Lock layer's position on timeline

[Marlon@centricity]

I want to know if it is possible to lock only a layer's position on the timeline (so it is still editable for all it's other attributes)
I am working and keep accidentally selecting objects on the timeline and dragging them when I don't mean to. I am doing a lot of attribute animating and need to regularly switch between selections. It would be helpful to simply lock all layer's locations on the timeline so I can't accidentally move them.

I am often selecting via the timeline rather than the left of the timeline cuz I can visually see the elements I am looking for better by where they start and end on the timeline.

All help appreciated! 🙂

[Warren Heaton]

It would be great if the Position property had a lock switch of it's own.

You could use an expression to set the Layer's position.

Select the Position property and the choose Animation > Add Expression.

Replace "transform.position" with the following:

// Set the X and Y position

xPosition = 300; // Replace this value with your desired X position

yPosition = 300; // Replace this value with your desired Y position

// Apply the new position

[xPosition, yPosition];

If the Position needs to animate, you could link the xPosition and yPosition to Slider Controls (Effect > Expression Controls > Slider Control).  That may limit you to linear spatical keyframe interpolation, though.  Someone better at scripting may have a more flexible suggestion if the layer needs to animate with Bezier, Continuous Bezier, or Auto-Bezier spatail interpolation.

[Marlon@centricity]

I think you misunderstood. I'm not talking about the layer's position in a composition, I'm talking about its position on the timeline.

[Warren Heaton]

Do you mean the Layer Time Span?

If the Lock switch isn't doing what you are looking for, try enabling the Shy Layer switch for the Layer and then then enable the Hide Shy Layers Composition Switch.  While hidden in the Timeline, you will not be able to select the Layer Time Span and move it on accident.

[Marlon@centricity]

No shy doesn't help because it hides the layer from the timeline. I don't want to hide the layer, I want to lock its position on the timeline, while still being able to select the layer and modify other attributes such as position in composition, transparency etc.

[Warren Heaton]

It sounds like you would like to lock the Layer Time Span.  That would make a good feature request.

Making use of Layer Color Labels and Markers may help a little bit in the meantime.  If I have Layers that need to remain at a specific time location in the Timeline, I set the Layer Label Color to Dark Green and I'll use a Layer Marker and a Timeline Marker as sync marks.  This makes it easy to spot-check Layers that need to remain in sync and quickly re-establish it if needed.

[Marlon@centricity]

Thanks, yes i've been doing that already, but it's less than ideal cuz it's still really easy to accidentally move a layer on the timeline when selecting it. Can this question be converted to a feature request?