Where is "Trim Path" in After Effects?

[eBridget]

I was trying to follow a tutorial elsewhere for animating the drawing of a circle using a trim path on a hand-drawn vector circle I drew. The tutorial only says, "add a Trim Path from the Add menu." I typed in "trim path" into the help search bar in AE, and I cannot find any "Trim Path" option anywhere. Can someone help me find this? I'm using After Effects version 14.2.1.34 on a Macbook Pro running OS X El Capitan.

[Rick Gerard]

To find instructions on how to use trim paths or any path animator simply type Trim Paths in the search help field and read the instructions. You will remember it better that way.

Just as with Text animators, shape animators are found in under the Add button in the Modes or Switches column.

[eBridget]

Unfortunately, I tried this, as I described in my original post.

For example, even when just typing in the basic term, "Trim," yields no options, as does "Trim Path:

Results for searching only, "Trim" :

Results for searching, "Trim Path" :

[Rick Gerard]

Ust the search help field at the top right corner of AE not the Help menu.

Create a shape layer, press the U key twice to reveal the modified properties of the layer, just to the right of the Contents row in the Switches or Modes column you will find the Add button.

When you have done that spend a little time here learning the UI: Basic AE. You will waste months if not years trying to learn AE by just poking around in the app and asking questions on forums.

[ununiform]

"Ust the search help field at the top right corner of AE not the Help menu."

It's not there as the original poster already said.

[Roei Tzoref]

this is not the search field. this is:

[Tolstoy · Accepted solution]

Here's a visual cue:

[David Mcclain]

Thanks everyone for the helpful commentary on the importance of 'not poking around to learn' of 'searching for help before asking'.

I always start with a search... guess what? That's how I ended up on this thread. Guess what else? I've been using AE for 18 years and this is the first time I've needed trim path. So, there's that.

BIG hats off to Tolstoy. Thanks for the answer, which is kind what we wanted to begin with.

[P.M.B]

Nobody said search for help,  they said search THE Help, doing so will turn up step by step instruction, which is true.

Truth is it's just easier to ask on the forums....as long as you don't mind people telling you that you can search the help.

So it's a choice really:

Search THE help which can require exposure to things other than what you're looking for and a little time to pin down the relevant data.

Or ask on the forum and suffer the indignity of people suggesting you make use of the THE help.

The amount of time you've been using After Effects without needing trim paths is not relevant to anything.

However the fact that you've been using it for 18 years and have not yet worked out how to effectively utilize THE help is interesting.

[Rick Gerard]

If you had typed Trim Paths in the Search Help panel at the top right corner of AE you would have found the answer to your question along with some tutorials on how to use the shape animators. Several links answering the question "where is trim paths" that were answered on this forum also appear in the list. It's much more efficient than jumping on a forum and waiting for a reply. I've been using AE for 25 years and I still use the Search Help feature at least once a week because I am always trying something new and I am looking for ideas.

[P.M.B]

https://helpx.adobe.com/pdf/after_effects_reference.pdf

This really is the After Effects help people should use.   You can search it without 80% of the returns being not relevant to After Effects.

These PDFs exist for all if not most of Adobes products.   Only took me about 4 years to figure out not to bother with mostly useless, integrated help system .

[agências82284655]

- Select a shape layer.
- Go to the ADD MENU on the layer contents;

- Select TRIM PATHS;