by Plugin Everything·Motion Graphics
Images © Plugin Everything. Used for product review; image policy.
TextBorder earns its spot for handling a fiddly task, a border that stays fit to live text, without parenting, mattes or expressions. Its long compatibility range from CS6 to After Effects 2024, plus native Apple Silicon support, makes it easy to slot into both old and new projects.
TextBorder, from Plugin Everything, creates a customisable border that fits around text in After Effects and updates automatically when the text changes. You apply it directly to the text layer, so there is no need for parenting, mattes or expressions.
Border sizing runs on a global expansion control plus individual expansion for width, height, top, left, bottom and right. Edges can be rounded, with control over which edges are round. Fills can be solid or gradient, and dash options are available. A set of transform controls lets you animate the border independently from the text.
It is compatible with motion blur, After Effects' built-in text animation tools, and both paragraph and vertical text. Compatibility runs from CS6 through the 2024 release. Version 1.1.2 added native support for Apple Silicon hardware, and earlier updates brought multi-frame rendering support for AE 2022, 32bpc, a polygon mode, and gradient opacity with a radial mode.
TextBorder is best for after Effects users who need an automatically fitted, customisable border around text, including paragraph and vertical text, that animates independently and works with motion blur and native text animation tools.
TextBorder is completely free to download and use.
TextBorder supports a wide range of After Effects releases, from CS6 through CC, CC 2014, CC 2015, CC 2015.3, CC 2017, CC 2018, CC 2019, and the 2020 through 2024 versions. That span covers older projects still running on CS6 as well as recent installs. Version 1.1.2 also added native support for Apple Silicon hardware, so it runs on newer Mac systems. For the current list and any changes in later releases, check the developer's page.
TextBorder added multi-frame rendering (MFR) support for After Effects 2022 in version 1.1.1, released on November 5, 2021. Other updates over its history include 32bpc support, a polygon mode, and gradient opacity with a radial mode. If you rely on MFR in AE 2022 or later, make sure you are on 1.1.1 or newer. The developer's page lists the full changelog for each release.
TextBorder is applied directly to the text layer, so there is no need for parenting, mattes or expressions to attach a border. The border is sized to fit the text and updates automatically as the text changes. It also works with motion blur, After Effects' built-in text animation tools, and both paragraph and vertical text. Transform controls let you animate the border independently from the text itself.
TextBorder is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing terms can change over time, so for current pricing, license details and the download, the developer's page from Plugin Everything is the place to confirm before you rely on it. It is distributed through aescripts, where it appears in the plugins library for After Effects. Once installed, it is applied directly to the text layer, needing no parenting, mattes or expressions to draw a border.
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