5

Content
Motion ships with a collection of premade graphics and Motion-generated objects that
appear in the Content category. These objects can be dragged into the Canvas and used
as a design element in a project. Some subcategories contain objects used to make the
templates included with Motion. The one exception is the Particle Images subcategory,
which comprises particle cell sources used to generate the particle emitter presets included
with Motion.
Note: Dragging a media object into the Content category leaves its corresponding file
on disk in its original location. For this reason, centralize all media you plan on importing
into the Library for future use into a dedicated and predictable location on disk, to prevent
accidentally moving, renaming, or deleting those files.
Favorites and the Favorites Menu
It’s easy to customize the behaviors, filters, particle systems, gradients, and generators
used in Motion to create effects. These customized objects are saved into their
corresponding categories. The Favorites category provides a place to put objects—built-in
or custom-made—that you use frequently. You can also place frequently used media
files (such as PDF or TIFF files) into the Favorites category. Objects you place in the
Favorites category are available to every project you create in Motion.
Objects you place in the Favorites Menu folder appear in the Favorites menu, for even
faster access. When you choose an item from the Favorites menu, that item is placed into
the selected layer, positioned at the center of the Canvas. Objects you put in the Favorites
Menu are available to every project in Motion.
Objects dragged into the Favorites and Favorites Menu categories are saved into the
/Users/username/Library/Application Support/Motion/Library/Favorites/ and /Favorites
Menu/ directories, respectively.
Adding Content to the Library
You can add customized versions of generators, filters, behaviors, and gradients to
categories in the Library. Further, if you work on projects that frequently recycle the same
graphics elements, or if you have a library of graphics that you use regularly, you can add
these media files to the Favorites category. You should add custom content to the Favorites
category. Content you put into the Library is available to every project in Motion.
To add Motion-generated objects to a Content category
µ
Drag an object from the Layers list, Canvas, or Timeline to the Favorites folder in the
Library.
Important: Each category except Content, Favorites, and Favorites Menu is filtered by
the type of object it represents. For example, you can place a user-customized filter in
the Filters category, but you cannot place a filter into the Behaviors category.
230 Chapter 6 Creating and Managing Projects