Tutorial: Page (1) of 2 - 12/30/03

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After Effects Tips Eight tips to help in your After Effects work By Stephen Schleicher Everyone loves to read tidbits and tips to help in their workflow. However, not all of the quick tips and hints are long enough to deserve their own article. So, we present here some of those in one collection.

1. The bracket keys are your friends. They allow you to do so many things. The first is shifting an entire layer in the Timeline. The Left Bracket [ allows you to shift the layer based on the In point, while the Right Bracket ] allows you to shift the layer based on the Out point. For example, to shift a layer to the right, highlight the layer in the Timeline, move the Timeline Indicator to the place you would like to shift the layer and press the Left Bracket [ key.



2. If you would like to move a layer up and down in the Timeline, the bracket keys come in handy once again. Control+[ will shift the selected layer down one layer in the Timeline, while Control+] will shift the selected layer up one layer.

3. While the Left and Right Bracket keys allow you to shift a layer in the Timeline, the keys can also help you set In and Out points. The Option+[ (Alt+[ on the PC) combo will shift the In point of a layer to the Timeline Indicator, while Option+] (Alt+] on the PC) will set the Out point of a layer to the location of the Timeline Indicator.

4. To quickly jump to the beginning or end of your Composition, use the J and K keys. While the Home and End keys will do the same thing, the natural starting position for typing puts the J (beginning) and K (end) keys at easy reach.

5. Continuing with keyboard shortcuts, the ? and = keys will allow you to zoom in and out of your Timeline. Hint: Look at the Sift equivalent (- and +) and you will see which why those keys were chosen.

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