The Layers panel lists the layers of the active composition from top to bottom, the same order they stack in the frame. It is a compact view of the left half of the After Effects timeline, kept separate so you can park it beside the Viewer. The Timeline shows the same layers with their bars and keyframes.
Columns
| Column | What it does |
|---|
| View | Eye (show/hide), Solo and Lock switches. Drag across rows to solo, lock or expand several at once. |
| Name | Kind icon and layer name. Double-click to rename. Groups have a twirl to expand or collapse them. A precomp opens on double-click. |
| Mode | Blend mode. Hover the list to preview each mode on the frame. |
| Matte | Track matte source: None, or a layer. The pick whip next to it can be dragged onto another layer to use that layer as this one's matte. A composite matte stack shows here but is edited in the timeline's Matte column. |
Expanding a layer's row shows its Effects and Masks. Each mask has a mask operation menu and buttons to invert, show/hide, lock and delete it.
| Button | What it does |
|---|
| Group | Group the selected layers (⌘G / Ctrl+G). With nothing selected it makes an empty group. |
| Null | Click: new Null Object at the comp centre (it parents the selection). Hold: placement options — Null at Comp Center, Null at Selection Center, One Null per Selected Layer. |
| Adjustment | New Adjustment Layer. |
| Background | 3D comps only. Add a background layer. |
| ƒ (Layer styles) | Open the layer styles popup for the selected layer. |
Shortcuts
| Action | Mac | Windows / Linux |
|---|
| Select all | ⌘A | Ctrl+A |
| Deselect all | ⌘⇧A | Ctrl+Shift+A |
| Copy / Cut / Paste layers | ⌘C / ⌘X / ⌘V | Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V |
| Duplicate layers | ⌘D | Ctrl+D |
| Split layer at playhead | ⌘⇧D | Ctrl+Shift+D |
| Group / Ungroup | ⌘G / ⌘⇧G | Ctrl+G / Ctrl+Shift+G |
| Pre-compose selection | ⌘⇧C | Ctrl+Shift+C |
| Lock / unlock selected layers | ⌘L | Ctrl+L |
| Bring forward / Send backward | ⌘] / ⌘[ | Ctrl+] / Ctrl+[ |
| Bring to front / Send to back | ⌘⇧] / ⌘⇧[ | Ctrl+Shift+] / Ctrl+Shift+[ |
| Select layer above / below | ⌘↑ / ⌘↓ | Ctrl+↑ / Ctrl+↓ |
| New Solid | ⌘Y | Ctrl+Y |
| New text layer | ⌘⇧T | Ctrl+Shift+T |
| Delete | Delete | Delete |
Tips
- Layer kind colours (null, adjustment, footage and so on) match the timeline and Project panel. Use the Labels panel to give layers named colours.
- Drag a row up or down to reorder.