Apple Motion 4 - Manual (Page 245)

A new group is created at the top of the Layers tab, and all files appear as layers nested
within it. Each new layer’s start time in the Timeline is set to the position of the playhead
in step 1.
To add one or more files to an existing group
1 If the Create Layers At setting in the Project pane of Motion Preferences is set to “Current
frame,” move the playhead to the frame in the Timeline where you want the first frame
of the file to start.
Note: If the Create Layers At setting is set to “Start of project,” this step is unnecessary as
imported files are always placed at frame 1.
2 Open the File Browser and Layers tab.
3 Select one or more files in the File Browser.
4 To nest the selected files underneath an existing group, do one of the following:
• Drag the selected files on top of any group in the Layers tab.
The objects appear nested at the top of the group of objects.
• Drag the selected files between any objects in a group.
A position indicator shows the new position that the objects occupy when you release
the mouse button.
• Drag the selected files into the Timeline, placing them between any objects that are
already nested underneath an existing group.
Note: For more information on editing objects into the Timeline, see Using the Timeline .
Once a file has been added to a project, it appears as a layer in the Canvas, Timeline,
Layers tab, and Media tab. Each new layer’s start time in the Timeline is set to the position
of the playhead in step 1.
You can also add files to your project without having them appear in the composition
by dragging a file directly into the Media tab. This allows you to add media objects you
might want to use in the future without actually placing them in your composition.
To drag one or more files to a project without using them in the composition
1 Open the Media tab.
2 Drag one or more files from the File Browser into the Media tab.
The resulting media objects don’t appear in the Canvas, Layers tab, or Timeline.
To copy and paste one or more files to a project without using them in the composition
1 Open the Media tab.
2 Select the object (or Shift-click to select multiple objects) in the Media tab, choose Edit
> Copy.
3 Click in the Media tab to make it the active window, then choose Edit > Paste.
245 Chapter 6 Creating and Managing Projects