how do i copy and paste something in frames without creating a new layer

[chloey71918450]

Recently ive been working on an animation in Photoshop and I've been copying and pasting objects into the next frame to speed up the process. It was pasting into the next frame, but now suddenly it keeps creating a new layer instead when I hit paste. And merging layers wont work because otherwise the video layer converts into a normal layer and clipping masks wont work either. I desperately need answers as soon as possible (before this Friday).

[Title edited by moderator for clarity to include “in frames”]

[Grigor Poghosyan]

Make sure you are selecting correct pasting layer (background , frame etc. )

[JJMack]

The only way I have seen paste, paste into and existing layer is when the existing layer is empty.  When you pasted into the  next frame. Was that in a frame animation that you had create a next fame for the paste using empty layer.  How do you past into the next frame in a video timeline. Where is the next frame in a video timeline where you have video layers that have many frames in them. Paste is into a layer not into a frame. If you creat a new next frame in frame animation currently visible in the layers palette is the content of the frame's composite image the same as the previous frame. if  you then do a paste a new top layer is added and is visible so its content is added the frame's composite.

[All Bad Jokes]

Having this problem.  Idk if there's a setting I need to tick or what

[Conrad_C]

If you want to copy the frame (the animation) without copying the layers (the content), then do not copy the content. Copying and pasting always copies the content, so pasting creates duplicate layers. This isn’t what you want.

Instead, duplicate the frame with the [+] button at the bottom of the animation Timeline panel, and then edit the new frame. Duplicating the frame gives you another instance in time (animation) without duplicating any layers (content).

[All Bad Jokes]

I am pasting an asset from Illustrator into a blank keyframe of an existing timeline in Animate (I'm a professional, I've done this many times).  Lately, Animate insists on generating a new layer and pasting the asset to frame 1 of that layer.  How can I simply paste the asset to the intended keyframe?  

[Conrad_C]

I don’t have a good answer for that, because I haven’t used Animate. You’re asking a question about Illustrator and Animate, but you posted the question at the end of this 7-year-old thread in the Photoshop community where you might not run into too many Animate users and might only get useless answers from Photoshop users like me. 🙂

To get the best answer, you want to ask this question in the Adobe Animate community.