Paste a layer into a precomp without having to readjust?
by josh johnson
on
Mar 10, 2008 at 6:53:24 pm
OK.
Imagine this.
I am working in a comp.
I have a layer that has been scaled and repositioned.
Under that layer I have a precomp that is not the same size as the main comp. It has also been scaled, repositioned and rotated.
I want to paste the layer into the precomp so that it looks as tho it is in its current position, scale and rotation. Is there an easy way to do this without having to do alot of guess work and manual adjusting?
Re: Paste a layer into a precomp without having to readjust? by Dave LaRonde on Mar 10, 2008 at 10:05:23 pm
[josh johnson]"Nope just 2D layers"
That makes it tougher. I'd approach it this way:
• If your version of AE is capable of it, set it up to look at 2 comps at a time: the main comp and the precomp. Look in AE Help under Views.
• Take a snapshot of the main comp, with the layer in question in place. Then turn off the layer's visibility off -- hit the eyeball icon.
• Paste the layer in question into the precomp. Toggling the Show Last Snapshot button, get the layer in question into position in the precomp until it matches. Whether you can do this at all depends on the size of your precomp.
Sorry to say, there's no automatic way to do it. But at least this way is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Re: Paste a layer into a precomp without having to readjust? by Darby Edelen on Mar 10, 2008 at 11:24:53 pm
Here's a funny work around for you:
Parent your layer to the pre-comp in the main composition, then copy the layer and paste it into the pre-comp, then go back to the main composition and copy ALL of the transform properties from the layer, then go back into the pre-comp and paste those properties on the layer.
The explanation may be confusing, but I'll include it here anyway: The reason this works is because once you parent the layer to the pre-comp, the layer's transform properties are in the pre-comp's layer space instead of the composition/world space.
Darby Edelen Designer Left Coast Digital Santa Cruz, CA
Re: Paste a layer into a precomp without having to readjust? by josh johnson on Mar 11, 2008 at 12:52:54 am
YES!!
That is IT!
Thanks man! I don't know if there is an easier way to copy transform properties. But when I set keyframes and copy them onto the layer in the new comp it seems to work fine. Almost a 2 step process.
