Move anchor point allows you to quickly move the anchor point of a layer to a new location without changing the visible position of the layer. The anchor point can be moved to one of nine preset positions, and new in version 2.0 it can also be moved precesely to a custom position.

1. In the .zip file you downloaded, you will see the 'Move Anchor Point.jsx' and the 'map_images' folder. Select and copy both items.
2. You need to paste them into the 'ScriptUI Panels' folder for your version of After Effects. (You must have After Effects CS3 or higher to use the Move Anchor Point script.)
   • Mac: ~/Applications/Adobe After Effects YOUR VERSION/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels
   • Windows: C:/Program Files/Adobe/Adobe After Effects YOUR VERSION/Support Files/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels
   ** If you do not have any ScriptUI Panels installed already, you should verify the spelling and placement of the 'ScriptUI Panels' folder. Capitalization and spacing is important. If the folder is not correctly named and in the correct location, the script will not be visible in the 'Window' menu.
3. Now start up After Effects. You will see 'Move Anchor Point.jsx' at the bottom of the 'Window' menu. Select it to open the Move Anchor Point panel. If After Effects was already open, you must restart the program before it will be visible in the 'Window' menu.

You have a few options when using Move Anchor Point. The main way is to use one of the nine presets.

Each of these black icons represents a different point on the layer. Simply select your layer, or multiple layers, then click on one of the buttons and your anchor point will snap to that position.

Underneath the presets is the Ignore masks checkbox:

By default, if there are masks applied to your layer, only the portion within the mask will be taken into account. Checking this box would move the anchor point relative to the layer as if the mask was not there. If the mask is set to 'None', it will automatically be ignored. If there are multiple masks applied, the resulting position will take all masks into account.

The last part of Move Anchor Point is the Custom Point section

The lets you move the anchor point to a precise custom location. To use the custom point, just enter a percentage (Percentages must be entered as fractions or decimals. Ex: 75% could be entered as .75 or 3/4 ) for both the X and Y amount. So if you wanted the anchor point to be 25% of the way accross the layer and 85% down it, you would enter .25 for X and .85 for Y. Then just click 'Move to Custom Point'

The area of your layer is represented by numbers between 0 and 1, however you are able to use numbers outside this range if you would like to move your anchor point outside the boundaries of your layer.

If you have any question, issues or suggestions for improving Move Anchor Point, please leave a comment on the BatchFrame Blog or send me an email using the contact form or by emailing contact@batchframe.com.

This script is provided AS IS without and guatantees or warranty. Although the author has attempted to find and correct any issues in the script, Jesse Toula and Batch Frame are not responsible for damages or losses of any kind from the use of this script. Jesse Toula and Batch Frame are under no obligation to provide any support, service, corrections or upgrades to the free script.