About TextBox 2

TextBox 2 is a native After Effects plugin that builds a customizable shape behind your text and keeps it sized to the text automatically. The shape is applied directly to the text layer, eliminating the need for parenting, mattes, or expressions. Shape modes include auto, square, circle and polygon, with expansion controls for width, height, each edge, negative expansion, and individual edge rounding. Full transform controls let you animate the box independently, and rotation works with parented transforms. Gradient fills (linear and radial) can have separate opacity, and border options include dashes with butt or rounded caps. The plugin works with vertical, horizontal and paragraph text, supports motion blur, and handles 8, 16 and 32‑bit color. Additional features include Trim Paths, ascender/descender locking, individual corner percentages, and multi‑threaded performance.

Features

• Automatically updates with your text and applies directly to the text layer, with no parenting, mattes or expressions required
• Shape modes: auto, square, circle and polygon
• Customisable expansion (width, height, left, right, top, bottom), negative expansion and individual edge rounding
• Full transform controls to animate the box independently from text, with rotation compatible with parented transforms
• Gradient options (linear, radial, individual gradient opacity), matting, border options, and border dashes with butt and rounded line caps
• Works with vertical, horizontal and paragraph text, compatible with motion blur, and 8, 16 & 32bpc
• Trim Paths, lock ascenders/descenders, individual round-corner percentages and multi-threading performance

Best for

Animating text in and out, adding backgrounds to text, and creating lower thirds, subtitles or closed captions.