Feature Focus: New Shift+J and Shift+K Keyboard Shortcuts in After Effects

[Catie Bass]

Good evening all! As of today, we have expanded the functionality of the Shift+J and Shift+K keyboard shortcuts of After Effects 23.0 Beta (build 38).

You can now use Shift+J and Shift + K to navigate between keyframes or layer markers on a selected layer, ignoring keyframes and layer markers on unselected layers above and below.

You can also use Shift+J and Shift+K to navigate between keyframes on selected properties of a selected layer -- thus ignoring keyframes and layer markers on all unselected properties on your selected layer as well as those on unselected layers.

In the below example, we demonstrate both selection types in action. First, the user navigates between keyframes on the "Hair Bounce" layer. Then, the user selects the "Torso" layer and navigates between that layer's keyframes before selecting the "Angle" property of the "Torso" layer and navigating amongst only the keyframes on that property.

Our goal is to help you stay focused on the keyframes you’re working with – even if you need other keyframes visible for reference. How do these changes impact your workflow? Are there areas where these keyboard shortcuts could function better?

[Szalam]

This is extremely handy. So many QoL improvements lately!

[SteveKirby]

You guys are knocking the makes-my-life-so-much-easier feature requests out of the park recently.

[Shebbe]

Nice addition. 

I do wonder though, why a new keyboard shortcut? Why not make just [J] and [K] general purpose.

No selection means jumping to all next and previous keyframes. Layer selection jumps to layer's keyframes and markers.

Property jumps to it's keyframes only. 

I personally don't see the point of having an extra modifier for that specifically and an extra entry in the keyboard shortcut list.

I can change SHIFT+K to just K in the shortcuts and it literally fulfills my above statement so why not remove the other one.
Alternatively a user could swap them around I guess because it's much more intuitive to use a single key for what you want to do most commonly which is likely jumping between stuff from the selected layer/property rather than everything.

[Warren Heaton]

You're right in that it would be a more "After Effects like" based on the current selection/non-selection.

Maybe it had something to do with recoding something that works fine versus adding a new behavior?

Or...

Maybe it's just having the convenience of being able to switch between the existing behavior and the new behavior without having to change the current selection state of the Layers.  Given a choice, I would have picked what was implemented.

-Warren