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Using multiple views


    When working with a composition, it may be useful to monitor several views of it at once so that you can see how a change you make in one view is reflected in other views, especially when working in 3D. This facilitates more accurate placement of images and a more comprehensive vision of how your images animate.

    In After Effects 5.5, you can create multiple composition views, with each view in its own window. You can add additional views to any composition or use one of the new built-in multiple-view workspaces. If you are working with 3D layers, each Composition window view is labeled according to the composition name and the particular 3D view selected from the 3D View Popup menu. You can also create multiple views when you work in 2D. Each 2D view can have a different region of interest and a different magnification view.

    You can have as many views of your composition as you want. You can also make the current multiple view conform to a saved workspace or save your view as a custom workspace. For more information on conforming your view to a saved workspace, see the procedure below. For more information on saving and using workspaces, see Customizing the workspace. After Effects saves the total number of views you create for each composition and custom workspace.

    By default, you close any view by clicking the close box for that view window. If you want all of the windows to close when you click the close box, you must activate a preference. To do this, see the procedure below.

To create initial multiple-view windows for a composition:

    Do one of the following:

    • Choose Window > Workspace > Two Comp Views or Four Comp Views, depending on the number of initial views you want.
    • Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the Composition window and follow the above step in the context menu.

    Note: You can change any view to one of the above choices at any time.

To add a view to a multiple-view layout:

  1. Activate one of the composition views.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Choose View > New View.
    • Press Shift+Alt+N (Windows) or Shift+Option+N (Mac OS).
  3. Do one of the following:
    • If you are working in 3D, choose a new 3D view from the 3D View Popup menu.
    • If you are working in 2D, choose a new magnification view or define a region of interest for the new view.
  4. Do one of the following:
    • Drag the new view window to a new location and resize the window, if necessary.
    • Drag the new view tab to another composition view to nest the new view.

    Note: If the composition has any previously created view windows that were closed, those views reopen before a new view is created.

To return to a single composition view:

    Choose Window > Workspaces > One Comp View.

To conform all of the project's compositions to a saved workspace:

    Choose the name of your saved workspace from the Window > Workspace menu.

    Note: When you conform a view to a saved workspace, After Effects converts all 3D views only to those available in the saved composition. Views from the current view that don't exist in the saved workspace are renamed "Active Camera." For example, if you have a current workspace with Camera 2, Top, and Left composition views, then when After Effects conforms that view to a saved workspace that does not have a view called "Camera 2," it sets the new views to Active Camera, Top, and Left. If there are no 3D elements in a composition, the standard 2D view is applied upon conversion.

To conform other application windows when you choose a workspace:

    Select the Composition window and choose Window > Workspace >Conform All. Selecting a workspace from the Window > Workspace menu will affect all windows when this choice is checked. For information on workspaces, see Customizing the workspace.

To prevent other application windows from conforming when you choose a workspace:

    Do one of the following:

    • Select the Composition window and choose Window > Workspace. Make sure that Conform All Windows is not checked. Choosing a workspace from the Window > Workspace menu will affect only the composition views when this choice is not checked. For information on workspaces, see Customizing the workspace.
    • Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the Composition window and, in the context window, choose a workspace from the Window > Workspace menu. Choosing a workspace from this menu will affect only the composition views regardless of the status of the Conform All Windows menu choice.

To change view properties for all open views for a given composition:

  1. Activate any of the view windows.
  2. Do any one of the following:
    • To display the magnification level, RGBA channels, safe zones, or Layer Wireframe mode in all open views, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the corresponding button or menu in the Composition window.
    • To display the grids, Shift+Ctrl-click (Windows) or Shift+Command-click (Mac OS) the Title-Action Safe button.
    • To switch all views to Checkerboard Backgrounds, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you choose Checkerboard Backgrounds from the Composition window menu.

To change view properties for one view for a given composition:

    Do any one of the following:

    • To display the RGBA channels, safe zones, Layer Wireframe mode button, or magnification level, click the corresponding button or menu in the Composition window.
    • To display the grid, Shift-click the Title-Action Safe button.

To close all views of the composition:

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > General.
  2. Make sure that the Close Multiple Views Simultaneously box is checked and click OK.
  3. Note: If this preference is chosen, holding down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you close a composition overrides the preference and closes only one composition view. Alternately, if this preference is not chosen, then holding down Alt or Option as you close one view closes all composition views.