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Techniques for working efficiently


    Projects you create using high resolution or many layers can take longer to work with because of long previewing times or complex navigation. After Effects provides many options and techniques for working faster and more efficiently.

    In many cases you can work more quickly by displaying an appropriate level of detail for the layers you are working on. For example, imagine you are animating a frame containing a small moving layer in front of a larger layer. If you're adjusting the motion of the small layer in relation to the large layer, you may need to see both layers. If you're adjusting only the effect applied to the smaller layer, you can speed previewing by preventing a detailed display of the larger layer, displaying the layer at a lower resolution or as a wireframe, or turning off the display of the layer. As you work on other parts of the project, use the following techniques to speed screen updates on the area in which you are currently working.

    Lower the composition's resolution

    Displaying a composition at a lower resolution than is set in its Composition Settings dialog box speeds previewing, especially when you adjust the window size accordingly. See Setting resolution.

    Use folders in the Project window

    To make it easier to locate and move items, organize items by creating and using folders in the Project window. See Working with the Project window. Use the Find button (the Find button) at the bottom of the Project window to locate files and compositions by name.

    Close unneeded windows and tabs

    Keep open only those windows and tabs that you need to see as you work. After Effects must spend time updating all Layer or Composition windows that are open, which takes time from the one or two windows that are most important. Tabs consume memory that could otherwise be used to speed up other operations.

    Substitute a proxy for a source item

    When working at full resolution, substitute a low-resolution or still-image proxy for a layer to speed previewing and working. See Substituting a low-resolution proxy for footage.

    Lower a layer's display quality

    Selecting Draft for a layer while working with it is often a good compromise in quality that will speed previewing. See Changing the layer image quality.

    Hide layers

    When you don't need to see one or more layers in the Timeline window, hide them or mark them as shy, which simplifies navigation. See Showing and hiding layers in the Timeline window.

    Lock layers

    To avoid wasting time undoing accidental modifications, lock a layer when you want to see it but do not want to modify it. See Locking and unlocking a layer.

    Prerender nested compositions

    Render a completed composition as a movie so that After Effects doesn't use the time and memory required to calculate its changes every time it displays. See Saving time by prerendering nested compositions.

    Collapse transformations of nested compositions

    In some cases, you can improve preview speed, rendering speed, and image quality by collapsing transformations of a layer containing nested compositions. See Collapsing transformation properties.

    Deselect Continuously Rasterize for Illustrator files

    Deselect the Continuously Rasterize switch for an Adobe Illustrator file until you need to view or render it in detail. This prevents After Effects from rasterizing the entire file after each change, thus saving you time. See Importing an Adobe Illustrator, PDF, or EPS file, and Collapsing transformation properties.

    Stop window updates

    Press the Caps Lock key to prevent After Effects from updating Footage, Layer, or Composition windows. This is useful for a Layer or Composition window that takes a long time to update. When Caps Lock is active, all open Footage, Layer, or Composition windows display the last update you made before pressing Caps Lock, regardless of the changes you make. As soon as you make a change that would appear in a window, After Effects adds a red outline to any affected windows, and the windows are not updated. After Effects continues to update window controls such as motion paths, anchor points, and mask outlines as you move them. To resume window updates and display all changes made while Caps Lock was active, press Caps Lock again to deactivate it.

    Solo the layer you're working on

    Isolate the layer by using the Solo switch. See Soloing a layer.

    Use Draft 3D

    Use this option to prevent highlight and shadow calculations. See Understanding 3D.

    Use Wireframe Interactions

    Use this previewing option to turn off updating, for faster interaction. To specify this, choose Edit > Preferences > Preview and use the pop-up menu to specify whether pressing the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) turns Wireframe Interactions off or is required to turn it on. See also Changing the layer image quality.

    Use rectangular masks

    When possible, use a rectangular mask, which renders faster than an oval or Bezier mask. The difference in speed is greatest when you set the layer display quality to Best, or when you feather the edge of the mask. For more information on creating and masks, see Changing the shape of a mask.

    Allocate more memory (Mac OS 9.x only)

    Rendering performance on a Mac OS 9.x system is significantly affected by the amount of RAM you allocate to After Effects. The more RAM you allocate, the faster it can render. See Using RAM effectively. To avoid unnecessary rendering, After Effects stores and reuses rendered layer components in RAM. However, it can do this only if there is enough memory available to store the rendered components.

    In general, assign as much memory to After Effects as you can, up to 90% of the largest unused block. Leave the remaining 10% unused so that the system software has room to expand when additional system components are loaded.

To allocate more memory to After Effects (Mac OS):

  1. Quit After Effects and all other applications.
  2. In the Finder, choose About this Computer in the Apple menu.
  3. Note the Largest Unused Block value, and then close the dialog box.
  4. Click the After Effects application icon (not an alias) and choose File > Get Info > Memory.
  5. In the After Effects Info dialog box for Memory, increase the Preferred Size value, but don't exceed 90% of the Largest Unused Block value noted previously. Do not change the Minimum Size value.
  6. Close the After Effects Info dialog box.