Importing layered Adobe Photoshop files

After Effects imports attributes that were applied in Adobe Photoshop, including position, blending modes, opacity, visibility, transparency (alpha channel), layer masks, layer sets (imported as nested compositions), adjustment layers, common layer effects, layer clipping paths, vector masks, image guides, and clipping groups.

You can import a multilayered Adobe Photoshop file in the following ways:

• As a new composition, with each layer in the Adobe Photoshop file becoming a separate layer in the composition that keeps its original dimensions; this option, Composition - Cropped, makes it easier to manipulate layers and speeds their rendering time.
• As a new composition, with each layer in the Adobe Photoshop file becoming a separate layer in the composition and changing dimensions to match the composition size; this option, Composition, is helpful when you need to align layers manually.
• As a single still footage item imported from any one layer in the Adobe Photoshop file.
• As a single still footage item merged as you import multiple Adobe Photoshop layers.

When you import a layered Adobe Photoshop file as a composition, all the layers contained in the composition retain their original positions as set in Adobe Photoshop. You can open the composition in After Effects and animate the layers.

Note: When you import an Adobe Photoshop file as a composition, guides in the file are imported as well.

To import a layered Adobe Photoshop file as a new composition:

1. Choose File > Import > File.
2. Select the name of the file you want to open. If the file does not appear, select the option for showing all files from the Files of Type (Windows) or the Show (Mac OS) pop-up menu.
3. Choose Composition or Composition - Cropped Layers from the Import As pop-up menu, and then click Open (Windows) or Import (Mac OS).

The original filename is used twice in the Project window: for the file as a composition and for the folder containing each Adobe Photoshop layer as separate footage items.

To import an Adobe Photoshop file or one of its layers as a single footage item:

1. Choose File > Import > File.
2. Select the name of the file you want to open. If the file does not appear, select the option for showing all files from the Files of Type (Windows) or the Show pop-up menu (Mac OS).
3. Choose Footage from the Import As pop-up menu, and then click Open (Windows) or Import (Mac OS). The filename.psd dialog box appears (unless you have set Preferences to skip this dialog box).
4. Specify the following options in the filename.psd dialog box, and then click OK:
• Choose the name of the layer to import, or choose Merged Layers to import all layers from the Choose Layer pop-up menu.
• Choose Layer Size or Document Size from the Footage Dimensions pop-up menu.

Note: When you import one Adobe Photoshop layer as a single footage item, its name in the Project window consists of the layer name followed by the Adobe Photoshop filename.