Adobe After Effects - Manual (Page 153)

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Note:
1. In the Timeline panel, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) and select layers in sequential order, beginning with the layer to
appear first.
2. Choose Animation > Keyframe Assistant > Sequence Layers.
3. In the Sequence Layers dialog box, do one of the following:
To arrange the layers end to end, leave the Overlap option unselected.
To overlap layers, select Overlap, enter a Duration value for the duration of the overlap, and select a transition. Select Cross Dissolve
Front And Back Layers to use the transparency of the selected layers; otherwise, choose Dissolve Front Layer.
To leave gaps between the layers, select Overlap and enter a negative Duration value.
Copy or duplicate a layer
When you copy a layer, you copy all of its properties, including effects, keyframes, expressions, and masks.
Duplicating a layer is a shortcut with which you copy and paste the layer with one command. Duplicating a layer with a track matte preserves the
relative ordering of the layer and its track matte.
When you paste layers, they are placed in the order in which you selected them before copying. The first layer selected is the last one to be
placed, so it ends up on the top in the layer stacking order. If you select layers from the top first, they end up in the same stacking order when
pasted.
If you have a component of a layer—such as a mask or keyframe—selected when you copy, you copy only that component. Before copying,
press Shift+F2 to deselect all of the components of a layer and leave the layer itself selected.
To copy selected layers and place the In points of the copies at the current time, choose Edit > Copy, and then press Ctrl+Alt+V (Windows)
or Command+Option+V (Mac OS).
To copy selected layers and place the copies at the same times as the originals, choose Edit > Copy, and then choose Edit > Paste.
To place copies at the top of the layer stack in the Timeline panel instead of immediately above the originals, press F2 to deselect the originals
before you paste.
To duplicate selected layers, choose Edit > Duplicate or press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Command+D (Mac OS).
Split a layer
In the Timeline panel, you can split a layer at any time, creating two independent layers. Splitting a layer is a time-saving alternative to duplicating
and trimming the layer—something you might do when you want to change the stacking-order position of the layer in the middle of the
composition.
To make new split layers appear above the original layer in the Timeline panel, select Create Split Layers Above Original Layer (Edit >
Preferences > General (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences> General (Mac OS)). Deselect this option to make the layers appear below the
original layer.
1. Select one or more layers.
2. Move the current-time indicator to the time at which to split the layers.
3. Choose Edit > Split Layer.
When you split a layer, both resulting layers contain all of the keyframes that were in the original layer in their original positions. Any applied track
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