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Dhal_Naka
Dhal_Naka
Inspiring
December 1, 2017
Answered

A Null becomes a Solid when dropping from the footage stack

  • December 1, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 2903 views

I can't understand that. I need to use lot's of nulls, but I don't want to have thousand of them created using "Layer\New\Null Object".

The first one created works properly as a null, but if I drag and drop it from the footage stack, it's works as a solid... How could I avoid that behavior? I need it to be always a null.

when I use "thisLayer.nullLayer == true" must be something that works properly.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Rick Gerard

    IMHO nulls should never have been added to the Project Panel.

    If you use AE more than once a month you should be using the Keyboard shortcuts to create nulls, solids, adjustment layers, and to reach all of the tools in the toolbar. I can add 50 nulls to a layer with three shortcuts in under 2 seconds. Shift + Alt/Option + Ctrl Cmnd + d five times, Ctrl/Cmnd + a to select all layers, the Ctrl/Cmnd + d four more times. That's about how long it takes to create one null using a mouse. For common tasks, there is no reason to ever go to a menu. The standard keyboard shortcuts and even the shortcuts you create or modify are all shown just to the right of every menu item that has a shortcut. It is nothing but laziness to not learn them.

    3 replies

    P.M.B
    P.M.B
    Legend
    December 1, 2017

    Ohh..... Now I understand.   Banging my head against the wall must have helped.

    A

    ~Gutterfish
    R
    Community Expert
    Rick GerardCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    December 1, 2017

    IMHO nulls should never have been added to the Project Panel.

    If you use AE more than once a month you should be using the Keyboard shortcuts to create nulls, solids, adjustment layers, and to reach all of the tools in the toolbar. I can add 50 nulls to a layer with three shortcuts in under 2 seconds. Shift + Alt/Option + Ctrl Cmnd + d five times, Ctrl/Cmnd + a to select all layers, the Ctrl/Cmnd + d four more times. That's about how long it takes to create one null using a mouse. For common tasks, there is no reason to ever go to a menu. The standard keyboard shortcuts and even the shortcuts you create or modify are all shown just to the right of every menu item that has a shortcut. It is nothing but laziness to not learn them.

      P.M.B
      P.M.B
      Legend
      December 1, 2017

      Yes Rick.  Dhal_Naka was dragging them from the project panel to try and avoid a null being added to the solids folder every time a null was created which happens whether a shortcut is used or not.

      ~Gutterfish
      P.M.B
      P.M.B
      Legend
      December 1, 2017

      What are you doing?  Dragging a null from the project panel (solids folder) to the timeline & then using an expression to turn it back into a null 1,000 times?

      And you're doing that because you don't want to have to navigate to "Layer\New\Null Object" 1,000 times?

      Well, you could just use the "create null" shortcut which you can find by navigating to "Layer\New\Null Object"...one last time and taking note of its shortcut immediately to the right of the menu item.

      One of the bonuses of using the shortcut to create nulls instead of dragging pre-existing nulls from the project window will be that

      you wont have to rename all your nulls so they are not all the same name

      That and you won't have to navigate up to your Project Panel>Solids Folder, twirl open the folder.

      Now I'm going to go bang my head against a wall.

      ~Gutterfish
      Dhal_Naka
      Dhal_NakaAuthor
      Inspiring
      December 1, 2017

      The thing is that I don't want to have "a thousand" Nulls in the Solids Folder being all of them for the same thing. Should be enough with one that works as a Null always hehe

      P.M.B
      P.M.B
      Legend
      December 1, 2017

      Yes...I'm a little slow

      ~Gutterfish
      Roei Tzoref
      Roei Tzoref
      Legend
      December 1, 2017

      Use consolidator script to reduce your solids and nulls in a project:

      http://lesterbanks.com/2017/11/consolidator-clean-solids-nulls/

      Dhal_Naka
      Dhal_NakaAuthor
      Inspiring
      December 1, 2017

      Thanks for your reply!

      That could be a workaround but I don't understand why a Null becomes a Solid when dragging and dropping from the footage stack... I think Adobe should fix that.

      Roei Tzoref
      Roei Tzoref
      Legend
      December 1, 2017
      That could be a workaround but I don't understand why a Null becomes a Solid when dragging and dropping from the footage stack... I think Adobe should fix that.

      Null is unique in Ae and you are correct for suggesting it's confusing.

      if you want, you could duplicate the null that are currently in your composition and they will be connected to the same source, or you could just select all the nulls and highlight just one of them in the project panel and replace source by using the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+/ - this will replace the source for all the nulls and now you can delete the rest of them. but really Consolidator is easier.

      if you want to suggest the Ae team to fix/change this null/solid behavior - just ask in the wishform page.

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