User Guide

CHAPTER 4
136
Managing Layers
After you rename a layer, all other layers in the composition display with brackets around
the names. Renamed layers display without brackets.
To rename a layer:
1 In the Timeline window’s layer outline, select the layer you want to rename.
2 Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS) and type a new name.
3 Press Enter or Return again to apply the new name.
Viewing the source name of a layer
The Timeline window can list a layer by the name of its source footage or by a name you
give the layer. You can switch between viewing source names and layer names. After Effects
can also display the source filename in the Info palette, which is useful when the source
footage is a still-frame sequence (because each still image has a different filename).
For information about renaming layers, see “Renaming a layer” on page 135.
To switch the type of layer name in the Timeline:
In the layer outline in the Timeline window, click the heading Source Name or Layer Name.
To see a layer source name in the Info palette:
1 Choose Window > Info if the Info palette is not already open.
2 In the Timeline window, select the layer.
3 Press Ctrl+Alt+E (Windows) or Command+Option+E (Mac OS). The name of the
source footage appears in the Info palette.
Changing layer color labels
The Timeline window uses different colored boxes as labels to indicate different kinds of
layers, such as compositions or source footage layers. Use the Edit > Label submenu to
select all layers of a particular type, either by a specific label color or to match the current
layer selection (using the Select Label Group command).
You can customize the label colors at any time for an individual layer, for all similarly
labeled layers in a composition, or at the default level.
UG.book Page 136 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM