Is there a way to get rid of lots of trim paths all at the same time?

Question

Hi lovely After Effects gurus!I have .ai files that I am importing into After Effects and I'm then creating shapes from the vector layers. I'm doing that as the output will be (vector) Lottie animations. The files come through with heaps of not needed trim paths - I go through each layer and delete (and then the Lotties run fine) the trim paths but sometimes there are heaps and it's a big time suck to go through and delete them all individually! Is there a way to search and find all trim paths and then bulk delete? Thanks heaps! Lisa

Rick Gerard · Answer

The most efficient way to do this kind of work is to start in Illustrator. Organize the layers in your AI file so that the layers that you need to convert to Shape layers are simplified as much as they can be, contain no gradients, blends, or effects, and only have one path on a file. You only need to convert the layers that need Shape Layer animators like Trim Paths, or you actually animate the path or use a vector path as a motion path. None of the other layers need to be converted to shape layers. If I am going to use Trim Paths to reveal another layer, I will always put a copy of the path I'm going to reveal on a separate layer, make sure that only a simple stroke is applied to the path, and label that as a Trim Paths Matte layer.

I try to have only one path on a layer that I am going to convert to a shape layer. The exception to that goal is when I need to convert multiple objects to shape layers so that I can extrude them.

I hope this helps.

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