A Tour of the Panel
This page names every region of the eXLib panel once, so the rest of this documentation can point at them directly without re-explaining. Come back here any time a term doesn't ring a bell.
These screenshots were captured in an earlier beta. Toolbar and Library layouts have since changed; the written instructions on this page describe v0.145.4. See A Tour of the Panel for the current controls.
The workspace toolbar
One rooted toolbar serves both workspaces. Click either IDE or LIB plate at the top to switch between the editor and the full Library. The active workspace has its own tools and actions; Settings sits at the foot of either tree.
In IDE, the tool nodes are Comp Expressions, Variables, Library Window (the floating Compact insert panel), Evaluator, and Dependency Map. The action nodes below them are:
| IDE action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pull | Reads the selected AE property's expression into the editor. |
| Picker | Opens Insert Property Reference. A narrow panel may require more space. |
| Apply | Writes the editor's code to the active tab's pinned target, or the live selection when it has none. |
| Audition | Tries the editor's code on the pinned or selected property and restores its original expression. |
| Save | Updates the Library item behind an item-backed tab, or captures a scratch tab as a new Author draft. |
In LIB, the tools open Library, Author, and Pseudo FX. Its actions open New Draft and Backup & Restore.
Choose Auto, Small, Medium, Large, or Flyout under Settings → Appearance → Editor toolbar. Auto chooses the largest toolbar that fits. Sidebar side selects left or right; Rail labels controls icons-only versus labeled nodes; Small stays icons-only for legibility.
In Flyout, the side toolbar is hidden. Click the eXLib glyph in the status-bar corner to open its menu, or use the rebindable eXLib: Toolbar Menu shortcut. Choosing a tool or action dismisses the menu. Audition has its own action; the brand glyph opens the menu.
The toolbar uses amber for interaction states. Blue remains available for semantic information such as Info diagnostics and type metadata. See The Icon Vocabulary and Real-time Diagnostics.
The tab strip and the editor
The editor itself is a Monaco code surface, with a tab strip above it so you can hold several expressions open at once — one per comp, one per rig, whatever your session needs. See The ae-expression Editor and Tabs & Hot Exit for the full detail.
The status bar
Runs along the bottom of the editor — your always-visible connection to After Effects. On the left: clickable Error/Warning/Info/Hint problem counts, and the selected-property chip with its dimension (1D/2D/3D/COLOR). On the right: the pinned Apply-target chip (shown only while active), the selected-layer and active-composition readouts, and a live cursor position.
In Flyout mode, the Library also has a bottom status bar. It shows the current view, folder or rig scope, query and filter state, and whether the library store is ready, loading, or reporting an error. Its corner is reserved for the toolbar-menu glyph.
The Library and its sibling views
Switch to LIB for Library (search, filter, audition, apply, and organize on one screen), Author (variables and drafts), and Pseudo FX (Pseudo Effect Authoring). Settings is available from either workspace. To insert from the Library while staying in the editor, use IDE → Library Window.
Floating panels
Several tools open as floating panels beside or over the editor rather than replacing it — the Variables panel, the Insert Property Reference (pickwhip) popover, the Live Expression Evaluator, the Compact Insert popover, the Comp Expressions list, and the Dependency Map. Each is covered where it belongs later in this guide.