Color, font and text does not change in some parts

Question

I cannot edit and change color, font, text/numbered values of the layers at all on some sections of the project template am working on (They are animated) it just types in the background of the text/numerical values but nothing changes and it just types blank with nothing to see and the layer characters do not change.

This also happens on other sections of the project, the color selects but it never changes.

Any ideas why this is and workarounds?

I found this but didn't help resolve the issue: https://harshvardhanart.com/cannot-change-colors-shape-layer-after-effects/?currency=USD

Am using after effects 21.

Answer 1

I suspect the controls you are trying to change have Expressions applied to them. This means they are being controlled by a line of code instead of in the usual way.

You can see whether the thing you are trying to adjust is controlled by an expression or not by looking at the controller. If there is a blue equals sign next to the value, then it's being controlled by an expression.

You can disable the expression by clicking on the blue equals sign. But the expressions are probably necessary for your template to function correctly, so you may need to either figure out how they work, or use something else.