To Set The Rendering Plug-In; About The Composition Panel - Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 7.0 Manual

To set the rendering plug-in

You can animate layers in 3D space. This 3D environment includes shadows, specular highlights, rack focus, and an
automatic method of compositing layers based on depth. The default 3D rendering plug-in is Advanced 3D. You can
use the Advanced tab of the Composition Settings dialog box to specify the Standard 3D or Advanced 3D rendering
plug-in. You can also specify third-party rendering plug-ins as they become available. Note that the Standard 3D
rendering plug-in does not support intersecting 3D layers.
Example of 3D file with intersecting layers rendered with Standard 3D rendering plug-in (left) and Advanced 3D rendering plug-in (right)
Choose Composition > Composition Settings, and click on the Advanced tab in the Composition Settings dialog
1
box.
Choose Standard 3D, Advanced 3D, OpenGL Hardware, or a third-party plug-in (if available) from the Rendering
2
Plug-in menu.
3 Click Options and specify the following settings in either the Standard 3D Options, or the Advanced 3D Options
dialog box, and then click OK:
Choose an option from the Antialiasing menu.
Standard 3D
Choose an option from the Shadow Map Resolution menu.
Advanced 3D
Composition panel

About the Composition panel

Use the Composition panel to preview the composition and animate its contents manually. For example, you can
move a layer by dragging it, scale a layer by dragging its handle, and scroll with the Hand tool. You can also change
the background color of the composition. The Composition panel contains a number of features and controls to help
you work with layers.
Always Preview This View button
Magnification Ratio menu
Title-Action Safe menu
Reference Axis. See "To view and use safe zones and grids" on page 142.
Toggle View Masks button
masks.
Opens the Go To Time dialog box. Specify a new frame or time in the text box.
Current Time button
Take Snapshot and Show Last Snapshot buttons
Snapshots are not saved to disk. Click and hold the Show Last Snapshot button to view the most recent snapshot
instead of the active composition.
Toggles the current view as the default view for previews.
Specify a magnification from the menu.
Toggle Title/Action Safe Zone, Proportional Grid, Grid, Guides, Rulers, and 3D
Toggles between viewing masks in a composition and viewing the image without
Captures or shows an image of the contents of the panel.
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