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September 28, 2022

Can't select straight shape layer lines in viewer/composition window

  • September 28, 2022
  • 15 replies
  • 1160 views
In the viewer window in after effects: I can't select shape layers that are straight lines. They can be diagonal, they can be square, but I cant select them in the viewer window if they are are a straight line. I've tried it on two other computers, and it's the same result. I've tried centering the anchor point. This makes it time consuming and difficult to animate certain scenes from illustrator.

Example: http://i.imgur.com/wjE7ePm.gif
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15 replies

Roei Tzoref
Legend
September 28, 2022
Inspiring
September 28, 2022
If you create a shape layer in Ae that is a straight line with no curve, or you create shapes from an Ai file (such as with Explode Shape Layers Plugin) the only way you can select those layers are by clicking the layer in the timeline panel and not in the composition window.

This error only happens with 1pt strokes that are in straight lines. If the shape layer has a fill or 1 point that is curved then it can be selected in the composition window.

This is often a nuisance when using the ESL plugin and creating shape layers from vector that is a few dozen layers which I do for basically every client project.
Inspiring
September 28, 2022
I second this - demonstration here:
https://vimeo.com/259015896
Thanks, looking forward to a fix
VictoriaNece
Community Manager
Community Manager
September 28, 2022
Thank you for posting! We'll look into this.
Inspiring
September 28, 2022
Was told to put this here from reddit. This is an old bug thats been around for years. Basically, when one makes a vertical or horizontal line using the pen tool while holding down the shift key, it is unable to be selected like a regular layer in the comp. The workaround to this is to make a diagonal line and rotate it to where you want-- but this is a pain in the butt to do and also if you, say for example, try to scale the width, it acts funky because it is still technically a diagonal line thats just been rotated.

I made a video to show what I mean. I started by making the diagonal line for reference on how the horizontal & vertical lines SHOULD work. Hopefully this illustrates the exact issue. To be clear- each line is it's own seperate shape layer, & each line was made by holding down shift.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-6eMZnuIBoQiHz12NV9kD3UAya0vmCTJ