Open pre-comps as Folders / Groups in the timeline

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
September 28, 2022
53 replies
2983 views

Folders and groups are the same concept—as the already existing "Pre-comp". The thought behind the "Pre-comp" is to “group” a set of layers. Rather than reinventing the wheel and making After Effects more complicated with added new features like groups and folders, we can improve the functionality of the "Pre-comp".

Here is a demonstration of how that would work: https://vimeo.com/137312858

Suggested Shortcuts:

/ = Split Timeline to show pre-comp. Only works when comps are selected.

UI and UX

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resovere

Participating Frequently

Dude yes, I feel like this is such an easy programming task with so much value. Needs to happen.

M

matz85253888

Participant

It would be great if I could expand a composition on the timeline like you can do it with folder in photoshop.

This way I could view all layers and keyframes directly from a parent comp without having to switch between comps.

Adobe, please add that feature! It would be a huuuuge time saver and workflow optimization.

mrBeep

Known Participant

I guess it will be Amazing Than Ever since Adobe is implementing this feature for soooo long time.

J

J.MA

Participant

Amazing demo, this is exactly what we need, not having this feature yet negatively impacts the workflow.

M

MikyMike

Participant

ist not the first request of this kind, but i still miss folders in the comp/timeline window for more comfort. it not always make sense to have something in a pre comp – especially when its animated – and to jump back and forth to adjust keyframes. it would be so great to have it all in one comp and just pack layers into folders and giving them a mask too. the set mask option does not compensate the miss of folders with masks – just think of a photoshop without folders for big composition jobs – unthinkable today : )

a big comp with many layers in after effects could be clear and structured with folder and a time saver.

F

FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor

Inspiring

I agree, there are some minor details which would improve so many workflows in AE but Adobe still isn´t doing anything about it...

F

FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor

Inspiring

We all deserve it!

scottyk62695487

Participating Frequently

Yes!!! Please AE implement this!

Sterphy

Known Participant

Searching for this I see that people have been asking for this for years, and it's actually shocking that Adobe haven't bothered to add this quite basic yet incredibly useful functionality. Precomping makes so many things absolutely useless - you can't use continuous rasterizations as it ruins the layer orders. Precomps are pretty rubbish, actually. I'm finding that as time goes on, the insistence that After Effects doesn't evolve as a programme really is really more and more frustrating.