After Effects On the Spot[c] Time-Saving Tips and Shortcuts from the Pros

There are five key components to animating a layer in After Effects. Fortunately, Adobe put these properties at your fingertips.

• Press A to Twirl down the Anchor Point.

• Press P to Twirl down the Position.

• Press R to Twirl down the Rotation.

• Press S to Twirl down the Scale.

• Press T to Twirl down the Opacity. (Think transparency.)

The following modifier keys also come in handy.

• Hold down the Shift key to display additional properties after selecting the first.

• Hold down the Option key to display a property and add a keyframe at the Current Time Indicator. On a PC, hold down Alt+Shift+ the shortcut letter (A, P, R, S or T) to achieve the same action.