Positioning a layer in time

Move a layer in time by changing its In or Out point in the Timeline window. After Effects provides two ways to view and change the In and Out points of a layer in the Timeline window:

• The In and Out columns represent the layer duration numerically.
• The duration bar represents the layer duration visually.

To change the In and Out points of a layer numerically:

1. If the In and Out columns are not visible in the Timeline window for the composition layer you want to change, open the Timeline Options menu and choose Columns > In. On the same menu, choose Columns > Out.
2. Click the number in the In or Out column of the layer you want to change.
3. In the Layer In Time or Layer Out Time dialog box, type a new time and click OK.

Note: Do not use this method to adjust the In and Out points in the Timeline window if your aim is to trim, speed up, slow down, or distort time within layer footage. (See Understanding trimming and "About time-remapping" on page 204.)

To move a layer in time by dragging:

In the Timeline window, drag the layer duration bar to the left or right. To snap the layer duration bar to significant points in time (such as markers, or the start or end of the composition), press Shift as you drag.

Note: When you drag a layer in the Timeline window, the Info palette displays the name, duration, delta timecode, and In and Out settings for the layer. To display the Info palette, choose Window > Info.


Before and after moving the duration bar

To move a layer in time by moving its In point:

1. In the Timeline window, drag the current-time indicator to the time at which you want the layer to begin playing.
2. In the Timeline window, if the In column is not displayed, right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) any column heading, and then choose Columns > In.
3. In the In column, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click the number that appears for that layer.

Note: To move a layer by its Out point, use the same steps with the Out point column.