ADOBE After Effects CS6 User Manual

Adobe® Aer Eects® CC

Help

Legal notices

For legal notices, see http://help.adobe.com/en_US/legalnotices/index.html.

Last updated 3/8/2018

Chapter 1: Introduction to After Effects

New features summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Keyboard shortcuts reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

System requirements | After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

System requirements | Older versions of After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Chapter 2: Workspaces

Planning and setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Setup and installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

General user interface items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Working with After Effects and other applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Sync Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Workspaces, panels, and viewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Use the Adobe Color Themes extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Dynamic Link and After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

From an expert: Creative Dynamic Link workflows with Premiere Pro and After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

iii

Chapter 3: Projects and compositions

Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

CINEMA 4D Composition Renderer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Composition basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Precomposing, nesting, and pre-rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Timecode and time display units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Chapter 4: Importing footage

Importing and interpreting footage items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Importing and interpreting video and audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Preparing and importing 3D image files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Working with footage items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

CINEMA 4D and Cineware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Importing from After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Preparing and importing still images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Chapter 5: Views and previews

Previewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Video preview with Mercury Transmit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Modifying and using views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Chapter 6: Layers and properties

Creating layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Selecting and arranging layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Managing layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Layer properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

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Content s

Blending modes and layer styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

3D layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Cameras, lights, and points of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Chapter 7: Animation and keyframes

Animation basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Compositing tools for VR/360 videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Apply immersive video effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Construct VR environments in After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Work with Data-driven animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Data-driven animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Create Motion Graphics templates in After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Assorted animation tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Setting, selecting, and deleting keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Editing, moving, and copying keyframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Keyframe interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Time-stretching and time-remapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Tracking 3D camera movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Face Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Animating with Puppet tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Tracking and stabilizing motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Chapter 8: Color

Color basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Color management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Creative Cloud Libraries in After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Chapter 9: Drawing, painting, and paths

Paint tools: Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

Creating shapes and masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

Managing and animating shape paths and masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Mask Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409

Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations for shape layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411

Mask Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

Chapter 10: Text

Creating and editing text layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Formatting characters and the Character panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Examples and resources for text animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Animating text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

Extruding text and shape layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

Formatting paragraphs and the Paragraph panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

Li ve Te xt Tem plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

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Content s

Chapter 11: Transparency and compositing

Compositing and transparency overview and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Alpha channels, masks, and mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

Keying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

Roto Brush, Refine Edge, and Refine Matte effects | CC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478

Chapter 12: Markers

Layer markers and composition markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490

XMP metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493

Chapter 13: Memory, storage, performance

Improve performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

GPU (CUDA, OpenGL) features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502

Memory and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

Chapter 14: Rendering and exporting

Basics of rendering and exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512

Rendering and exporting still images and still-image sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

Export an After Effects project as an Adobe Premiere Pro project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

Converting movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

Automated rendering and network rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Using the GoPro CineForm codec in After Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

Chapter 15: Expressions and automation

Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546

Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547

Expression basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548

Expression language reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

Expression examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594

Chapter 16: Collaboration with Adobe After Effects

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Chapter 1: Introduction to After Effects

New features summary

The January 2018 (15.0.1) and October 2017 (15.0) releases of After Effects roll out exciting new features for visual effects artists, graphic editors, and animators. Read on for a quick introduction to the list of new features and enhancements.

For a summary of features introduced in earlier releases of After Effects CC, see Feature summary | Earlier releases .

New features in the January 2018 release

Import support for more video formats

New in the January 2018 release

After Effects can now import the following video formats:

• ARRI ALEXA Mini MXF/ARRIRAW: You can import footage shot by ARRI ALEXA Mini camera in

MXF/ARRIRAW format (ARRIRAW codec in an MXF container file) into After Effects.

• HEVC (H.265) QuickTime: You can import HEVC codec footage in QuickTime (.mov) format such as footage shot

by iPhone or iPad with iOS 11 into After Effects.

Audio sync improvement with variable frame rate footage

New in the January 2018 release

Af ter Eff ect s ma intai ns aud io sync wh en y ou pla y or ex por t a f oot age re corde d wi th a var iable fra me r ate su ch as a vid eo shot on mobile phone.

If there is a significant difference between the video and audio frame rates, maintaining audio sync could cause variable frame rate footage to stutter. the following steps:

• Select footage in the Project panel.

• Select File > Interpret Footage > Main.

• Click More Options.

• In the dialog, set Variable Frame Rate Mode to Preserve Audio Sync (default) or Smooth Video Motion.

• Click OK.

If you want smooth playback, you can choose if After Effects preserves audio sync with

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Introduction to After Effects

The Variable Frame Rate Mode options are only available for variable frame rate footage in an MPEG-4 (.MP4) container. If you use variable frame rate MPEG-4, H.264, or HEVC/H.265 footage inside a QuickTime (.MOV) container, you can sync audio by importing the footage as an MPEG file:

• In the Import dialog, set Enable to All Files, and set Format to MPEG.

• Select the QuickTime file and click Open (macOS) or Import (Win).

Bug fixes

New in the January 2018 release

This release provides fixes to a host of issues. For more information, see List of bug fixes in the After Effects CC 2018.0

(January 2018) Release .

Other enhancements

New in the January 2018 release

• The Create VR Environment and Extract Cubemap tools reduce GPU memory use by generating the intermediate

cubemap in 3:2 format instead of 4:3 format. When Use Edge Blending option is enabled, the memory optimization can not be used.

• After Effects assigns the sRGB IEC61966-2.1 color profile when you enable color management. This is applicable

to JPEG, PNG, PSD, TIFF, and other still-image format footages if there is no color profile embedded in the footage.

• The Set Poster Frame button in the Essential Graphics panel is now named Set Poster Time. You can use the button

to set the time of the composition from which the poster frame renders. The poster frame renders when you export the Motion Graphics template.

New features in the October 2017 release

What's New in After Effects CC (October 2017)

Data-driven animation

New in the October 2017 release

Import JSON data files into After Effects to drive interactive animations inside the application. The JSON file format is flexible and can contain static data easily represent database such as election statistics, survey results, or weather reports. MGJSON can be created and imported for time-based sampled data from data sources such as fitness trackers, telemetry, and motion capture. These data files can be used as footage, to create animations, pie charts, sliders, or create high-quality motion graphics in After Effects.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Work with Data-driven animation.

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Introduction to After Effects

Data-driven animation

Visual keyboard shortcut editor

New in the October 2017 release

Change the way you work with keyboard-driven editing with the new visual keyboard shortcut editor. You can assign shortcuts to keys to suit your requirement and simplify the keyboard-driven editing process.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Visual keyboard shortcut editor.

Visual keyboard shortcuts

Expressions access to path points on masks, shapes, and brush strokes

New in the October 2017 release

You can now use expressions to read and write the x and y coordinates of path points, or vertices, for Layer masks, Bezier shapes, Brush strokes on the Paint, and Roto Brush & Refine Edge effects.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Managing and animating shape paths and masks.

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Introduction to After Effects

Expression access to paths points on shapes, masks, and brush strokes (expression reference) .

Create Nulls From Paths panel

New in the October 2017 release

Create Nulls From Paths panel enables you to create expression-driven animations without having to write expressions yourself. The panel creates nulls for each path and shape point. This script automates the linking of these nulls using the new expression access to paths points and creates interactive animations.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Create Nulls From Paths panel .

Animate nulls with Create Nulls From Paths panel

360/VR transitions, effects, and titles

New in the October 2017 release

After Effects offers a cutting-edge line-up of tools for 360/VR editing. Create high-quality VR productions, effects, titles, and seamless transitions to enhance the Immersive video experience.

To learn more, see Construct VR environments in After Effects, Apply immersive video effects, and Compositing tools

for VR/360 videos .

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360/VR support

Performance enhancement

New in the October 2017 release

The following effects are now GPU accelerated in After Effects:

• Layer transforms (position, rotation, opacity, etc.)

• Layer motion blur

• Bicubic sampling

• Tr a nsform effect

• Directional Blur effect

• Immersive video VR effects

• Third-party effects that use Premiere Pro's Mercury GPU acceleration API

Performance enhancements in After Effects

Motion Graphics templates improvements

New in the October 2017 release

Premiere Pro does not require After Effects to be installed on the same computer to render most Motion Graphics templates exported from After Effects. However, there are certain requirements to render without After Effects. You can confirm on export that your template meets the requirements.

Motion Graphics templates now have scripting access.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Create Motion Graphics templates in After Effects.

Team Projects 1.0 support

New in the October 2017 release

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Introduction to After Effects

Support for Team Projects 1.0 includes various improvements to auto-save functionality and other improvements.

Auto-save improvements:

• You can now browse through the auto-save versions of your project in Team Projects.

• You can change an earlier auto-save version to the current version of a Team Project.

• You can create a Team Project from an auto-save version.

Other improvements:New features summary

• Team Projects in After Effects now includes Sync status.

• You can now assign collaborator badges from the Toolbar.

To learn more, see Team Projects New features summary.

Maxon CINEMA 4D renderer and CINEWARE render engine update

New in the October 2017 release

Maxon CINEMA 4D Lite, which is included with After Effects, has been updated to version R19. Changes include:

Viewport OpenGL enhancements, BodyPaint 3D now uses OpenGL for painting, Updated Spline Tools, Live Link, Take System, Parallax Effect, Vertex Color tag support, and Import Alembic 1.6.1 and FBX 2017.1 files.

To le a r n m ore, s e e CINEMA 4D and Cineware.

Maxon CINEMA 4D Lite R19

New in the October 2017 release

The render engin e used by the Maxon CINEM A 4D re ndere r and t he CIN EWARE pl ug-in has be en up dated t o vers ion R19.

Text input improvements

New in the October 2017 release

You can use the new text input improvements to enter text in text layers more efficiently. The text improvements include:

• Switch between right-left and left-to-right text direction

• Font ligature and Hindi digits support

• Simplified Text Engine options to support the new character and paragraph options

To le a r n m ore, s e e Expanded text support.

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Introduction to After Effects

Font previews and other improvements to the Font menu

New in the October 2017 release

The Font menu in the Character panel now includes a preview of the fonts. Along with the preview, the new Font menu also allows you to:

• Set fonts as favorites, and show only your favorite fonts.

• Show only fonts downloaded from Typekit.

• Choose the style for the font family such as Regular, Italic, Bold, Light, and Oblique.

To le a r n m ore, s e e Font menu .

New getting started experience

New in the October 2017 release

After Effects has made it easy to get you started with your first project with the new getting started experience. A new Start screen helps you speed through the project setup process so you can start animating right away. The Composition panel now displays buttons for creating a composition; or creating a composition from footage. You can directly click one of the buttons to get the work going.

The Import Footage dialog has a new Create Composition option, which automatically adds the footage you import to a new composition.

New getting started experience

Other enhancements

New in the October 2017 release

• The After Effects UI uses a new Adobe Clean font.

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Introduction to After Effects

• After Effects offers easy identification of shy layers (layers with shy switch enabled). Shy layers are represented by a

bold line in between visible layers when the Hide Shy layer option is enabled.

• Mercury Transmit video preview in After Effects supports 10-bits per channel color output when using 10-bit

capable preview hardware, like the AJA Io 4K. On Windows, you can also use a secondary monitor for 10-bit color preview if the GPU and monitor of the machine support that color depth.

• The Show Start Screen When Opening a Project option in General menu has been removed.

• Video footage from ARRI, RED, or Sony cameras once again retains custom source settings when exchanged with

the latest version of Premiere Pro CC.

• After Effects no longer automatically installs Character Animator CC. You can install Character Animator from the

Creative Cloud desktop application along with other desktop applications.

Keyboard shortcuts reference

Visual Keyboard Shortcut Editor

You can work visually when you lay out your keyboard shortcuts with the visual keyboard shortcut editor. You can use the keyboard user interface to view the keys that have been assigned shortcuts, available keys for assignment, and modify assigned shortcuts.

Work with Visual Keyboard Shortcut Editor

To open the editor, select Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (Ctrl+Alt+').

The editor is divided into three parts:

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Introduction to After Effects

Keyboard shortcut UI

• Keyboard layout: A representation of the hardware keyboard where you can view which keys have been assigned a

shortcut, and which are available.

• Command list: The list displays all the commands that can be assigned shortcuts.

• Ke y modifier list: The list displays all the modifier combinations and assigned shortcuts associated with the key you

select on the keyboard layout.

Color coding

Gray: In the keyboard layout, keys shaded gray do not have any shortcuts assigned to them.

Purple: In the keyboard layout, keys shaded purple are assigned application-wide shortcuts.

Green: In the keyboard layout keys shaded green are assigned panel-specific shortcuts.

Application Shortcuts

The keyboard layout displays application-wide shortcuts by default. These shortcuts work irrespective of which panel is selected. The Command list displays the entire set of commands available. When you select a key in the keyboard layout for application-wide commands, the key is outlined with a blue focus indicator. The Command list displays the Application command assigned to it. The Key modifier list inspects and it displays a list of all the commands assigned to the key and each of the possible modifier combinations.

Panel shortcuts

You can switch to panel-specific view from the Command drop-down list. The keyboard layout only displays keys shaded green. These shortcuts only work when the specific panel is active. When you view a set of Panel shortcuts, only the commands specific to that panel are displayed.

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Introduction to After Effects

Panel shortcuts

Assigning shortcuts

You can assign shortcuts to commands in the Command list shortcut column. Select the command and type the shortcut in the text field. You can search for commands in the Command List, which is filtered by the search criteria. You can also assign shortcuts by clicking in the shortcut column and tapping keys on their keyboard to create the shortcut (including adding modifiers).

You can also assign shortcuts by dragging a command from the Command list onto a key in the keyboard layout or to the Key modifier list. You can drag keys in the keyboard layout onto a command in the Command List to assign them to the command. When a Panel shortcut has the same assigned shortcut as an Application shortcut, the application- wide shortcut does not function when that panel is active.

When After Effects detects a non-supported keyboard, the default view is to display the U.S. English keyboard. By default, the After Effects Default preset is displayed.

Exceptions

After Effects does not allow you to reassign the following keys:

• A

• AA

• E

• EE

• F

• FF

• L

• LL

• M,

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Introduction to After Effects

• MM

• P

• PP

• R

• RR

• S

• SS

• T

• TT

• U

• UU

Key tool tips

Long commands assigned to keys are abbreviated. Hover over a key to view a tool tip containing the full name of the command, and information whether it is an Application or Panel shortcut.

Conflicts and resolutions

Conflicts

A warning indicating a shortcut conflict appears when:

• An Application shortcut already in use by another Application shortcut.

• A Panel shortcut is already in use by another command in the same panel.

• A Panel shortcut overrides an Application shortcut when that panel has focus.

Resolution

• When you type a shortcut that is already in use with another command, a warning message is displayed at the

bottom of the editor.

• Undo and Clear buttons in the lower right corner are enabled.

• The command in conflict is highlighted in blue, and clicking this automatically selects the command in the

Command List.

Saving custom keyboard shortcut sets

You can modify the shortcuts and save them using the Save As button.

General

Result Windows Mac OS

Select all Ctrl+A Command+A

Deselect all F2 or Ctrl+Shift+A F2 or Command+Shift+A

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Introduction to After Effects

Rename selected layer, composition, folder, effect, group, or mask

Open selected layer, composition, or footage item

Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items down (back) or up (forward) in stacking order

Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items to bottom (back) or top (front) of stacking order

Extend selection to next item in Projec t panel, Render Queue panel, or Effect Controls panel

Extend selection to previous item in Project panel, Render Queue panel, or Effect Controls panel

Duplicate selected layers, masks, effects, text selectors, animators, puppet meshes, shapes, render items, output modules, or compositions

Quit Ctrl+Q Command+Q

Undo Ctrl+Z Command+Z

Redo Ctrl+Shift+Z Command+Shift+Z

Purge All Memory Ctrl+Alt+/ (on numeric keypad) Command+Option+/ (on numeric keypad)

Enter on main keyboard Return

Enter on numeric keypad Enter on numeric keypad

Ctrl+Alt+Down Arrow or Ctrl+Alt+Up Arrow Command+Option+Down Arrow or

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Down Arrow or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Up Arrow

Shift+Down Arrow Shift+Down Arrow

Shift+Up Arrow Shift+Up Arrow

Ctrl+D Command+D

Command+Option+Up Arrow

Command+Option+Shift+Down Arrow or Command+Option+Shift+Up Arrow

Interrupt running a script Esc Esc

Display filename corresponding to the frame at the current time in the Info panel

Ctrl+Alt+E Command+Option+E

Projects

Result Windows Mac OS

New project Ctrl+Alt+N Command+Option+N

Open project Ctrl+O Command+O

Open most recent project Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P Command+Option+Shift+P

New folder in Project panel Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N Command+Option+Shift+N

Open Project Settings dialog box Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K Command+Option+Shift+K

Find in Project panel Ctrl+F Command+F

Cycle through color bit depths for project Alt-click bit-depth button at bottom of Projec t

panel

Open Project Settings dialog box Click bit-depth button at bottom of Project

panel

Option-click bit-depth button at bottom of Project panel

Click bit-depth button at bottom of Project panel

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Introduction to After Effects

Preferences

Result Windows Mac OS

Open Preferences dialog box Ctrl+Alt+; (semicolon) Command+Option+; (semicolon)

Restore default preferences settings Hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift while starting After

Effects

Hold down Command+Option+Shift while starting After Effects

Panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows

Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9-F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.

Result Windows Mac OS

Open or close Project panel Ctrl+0 Command+0

Open or close Render Queue panel Ctrl+Alt+0 Command+Option+0

Open or close Tools panel Ctrl+1 Command+1

Open or close Info panel Ctrl+2 Command+2

Open or close Preview panel Ctrl+3 Command+3

Open or close Audio panel Ctrl+4 Command+4

Open or close Effects & Presets panel Ctrl+5 Command+5

Open or close Character panel Ctrl+6 Command+6

Open or close Paragraph panel Ctrl+7 Command+7

Open or close Paint panel Ctrl+8 Command+8

Open or close Brushes panel Ctrl+9 Command+9

Open or close Effect Controls panel for selected layer

Open Flowchart panel for project flowchart Ctrl+F11 Command+F11

Switch to workspace Shift+F10, Shift+F11, or Shift+F12 Shift+F10, Shift+F11, or Shift+F12

Close active viewer or panel (closes content first)

Close active panel or all viewers of type of active viewer (closes content first). For example, if a Timeline panel is active, this command closes all Timeline panels.

Split the frame containing the active viewer and create a viewer with opposite locked/unlocked state

Maximize or restore panel under pointer ` (accent grave) ` (accent grave)

Resize application window or floating window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.)

F3 or Ctrl+Shift+T F3 or Command+Shift+T

Ctrl+W Command+W

Ctrl+Shift+W Command+Shift+W

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N Command+Option+Shift+N

Ctrl+\ (backslash) Command+\ (backslash)

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Introduction to After Effects

Move application window or floating window to main monitor; resize window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.)

Toggle activation between Composition panel and Timeline panel for current composition

Cycle to previous or next item in active viewer (for example, cycle through open compositions)

Cycle to previous or next panel in active frame (for example, cycle through open Timeline panels)

Activate a view in a multi-view layout in the Composition panel without affecting layer selection

Ctrl+Alt+\ (backslash) Command+Option+\ (backslash)

\ (backslash) \ (backslash)

Shift+, (comma) or Shift+. (period) Shift+, (comma) or Shift+. (period)

Alt+Shift+, (comma) or Alt+Shift+. (period) Option+Shift+, (comma) or Option+Shift+.

(period)

Click with middle mouse button Click with middle mouse button

Activate tools

Note: You can activate some tools only under certain circumstances. For example, you can activate a camera tool only when the active composition contains a camera layer.

To momentarily activate a tool with a single-letter keyboard shortcut, hold down the key; release the key to return to the previously active tool. To activate a tool and keep it active, press the key and immediately release it.

Result Windows Mac OS

Cycle through tools Alt-click tool button in Tools panel Option-click tool button in Tools panel

Activate Selection tool V V

Activate Hand tool H H

Temporarily activate Hand tool Hold down spacebar or the middle mouse

Activate Zoom In tool Z Z

Activate Zoom Out tool Alt (when Zoom In tool is active) Option (when Zoom In tool is active)

Activate Rotation tool W W

Activate Roto Brush tool Alt+W Option+W

Activate Refine Edge tool Alt+W Option+W

Activate and cycle through Camera tools (Unified Camera, Orbit Camera, Track XY Camera, and Track Z Camera)

Activate Pan Behind tool Y Y

Activate and cycle through mask and shape tools (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Star)

Activate and cycle through Type tools (Horizontal and Vertical)

button

C C

Q Q

Ctrl+T Command+T

Hold down spacebar or the middle mouse button

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Introduction to After Effects

Activate and cycle between the Pen and Mask Feather tools. (Note: You can turn off this setting in the Preferences dialog box.)

Temporarily activate Selection tool when a pen tool is selected

Temporarily activate Pen tool when the Selection tool is selected and pointer is over a path (Add Vertex tool when pointer is over a segment; Convert Vertex tool when pointer is over a vertex)

Activate and cycle through Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser tools

Activate and cycle through Puppet tools Ctrl+P Command+P

Temporarily convert Selection tool to Shape Duplication tool

Temporarily convert Selection tool to Direct Selection tool

G G

Ctrl Command

Ctrl+Alt Command+Option

Ctrl+B Command+B

Alt (in shape layer) Option (in shape layer)

Ctrl (in shape layer) Command (in shape layer)

Compositions and the work area

Result Windows Mac OS

New composition Ctrl+N Command+N

Open Composition Settings dialog box for selected composition

Set beginning or end of work area to current time

Set work area to duration of selected layers or, if no layers are selected, set work area to composition duration

Open Composition Mini-Flowchart for active composition

Activate the most recently active composition that is in the same composition hierarchy (network of nested compositions) as the currently active composition

Trim Composition to work area Ctrl+Shift+X Command+Shift+X

New Composition from selection Alt+\ Option+\

Ctrl+K Command+K

B or N B or N

Ctrl+Alt+B Command+Option+B

Tab Tab

Shift+Esc Shift+Esc

Time navigation

Result Windows Mac OS

Go to specific time Alt+Shift+J Option+Shift+J

Go to beginning or end of work area Shift+Home or Shift+End Shift+Home or Shift+End

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Introduction to After Effects

Go to previous or next visible item in time ruler (keyframe, layer marker, work area beginning or end)

(Note: Also goes to beginning, end, or base frame of Roto Brush span if viewing Roto Brush in Layer panel.)

Go to beginning of composition, layer, or footage item

Go to end of composition, layer, or footage item

Go forward 1 frame Page Down or Ctrl+Right Arrow Page Down or Command+Right Arrow

Go forward 10 frames Shift+Page Down or Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow Shift+Page Down or Command+Shift+Right

Go backward 1 frame Page Up or Ctrl+Left Arrow Page Up or Command+Left Arrow

Go backward 10 frames Shift+Page Up or Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow Shift+Page Up or Command+Shift+Left Arrow

Go to layer In point I I

Go to layer Out point O O

Go to previous In point or Out point Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Left Arrow Command+Option+Shift+Left Arrow

Go to next In point or Out point Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Right Arrow Command+Option+Shift+Right Arrow

Scroll to current time in Timeline panel D D

J or K J or K

Home or Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow Home or Command+Option+Left Arrow

End or Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow End or Command+Option+Right Arrow

Arrow

Previews

Result Windows Mac OS

Start or stop preview Spacebar, 0 on numeric keypad, Shift+0 on

Reset preview settings to replicate RAM Preview and Standard Preview behaviors

Preview only audio, from current time . (decimal point) on numeric keypad* . (decimal point) on numeric keypad* or

Preview only audio, in work area Alt+. (decimal point) on numeric keypad* Option+. (decimal point) on numeric keypad*

Manually preview (scrub) video Drag or Alt-drag current-time indicator,

Manually preview (scrub) audio Ctrl-drag current-time indicator Command-drag current-time indicator

Preview number of frames specified by Alternate Preview preference (defaults to 5)

Toggle Mercury Transmit video preview / (on numeric keypad) / (on numeric keypad), Control+/ on main

Take snapshot Shift+F5, Shift+F6, Shift+F7, or Shift+F8 Shift+F5, Shift+F6, Shift+F7, or Shift+F8

Display snapshot in active viewer F5, F6, F7, or F8 F5, F6, F7, or F8

numeric keypad

Alt-click Reset in Preview panel Option-click Reset in Preview panel

depending on Live Update setting

Alt+0 on numeric keypad* Option+0 on numeric keypad* or

Spacebar, 0 on numeric keypad, Shift+0 on numeric keypad

Control+. (period) on main keyboard

or Control+Option+. (period) on main keyboard

Drag or Option-drag current-time indicator, depending on Live Update setting

Control+Option+0 (zero) on main keyboard

keyboard

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Introduction to After Effects

Purge snapshot Ctrl+Shift+F5, Ctrl+Shift+F6, Ctrl+Shift +F7, or

Ctrl+Shift+F8

Fast Previews > Off Ctrl+Alt+1 Command+Option+1

Fast Previews > Adaptive Resolution Ctrl+Alt+2 Command+Option+2

Fast Previews > Draft Ctrl+Alt+3 Command+Option+3

Fast Previews > Fast Draft Ctrl+Alt+4 Command+Option+4

Fast Previews > Wireframe Ctrl+Alt+5 Command+Option+5

Command+Shift+F5, Command+Shift+F6, Command+Shift+F7, or Command+Shift+F8

Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.

Views

Result Windows Mac OS

Turn display color management on or off for active view

Show red, green, blue, or alpha channel as grayscale

Show colorized red, green, or blue channel Alt+Shift+1, Alt+Shift+2, Alt+Shift+3 Option+Shift+1, Option+Shift+2,

Toggle showing straight RGB color Alt+Shift+4 Option+Shift+4

Shift+/ (on numeric keypad) Shift+/ (on numeric keypad)

Alt+1, Alt+2, Alt+3, Alt+4 Option+1, Option+2, Option+3, Option+4

Option+Shift+3

Show alpha boundary (outline between transparent and opaque regions) in Layer panel

Show alpha overlay (colored overlay on transparent regions) in Layer panel

Show Refine Edge X-ray Alt+X Option+X

Center composition in the panel Double-click Hand tool Double-click Hand tool

Zoom-in in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Zoom-out in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Zoom to 100% in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Zoom to fit in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Zoom up to 100% to fit in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

Set resolution to Full, Half, or Custom in Composition panel

Open View Options dialog box for active Composition panel

Zoom in time = (equal sign) on main keyboard = (equal sign) on main keyboard

Alt+5 Option+5

Alt+6 Option+6

. (period) on main keyboard . (period) on main keyboard

, (comma) , (comma)

/ (on main keyboard) / (on main keyboard)

Shift+/ (on main keyboard) Shift+/ (on main keyboard)

Alt+/ (on main keyboard) Option+/ (on main keyboard)

Ctrl+J, Ctrl+Shift+J, Ctrl+Alt+J Command+J, Command+Shift+J,

Command+Option+J

Ctrl+Alt+U Command+Option+U

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Introduction to After Effects

Zoom out time - (hyphen) on main keyboard - (hyphen) on main keyboard

Zoom in Timeline panel to single-frame units (Press again to zoom out to show entire composition duration.)

Zoom out in Timeline panel to show the entire composition duration (Press again to zoom back in to the duration specified by the Time Navigator.)

Prevent images from being rendered for previews in viewer panels

Show or hide safe zones ' (apostrophe) ' (apostrophe)

Show or hide grid Ctrl+' (apostrophe) Command+' (apostrophe)

Show or hide proportional grid Alt+' (apostrophe) Option+' (apostrophe)

Show or hide rulers Ctrl+R Command+R

Show or hide guides Ctrl+; (semicolon) Command+; (semicolon)

Turn snapping to grid on or off Ctrl+Shift+' (apostrophe) Command+Shift+' (apostrophe)

Turn snapping to guides on or off Ctrl+Shift+; (semicolon) Command+Shift+; (semicolon)

Lock or unlock guides Ctrl+Alt+Shift+; (semicolon) Command+Option+Shift+; (semicolon)

Show or hide layer controls (masks, motion paths, light and camera wireframes, effect control points, and layer handles)

; (semicolon) ; (semicolon)

Shift+; (semicolon) Shift+; (semicolon)

Caps Lock Caps Lock

Ctrl+Shift+H Command+Shift+H

Footage

Result Windows Mac OS

Import one file or image sequence Ctrl+I Command+I

Import multiple files or image sequences Ctrl+Alt+I Command+Option+I

Open movie in an After Effects Footage panel Double-click the footage item in the Project

Add selected items to most recently activated composition

Replace selected source footage for selected layers with footage item selected in Project panel

Replace source for a selected layer Alt-drag footage item from Project panel onto

Delete a footage item without a warning Ctrl+Backspace Command+Delete

Open Interpret Footage dialog box for selected footage item

Remember footage interpretation Ctrl+Alt+C Command+Option+C

Edit selected footage item in application with which it’s associated (Edit Original)

panel

Ctrl+/ (on main keyboard) Command+/ (on main keyboard)

Ctrl+Alt+/ (on main keyboard) Command+Option+/ (on main keyboard)

selected layer

Ctrl+Alt+G Command+Option+G

Ctrl+E Command+E

Double-click the footage item in the Project panel

Option-drag footage item from Project panel onto selected layer

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Replace selected footage item Ctrl+H Command+H

Reload selected footage items Ctrl+Alt+L Command+Option+L

Set proxy for selected footage item Ctrl+Alt+P Command+Option+P

Effects and animation presets

Result Windows Mac OS

Delete all effects from selected layers Ctrl+Shift+E Command+Shift+E

Apply most recently applied effec t to selected layers

Apply most recently applied animation preset to selected layers

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E Command+Option+Shift+E

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F Command+Option+Shift+F

Layers

Note: Some operations do not affect shy layers.

Result Windows Mac OS

New solid layer Ctrl+Y Command+Y

New null layer Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Y Command+Option+Shift+Y

New adjustment layer Ctrl+Alt+Y Command+Option+Y

Select layer (1-999) by its number (enter digits rapidly for two-digit and three-digit numbers)

Toggle selection of layer (1-999) by its number (enter digits rapidly for two-digit and threedigit numbers)

Select next layer in stacking order Ctrl+Down Arrow Command+Down Arrow

Select previous layer in stacking order Ctrl+Up Arrow Command+Up Arrow

Extend selection to next layer in stacking order

0-9 on numeric keypad* 0-9 on numeric keypad*

Shift+0-9 on numeric keypad* Shift+0-9 on numeric keypad*

Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow Command+Shift+Down Arrow

Extend selection to previous layer in stacking order

Deselect all layers Ctrl+Shift+A Command+Shift+A

Scroll topmost selected layer to top of Timeline panel

Show or hide Parent column Shift+F4 Shift+F4

Show or hide Layer Switches and Modes columns

Setting the sampling method for selected layers (Best/Bilinear)

Setting the sampling method for selected layers (Best/Bicubic)

Turn off all other solo switches Alt-click solo switch Option-click solo switch

Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow Command+Shift+Up Arrow

X X

F4 F4

Alt+B Option+B

Alt+Shift+B Option+Shift+B

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Turn Video (eyeball) switch on or off for selected layers

Turn off Video switch for all video layers other than selected layers

Open settings dialog box for selected solid, light, camera, null, or adjustment layer

Paste layers at current time Ctrl+Alt+V Command+Option+V

Split selected layers. (If no layers are selected, split all layers.)

Precompose selected layers Ctrl+Shift+C Command+Shift+C

Open Effect Controls panel for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+T Command+Shift+T

Open layer in Layer panel (opens source composition for precomposition layer in Composition panel)

Open source of a layer in Footage panel (opens precomposition layer in Layer panel)

Reverse selected layers in time Ctrl+Alt+R Command+Option+R

Enable time remapping for selected layers Ctrl+Alt+T Command+Option+T

Move selected layers so that their In point or Out point is at the current time

Trim In point or Out point of selected layers to current time

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V Command+Option+Shift+V

Ctrl+Shift+V Command+Shift+V

Ctrl+Shift+Y Command+Shift+Y

Ctrl+Shift+D Command+Shift+D

Double-click a layer Double-click a layer

Alt-double-click a layer Option-double-click a layer

[ (left bracket) or ] (right bracket) [ (left bracket) or ] (right bracket)

Alt+[ (left bracket) or Alt+] (right bracket) Option+[ (left bracket) or Option+] (right

bracket)

Add or remove expression for a property Alt-click stopwatch Option-click stopwatch

Add an effect (or multiple selected effects) to selected layers

Set In point or Out point by time-stretching Ctrl+Shift+, (comma) or Ctrl+Alt+, (comma) Command+Shift+, (comma) or

Move selected layers so that their In point is at beginning of composition

Move selected layers so that t heir Out point is at end of composition

Lock selected layers Ctrl+L Command+L

Unlock all layers Ctrl+Shift+L Command+Shift+L

Set Quality to Best, Draft, or Wireframe for selected layers

Cycle forward or backward through blending modes for selected layers

Find in Timeline panel Ctrl+F Command+F

Double-click effect selection in Effects & Presets panel

Alt+Home Option+Home

Alt+End Option+End

Ctrl+U, Ctrl+Shift+U, or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+U Command+U, Command+Shift+U,

Shift+- (hyphen) or Shift+= (equal sign) on the main keyboard

Double-click effect selection in Effects & Presets panel

Command+Option+, (comma)

Command+Option+Shift+U

Shift+- (hyphen) or Shift+= (equal sign) on the main keyboard

Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel

Note: This table contains double-letter shortcuts (for example, LL). To use these shortcuts, press the letters in quick succession.

Result Windows Mac OS

Find in Timeline panel Ctrl+F Command+F

Toggle expansion of selected layers to show all properties

Toggle expansion of property group and all child property groups to show all properties

Show only Anchor Point property (for lights and cameras, Point Of Interest)

Show only Audio Levels property L L

Show only Mask Feather property F F

Show only Mask Path property M M

Show only Mask Opacity property TT TT

Show only Opacity property (for lights, Intensity)

Show only Position property P P

Show only Rotation and Orientation properties

Show only Scale property S S

Show only Time Remap property RR RR

Show only instances of missing effects FF FF

Show only Effects property group E E

Ctrl+` (accent grave) Command+` (accent grave)

Ctrl-click triangle to the left of the property group name

A A

T T

R R

Command-click triangle to the left of the property group name

Show only mask property groups MM MM

Show only Material Options property group AA AA

Show only expressions EE EE

Show properties with keyframes U U

Show only modified properties UU UU

Show only paint strokes, Roto Brush strokes, and Puppet pins

Show only audio waveform LL LL

Show only selected properties and groups SS SS

Hide property or group Alt+Shift-click property or group name Option+Shift-click property or group name

Add or remove property or group from set that is shown

Add or remove keyframe at current time Alt+Shift+property shortcut Option+property shortcut

PP PP

Shift+property or group shortcut Shift+property or group shortcut

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Showing properties in the Effect Controls panel

Result Windows Mac OS

Toggle expansion of selected effects to show all properties

Toggle expansion of property group and all child property groups to show all properties

Ctrl+` (accent grave) Command+` (accent grave)

Ctrl-click triangle to the left of the property group name

Command-click triangle to the left of the property group name

Modifying layer properties

Result Windows Mac OS

Modify property value by default increments Drag property value Drag property value

Modify property value by 10x default increments

Modify property value by 1/10 default increments

Open Auto-Orientation dialog box for selected layers

Open Opacity dialog box for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+O Command+Shift+O

Open Rotation dialog box for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+R Command+Shift+R

Open Position dialog box for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+P Command+Shift+P

Center-selected layers in view (modifies Position property to place anchor points of selected layers in center of current view)

Shift-drag property value Shift-drag property value

Ctrl-drag property value Command-drag property value

Ctrl+Alt+O Command+Alt+O

Ctrl+Home Command+Home

Center anchor point in the visible content Ctrl+Alt+Home Command+Option+Home

Move selected layers 1 pixel at current magnification (Position)

Move selected layers 10 pixels at current magnification (Position)

Move selected layers 1 frame earlier or later Alt+Page Up or Alt+Page Down Option+Page Up or Option+Page Down

Move selected layers 10 frames earlier or later Alt+Shift+Page Up or Alt+Shift+Page Down Option+Shift+Page Up or Option+Shift+Page

Increase or decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of selected layers by 1°

Increase or decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of selected layers by 10°

Increase or decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light layers) of selected layers by 1%

Increase or decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light layers) of selected layers by 10%

Increase Scale of selected layers by 1% Ctrl++ (plus) or Alt++ (plus) on numeric

Decrease Scale of selected layers by 1% Ctrl+- (minus) or Alt+- (minus) on numeric

Arrow key Arrow key

Shift+arrow key Shift+arrow key

Down

+ (plus) or - (minus) on numeric keypad + (plus) or - (minus) on numeric keypad

Shift++ (plus) or Shift+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Ctrl+Alt++ (plus) or Ctrl+Alt+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Ctrl+Alt+Shift++ (plus) or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+(minus) on numeric keypad

keypad

Shift++ (plus) or Shift+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Control+Option++ (plus) or Control+Option+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Control+Option+Shift++ (plus) or Control+Option+Shift+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Command++ (plus) or Option++ (plus) on numeric keypad

Command+- (minus) or Option+- (minus) on numeric keypad

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Increase Scale of selected layers by 10% Ctrl+Shift++ (plus) or Alt+Shift++ (plus) on

Decrease Scale of selected layers by 10% Ctrl+Shift+- (minus) or Alt+Shift+- (minus) on

Modify Rotation or Orientation in 45° increments

Modify Scale, constrained to footage frame aspect ratio

Reset Rotation to 0° Double-click Rotation tool Double-click Rotation tool

Reset Scale to 100% Double-click Selection tool Double-click Selection tool

Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition

Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition width, preserving image aspect ratio for each layer

Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition height, preserving image aspect ratio for each layer

numeric keypad

Shift-drag with Rotation tool Shift-drag with Rotation tool

Shift-drag layer handle with Selection tool Shift-drag layer handle with Selection tool

Ctrl+Alt+F Command+Option+F

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H Command+Option+Shift+H

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G Command+Option+Shift+G

Command+Shift++ (plus) or Option+Shift++ (plus) on numeric keypad

Command+Shift+- (minus) or Option+Shift+(minus) on numeric keypad

3D layers

Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9-F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.

Result Windows Mac OS

Switch to 3D view 1 (defaults to Front) F10 F10

Switch to 3D view 2 (defaults to Custom View 1)F11 F11

Switch to 3D view 3 (defaults to Active Camera)

Return to previous view Esc Esc

New light Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L Command+Option+Shift+L

New camera Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C Command+Option+Shift+C

Move the camera and its point of interest to look at selected 3D layers

With a camera tool selected, move the camera and its point of interest to look at selected 3D layers

With a camera tool selected, move the camera and its point of interest to look at all 3D layers

Turn Casts Shadows property on or off for selected 3D layers

F12 F12

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+\ Command+Option+Shift+\

F F

Ctrl+Shift+F Command+Shift+F

Alt+Shift+C Option+Shift+C

Last updated 3/8/2018

Introduction to After Effects

Keyframes and the Graph Editor

Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9-F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.

Result Windows Mac OS

Toggle between Graph Editor and layer bar modes

Select all keyframes for a property Click property name Click property name

Select all visible keyframes and properties Ctrl+Alt+A Command+Option+A

Deselect all keyframes, properties, and property groups

Move keyframe 1 frame later or earlier Alt+Right Arrow or Alt+Left Arrow Option+Right Arrow or Option+Left Arrow

Move keyframe 10 frames later or earlier Alt+Shift+Right Arrow or Alt+Shift+Left

Set interpolation for selected keyframes (layer bar mode)

Set keyframe interpolation method to hold or Auto Bezier

Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or Auto Bezier

Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or hold

Easy ease selected keyframes F9 F9

Easy ease selected keyframes in Shift+F9 Shift+F9

Easy ease selected keyframes out Ctrl+Shift+F9 Command+Shift+F9

Shift+F3 Shift+F3

Shift+F2 or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A Shift+F2 or Command+Option+Shift+A

Arrow

Ctrl+Alt+K Command+Option+K

Ctrl+Alt+H Command+Option+H

Ctrl-click in layer bar mode Command-click in layer bar mode

Ctrl+Alt-click in layer bar mode Command+Option-click in layer bar mode

Option+Shift+Right Arrow or Option+Shift+Left Arrow

Set velocity for selected keyframes Ctrl+Shift+K Command+Shift+K

Add or remove keyframe at current time. For property shortcuts, see Showing properties

and groups in the Timeline panel.

Alt+Shift+property shortcut Option+property shortcut

Te xt

Result Windows Mac OS

New text layer Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T Command+Option+Shift+T

Align selected horizontal text left, center, or right

Align selected vertical text top, center, or bottom

Extend or reduce selection by one character to right or left in horizontal text

Extend or reduce selection by one word to right or left in horizontal text

Ctrl+Shift+L, Ctrl+Shift+C, or Ctrl+Shift+R Command+Shift+L, Command+Shift+C, or

Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow

Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow or Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow

Command+Shift+R

Command+Shift+Right Arrow or Command+Shift+Left Arrow

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Introduction to After Effects

Extend or reduce selection by one line up or down in horizontal text

Extend or reduce selection by on e line to right or left in vertical text

Extend or reduce selection one word up or down in vertical text

Extend or reduce selection by one character up or down in vertical text

Select text from insertion point to beginning or end of line

Move insertion point to beginning or end of line

Select all text on a layer Double-click text layer Double-click text layer

Select text from insertion point to beginning or end of text frame

To mouse-click point, select text from insertion point

In horizontal text, move insertion point one character left or right; one line up or down; one word left or right; or one paragraph up or down

In vertical text, move insertion point one character up or down; one left or right; one word up or down; or one paragraph left or right

Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow

Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow

Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow or Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow

Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow

Shift+Home or Shift+End Shift+Home or Shift+End

Home or End Home or End

Ctrl+Shift+Home or Ctrl+Shift+End Command+Shift+Home or

Shift-click Shift-click

Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Ctrl+Left Arrow or Ctrl+Right Arrow; or Ctrl+Up Arrow or Ctrl+Down Arrow

Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Ctrl+Up Arrow or Ctrl+Down Arrow ; or Ctrl+Left Arrow or Ctrl+Right Arrow

Command+Shift+Up Arrow or Command+Shift+Down Arrow

Command+Shift+End

Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Command+Left Arrow or Command+Right Arrow; or Command+Up Arrow or Command+Down Arrow

Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Command+Up Arrow or Command+Down Arrow; or Command+Left Arrow or Command+Right Arrow

Select word, line, paragraph, or entire text frame

Turn All Caps on or off for selected text Ctrl+Shift+K Command+Shift+K

Turn Small Caps on or off for selected text Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K Command+Option+Shift+K

Turn Superscript on or off for selected text Ctrl+Shift+= (equal sign) Command+Shift+= (equal sign)

Turn Subscript on or off for selected text Ctrl+Alt+Shift+= (equal sign) Command+Option+Shift+= (equal sign)

Set horizontal scale to 100% for selected text Ctrl+Shift+X Command+Shift+X

Set vertical scale to 100% for selected text Ctrl+Alt+Shift+X Command+Option+Shift+X

Auto leading for selected text Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A Command+Option+Shift+A

Reset tracking to 0 for selected text Ctrl+Shift+Q Command+Shift+Control+Q

Justify paragraph; left align last line Ctrl+Shift+J Command+Shift+J

Justify paragraph; right align last line Ctrl+Alt+Shift+J Command+Option+Shift+J

Justify paragraph; force last line Ctrl+Shift+F Command+Shift+F

Decrease or increase font size of selected text by 2 units

Decrease or increase font size of selected text by 10 units

Increase or decrease leading by 2 units Alt+Down Arrow or Alt+Up Arrow Option+Down Arrow or Option+Up Arrow

Double-click, triple-click, quadruple-click, or quintuple-click with Type tool

Ctrl+Shift+, (comma) or Ctrl+Shift+. (period) Command+Shift+, (comma) or

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+, (comma) or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+. (period)

Double-click, triple-click, quadruple-click, or quintuple-click with Type tool

Command+Shift+. (period)

Command+Option+Shift+, (comma) or Command+Option+Shift+. (period)

Last updated 3/8/2018

+ 574 hidden pages

ADOBE After Effects CS6 User Manual

Legal notices

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction to After Effects

New features summary

New features in the January 2018 release

Import support for more video formats

Audio sync improvement with variable frame rate footage

Bug fixes

Other enhancements

New features in the October 2017 release

What's New in After Effects CC (October 2017)

Data-driven animation

Visual keyboard shortcut editor

Expressions access to path points on masks, shapes, and brush strokes

Create Nulls From Paths panel

360/VR transitions, effects, and titles

Performance enhancement

Performance enhancements in After Effects

Motion Graphics templates improvements

Team Projects 1.0 support

Maxon CINEMA 4D renderer and CINEWARE render engine update

Maxon CINEMA 4D Lite R19

Text input improvements

Font previews and other improvements to the Font menu

New getting started experience

Other enhancements

Keyboard shortcuts reference

Visual Keyboard Shortcut Editor

Work with Visual Keyboard Shortcut Editor

Application Shortcuts

Panel shortcuts

Assigning shortcuts

Exceptions

Key tool tips

Conflicts and resolutions

Conflicts

Resolution

Saving custom keyboard shortcut sets

General

Projects

Preferences

Panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows

Activate tools

Compositions and the work area

Time navigation

Previews

Views

Footage

Effects and animation presets

Layers

Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel

Showing properties in the Effect Controls panel

Modifying layer properties

3D layers

Keyframes and the Graph Editor

Te xt