About Anchor Points; To Rotate A Selected Layer By Nudging It 1 Degree; To Rotate A Selected Layer By Nudging It 10 Degrees; To Rotate A Layer Along A Motion Path - Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 7.0 Manual

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Click the second underlined value and enter the number of degrees by which to rotate the layer.

To rotate a selected layer by nudging it 1 degree

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Press + or – on the numeric keypad.

To rotate a selected layer by nudging it 10 degrees

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Hold down Shift as you press + or – on the numeric keypad.

To rotate a layer along a motion path

You can make a layer rotate automatically as it moves along a motion path. For example, if you animate a toy airplane
careening through the sky, you can apply auto-orient rotation to make the plane turn and change direction.
Display the Timeline and Composition panels for a composition.
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2 In the Timeline panel, select the layer you want to modify.
Choose Layer > Transform > Auto-Orient.
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Do one of the following, and click OK:
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To activate Auto-Orient, choose Orient Along Path.
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To deactivate Auto-Orient, choose Off.
Before applying auto-orient rotation (left) and after (right)

About anchor points

After Effects rotates and scales from a layer's anchor point. By default, the anchor point is at the center of a layer. You
can move the anchor point to change rotation into revolution, making the layer rotate from one end or the other. For
example, if you want to animate a maraca so it appears to be shaking, you first need to move the anchor point from
the center of the maraca to the end of the handle.
Anchor point in center of layer (left) compared to anchor point moved to the end of the handle (right)
ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
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