Answers.Body: <p>Figured out how to do it with expressions. You need to know the time taken for a full rotation and the number of degrees you want to increment.</p>
  
  <pre><code>degrees = 6; // Number of degrees to rotate by
  fullRotationTime = 60000; // Number of milliseconds to complete a full 360 degree rotation
  
  steps = 360/degrees; // Number of steps in one rotation  
  divisor = fullRotationTime / steps; 
  
  ms = 1000*time; // Milliseconds since start
  degrees*(Math.floor(((ms)/divisor)%steps))
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This example will "tick" once a second for 60 seconds. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-04-23T14:28:14.740Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-04-23T14:34:40.140Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2015-04-23T14:34:40.140Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ben
Body: <p>I want to animate a representation digital counter. It is a segmented circle, and each time the counter increments it should move one step forward.</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/gwmas.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>
  
  <p>My plan is to start with a graphic with all the segments visible, and then use a mask to block out the "selected" segment - it should look like a digital sweep around the circle.</p>
  
  <p>I can do this with rotation quite easily, but it will be "analogue", in that it will reveal parts of the segment rather than make a discrete change. How can I make an object rotate snappily by x degrees every second, rather than smoothly rotating?</p>
  
  <p>Only way I can think is to use expressions, and set a stepped value, but is there a better (simpler) way?</p>
  
Tags: <after-effects>
Title: How can I rotate in steps with After Effects?
UserDisplayName: Ben
ThreadText: # How can I rotate in steps with After Effects?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2015-04-23)
  
  I want to animate a representation digital counter. It is a segmented circle, and each time the counter increments it should move one step forward.
  
  ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/gwmas.png)
  
  My plan is to start with a graphic with all the segments visible, and then use a mask to block out the "selected" segment - it should look like a digital sweep around the circle.
  
  I can do this with rotation quite easily, but it will be "analogue", in that it will reveal parts of the segment rather than make a discrete change. How can I make an object rotate snappily by x degrees every second, rather than smoothly rotating?
  
  Only way I can think is to use expressions, and set a stepped value, but is there a better (simpler) way?
  
  **Tags:** after-effects
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_0 on 2015-04-23. Score: 2
  
  Figured out how to do it with expressions. You need to know the time taken for a full rotation and the number of degrees you want to increment.
  
  ```
  degrees = 6; // Number of degrees to rotate by
  fullRotationTime = 60000; // Number of milliseconds to complete a full 360 degree rotation
  
  steps = 360/degrees; // Number of steps in one rotation  
  divisor = fullRotationTime / steps; 
  
  ms = 1000*time; // Milliseconds since start
  degrees*(Math.floor(((ms)/divisor)%steps))
  
  ```
  
  This example will "tick" once a second for 60 seconds.
  
  
  ---
  
  