Adobe After Effects is a powerful tool in the world of video editing and animation. It enables creative professionals to create impressive visual content. However, with the complexity and variety of features in After Effects comes the need to work efficiently and quickly. This is where keyboard shortcuts come into play.

Mastering keyboard shortcuts in After Effects is a game-changer for any videographer or animator. They make it possible to reduce time-consuming mouse clicks and speed up workflows. Instead of navigating through menus, you can instantly access tools and functions with simple keyboard shortcuts, helping you to express your creativity more fluidly and freely.

In addition, using shortcuts increases your precision when editing. They allow you to make quick adjustments without taking the focus off your work. This is especially important in an environment where time and accuracy are crucial.

In this blog post, you'll learn how to master Adobe After Effects through the efficient use of keyboard shortcuts. Whether you're new to After Effects or looking to develop your skills, these shortcuts will help you realize your full creative potential.

Tools - keyboard shortcuts for Adobe After Effects

File management

Edit

Create

Composition

Timeline

Actions

Layer control

Tips for working effectively in Adobe After Effects

Double-click on a mask point or a point on a shape path to open the
Transform box, with which you can easily transform a mask as a whole.

Both in the project window and in the timeline, since After Effects CS4 there are
you can easily search for specific imported files,
compositions or in the timeline for applied effects or similar.
can. This allows you to maintain an overview, especially in larger projects.

If you are in any composition, you can always view a mini version of the flow chart by simply pressing the Shift key. This allows you to see all sub-compositions and parent compositions at a glance. The compositions, which can be opened with a simple click, can be navigated quickly using the arrow keys on the keyboard.

With the practical new combined camera tool, you have all functions available at once with a 3-button mouse
all functions available at once: The camera rotation tool with the left mouse button, the XY camera tracking tool with the middle mouse button and the Z camera tracking tool with the right mouse button.

Keyframe values can also be easily changed by double-clicking on the respective keyframe. This saves you having to jump around in the timeline.

To reset the keyframe interpolation for individual or several keyframes at the same time back to the linear standard, simply hold down the
Ctrl key.

With the help of the cloak button on the layer, you can omit the display of some layers in the
in the timeline so as not to lose the overview there. To do this, simply activate the
Activate cloaking in the composition and the project will remain clear.

For animations that are to take place at the same time as the audio, you can easily check the timing by holding down the Ctrl key while scrubbing through the timeline. This gives you live sound and a preview of the next frames when you stop.

Right-click and "Show in timeline" to quickly display and animate any option from the effects settings in the timeline.

6 ultimate workflow accelerators

1. Always name layers
   If a composition contains more than three layers, then name them according to their
   content or according to their function. This way you can keep track of extensive projects with many
   adjustment layers, color areas, shape layers, etc., you will always have an overview.
2. Create sub-compositions
   For extensive projects, it makes sense to isolate layers that belong together in terms of content in
   to isolate sub-compositions. This allows you to maintain clear compositions, apply effects
   apply effects to all layers together and can also use the transformations
   fold option ( ) to isolate 3D compositions.
3. Using parent and child objects
   The "Parent" function proves to be a lifesaver in many cases. In this way you can
   This allows one object to follow another without having to set a keyframe on the subordinate layer.
   a keyframe has to be set at the subordinate level. For tracking and complex camera animations
   a must in order not to sink into chaos!
4. Using adjustment layers and their fill methods
   Adjustment layers are a great help, as you can use them to apply effects to all layers
   effects underneath. But their use with blending modes should not be
   underestimated. If you set an adjustment layer with any effect applied to it
   Multiply, for example, AE calculates the image resulting from the underlying layers, modifies it and
   layers, modifies it and multiplies it with the original. This saves annoying
   sub-compositions that only have the purpose of being duplicated once.
5. Adjusting the resolution of the preview
   If you need a fast-responding preview in a larger composition, this can be achieved by
   be achieved by setting the resolution of the preview from "Full" to "Half" or
   lower. The "Auto" setting is even more useful, as it calculates the required preview
   resolution for the active zoom level (e.g. "Full" at 50% zoom is unnecessary - Auto sets the resolution directly to "Half").
   resolution directly to "Half").
6. Omit frames in a RAM preview
   With a fast RAM preview, you can also render only half of the frames. This
   the preview in half the time. To do this, simply set the
   Skip value to 1 or higher in the preview window.