TMCToolbox

Key features

Quick start

Follow these steps in order the first time.

1. Install TMC Toolbox from TMC Hub and restart After Effects.
2. Open the TMC Toolbox panel from the Window menu and dock it wherever you like. You can also open the per-category Item panels separately and spread them out.
3. Select a layer or keyframe and click a tool button. Hover over a button to see the tool's name.
4. Press Space+Tab to open the Ring at the mouse position. To find an effect, just type its name while the Ring is open.
5. In the Settings panel, set the button size, spacing, and number of columns, and hide the tools you don't use to arrange your own grid.
6. It's handy to dock these panels as well: Motion for easing, Palette for colors, and Memo (Pro) for lyrics and references.

Ring (Pie Menu)

Press Space+Tab and a circular menu opens right at the mouse cursor. Run the tools you use often without moving the mouse over to a panel, and find effects by name and apply them.

• Press Space+Tab to open the Ring at the cursor. On a Mac you can press the two keys in either order; on Windows, hold Tab and then press Space. You can change the shortcut in Settings.
• Click a button, or keep holding the keys, move over a button, and release. The tool runs right away. You can also choose with the number keys 1–8.
• With Anchor Point, Align Position, and Paragraph Align, you pick the position or alignment right inside the Ring, without a dialog box.
• Click the magnifying glass in the center, or start typing while the Ring is open, and it switches to effect search. It searches every installed effect, and pressing Enter applies it right away. Recently used effects are listed first. You can type in Korean or Japanese, and search by English effect names as well.
• Choose the tools for the 8 buttons, the Ring size, and the background blur and dimming in Settings › Ring.

Panels

67 tools

These are the tools in the Toolbox Item panel. You can also open them as separate panels by category.

System & Project 17

Preferences & Info

Changes Toolbox's button size, spacing, color, and language, brings back hidden tools, and shows version info.

Multi-Frame Rendering On/Off

Turns Multi-Frame Rendering on and off with one button. The icon color shows the current state.

Renderer Switcher

Switches the composition renderer and GPU acceleration mode right away.

Change Bit Depth

Changes the project's color depth to 8, 16, or 32 bpc.

CPU Usage

Shows live CPU usage in the panel.

GPU Usage

Shows live GPU usage in the panel.

RAM Usage

Shows memory usage. Click it to clear the memory cache.

Disk Cache Purge

Shows disk cache usage. Click it to clear the disk cache.

Preview Screenshot

Saves the preview currently on screen as an image file.

Import Master NEW BETA

Pick a folder and it imports the files inside with the folder structure intact. PSD and AI files come in as editable compositions, and image sequences at the frame rate you choose, all in one go.

Folder Setting NEW

Sets up a predefined folder structure in the project right away. Ctrl+click to edit the folder structure.

Replace Layer NEW BETA

Swaps in the revised version when the original PSD or AI file changes. It replaces only the sources of layers with matching names and keeps pins, expressions, keyframes, and parenting as they are.

Save

Saves the project.

Save As

Saves the project under a new name.

Remove Unused Footage

Cleans out footage the project isn't using.

BPM Marker

Places a marker on every beat based on the song's BPM. The markers give you a reference for cutting and animating to the beat.

WorkLog

Automatically logs your working time for each project so you can review it.

Layer & Transform 20

Fit Solid Layer

Creates a solid layer that exactly fits the composition size.

Flip Horizontal

Flips the selected layer horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the selected layer vertically.

Layer Shifter

Moves the selected layers to the current-time indicator (playhead), keeping their spacing.

Step Shifter

Offsets the selected layers one after another in a staircase pattern.

Shuffle Shifter

Shuffles the selected layers and spaces them at random intervals.

Target Layer

Takes one layer as the reference and applies moves, parenting, and track mattes in one step.

Time Reverse

Reverses the selected layer in time.

Align Position

Aligns layer positions.

Anchor Point Center Align

Moves the anchor point to any of 9 positions.

Paragraph Align NEW

Switches a text layer's paragraph alignment to any of 7 options right away.

Source Text to Name

Renames a text layer to the text it contains.

Text Decompose (Layer)

Splits text into separate text layers, one per character.

Text Decompose (Shape)

Splits text into shape layers, one per character. Ctrl+click splits it by stroke instead, and Ctrl+Shift+click also adds an animation that draws the strokes in each language's stroke order (beta).

Shape Merge NEW

Combines two or more shape layers into one layer. The original layers are kept.

Shape Separate NEW

Splits the shapes inside one shape layer into separate shape layers, one per shape.

Vector to Path NEW

Converts Illustrator (.ai) and SVG files into editable shape layers. SVG conversion works in After Effects 2026.0 or later.

Layer Scatter

Scatters layers by randomizing their position, rotation, scale, and opacity.

One Text Animation

Uses Text Animator to build character motion on a single text layer.

Image to Shape

Converts an image layer into a shape layer.

Rigging & Setup 17

Auto Composite

Applies CC Composite automatically.

Comp Crop

Crops the composition to its non-transparent area.

Smart Add Null

Creates a null that automatically links the selected layers.

Add Text Layer

Adds a text layer.

Add Adjustment

Adds an adjustment layer.

Add Grid

Creates a guide grid layer.

Camera & Null

Sets up a camera and a control null in one step.

Parallax

Arranges layers in Z depth while keeping their on-screen size the same.

UnPrecomp

Pulls the layers inside a precomposition back out.

Cinematic LetterBox

Creates a cinematic letterbox. Includes 8 aspect ratio presets.

Box Space

Builds a 3D cube-shaped space out of compositions.

Link Rope

Creates a rope line that connects two layers.

Pin Control

Creates a control guide layer for each puppet pin.

Wave Bone

Rigs the selected puppet pins so they sway naturally, like a wave.

Joint Bone

Applies IK rigging to the selected puppet pins.

Physics Rigging

Applies real-time physics rigging to puppet pins.

Rigid Layer NEW

Drops the selected 2D layers and lets them collide according to physics, then bakes the result into keyframes. You can set the physical properties of each object separately.

Motion & FX 13

Keyframe Linear

Sets the selected keyframes to Linear.

Keyframe Bezier

Sets the selected keyframes to Bezier.

Elastic Key

Adds a springy Elastic motion after the keyframe.

Bounce Key

Adds a bouncy Bounce motion after the keyframe.

LoopOut Cycle

Applies LoopOut Cycle so the keyframes repeat.

LoopOut Pingpong

Applies LoopOut Pingpong so the keyframes go back and forth.

Smart Wiggle

Applies Wiggle to the selected property.

Follow to Path

Makes a layer move along a path.

Motion Baker

Bakes animation made with expressions and the like into keyframes.

Frame Drop

Adds frame drops to the selected property for a choppy, anime-style feel.

Slim Text

Makes text thinner.

Easy Flicker

Adds a flicker.

Wave Path

Creates a path that ripples like a wave.

Practical tips

• When you start work on an MV, place beat markers with BPM Marker first. It makes it easier to time your cuts and motion.
• The Ring holds up to 8 tools you use often. In Settings › Ring, change the tool on each button to build your own Ring.
• Keep lyric subtitles in the Memo panel and copy them from there, so you don't have to switch windows every time you make a text layer. You can also use Font Preview to pick a fitting font in advance.
• For per-character animation, split the text with Text Decompose (Layer), then use Step Shifter to stagger the start times.
• If rendering slows down, clear the caches with RAM Usage and Disk Cache Purge, then check your settings right away with Multi-Frame Rendering On/Off and Renderer Switcher.

Where to use it

• Beat-synced markers and per-character type animation for a lyric MV
• Placing puppet pins on a character illustration and rigging the hair and clothing to sway
• Motion graphics setups that align many layers at once and offset them in time

Pairs well with

Technical notes

• It's a native After Effects plugin (AEGP) with a web-based panel on top, so you don't need to keep several script windows open.
• The interface is available in Korean, English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese, and it follows the light or dark color theme set in After Effects' Appearance preferences.