Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 5.5 Help Manual page 74

Adobe After Effects Help
Using Help | Contents
For information about effects, see "Working with effects" on page 170.
Note: Transformations on adjustment layers behave slightly differently; they transform
only the matte but not the fill.
To change an existing layer into an adjustment layer:
1 In the Timeline window, select the name of the layer you want to make into an
adjustment layer. (Typically, this layer already has effects applied to it, but you can add
effects after making it an adjustment layer.)
2 Choose Layers > Switch > Adjustment Layer.
If you want to apply an effect to just part of an image, draw a mask on an adjustment
layer (see "Working with masks" on page 149). The mask restricts the area to which the
effect applies. You can animate the mask to follow a moving subject.
For more information about switches, see "About After Effects Audio/Video switches" on
page 86.
Duplicating a layer
When you duplicate a layer, After Effects copies all property keyframes, masks, and effects
to the duplicate. The duplicate is added above the original layer and automatically
selected. If you want to duplicate a layer without duplicating its keyframes, masks, or
effects, add the original source footage file to the composition again.
To duplicate a layer:
In a Composition or Timeline window, select the layer and choose Edit > Duplicate.
Creating new layers by splitting
You can split a layer at any point along its timeline, creating two independent layers. This is
a time-saving alternative to duplicating and trimming the layer—something you might do
when you want to change the stacking-order position of the layer in the middle of the
composition, such as an object revolving in front of and then behind another object.
When you split a layer, both resulting layers contain all the keyframes that were in the
original layer in their original positions; see "Understanding keyframes" on page 96.
To split a layer:
1 In the Timeline or Composition window, select a layer.
2 In the Timeline window, move the current-time marker to the time where you want to
split the layer.
3 Choose Edit > Split Layer.
Rearranging layers
You can change the stacking order (which layers appear above or below other layers), the
positions of layers in visual space, and the point in the play time at which different layers
appear. The Timeline window provides intuitive methods for dragging layers vertically into
different stacking orders and dragging time indicators for a layer horizontally to achieve
the results you want. The Align palette makes it easy to arrange spatial relationships
between elements on different layers.
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Managing Layers
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