Managing Layers; To Rename A Layer; To See A Layer Source Name In The Info Panel; Changing Layer Color Labels - Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 7.0 Manual

After you split a layer, the duration of the original layer ends at the point of the split, and the new layer starts at that
point in time.
To set the default stacking position of split layers
Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > General (Mac OS).
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2 Select Create Split Layers Above Original Layer to make new split layers appear above the original layer in the
Timeline panel, or deselect this option to make them appear below the original layer.

Managing layers

To rename a layer

By default, the layer outline in the Timeline panel uses the source footage names for layers. You can rename any layer
at any time. Unique layer names can help you identify layers when you use the same source footage for more than
one layer.
1 In the Timeline panel's layer outline, select the layer you want to rename.
Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS) and type a new name.
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Press Enter or Return again to apply the new name.
3
Note: To switch between displaying the original file name and the layer name you've specified, click the Source Name or
Layer Name heading.
See also
"About the Timeline panel" on page 118

To see a layer source name in the Info panel

After Effects can display the source file name in the Info panel, which is useful when the source footage is a still-
image sequence, because each still image has a different file name.
Choose Window > Info if the Info panel is not already open.
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2 In the Timeline panel, select the layer.
Press Ctrl+Alt+E (Windows) or Command+Option+E (Mac OS). The name of the source footage appears in the
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Info panel.
See also
"About the Info panel" on page 22

Changing layer color labels

The Timeline panel uses different colored boxes as labels to indicate different kinds of layers, such as compositions
or source footage layers. Layer handles and motion paths display the label color of the layer. Use the Edit > Label
submenu to select all layers of a particular type, either by a specific label color or to match the current layer selection
(using the Select Label Group command).
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