Adobe After Effects CS4 - Manual (Page 161)

155 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Layers and properties
Last updated 12/21/2009
Switches in the A/V Features column
Video Toggles layer visuals on or off. (See “ Toggle visibility or influence of a layer or property group ” on page 155.)
Audio Toggles layer sounds on or off.
Solo Includes the current layer in previews and renders, ignoring layers without this switch set. (See “ Solo a layer ”
on page 156.)
Lock Locks layer contents, preventing all changes. (See “ Lock or unlock a layer ” on page 156.)
Switches in the Switches column
Shy Hides the current layer when the Hide Shy Layers composition switch is selected. (See “ Show and hide
layers in the Timeline panel ” on page 157.)
Collapse Transformations/Continuously Rasterize Collapses transformations if the layer is a precomposition;
continuously rasterizes if the layer is a shape layer, text layer, or layer with a vector graphics file (such as an Adobe
Illustrator file) as the source footage. Selecting this switch for a vector layer causes After Effects to rerasterize the layer
for each frame, which improves image quality, but also increases the time required for previewing and rendering. (See
“
Render order and collapsing transformations ” on page 64 and “ Continuously rasterize a layer containing vector
graphics ” on page 158.)
Quality Toggles between Best and Draft options for layer quality for rendering, including rendering to the screen
for previews. (See “ Layer image quality and subpixel positioning ” on page 157.)
Effect Select to render the layer with effects. The switch does not affect the setting for individual effects on the
layer. (See “ Delete or disable effects and animation presets ” on page 394.)
Frame Blend Sets frame blending to one of three states: Frame Mix , Pixel Motion , or off. If the Enable Frame
Blending composition switch is not selected, the frame blending setting of the layer is irrelevant. (See “ Frame
blending ” on page 253.)
Motion Blur Toggles motion blur on or off for the layer. If the Enable Motion Blur composition switch is not
selected, the motion blur setting of the layer is irrelevant. (See “ Motion blur ” on page 227.)
Adjustment Layer Identifies the layer as an adjustment layer. (See “ Adjustment layers ” on page 141.)
3D Layer Identifies the layer as a 3D layer. If the layer is a 3D layer with 3D sublayers—as is the case for a text layer
with per-character 3D properties—the switch uses this icon: . (See “ 3D layers overview and resources ” on page 179.)
More Help topics
“ Layers (keyboard shortcuts) ” on page 746
Toggle visibility or influence of a layer or property group
The Video (eyeball) switch for a layer controls whether the visual information for a layer is rendered for previews
or final output. If the layer is an adjustment layer, the Video switch controls whether the effects on the layer are applied
to the composite of the layers below it. If the layer is a camera or light, the Video switch controls whether the layer is
on or off.
Several components of layers—such as paint strokes, path operations in shape layers, and text animators in text
layers—each have their own Video switches. You can use the Video switch to toggle the visibility and influence of these
items individually.
• To turn off the visibility of a layer deselect the Video switch for the layer.
• To select the Video switch for all layers, choose Layer > Switches > Show All Video.