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AEAfter Effects

Drive

by Freshmograph·Workflow

Images © Freshmograph. Used for product review; image policy.

Why we like it

Drive earns its place in the aescripts library for a focused job: turning one property into the controller for another, with concrete examples spanning rotation, emitter rate, and hue.

What is Drive?

Drive is a Freshmograph tool for After Effects built around one idea: controlling a property using another property. You pick the two properties, and one drives the other.

The developer gives several examples of what that looks like. You can rotate a layer based on the x position of another layer, change a particle emitter's rate based on the scale of a layer, or change the hue of a layer based on the opacity of another layer. The same approach applies to other property pairings you set up.

Drive is at version 1.02, released October 11, 2022, and runs across a wide span of After Effects releases—CC 2019 and the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 versions through 2026. It's listed here as free; check the developer's page for current licensing details.

Who is Drive best for?

Drive is best for after Effects users who want to control one property with another—such as tying rotation, emitter rate, or hue to another layer's value.

How much does Drive cost?

Drive is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Links one property to another so one is controlled by the other
  • Example: rotate a layer based on the x position of another layer
  • Example: change a particle emitter's rate based on the scale of a layer
  • Example: change the hue of a layer based on the opacity of another layer
  • Compatible with After Effects CC 2019 through 2026
  • Version 1.02, updated October 11, 2022

Tags

#After Effects#Freshmograph#aescripts#expressions#property control#workflow

Frequently asked questions

Does Drive work with After Effects 2026?

Drive lists compatibility with a wide range of After Effects versions, including 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and CC 2019. If you're on any release in that span, the plugin is intended to run for you. Because coverage reaches from the older CC 2019 build up to the 2026 version, artists working across mixed After Effects installs can generally rely on the same tool. For any version outside that list, check the developer's page before installing to confirm support.

Is Drive free to use?

Drive is listed here as free, so you can add it to After Effects without a purchase through this catalog. Licensing terms can change over time, though, so it's worth confirming the current details on the developer's page before you depend on it for production work. No price is shown against the listing here, and the plugin supports a broad set of After Effects versions from CC 2019 through 2026.

Can Drive link a layer's rotation to another layer's position?

Drive is built to control one property using another, and rotation tied to position is one of the examples the developer gives: you can rotate a layer based on the x position of another layer. The same connect-one-to-another approach covers other pairings too—changing a particle emitter's rate based on the scale of a layer, or shifting the hue of a layer based on the opacity of another layer. The relationship links the two properties you choose.

What version of Drive is available and when was it updated?

Drive is at version 1.02, released on October 11, 2022. That update revised the installation instructions, following version 1.01 on October 4, 2022, which fixed an install bug related to the aescripts manager app and updated expressions. The initial 1.0 release landed on September 29, 2022. The current build therefore reflects a short run of early fixes to installation and expressions rather than a long version history.

Alternatives to Drive

Also in Workflow for After Effects.

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