Solo a layer, Lock or unlock a layer, Work with color labels – Adobe After Effects CS3 User Manual
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AFTER EFFECTS CS3
User Guide
149
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To select the Video switch for all layers, choose Layer > Switches > Show All Video.
•
To deselect the Video switch for all layers except the selected layers, choose Layer > Switches > Hide Other Video.
See also
“Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel” on page 147
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.
•
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.
See also
“Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel” on page 147
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.
•
To lock or unlock a layer, click the Lock switch for the layer in the Timeline panel.
•
To unlock all layers in the active composition, choose Layer > Switches > Unlock All Layers.
See also
“Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel” on page 147
Work with color labels
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 Compo-
sition and Layer panels display the label color of the layer.
•
To select all layers with the same label color, select a layer with that label color and choose Edit > Label > Select
Label Group.
•
To change the color of a label for one layer, click the label in the Timeline panel and choose a color.