Adobe 12040118 - After Effects Standard Tutorial page 142

Video Toggles layer visuals on or off. (See Toggle visibility or influence of a layer or property group.)
Audio Toggles layer sounds on or off.
Solo Includes the current layer in previews and renders, ignoring layers without this switch set. (See Solo a layer.)
Lock Locks layer contents, preventing all changes. (See Lock or unlock a layer.)
Switches in the Switches column
Shy Hides the current layer when the Hide Shy Layers composition switch
Collapse Transformations/Continuously Rasterize
layer is a shape layer, text layer, or layer with a vector graphics file (such as an Adobe Illustrator file) as the source footage. Selecting this switch
for a vector layer causes After Effects to rerasterize the layer for each frame, which improves image quality, but also increases the time required
for previewing and rendering. (See Render order and collapsing transformations and Continuously rasterize a layer containing vector graphics.)
Quality Toggles between Best and Draft options for layer quality for rendering, including rendering to the screen for previews. (See Layer image
quality and subpixel positioning.)
Effect Select to render the layer with effects. The switch does not affect the setting for individual effects on the layer. (See Delete or disable
effects and animation presets.)
Frame Blend Sets frame blending to one of three states: Frame Mix
is not selected, the frame blending setting of the layer is irrelevant. (See Frame blending.)
Motion Blur Toggles motion blur on or off for the layer. If the Enable Motion Blur
of the layer is irrelevant. (See Motion blur.)
Adjustment Layer Identifies the layer as an adjustment layer. (See Adjustment layers.)
3D Layer Identifies the layer as a 3D layer. If the layer is a 3D layer with 3D sublayers—as is the case for a text layer with per-character 3D
properties—the switch uses this icon:
Toggle visibility or influence of a layer or property group
The Video (eyeball) switch for a layer controls whether the visual information for a layer is rendered for previews or final output. If the layer is an
adjustment layer, the Video switch controls whether the effects on the layer are applied to the composite of the layers below it. If the layer is a
camera or light, the Video switch controls whether the layer is on or off.
Several components of layers—such as paint strokes, path operations in shape layers, and text animators in text layers—each have their own
Video switches. You can use the Video switch to toggle the visibility and influence of these items individually.
To turn off the visibility of a layer deselect the Video switch for the layer.
To select the Video switch for all layers, choose Layer > Switches > Show All Video.
To deselect the Video switch for all layers except the selected layers, choose Layer > Switches > Hide Other Video.
Solo a layer
You can isolate one or more layers for animating, previewing, or final output by soloing. Soloing excludes all other layers of the same type from
being rendered—both for previews in the Composition panel and for final output. For example, if you solo a video layer, any lights and audio layers
are unaffected, so they appear when you preview or render the composition. However, the other video layers do not appear.
To solo one or more layers, select the layers in the Timeline panel, and click the Solo icon
To solo one layer and unsolo all other layers, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Solo icon
The Video switch is dimmed for other layers when a layer is soloed, indicating that the other layers are not visible.
Lloyd Alvarez provides a script on his
their tags. The tags are appended to comments in the Comments column in the Timeline panel.
Lock or unlock a layer
The Lock switch prevents layers from being edited accidentally. When a layer is locked, you cannot select it in either the Composition or Timeline
panels. If you try to select or modify a locked layer, the layer flashes in the Timeline panel.
When a layer is locked, the Lock icon
Timeline panel.
To lock or unlock a layer, click the Lock switch for the layer in the Timeline panel.
To unlock all layers in the active composition, choose Layer > Switches > Unlock All Layers.
Color labels for layers, compositions, and footage items
You can use labels (colored boxes in the Label column) in the Project panel and Timeline panel to organize and manage compositions, footage
items, and layers. By default, different label colors indicate different kinds of footage items, but you can assign label colors to indicate whatever
Collapses transformations if the layer is a precomposition; continuously rasterizes if the
. (See 3D layers overview and resources.)
After Effects Scripts website with which you can tag layers and then select, shy, and solo layers according to
appears in the A/V Features column, which appears by default to the left of the layer name in the
is selected. (See Show and hide layers in the Timeline panel.)
, Pixel Motion , or off. If the Enable Frame Blending composition switch
composition switch is not selected, the motion blur setting
to the left of the layer names.
To the top
To the top
to the left of the layer name.
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