Current Time

The Current Time Numeric Generator outputs the current time, in seconds, multiplied by its Multiplier. The value grows steadily as the animation plays, so a parameter connected to it changes at a constant speed, forever, without a single keyframe.

Use it for:

• Constant rotations: wheels, fans, loading indicators
• Steady movements and scrolling, combined with a Math Modifier to repeat them endlessly
• Endless evolutions, such as the Evolution of a Noise
• Displaying the time, or any value that counts up, in a text

Quick Navigation

• Creating and Connecting a Current Time
• Setting the Speed with the Multiplier
• Which Time Is Used
• Example: an Endless Noise
• Displaying the Time in a Text
• Repeating a Movement Endlessly
• Controls

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Creating and Connecting a Current Time

Like any Numeric Generator, the Current Time is connected to a numeric parameter. As described in Generators and Modifiers, click the Generator slot of the parameter, then choose Current Time in the list of Generators on the right.

It produces a single value. On a parameter with several dimensions, use Separated mode to drive one dimension only, for example the X of a Position, or Single mode to drive all of them at once (see Managing Dimensions).

Setting the Speed with the Multiplier

The value of the Current Time is the time in seconds multiplied by the Multiplier. The Multiplier is therefore a speed, in units of the connected parameter per second:

• On a Rotation, a Multiplier of 90 turns the layer by 90 degrees per second, a quarter turn.
• On a Position, a Multiplier of 200 moves the layer by 200 pixels per second.
• A negative Multiplier makes the value decrease: on a Rotation, the layer turns the other way.

Which Time Is Used

• The value is measured in seconds, not in frames: it is the same at any frame rate, and it changes continuously between two frames.
• It follows the Start Time of the composition: in a composition that starts at 10 seconds, the value starts at 10.
• It uses the time of the layer: when a layer is shifted with its Time Offset, its Current Time is shifted too. With a Time Offset of 1 second, the value is always one second ahead of the composition.

Example: an Endless Noise

The Evolution of a Noise is an angle in degrees. Connect a Current Time to it, and the noise keeps evolving at the same pace for the whole composition, however long it is.

Displaying the Time in a Text

A text in Plain Text mode can display a value produced by a Generator. To show the time, as in the first example on this page:

• In seconds: connect a Number to String Generator to the text, and a Current Time to its Value. Set its Decimals to choose the precision, for example 2 for hundredths of a second. You can also connect the Current Time directly to the text: Autograph converts the number to text automatically. The Number to String Generator is only needed to control how the number is written.
• As a timecode: connect a Timecode to String Generator to the text. Set its Time Mode to Custom Time, and connect a Current Time to its Custom Time.

Repeating a Movement Endlessly

A value driven by the Current Time never stops growing, so a layer moved by it eventually leaves the frame. To repeat the movement, wrap the value with a Math Modifier in Modulo mode: the value goes back to 0 each time it reaches the Value of the Modifier. The Math page shows a complete example, with a text crossing the frame again and again.

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Controls

Parameter / Script Name	Type	Default	Function
Enabled / enabled	Boolean	On	Turns the Generator on or off.
Multiplier / multiplier	Float	1	The value is the current time in seconds, multiplied by this number. It is therefore a speed, in units of the connected parameter per second: 90 on a Rotation turns it by 90 degrees per second. Negative values make the value decrease.