Shape layer render bug?

I'm running into what appears to be a frustrating little bug related to the way shape layers are rendered.
Basically, I'm trying to rotate a shape layer that contains a circle shape. I'm using the rotation property of the layer itself (not the shape group) to make parenting work with other layers in my comp. The same bug occurs if I use the shape group transform properties anyway, however.
Am I missing something caused by the render order of shape layers, or is this a true bug? Test it yourself using this project file, you should see the top of the Circle get clipped off at frame 14, then rise back to the bounds of the comp over the next few frames. (Hope Dropbox links are allowed here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ovgbke3f7htmx03/ShapeLayerError.aep)
The reason I think this is probably a bug is that it only does this when viewing at Full or Half resolution. Third and Quarter and below display fine. And it's not just a viewer bug, because it renders out that way at full res also.
Any help would be appreciated! I'm running the latest After Effects CS5.5 Version 10.5.0.253 on Mac. I'll also try to test this in CS6 to see if it's still there.

Changing the scale, changing the rotation, changing the position, litterally changing just about any value by a large enough value fixes the problem. Changing any of these values by a smaller value changes the time where the glitch shows up. A very odd bug.

Similar Messages

Possible BUG: duplicating a shape layer only duplicates previously selected points - PS CS6

Unless PS has been updated to make this a feature, i may have found a bug. Now (in CS6 vs. previous versions) when you duplicate a shape layer, if you had previously selected specific points of the shape (for example with the direct selection tool) only those points will be duplicated in the new layer. This is true no matter what tool you are currently using.
What I did was make a rounded-corner rectangle shape -> then direct selected all points on one side to stretch the rectangle without distorting the rounded corners -> then switched to the move tool so no points were selected anymore and only the layer was selected-> duplicate layer (with the intention of duplicating the whole shape). what i got was just the rounded corners on a new layer.
It seems the only way to duplicate the shape layer in its entirety is to go back with the direct select tool -> select ALL points of the whole shape -> change to move tool -> dupe layer.
If that's the intended new functionality, it's a bummer because if you intend to only duplicate certain points, you can already do that while using the direct select tool. Using the move tool, it shows no direct selections and therefore you should be able to duplicate the whole layer.
Maybe I have some weird default option checked that I'm not familiar with? This is not how any previous versions of PS worked and will add friction to my workflow if this is new.

Yes, this is an issue with CS6 and the first release of CC. You have to make sure you deselect all nodes in a path, or you will get the result you describe. I believe Adobe has made some corrections and improvement in the use of shape layers that will hopefully be released soon. However, if you're sticking with CS6, you've got to make sure to deselect on Win the esp key works great.

[OSX] Photoshop CC bug - can't change Shape Layer colour from layers panel

Hi there,
I have a persistent bug where after a certain amount of time (potentially after the iMac goes to sleep and reawakes?) that after creating a new Shape Layer I can no longer change it's colour from the layers panel. If I double-click it the colour palette appears and it seems to record the colour but the Shape Layer does not reflect this. If I go into the Shape Layer bar at the top of the screen I can still change the Fill and Stroke.
If I re-open the program it works again.

Had the same problem. Turns out I needed to use the Path Selection Tool and click the path right on the canvas, not in the layer panel. This re-enables the Live Shape properties.
Here is a short video with more details if you're interested -> http://www.michalkopec.com/blog

Photoshop shape layer gradient fill bug

I use shapes filled with linear gradient turned 90° from its default position. And every now and then, when I select the given shape layer (with the move tool or directly in the layer dialog) the gradient jumps into the default rotation position. The thing is, if this happens, there´s no way I can turn it back.. if I type a value or try to rotate the gradient, it always jumps back.. even if I create a new shape, the rotation function is set to default and won´t move a degree.. Normally a PS restart helped to solve this.. but today, the problem remained even after that.. I will reboot the system and hopefully it will work but.. if anyone has experienced the same problem or has any suggestions, please help.
PS CC 2014 (latest update - though this problem I´ve had since the first CC), OS 10.8.5 (Maybe updating to Mavericks?)
thanks in advance!

I do not use a mac however on windows if I have a gradient filled shape layer I rotated the the gradient fill. If I accidentally click the solid fill or pattern fill icon when I click back on the gradient fill icon the angle is the default 90 degrees it does not remember that the fill was set to 0 or 180.
I have not observed any problem with the move tool but I seldom have a shape with a gradient fill. I normally use a layer style gradient fill on a solid 50% gray filled shape,

Strange problem undoing a shape layer move in Photoshop CS5

Hi. I have a strange recurring problem in Photoshop CS5. Basically, it manifests like this:
I have a shape layer, or several shape layers. I will move the shape with the move tool (usually via holding Ctrl, depending upon which tool is selected). If I then use undo or step backward, the image does not revert properly. It's like there is a discrepancy between the position of the layer mask and what is displayed on screen. Clicking on the vector mask of the shape layer to reveal its outline shows that the shape is where it should be (i.e. in the position it was originally), but the element of the image it represents is somewhere else. Sometimes, if I move a group of such shape layers, the problem seems to affect some of them but not all. Once so far, I have managed to rectify the problem by simply turning off an unrelated layer and turning it on again! Very strange.
It's a difficult problem to deal with, because it doesn't happen every time. And when it does, it's a case of reverting to a previous save. Luckily I save reasonably often, but it's still an annoying thing to deal with.
Hope I've described it well enough to understand. Any ideas?
I'm using CS5 12.0.4. Windows 7 64-bit. Intel i5 2300. Integrated HD2000 graphics with latest drivers.

I realise I seem to be talking to myself here (perhaps no-one's still using CS5 here, plus it's a fairly specific problem), but I have discovered a factor that makes for repeatable demonstration of this behaviour.
It appears that the problem I'm having is related to using feathering on vector masks. Create a shape with the pen tool, add an amount of 'feather' in the mask options panel, use the move tool to move the shape and then undo. This displays the problem I'm seeing where the image is not refreshed. I have at least found a way to workaround the issue for now. Simply changing the feathering amount updates the image to how it should be.
I'm glad that I can at least continue to use CS5, because I'm totally content with its functionality for my uses, and an upgrade seemed overkill (not to mention having to adjust to the changes made in CS6+ versions).
Perhaps there is still a cure for this bug somewhere. I will keep looking, and update this thread if I find it, in the hope that it may help someone else out there with the same problem.

AE CS5 - Shape Layer - Anchor point moves after position keyframe

I am experiencing unintuitive (to me) behaviour with a brand new shape layer. Here are the steps to reproduce the issue. I have made a screen cap of the problem but can't figure out how to upload it to this forum.
1. In an existing composition, I create a new Shape Layer
2. By default the anchor point (center point) is in the dead center of the shape layer. Perfect.
3. I turn on Position keyframing, and add a position keyframe at my current time
4. Instantly the anchor point now jumps to the center of the composition, and so now when I scale my shape layer it doesn't scale properly
If I try to use the Pan Behind tool, I get position keyframing. Besides, I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DO THIS, since the anchor point was in the correct spot to start with, and it's only because of this keyframing "bug" that the anchor point jumps.
What am I missing or doing wrong? How can I add a position keyframe to a BRAND NEW LAYER that has no other animation on it, and still keep the anchor point in the dead center of my shape?
Thanks for your advice,
Tom

Thanks to Rick and Mylenium for your helpful answers. Rick, I'd prefer not to have to manually reposition, because I'm never going to be as mathematically precise as the software for positioning the Anchor Point dead center.
Using the transform controls on the shape rather than the global container certainly did the trick! You guys are great. Thanks.
[rant]
In my defense as far as the constant exhortations to "RTFM", we all know that most veteran software users only go to the manual when there's a problem. You also know that Adobe's help system (particluarly in regards to search) has gotten worse over the years, not better. So when I run into a situation like this, I'm going to search through the help for what I believe the problem is: namely "anchor points", "transformations" and "keyframes", and maybe "shape layers". This is a fair amount of research, and it's exactly what I do as my first line of defense.
The second line of defense that most tech savvy folk do, is a Google search; for example: "anchor point moves after position keyframe" or "After Effects shapes layer anchor point moves keyframe" etc. And you spend your time sifting through forums trying to find the relevant answers. I feel that THAT is my true due diligence, rather than reading the F'n Adobe manual that is so very very sparse.
So after my due diligence, I turn to the experts communities, because there I know I will get educated, reliable help within a reasonable turnaround time. And because I myself contribute to these same forums in areas where I have higher than average expertise. The Adobe Forums have proven to be one of the great online resources.
Finally, now that I have a great answer from two knowledgeable experts (thanks again!), I've also enriched the community, because of the way I have crafted my post title, hopefully the next poor ******* who has a similar problem and a similar methodology to finding resolution will stubmle upon my post because I've tried to overload the title with relevant keywords that will generate hits in google.
Through my question, and your accurate answers, the global knowledgebase has improved.
So forgive me for not memorizing the F'n Adobe online help. I go to the resources that are the most useful, expedient, and provide the greatest value as a whole.
[/rant]
Peace,
Tom

My CS6 Shape Layer thumbs are weird

I'm using Photoshop CS6 tonight and I'm getting some weird behavior. The thumbs for Shape Layers in the Layers panel sometimes look right, other times they collapse into a tiny square. I'm wondering if something is wrong. In the photo above, the "HERO" layer is how I expect a Shape Layer to appear. However, the "TOP BANNER" layer is the SAME THING. But for some reason the thumb has become tiny. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out if this is normal for some reason or what.
Is anyone else getting this behavior?

There's a known bug having to do with the shape of the object. If it's not tall or wide it can end up hidden behind the little layer type icon.
Adobe acknowledged this during the beta, but of course since the released code was built before the beta started it's not fixed yet. I believe they mentioned that it would not be a trivial fix, and expressed some concern that it could take a while to do, but I'm hopeful that they'll bring it out in an update.
-Noel

Create Shape Layer with Script in After Effects

I wrote a simple script for After Effects and it works well but there is a weird problem.
My script creates a shape layer which includes group, ellipse path, stroke and fill. Why does the "Group 1" have "Material Options: Group 1" property group? It's empty and it disappers when I click on its eyeball button. I don't want to display the property group. It seems like this problem doesn't happen on CS5.
Are there any solutions to avoid this? Is this a AE CC bug?
OS: Windows8.1
After Effects: version 12.2.1.5
Here's my script code.
app.beginUndoGroup("Add new shape layer");
var curComp = app.project.activeItem;
if(curComp){ var shapeLayer = curComp.layers.addShape();
var shapeGroup = shapeLayer.property("Contents").addProperty("ADBE Vector Group");
shapeGroup.property("Contents").addProperty("ADBE Vector Shape - Ellipse");
shapeGroup.property("Contents").addProperty("ADBE Vector Graphic - Stroke");
shapeGroup.property("Contents").addProperty("ADBE Vector Graphic - Fill");
app.endUndoGroup();

Just ran a quick test on MAC:
AE CS3, CS4, CS5 don't produce that Material Options
AE CS6 & CC have Material Options, but they dissapear once toggle eye icon.

LACK OF FULL PEN TOOL FUNCTIONALITY WHEN CREATING A SHAPE LAYER

Hello, I'm going through Chris Meyer's video course on being an AE apprentice and have spent over an hour on the following issue.
Here is what I know.
I know I am trying to create a shape layer, not a mask, to create a frame to surround the video of the green field on the attached screenshot. Therefore, I pressed "F2" to make sure I am doing so.
I want to define the borders of this picture frame by using the pen tool to draw a path on the layer entitled "Windy Peak".
I have highlighted that layer in my timeline.
This video was pasted on to a placeholder shape that I had created using Command Option "/" on my Mac.
I do have limited use of the pen tool, because it displays properly when I hover it above the borders of the video to be framed.
But I lack access to the toolbar controls I want to complete my assignment.
For example, I would like to create a gradient to define the internal coloration of this frame, but I have no use of the eyedropper when I click on the Color Picker.
Also, I am unable to access or manipulate any of the standard fill or stroke options for use of my pen.
This is what I know.
Thanks for your help! Matt
Message was edited by: Matt Dubuque to add the fact that the video had been pasted on to a placeholder shape image by pressing Command Option "/" on my Mac.

Thanks for pitching in Todd and Rick, I appreciate it very much.
As previously stated, I do have use of the pen tool, but it only has limited functionality as demonstrated by the path I created on the green meadow. My Tools Panel remains activated .
My core problem remains that I am unable to adjust the fill or stroke settings for my pen.
I have tried changing and resetting various work spaces and this has not helped.
I'm scratching my head here.
Matt

Shape Layer not showing up in my .swf file.

Hello All,
I was working on creating a banner that I export as a .swf file and I tried to create a rounded rectangle with only the stroke showing up so it then the banner would appear to have rounded corners on the website. After I exported the file to a .swf I noticed that the rounded rectangle shape layer I had in my project did not show up. Can anyone help me figure out why?
Here is a screen shot of the banner with a grey outline shape layer. Its there with 100% opacity and everything.
And here is what the .swf looks like. (see no outline?!)
If anyone knows how to make my shape layer appear here that would be fantastic.
Oh and just in case here are the export options I choose. File > Export > Adobe Flash (.swf)...

I gave the a try and noticed that the color quality of the other elements in my banner. (colored text) had poor .jpg quality even when I upped the .jpg quality. Do you have any recommendations on how I can rasterize my border? Ill jump into illustrator or photoshop and play around with some files and them import them to see if I can find a work around...
see crummy color quality that text was suppose to be a nice dark blue.

Graphics render bug in FCP 6 and 7 - Dare to prove me wrong?

I have an issue with an HD video that contains red and purple text and graphics in the edit. I've looked for an answer tirelessly online, with friends, and through trial and error for a good 7 hours before giving up. Here's the deal,
Sequence settings: HD 1440x1080 16:9, 23.98, HDV 1080p24 for editing the canon7d footage that came in - this however doesn't matter because i tested with every setting imaginable including animation raw and ended up with the same results for the graphics problem I'm having (kind of unrelated to the actual footage).
I need to output this 9 minute edit I have to an HD file 1280x720 for youtube upload. So, it has to be under 2gb (youtube's limit) but for client purposes, it needs to be crisp and great looking as you would imagine.
I have a bunch of PSDs, each show a different line drawing of a brush. For each one, the line is a different color. For any of the colors that aren't red or purple, they render crisp and wonderful in final cut pro over top the video. However, the graphics that have the lines that are red or purple, come out pixelated and blurry no matter how i try to render them. The only solution that worked was to render and output them with the animation codec. ProRes HQ worked too but not as well. However, this makes a file way too big. Whenever I went from animation to h264 or from FCP to h264, or any other web friendly format, graphics come out way pixelated. It makes me frustrated as to why all the graphics that were exactly the same except not red or purple came out perfectly crisp. Also, why is animation codec the only codec out there (besides uncompressed obviously) that will create clean edges in these red/purple graphics?
Conclusion: Found that reds and purples are the only colors that seem to be effected when rendering the graphics. Everything else comes out nicely. Animation and pro res codecs aside, any codec making the video small enough for the web (less than 2gb) resulted in the problem of pixelation with the red and purple graphics. Based on extensive research I did online, I was surprised not to find many people posting about the exact same problem. For the issues I did find that seemed related, people concurred that HD nor regular DV video do a good job rendering bright reds or variations of red. Because I found no solutions online or from all the things I tried in the list below
-re-rendered the PSD's in Final cut pro with variation of sequence setting to see if that would make any difference - it didn't. Tried all kinds of different settings in export for h264, keyframes, max quality, etc. no luck.
-tried rendering to "Animation/uncompressed" as far through the process as possible. For instance, I outputted a perfectly crisp "Animation" file that was perfect looking. As soon as I re-exported to h264, mpeg4, or sorenson, or any other codec dropping the file size down, all results returned pixelated results for the reds and purple graphics.
-made sure photoshop settings were all good, even copied and pasted psd into new 1920x1080 project, played with DPI up to 300 to see if it did anything, saved as different formats TIFF, png, eps, layers, flattened, 8-bit, 24-bit, 36-bit, etc., none of the formats worked correctly.
-outputted my own purple and red graphics and text and rendered in final cut to see if the file had anything to do with it. same problem with my red and purple graphics and text.
-Tried adding slight moving grain to the graphic in Final cut to try and trick FCP to thinking it was a video instead of a graphic and therefore render it smoothly.
-consulted with 2 other video editors/media experts, ended up frustrating them as well (and hurting their ego a little since they were sure they could figure it out)
-Ran the shot and graphic through after effects and premiere pro separately (different video programs) to see if final cut pro was causing the problem, same problem with those programs.
-tried rendering on a different mac, still the same.
-Actually upgraded my final cut pro version to the new version (now Final cut studio 3). Ran tests on new version of final cut pro, same exact problem.
-added black edge to purple graphics to see if that did anything different to the rendering. Didn't help
-Changed the hue of the graphic to anything other than red or purple. Wouldn't you know...That fixed it.
Here is a link to the Animation Output of a half second of the edit with a sample red graphic crisp as can be for you to test (12.7mb) -
http://www.robinsonhope.com/downloads/makeup_animationtest.zip
Here is a link to view screenshots before and after to show you what rendering does to the graphics.
http://www.robinsonhope.com/downloads/makeup_ss.jpg
In case you'd like to try and find a solution, please download the link to the HD animation half-second clip and output to h264 or any other web friendly codec that would show these red graphics clean and not blurry and pixelated. Other rule is after doing the math, a 9 minute video with the compression you choose would need to be under 2gb. This shouldn't be too much of a problem because even a 1280x720 h264 at max quality for a 9min video is still under 2gb.
The first person to show me that you are truly a FCP guru and can solve this, post a link of your successful solution, I will praise you as genius all over this forum. I will also be eternally grateful. Live in LA? I'll also buy you dinner, Haha. But seriously...

Welcome to this forum,
Sorry to hear you so struggling with this issue.
And I doubt whether I can solve this for you, but I can say a few things.
The title of this thread is:
Graphics render bug in FCP 6 and 7 - Dare to prove me wrong?
I'll prove you are wrong. Or actually you've already proved yourself wrong in your post:
-Ran the shot and graphic through after effects and premiere pro separately (different video programs) to see if final cut pro was causing the problem, same problem with those programs.
Seams that I try to annoy you, but I'm not. It's not a joke. The fact that other applications can't handle it as well AND the fact that Animation Codec (Which is pretty lostless) does not have this problem, tells you that the problem is likely the low compression you want OR the footage itself. And I dare say it's BOTH.
I downloaded your testfile and have opened it in FCP and I can see in the Vectorscope that your color Red is too hot.
[Click here|http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz356/rienkL/Screenshot2010-04-02at1324 20.png] to see the vectorscope of your picture?
You also see the small boxes (clockwise)
Red, Magenta, Blue, Cyan, Green, Yellow. The signal of your picture should stay somewhere between those boxes. You should read [this article|http://www.larryjordan.biz/articles/lj_scopes.html] (two third on the page) about the vectorscope. Also has a picture with the range to be broadcast safe.
So back to your picture and your vectorscope. You'll see that just along the right side of the R in the vectorscope there's a peak which goes way out of the range. And that's exactly the color of your graphic.
I tried isolating that color, reducing the saturation, and then do an export, but that failed. You should adjust that within the PSD's first and then see how exporting goes.
So now you are thinking: My client wants his own colors! Sure he does. But those colors were probably designed for print, which does have another colorrange. Simple technical story. You're bound to specific saturation. Going over that means troubles....
And I'm not claiming that your problem will be solved when you adjust this. It is still possible that h264 just doesn't like red too much. Maybe that's on purpose. Our eyes are most less sensitive to red, so that gives the compressor some extra room to compress in the reds (Don't know if this is what compression developers do; just thinking out loud, just an idea...)
Hope this helps at least a little.
Rienk

Is there a way to gather all shape layer and all text layers?

Hi -
I have 250 multi-layered PSD (CS5/Win) files. Each file shows 2 views of a product. Parts of the product are labels (Text layers with different words). Then Shape layer arrows point from the label Text to the specific point on the product.

Does this help?
// move text and solid fill layers to newly created folder;
// 2011, use it at your own risk;
#target photoshop
if (app.documents.length > 0) {
          var myDocument = app.activeDocument;
          var theSet = myDocument.layerSets.add();
          theSet.name = "Labels and Arrows";
          var theLayers = moveLayers(app.activeDocument, theSet);
////// function to move certain layers //////
function moveLayers (theParent, theSet) {
          if (!allLayers) {var allLayers = new Array}
          else {};
          for (var m = theParent.layers.length - 1; m >= 0;m--) {
                    var theLayer = theParent.layers[m];
// apply the function to layersets;
                    if (theLayer.typename == "ArtLayer") {
                              if (theLayer.kind == "LayerKind.TEXT" || theLayer.kind == "LayerKind.SOLIDFILL") {
                                        alert (theLayer);
                                        theLayer.move(theSet, ElementPlacement.PLACEATBEGINNING)
                    else {
                              if (theLayer != theSet) {
                                        moveLayers(theLayer, theSet)

Shape layer questions

I’m a web designer that’s used to using Illustrator for all my work. Recently many of my new jobs want me to work in Photoshop, so I’m getting back up to speed with it. I have a few nagging issues that I haven’t been able to figure out:
With the direct selection tool, how do I select a small shape that’s overlapping a larger shape? For example, a small line on top of a large rectangle. When I try to do this Photoshop automatically makes me select the larger shape in the background. I have to zoom in super close and individually shift-select each corner of the smaller shape before I can move/transform/whatever it. This gets tedious and slow real fast!
Recently in a document I’m working in, whenver I make a new shape it automatically adds a bunch of layer styles like drop shadow, stroke, etc. These styles aren’t turned on, but it adds unecessary styles to my layers and my client is very strict about recieving only super clean .psd’s.
How do I make a line that is truly 1px stoke width? My lines seem to always start out as fuzzy 2px worms until I zoom in and surgically make them 1px. Again, what a waste of time! is there some sort of antialiasing setting that I need to turn off?
Thanks!

1. With smaller shapes that are difficult to select, try selecting their layer first. If you are not sure which layer, switch to the Move tool (V), hold Ctrl and click on the small shape. With the default behavior in Photoshop you should be able to select the layer and then use the Direct selection tool to select points on the vector path of the small shape. If you want to just move the entire shape when its the only path on a layer, aside form using the Path Selection tool (black arrow), you can just use the Move tool (V) to change the position of the layer. If you have to deal with a lot of shape layers that you just want to click and move, enable the Auto Select for the Move tool in the Properties bar. Then holding Ctrl while using the tool will toggle to its non - Auto Select mode.
2.On the Tool's property bar under the main menu, make sure the chain button is not pressed then click on the Style swatch or arrow to the right of the chain button to open the style swatch popup and from its menu there choose No Style. Next shape layer you make will not have the current style automatically applied.
3. I'm using CS5 on a pc and creating 1 px straight line with the Line tool is buggy with its alignment to grid. The Line Tool draws lines in Shape mode as rectangle vector paths. The difference between the Rectangle Tool and the Line tool is that the Line tool aside from having a Weight attribute, it draws the rectangles starting from the middle if its side. In order to snap it to grid you have to set the grid in the settings to Gridline every 1 pix and Subdivisions 2. If properly working this is supposed to solve your problem if you enable snap to grid and draw your lines starting in the middle of a pixel. The problem is that this doesn't work properly with the Line Tool which does not snap perfectly to the grid. The work around is to draw your lines with the Line Tool in Fill Pixels mode which has an Anti-aliasing option that you can turn off.
Another alternative for drawing lines on raster layers without anti-aliasing is to use the Pencil tool and hold Shift while dragging with it. The Pencil Tool in Photoshop is the same as the Brush tool but without anti-aliasing. I think more proper name would be non - anti-alised brush.

Is it possible to access to the path property of a shape layer by AEGP API?

Hi everyone! I recently started depeloping AE plug-in and trying to access to the path of shapes on the layer from AEGP API. Sorry in advance if my question has been already asked by someone before, but I couldn't find exact answer to my question so let me ask.
In a composition, I have a shape layer and the shape layer has a vector shape depicted by the pen tool. The constitution of the layer looks like below.
Apparently, those streams of the layer like Anchor Point, Position, and Scale can be accessed by AEGP_GetNewLayerStream. However, I have no idea how I can get the pointer to the Shape 1 and get the Path from it because the these valuse are not categolized into any AEGP_LayerStream types.
Very similar question was asked in the following link and the it was advised to use MaskOutlineSuite, PathQuerySuite, and PathDataSuite, although these suites are for making effect plugins, not for AEGP plugins, so I am not sure if they can be used here.
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1068528
So would someone kindly enlighten me about this??
Thank you very much.

hi hagmas! welcome to the forum, where there are plenty of existing answers
but never for exactly what you seek.
first off, every suite who's functions name start with AEGP, were actually
created for AEGP's plug-ins use, but most of them (including the suites you
mentioned) can also be used in effects. (and not as you thought, the other
way around)
the shape layer's stream indeed are not indexed, and that's because then
are added dynamically by the user and can be re-ordered.
look into the "dynamic stream suite", using which, you'll get the first
stream of the shape layer, and start navigating though there by getting the
stream name, type, parent group ect...
you'll eventually find the "content" group, and in it the "shape" groups,
and in them the... you get the picture.
yes, it's somewhat tedious, but since nothing in these gourps order is
pre-determined or guaranteed, there's no other way to go (that i know of).

Can't rotate individual letters in a text shapes layer

So I created some text in After Effects and converted them to shape objects. I can do X, Y, and Z rotation on the whole phrase but not on the individual letters. Is there any way to fix this?

You will have to move each shape layer to a new layer so you can use the layer rather than the shape transform controls. Shape transforms are only X and Y. Unfortunately there is no automatic way to 'release to layers' as there is in Illustrator. You have to cut (ctrl/cmnd + x), create a new shape layer (sorry no keyboard shortcut), and paste (ctrl/alt + v).

Shape layer render bug?

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