove Clickety

Select the affected text layers, open the full options, and click Remove. You can also hold Alt or Option and click the keyboard Apply button.

Removal clears Clickety’s animator, effect controls, its Source Text expression, and all layer markers whose comment is exactly key. The underlying text remains. Other text animators remain. Locked layers are skipped.