Can't move frame by frame with arrow keys in After Effects. Help!!!

[JuanCGF]

I just installed After Effects on my computer and I can't seem to be able to move frame by frame with the arrow keys like in Premiere. Is there a setting that makes me enable that? I don't really know how to fix this problem.

[Andrew Yoole · Accepted solution]

There's a good reason for that - it's never been a shortcut in After Effects.  The arrow keys are used to reposition selected layers.

Hold down Command (Mac) or Control (Win) to move forward and backward.  Or try the Page Up and Page Down keys. 

[JuanCGF]

Thank you!!

[stephaniea63886159]

And if you are on a laptop, hold your Fn key down and use the  Page Up and Page Down keys! At first this wasn't working for me.

[joannb23646899]

Thank you, Stephanie! I've been going crazy. Page Up and Down was not working (I'm on a MacBook). Holding down the Fn key then using Page Up and  Down worked like a charm.

[Rick Gerard]

If you are new to AE and you want to start working efficiently start by opening the Learn workspace or the Learn Section of the Home Screen and start with the UI basics and first comp. It will take you about 20 minutes. Then look for the User Guide. You'll find it on the After Effects product page, available on this forum, and you can find things with the Search Help field in the top right corner of AE. Two or three hours on the basics using those tutorials and learning how to properly set up renders will save you days of fiddling with YouTube tutorials presented by enthusiasts that don't really know what they are doing or how to explain things and days waiting for help on the forums. AE is a lot more complicated than any NLE you have ever used, the UI is completely different, and unless you have some good training you are going to spend a lot of time in trouble. 

[LilBassA1]

But you CAN customize keyboard shortcuts. I've been using the left and right arrow keys for years (I don't currently have a use for the move 1 frame function). I did just discover--after upgrading to AE 2023 and a lot of frustrating trial and error--that I had to delete it as an option (it IS there as an option) and add it back to make it the default use of the arrow keys. 

[balths]

That is indeed listed as a keyboard shortcut in several sources. Perhaps it was at one time and Adobe changed it. It has nothing to do with the experience of the OP. I'm relearning the program for the 4th time and the changes over the years "for the better" are most frustrating. 

[cdean18]

This answer just saved me hours of insanity trying to figure out why changing this shortcut wasn't working. Deleting it and re-adding it did the trick! THANK YOU!!