What It Does
Utility Buddy scans your After Effects project to locate fonts, colors, effects, and expressions, then applies bulk updates or removals. You can replace all instances of a font, swap color palettes, remove missing effects, or navigate directly to expression scripts. Version 1.2 added scoping options, so changes apply to the entire project, active comp, or just selected layers.
Key Features
Fonts. Identify which comps and layers use specific fonts. Replace all instances with another typeface, or remove, hide, or show text layers based on your scope. Useful when client feedback requires font changes across dozens of comps.
Colors. Find and replace colors across effects, layer styles, text, strokes, and keyframes. Searches the entire project palette. Works for single-color updates (sports team rebrands, for example). Does not handle gradients unless you’re using a solid-color gradient effect.
Expressions. Locates all working expressions and navigates directly to the script, not just the layer. You can mass remove expressions or update them in one click. Helpful when cleaning up templates or debugging inherited projects.
Styles and Effects. Lists all effects and layer styles in use. Remove missing effects before sending a project to a client who lacks those plugins, or batch disable/enable effects across multiple layers. Also lets you swap deprecated effects for newer versions.
Scope options. Version 1.2 introduced targeted application: entire project, active comp only, or selected layers. You’re not forced to update everything at once.
Who It’s For
Motion designers managing large projects with repeated elements. Template creators who need to update fonts or colors across multiple comps. Studios cleaning up projects before client handoff. Anyone who’s ever had to manually update 40 instances of the same font.
Pricing
$40 for a single-user license. Floating server licenses are available. Trial version available for testing before purchase.