Adobe After Effects CS4 - Manual (Page 206)

200 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Views and previews
Last updated 12/21/2009
Note: When multiple views are open, previews use the frontmost composition view for 2D compositions and the Active
Camera view for 3D compositions. To turn off the Active Camera, deselect Previews Favor Active Camera in the Preview
panel menu.
More Help topics
“ Viewers ” on page 15
Preview modes
Each preview mode provides a different balance between quality and speed for playback and for updating of images
during interactions, such as when you drag a layer in the Composition panel or modifying a property value in the
Timeline panel.
Draft 3D and Live Update modes apply to all views of a composition.
Draft 3D Disables lights, shadows, and depth-of-field blur for cameras. To turn Draft 3D mode on or off, click the
Draft 3D button at the top of the Timeline panel.
Live Update Updates images in the Composition or Layer panel during interactions. When Live Update is deselected,
After Effects displays wireframe representations during interactions. To turn Live Update mode on or off, click the
Live Update button
, at the top of the Timeline panel.
To temporarily toggle Live Update mode, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while dragging to move a layer,
modify a property value, or move the current-time indicator.
Fast Previews You can use a different Fast Previews mode for each view in the Composition panel. For example, in a
4 Views layout, you could use OpenGL for the Active Camera view and Wireframe for Left, Right, and Top views. Click
the Fast Previews button
, at the bottom of the Composition panel to set Fast Previews preferences or choose from
the following Fast Previews modes:
• Wireframe Represents each layer as a wireframe outline, which increases playback speed and allows you to quickly
reposition a layer with large pixel dimensions or several effects applied.
• Adaptive Resolution—OpenGL Off Decreases the preview resolution of layers when necessary to maintain speed of
updating of images during interactions. The Adaptive Resolution Limit value in the Fast Previews area in the Previews
preferences category specifies the minimum resolution to use.
• OpenGL—Interactive or OpenGL—Always On OpenGL mode provides high-quality previews that require less
rendering time than other playback modes. OpenGL can also be used to speed up rendering to final output. OpenGL
features in After Effects rely on OpenGL features of your video hardware. When OpenGL does not support a feature,
it simply creates a preview without using that feature. For example, if your layers contain shadows and your OpenGL
hardware does not support shadows, the preview will not contain shadows. Select OpenGL-Interactive to use OpenGL
only for interactions, such as manually previewing (scrubbing) in the Timeline panel or dragging a layer in the
Composition panel. You can tell that OpenGL is engaging by looking at the Fast Previews icon, which lights up. Select
OpenGL-Always On to use OpenGL for all previews. In this mode, “OpenGL” appears in the upper-left corner of each
view in the Composition panel.
Note: The Enable OpenGL option in the Fast Previews area of the Preview preferences category must be selected for you
to use OpenGL for previews. If you also select Enable Adaptive Resolution With OpenGL, then the preview resolution of
layers rendered with OpenGL is decreased when necessary to maintain speed of updating of images during interactions.