Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 5.5 Help Manual page 114

Adobe After Effects Help
Using Help | Contents
To parent a layer:
1 In the Parent column in the Timeline window, do one of the following:
Drag the pick whip of the layer you want to be the child layer to the layer you want to
•
be the parent.
Click the menu of the layer you want to be the child, and choose a parent layer name
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from the menu.
To remove a parent from a layer:
In the Parent column, click the menu of the layer you want to remove the parent from, and
choose None.
To make a child layer jump when a parent is assigned or removed:
Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you assign or remove the parent.
Using null objects
If you want to assign a parent layer, but do not want that layer to be a visible element in
your project, use a null object. A null object is an invisible layer that has all the properties
of a visible layer, except opacity, so it can be a parent to any layer in the composition. (For
information on parent layers, see "Understanding parent layers" on page 113.) Adjust and
animate a null object as you would any other layer. For information on setting layer
properties, see the section corresponding to the transformation you want to perform; for
example, to set layer position, see "Setting layer position" on page 103. For information on
animating layers, see "Setting and animating a layer property in the Timeline window" on
page 114. Effects are not visible on null objects.
A composition can contain any number of null objects. A null object is visible only in the
Composition and Layer windows and appears in the Composition window as a rectan-
gular outline with layer handles.
To create a null object:
Select the Timeline or Composition window and choose New > Null Object.
Note: The anchor point of a new null object layer appears in the upper left corner of the
layer, and the layer is anchored in the center of the composition at its anchor point.
Change the anchor point as you would for any other layer. For information on adjusting
the anchor point, see "Setting and animating an anchor point" on page 111.
Setting and animating a layer property in the Timeline
window
You can change a keyframe attribute in the Timeline window either by dragging the corre-
sponding underlined transform value or by typing new values in a dialog box. After
setting an initial keyframe, changing layer values creates animated layers. Follow the
guidelines below to set and animate any layer property in the Timeline and Composition
windows.
To set a layer property by dragging in the Timeline window:
1 Select a layer.
2 Expand the layer outline to display the layer Transform properties.
Using Help | Contents
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Animating Layers
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