Apple Motion 4 - Manual (Page 281)

Exchanging Objects
The easiest way to customize a template-based project is to exchange the objects used
in the template with your own objects, either from the File Browser or the Library. When
you exchange an object, the new object appears in your project with the same parameter
values used by the previous object. In addition, any filters, masks, behaviors, or keyframed
parameters that were applied to the original object remain applied to the exchanged
object.
Although there are several groups named “Drop Zone” in various templates, the objects
within the groups should be replaced—not the layers themselves.
Note: To quickly find all objects to be replaced in a template, type “Drop Zone” in the
Layers tab Search field and press Return. The “Drop Zone” objects are displayed in the
Layers tab.
For more information about exchanging objects, see Exchanging Media in a Project .
Drop Zones
Drop zones allow you to quickly replace footage in a project by dropping clips directly
onto the Canvas. A drop zone appears as a rectangle with a downward arrow in its center.
The drop zone’s layer name appears in the center of the drop zone. Any media item
(image or footage) dragged and dropped into the region defined by the drop zone object
automatically replaces the drop zone placeholder graphic. When media is dragged over
the drop zone, a highlight appears around the drop zone area.
Blank drop zone QuickTime movie being dragged onto drop zone
Note: If there are multiple overlapping drop zones in the Canvas, the topmost one has
priority when something is dragged onto the drop zone. You can force all drop zones to
appear by using Motion’s expose feature. For more see
Exposing Drop Zones .
281 Chapter 6 Creating and Managing Projects