Apple Motion 5.1.1 - Manual (Page 158)

Chapter 6 Create and manage projects 158
Solo a layer
You can “solo” a layer or group to hide all other layers in the project. This technique can be useful
to isolate a single object in the Canvas to animate or manipulate without interfering with other
objects in your composition.
1 Select layers or groups to solo.
2 Choose Object > Solo (or press Control-S).
Note: You can also Control-click an object in the Layers list, then choose Solo from the
shortcut menu.
All other layers or groups are deactivated, and only the soloed object is visible in the Canvas.
When the selected item is soloed, the solo menu item displays a checkmark.
Collapse and uncollapse group hierarchies
Groups and layers in the Layers list appear in a hierarchy that shows which layers are nested
inside which groups. Nested layers and groups appear underneath and indented to the right of
the group they’re nested in.
To make the Layers list easier to manage, you can collapse all layers that appear nested in a
single group using that group’s disclosure triangle. Collapsed groups appear as a single row
in the list, and can be moved or nested like any other layer. Each group’s thumbnail displays a
preview of its composite, making it easy to see what’s nested inside.
Open or collapse a single group
Do one of the following:
m Click the disclosure triangle to the left of that group’s name and icon.
m Press the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to navigate up and down the Layers list, then press
the Right Arrow key to open a group or the Left Arrow key to collapse a group.
Reorganize in the Layers list
The order in which layers and groups appear in the Layers list helps determine the layout of the
composition. The order of layers and groups determines which objects appear in front of other
objects in the Canvas. You can change the ordering of objects in the Canvas or in the Layers list.
Note: When using 3D groups, you can rearrange the order in 3D space to override the hierarchy
visible in the Layers list. For more information about layer order in 3D groups, see
2D and 3D
group intersection overview on page 925.
Move a layer or group up or down in the Layers list
m Drag a layer or group up or down in the Layers list.
A position indicator shows the new position the selection occupies when you release the
mouse button.
Note: You can also use the Bring and Send commands in the Object menu to move layers up
and down in the nested hierarchy in any group. This is especially useful when working with
selected objects in the Canvas. For more information, see
Arrangement commands in the Object
Menu on page 207.
Create a new, empty group
To organize the objects in a project into multiple groups, you can create new, empty groups.
Do one of the following:
m Click the Add button (+) at the bottom of the Layers list.
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