Cheatography
https://cheatography.com
Most used hotkeys in After Effects
This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.
Most Used
Undo |
Command + Z |
Redo |
Command + Shift + Z |
Deselect all |
F2 or Command + Shift + A |
Command + A -> twirl down |
Expand All Layers |
Command + A |
Select all |
I |
Jump to beginning of layer |
O |
Jump to end of layer |
V |
Select |
H |
Hand Tool |
Temporarily activate Hand tool |
Hold down the spacebar or the middle mouse button |
` / ~ |
Full Screen |
U |
Collapse All Layers |
Z |
Zoom |
Option (when Zoom In tool is active) |
Zoom out |
W |
Rotation tool |
Y |
Pan Behind tool (Anchor Point) |
Q |
shape tools (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Star) |
Command + T |
Type tools (Horizontal and Vertical) |
G |
Pen |
Page Down or Command + Right Arrow |
Go forward 1 frame |
Page Up or Command + Left Arrow |
Go backward 1 frame |
You can edit hotkeys for your own custom uses. EDIT > Kayboard Shortcuts
More Hotkeys - link text
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Workspace Windows
1. File menu: At the very top are your menus that can do everything from starting a new project to changing the layout. If your After Effects doesn’t look like the screenshot above, change the Window – Workspace to Editing. |
2. Tool Bar: Just below the file menu is the tool bar. Selecting these tools will change what you can do in your composition (note: in After Effects, a composition is basically a sequence or a new video). We’ll go over the most important tools below. |
3. Project & Effect Controls Windows: Just below the tools on the upper left are two important windows. The Project window is where you’ll see all of your imported documents and compositions. The Effects Controls window, which can be viewed by clicking on the tab, is where you’ll adjust effects added to layers. A layer is like track in traditional video editing. Once you add a video clip, shape, text, etc. to your composition, it will create a new layer. |
4. Composition Window: This is the preview monitor where you can see what your video looks like. You’ll also be working a lot within this video to create shapes, write text, and make adjustments to layers. |
5. Other Windows: To the right of the composition window are an assortment of windows that can be customized by checking them on or off through the Window file menu. The windows that I find most useful are the Paragraph, Character, and Effects & Presets panels. Paragraph and Character allow you to customize your text fonts and design. Effects & Presets is where you’ll find all kinds of fun effects to add to your video. |
6. The Timeline & Render Queue: Below everything is the time line. This is where you’ll be changing the timing of your video, adding animations, and making other adjustments to your layers. Behind the timeline panel is the render queue, which is where you export videos and choose export settings. |
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