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J
Johannes5CE7
Participating Frequently
April 6, 2021
Question

Editing transparency on a layer which has been copied with property links

  • April 6, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 314 views

I have a bunch of layers that fade out (+ some other effects) at the same time, so I copied with property links from one layer to the rest.

 

However, I need to control the transparency of some of these layers individually, for instance when they first appear (at separate times). 

 

When I try to change the values and/or add keyframes, the numbers just revert to the "master layer" values in red as soon as I press enter. 

 

I'm dealing with a large number of layers (in the hundreds), so it would be extremely time-consuming to undo all the copy with property links and do them manually. 

 

Is there a way to have the layer with the copied property links and still edit and manipulate that layer independently (at timestamps when there's no keyframes from the "master" layer)?

 

Hope that's clear and detailed enough, but if it's not, please ask away, and I'll answer to the best of my abilities

 

Thanks in advance

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

Roland Kahlenberg
Roland Kahlenberg
Legend
April 8, 2021

When copying Property Links involving one or more Effects, you can select, in the Timeline, just the properties that you want to link to the Main Source Property. After selecting just the properties you want, select the appropriate Edit>Copy Property Link option and then select the target layers to paste (CTRL+V).

If you want selected properties to be adjustable on a per layer basis then you have to decide how this adjustment is to be made - via a Slider or KF or automatically via an Expression and which property will trigger this Expression to work exactly, to meet your needs.

 

If you shared more on the Effect and/or properties you want to link and detail clearly how you want the variations to be input then this will be a good jump point for someone to assist you. HTH

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R
Community Expert
Rick GerardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 6, 2021

You either need to delete the epression or modify it by adding value + or value - to the last line. 

J
Johannes5CE7Author
Participating Frequently
April 7, 2021

Thanks for your answer. That's unfortunate. I'll need to find a workaround.

R
Community Expert
Rick GerardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 7, 2021

That is the workaround. You could create an animation preset that subtracts the position of the controlling layer from the comp center then subtracts that offset from the position of the layer you want it to follow.

 

This expression will maintain the original position of a layer and allow you to animate it but it will always keep the latter locked to the Control layer.

 

 

mstr = thisComp.layer("Control").position; 
compCntr = [thisComp.width, thisComp.height] / 2;
ofst = compCntr - mstr;
value - ofst;

 

 

 You can do the same with all properties and it will allow you to animate or offset any layer from the control layer but still keep it tied to that layer. 

 

If you only want to control the fade-out opacity of another layer from the opacity of the control layer you throw in a reference to the in point of the layer.  If the group fade out happens more than one second after the in point of the control layer this expression will let you animate opacity any time before one second after the control layer's start point. I hope that makes sense:

 

ctrl = thisComp.layer("Control");
fadeOut = ctrl.opacity;
if (time > ctrl.inPoint + 1){
	fadeOut
}
else value

 

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