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digiday
Inspiring
March 7, 2012
Answered

Is there a way to import a group of layers in one project in to another project ?

  • March 7, 2012
  • 1 reply
  • 28401 views

Hi all,

I'm currently using After Effects 5... yes that is version 5, not CS5.

I'm trying to figure out if I can import a group of layers and their applied Effects in to another project while keeping all the editable attributes and the positions of the imported layers with respect to one another.

I see that I can import a AEP project file in to another project via IMPORT FILE, but that just brings the raw layers/files in to the project window and does not place the layers in the timeline with all of their positions, Effects and edited attributes, the way that I'd like.

I also tried Pre-Composing the layers, but that does not leave them editable once a pre-comp has been made... it just makes the 7 layers that I want to import in to another project all one layer and does not leave them editable the way the the 7 layers are separately.

In Adobe Premiere, there is an actual "IMPORT PROJECT" selection under IMPORT that allows me to import an entire project file in to another project and lets me place the imported project where I want in the new project timeline... that is what I'm trying to do in After Effects.

I realize that there may be an easy way to do this in one of the newer versions of After Effects, and one might say, "just buy the new AE CS5", but I figured out allot of things on my own so far and I like After Effects 5 for what I'm doing now... maybe later on the newer version.

Thanks for any input,

digi

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Andrew Yoole

    Simply import the source project into the new project.  Open the original composition, select the layers you want, and copy.  Then open the new composition and Paste. 

    If you want to be really tidy about it, you can make a temporary version of the source project that only contains the layers you want to move to the new project.  Import that temp project to the new one, then you can delete the temp project.

    1 reply

    Andrew Yoole
    Andrew YooleCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    March 7, 2012

    Simply import the source project into the new project.  Open the original composition, select the layers you want, and copy.  Then open the new composition and Paste. 

    If you want to be really tidy about it, you can make a temporary version of the source project that only contains the layers you want to move to the new project.  Import that temp project to the new one, then you can delete the temp project.

    D
    digidayAuthor
    Inspiring
    March 7, 2012

    Thanks Andrew,

    That worked!

    Based on my experience with Premiere, where copying and pasting layers from one project to another does not work, I incorrectly assumed that copying and pasting layers would not work in After Effects, and I hadn't even tried that.

    With Premiere, I found that using IMPORT PROJECT was the way to do that after trying to copy and paste multiple and even single layers from one project to another didn't work.  In Premiere, I use the technique that you spoke about where I'd make a temporary "transfer" project that only contained the layers that I wanted to import into the new project and did an IMPORT PROJECT.

    But the copying and pasting of the layers just worked nicely in After Effects.  Weird how copying and pasting worked in one app and not in another app back when these apps were in versions 5 and 6... not sure about the current versions, of course.

    Back last month when I was first getting in to AE 5 and then searching for those Caustics and Wave World plug-ins, I was happy to get your kind replies and now you've helped me again.

    I found it a bit nutty that the two threads were removed from this forum (by someone) where I had written back to say that I finally found the old plug-in package from 1999 that contained the plug-ins that I needed... I guess the Adobe Forums Police didn't like anyone talking about old plug-in packages that were still hanging around the net out there, or hearing from anyone who had successfully found them and used them... but between you and me, they still worked great in my first AE project... shhhh, don't tell anyone.

    Thanks again,

    digi

    Andrew Yoole
    Andrew Yoole
    Inspiring
    March 7, 2012

    Not sure if you mean this thread:

    Were expressions available in After Effects 5.0?

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