Solo a layer, Lock or unlock a layer, Color labels for layers and footage items – Adobe After Effects CS4 User Manual
Page 162: Added label name next to label color swatch. see
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USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Layers and properties
Last updated 12/21/2009
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To deselect the Video switch for all layers except the selected layers, choose Layer
> Switches
> Hide Other Video.
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Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel
Solo a layer
You can isolate one or more layers for animating, previewing, or final output by soloing. Soloing excludes all other
layers of the same type from being rendered—both for previews in the Composition panel and for final output. For
example, if you solo a video layer, any lights and audio layers are unaffected, so they appear when you preview or
render the composition. However, the other video layers do not appear.
•
To solo one or more layers, select the layers in the Timeline panel, and click the Solo icon
to the left of the layer
names.
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To solo one layer and unsolo all other layers, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Solo icon
to the
left of the layer name.
The Video switch
is dimmed for other layers when a layer is soloed, indicating that the other layers are not visible.
Lloyd Alvarez provides a script on his
with which you can tag layers and then select, shy,
and solo layers according to their tags. The tags are appended to comments in the Comments column in the Timeline
panel.
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Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel
Lock or unlock a layer
The Lock switch prevents layers from being edited accidentally. When a layer is locked, you cannot select it in either
the Composition or Timeline panels. If you try to select or modify a locked layer, the layer flashes in the Timeline panel.
When a layer is locked, the Lock icon
appears in the A/V Features column, which appears by default to the left of
the layer name in the Timeline panel.
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To lock or unlock a layer, click the Lock switch for the layer in the Timeline panel.
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To unlock all layers in the active composition, choose Layer
> Switches
> Unlock All Layers.
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Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel
Color labels for layers and footage items
You can use labels (colored boxes in the Label column) in the Project panel and Timeline panel to organize and manage
footage items and layers. By default, different label colors indicate different kinds of footage items, but you can assign
label colors to indicate whatever categories you choose. Layer handles and motion paths in the Composition and Layer
panels display the label color of the layer.
Rename label groups to help you to organize and categorize layers and footage items. To see label names in the Label
column, widen the column to greater than the default width.
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To select all layers with the same label color, select a layer with that label color and choose Edit > Label > Select
Label Group.