Adobe After Effects CS4 - Manual (Page 163)

157 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Layers and properties
Last updated 12/21/2009
• To change the color of a label for one layer, click the label in the Timeline panel and choose a color.
• To change the color of a label for all layers with that label color, select one of the layers belonging to the label group,
choose Edit > Label > Select Label Group, and choose Edit > Label > [color name].
• To change the names and default colors for labels, choose Edit > Preferences > Label Colors (Windows) or After
Effects > Preferences > Label Colors (Mac OS).
• To change the default associations of label colors with source types, choose Edit > Preferences > Label Defaults
(Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > Label Defaults (Mac OS).
More Help topics
“ Select a color or edit a gradient ” on page 276
Show and hide layers in the Timeline panel
You can mark a layer as shy and then use the Hide Shy Layers composition switch at the top of the Timeline panel
to hide all shy layers in the Timeline panel layer outline. Making layers shy is useful for making room in the Timeline
panel to show the layers and layer properties that you want to adjust.
The icon in the Switches column indicates whether a layer is shy or not shy .
Shy layers are still rendered, both for previews and for final output. To exclude layers from previews or final output,
use the Video switch or make the layer a guide layer.
• To toggle a layer between shy and not shy, click the Shy switch for the layer, or select the layer in the Timeline panel
and choose Layer
> Switches > Shy.
• To toggle between hiding and showing all shy layers, click to select or deselect the Hide Shy Layers composition
switch at the top of the Timeline panel, or choose Hide Shy Layers from the Timeline panel menu.
You can also filter layers in the Timeline panel to show only layers with properties that match a search string or certain
other characteristics. See “
Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels ” on page 17 and
“ Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel (keyboard shortcuts) ” on page 748.
Lloyd Alvarez provides a script on his After Effects Scripts website 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 field in the Timeline
panel.
More Help topics
“ Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel ” on page 154
Layer image quality and subpixel positioning
The quality setting of a layer determines how precisely it is rendered, as well as influencing the precision of other
calculations involving the layer, such as motion tracking and the use of the layer as a control layer for a compound
effect.
The default quality of new layers is determined by the Create New Layers At Best Quality preference in the General
preferences category.
Duplicated or split layers retain the Quality setting of the original layer.