How to duplicate a pre-comp and make it independent

[marikon96357335]

I have tried to duplicate an effect and to make it independent but it keeps on making it the same.

from the top left box i have the Project screen with the composition A. i canot drill into the compostion A.

once i double click the composition A then the timeframe screen appears on the bottom. within there is many layers.

example layer 1 has effect with text and videos.  this is what i want to copy and duplicate to keep the effects but be able to change videos and texts.

I have tried all the ctrl + D and Ctrl C and V but to no avail.

Can someone help?

[Title updated by Mod.]

[Rick Gerard]

1. Select the Pre-comp in your timeline
2. Right click and choose Reveal in Project
3. Click on the selected Pre-comp in the Project Panel and press Ctrl/Cmnd + D
4. Rename the duplicated Pre-comp

There you go. 

[marikon96357335]

Hi Rick,

I have tried this already. after

1. Click on the selected Pre-comp in the Project Panel and press Ctrl/Cmnd + D

i now get the precomp added to the project list name. i renamed it to something else (add 2 at the end)

i then make changes and add to the timeline of the original comp. The new changes have also changed the original layer.

The original layer has many effects and i want to reuse the effects and make changes to the pictures/video and text.

[marikon96357335]

True Comp Duplicator v3 Demo - YouTube

i have similar problem to the video above. however i want to copy the layer on the main comp  within the timeline and reuse it whilst changing the pictures/texts. 

[Rick Gerard]

If you want to duplicate a layer in the comp and then change the footage you simply duplicate the layer, select the duplicate, then select the new footage in the Project Panel, hold down the Alt-Option key and drag the replacement footage to the timeline.

These are very basic tasks in AE. When you run into problems like this it's a good idea to type things like replace footage in the Search Help field at the top right corner of AE and follow some of the links.

[Baobaob]

Yes this sounds very basic, because you didn't reply to the question. The question is : how to duplicate a comp with all the assets inside it, to have them independent, in one click. 
Is that basic to you ?

[OMGItsMeSeriously]

Yea Adobe is pretty bad at explaining jeje

[Prashant34042725whox]

you can simply duplicate the Comp or Precomp in the Project Panel and Then Bring them into the work Area(Layers)....

You will have independent Functions But the Comp or pre - comp no. will change, when you duplicate them in the Project Pannel.... Best of Luck : )

[Rick Gerard · Accepted solution]

marikon96357335, If you duplicated a comp in the Project Panel then it is a unique copy of the original comp and any changes made to that comp cannot effect the original. If there is a nested comp (pre-comp) inside the original comp then you will also have to duplicate the nested comp. There is something wrong with your workflow. All comps in the Project panel are completely unique and have no relationship with other comps in the project unless there is a common nested comp in more than one comp. 

Check the flow chart and you will be able to see if there are any nested comps in your original. Find them and duplicate them.

If that fails we need to see a screenshot of your Project Panel and a flow chart of all the comps that are giving you problems.

[connor-frederiksen]

I love you.

[OMGItsMeSeriously]

I did what you said, and it's true it works but then when I change the text on one, it changes it on the other, etc etc. I'm using a template someone did and it used to work but now everything effects the other, I'm so irritated, ugh.

[OMGItsMeSeriously]

Ok so I did have to also dup any nested comps and then alt draggin also helped, thanks! I'm not sure why othere time's I didn't have to do all this but I guess the way this template was made?

[Jannira Velazquez]

LIFE SAVER!

[IZHAR AHMED275518377krs]

Thankyou So much. Problem Solved

[maricrisb84596320]

AH! Thank you Rick.

[oniontime]

Rick,

idk if you will even see this ever - but I could kiss you. This was driving me insane. 

[Suraj31833078hti4]

I'll try most of time. But I got problem in duplicate comp. And original comp is lost when I change effect in original comp please help me. What can I do😞

[bmacsmith]

try saving the project and importing it back into the project. Then those comps are independent. Its stupid that Adobe doesn't have a better option, but there you go.

[Stefan Gruenwedel]

Mariko: Do any of these solutions help you?

[BageraStudio]

Stefan Gruenwedel

Can You fix this in the coming versions?.. I hope so. @

[Stefan Gruenwedel]

Please submit a feature request: Feature Request/Bug Report Form

[Final_Atonement]

I'm new to AE and the whole comp vs precomp is very confusing. The fact that I can't make an independent duplication of a comp or a pre-comp is frustrating. I feel like I should have mastered a couple of computer programming languages before buying AE.

[Rick Gerard]

It is really very simple. Everything in the timeline except shape and text layers comes from the Project Panel. You cannot have anything but text layers and shape layers in a timeline unless that asset exists in the Project Panel. Duplicating something in the timeline does not duplicate that resource in the Project Panel, it just creates another copy of the asset in the timeline. If the asset in the timeline is a composition then duplicating the asset in the timeline just gives you another copy of the same asset in exactly the same way duplicating footage in the timeline gives you a copy of that footage. If you need a unique copy of a composition you have to duplicate it in the Project Panel. If you need different footage in your timeline you have to drag it into the timeline from the Project Panel using the replace footage workflow. The same technique is used for replacing a nested comp (pre-comp) in the timeline. You select the layer you want to replace in the Timeline, hold down the Alt/Option key and select the replacement asset in the Project Panel and drag it to the timeline.

Duplicating something in the timeline does not duplicate that resource in the Project Panel, it just creates another copy of the asset in the timeline. If the asset in the timeline is a composition then duplicating the asset in the timeline just gives you another copy of the same asset in exactly the same way duplicating footage in the timeline gives you a copy of that footage. If you need a unique copy of a composition you have to duplicate it in the Project Panel. If you need different footage in your timeline you have to drag it into the timeline from the Project Panel using the replace footage workflow. The same technique is used for replacing a nested comp (pre-comp) in the timeline. You select the layer you want to replace in the Timeline, hold down the Alt/Option key and select the replacement asset in the Project Panel and drag it to the timeline.

If you need a unique copy of a composition you have to duplicate it in the Project Panel. It is exactly the same f you need different footage in your timeline you have to drag it into the timeline from the Project Panel using the replace footage workflow. The same technique is used for replacing a nested comp (pre-comp) in the timeline. You select the layer you want to replace in the Timeline, hold down the Alt/Option key and select the replacement asset in the Project Panel and drag it to the timeline.

I hope this clears things up a bit.

[brunoc92303474]

So that means that if i have 500 layers and precomps, i have to duplicate them one by one ? I Don't understand that there is not a function called  "Duplicate composition and all it's content". That's crazy. I've been struggling for one hour to duplicate one composition and it's content, what the hell ?

[Rick Gerard]

If you have 10 or 100 comps in the Project Panel you can select all of them and press Ctrl/Cmnd + d to duplicate all of them at the same time. That part is easy. If you need to then replace each of those duplicated comps in master comps where they have been used you'll have to do that one comp at a time or invest in a script that does it automatically. If you have 500 comps to duplicate it would be worth it to spend a little money. True Comp Duplicator - aescripts + aeplugins - aescripts.comaescripts.com/true-comp-duplicator/