AEScripts Highlighter v2.0 for After Effects Free Download

AEScripts Highlighter v2.0 Script for After Effects Windows Macintosh Full Version Free Download

AEScripts Highlighter v2.0 is an animation tool for Adobe After Effects that automatically creates animated highlight boxes and cursor effects around text, images, shapes and other layers. Developed by Ahmed Abdallah, the script is designed for creating modern user interface animations, SaaS product demonstrations, text callouts and interactive-looking motion graphics with minimal manual setup.

With a single click, Highlighter generates a box that adapts to the selected layer, along with an animated cursor that can enter from different directions. The tool also supports responsive layer linking, customisable colours, 3D conversion and export to Motion Graphics Templates (MOGRT) for use in Adobe Premiere Pro.

The official product page is available at AEScripts Highlighter.

What Is AEScripts Highlighter?

Highlighter is a dedicated After Effects script for building animated selection boxes and cursor graphics. These elements are commonly used in software tutorials, product walkthroughs, interface demonstrations, explainer videos and promotional content.

Creating this type of animation manually can involve drawing shape layers, adjusting dimensions, setting up cursor graphics and linking everything to the underlying content. Highlighter automates much of this process by generating a connected highlight system that responds when the source layer changes.

The script supports individual layers as well as multiple selected layers. Users can create one box around a combined selection or generate separate highlight boxes for individual layers.

Key Features of Highlighter v2.0

Automatic Animated Highlight Boxes

Highlighter creates a box that aligns with the selected layer’s dimensions. It supports text layers, image files, PNGs, Photoshop files, shape layers, Illustrator files and other layer types.

For text, the box is designed to follow the text boundaries and respond to scaling changes. This makes it useful for highlighting headings, labels, interface elements and important information without manually redrawing the box every time the content changes.

Users can also create a standalone highlight box without selecting a source layer, allowing the shape to be positioned and adjusted freely within a composition.

Animated Cursor and Directional Effects

The script generates a cursor consisting of line and circle elements that complement the highlight box. These elements can be animated alongside the box to create the appearance of an interface selection or an on-screen pointer.

Highlighter includes 11 box animation presets that allow the box to animate from different edges and corners. Additional cursor controls support circle scaling and Trim Paths animation.

Users can adjust the cursor’s placement, animation direction and timing to create different visual styles. These options are particularly useful for software demonstrations and instructional videos in which the animation needs to guide the viewer’s attention.

Custom Colours, Fills and Strokes

Highlighter provides controls for customising the appearance of the box and cursor. Users can choose whether the box uses a fill, a stroke, both or neither. The cursor has similar colour and appearance controls.

Additional settings allow adjustment of stroke thickness, opacity, padding and cursor styling. Colour swatches provide quick access to the relevant colour pickers, making it easier to maintain consistent visual branding across multiple highlights.

Responsive Layer Linking

Highlighter can link additional layers to the highlight box so that attached elements move and scale with it. This is useful when building interface callouts, labels or graphic elements that need to remain aligned with highlighted content.

The script also includes controls for adding or removing source layers. When the source selection changes, the box can automatically resize to include the remaining or newly added layers.

The Lock and Unlock Transform function allows users to separate the highlight box’s movement from the source layer when independent animation is required.

Easy Parent and Link in Version 2.0

One of the main additions in v2.0 is Easy Parent and Link. The feature provides eight directional controls for attaching layers to the sides and corners of a Highlighter box.

The script can create independent null controllers for linked elements, allowing users to move, scale and animate those elements while maintaining their relationship to the box. This is helpful for creating responsive layouts in which labels, icons and other graphics must follow a highlighted area.

Paragraph Text Alignment

Version 2.0 also introduces five one-click paragraph text controls for left alignment, centre alignment, right alignment, right-to-left text direction and left-to-right text direction.

These controls are designed to change text formatting while preserving its visual position. The feature works with standalone text layers as well as animated text layers, providing additional flexibility when creating multilingual interface animations or adjusting text layouts.

3D Conversion and Animation Controls

Highlighter supports converting the box and its cursor to 3D layers. The tool maintains their linked relationships so that the cursor can follow the box’s rotations without requiring separate manual adjustments.

The script also includes controls for deleting animation and keyframes. Users can remove all animation from a selected highlight or delete only selected keyframes while retaining the layer itself.

These features help keep the animation editable as a project develops.

MOGRT Export for Premiere Pro

Highlighter supports exporting responsive Motion Graphics Templates for Adobe Premiere Pro. Its Control function gathers the available controls into a central null layer, while an additional export workflow adds controls to Essential Graphics.

This allows motion designers to prepare reusable highlight animations that editors can customise within supported Premiere Pro workflows. It can be especially useful for recurring tutorial formats, product demonstrations and branded video templates.

How to Use Highlighter in After Effects

The basic workflow is straightforward:

Select your content: Choose the text, image, shape or other layer you want to highlight.
Configure the appearance: Select the box and cursor colour modes, fills, strokes and other visual settings.
Create the highlight: Press the Highlighter button to generate the box and cursor.
Animate the elements: Use the directional animation presets and cursor Trim Paths controls to establish the desired motion.
Refine the layout: Adjust padding, offsets, cursor placement and linked elements as needed.
Export if required: Use the Control and Essential Graphics workflow to prepare a responsive MOGRT for Premiere Pro.

The tool also supports creating a combined highlight around several selected layers or separate boxes for each layer using the Shift-modified creation workflow.

What’s New in Highlighter v2.0?

Highlighter v2.0.0 was released on 16 October 2026. Its major additions include Easy Parent and Link, paragraph text formatting controls and a reorganised interface with dedicated Box, Anim and Tool tabs.

The update also includes improvements to automatic box sizing and default colours, options to show or hide interface information, and fixes for Alpha Matte toggling, duplicated boxes, cursor styling and deletion of linked control elements.

Compatibility and Version Information

Software: Adobe After Effects
Version: 2.0.0
Developer: Ahmed Abdallah
Compatible After Effects versions: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027
Premiere Pro integration: Responsive MOGRT export
Official product page: AEScripts Highlighter

The official listing offers a free trial with usage limits. Check the product page for current licensing, installation instructions and updates.

Who Can Benefit from Highlighter?

Highlighter is suited to motion designers, video editors, tutorial creators and UI animators who frequently need to draw attention to specific elements on screen.

It can be used for SaaS demonstrations, software tutorials, interface animations, product presentations, educational videos and motion graphics. By automating the creation and linking of highlight boxes and cursor elements, it reduces the repetitive setup involved in these common animation tasks.

Highlighter After Effects script, AEScripts Highlighter v2.0, animated highlight box, After Effects cursor animation, UI animation tool, SaaS product video animation, responsive MOGRT, Ahmed Abdallah Highlighter