Anchor Point Tool After Effects



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The Selection tool, the Hand tool, the Zoom tool, the Rotation tool, the Unified Camera tool, the Pan Behind Anchor Point tool, the Rectangle tool, the Pen tool, the Horizontal Tech tool. Whoa, there are a lot of tools, I could not do that in one breath and, sadly, I'm not going to cover all of these tools in this lesson. After Effects Project Info List Exporter (aka: AEProjectI.L.E.) is a tool designed to assist users by providing an easier overview of an After Effects project file. Gives you access to a vast amount of project data in easy to view lists that can be sorted by column or searched.

With Move Anchor Point Version 3, you can quickly change the anchor point of a layer or group of layers without affecting any of its other properties, even if the layer has keyframes. Move Anchor Point has been redesigned from the ground up in Version 3 to give you more precise control over how and where you can move anchor points. An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current.The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα (ankura).

Check out these four techniques to precisely position and align graphic elements in your next Adobe After Effects project.

If you’re relatively new to Adobe After Effects then you might not feel completely comfortable with the interface. You can quickly get lost if you don’t know the ins and outs of the program. It can be particularly frustrating if you don’t know how to properly controllayers within the composition panel.

Perhaps you’re having trouble getting a graphic exactly where you want it. Or maybe you want to alignseveral shape elements with a title, but you just can’t figure it out. Check out the four tips and tricks below to get a better grip on how to use Adobe After Effects.

Understand Anchor Points

All layers have an anchor point, also known as a transformation point or the transformation center. This is an apt name because all of the transformations you perform on a layer are affected in relation to the anchor point’scenter. You can move an anchor point with the Pan Behindtool, or by adjusting the properties of the anchor point in the transform section. The anchor point is often located conveniently at the center of a layer. If it’s not, you can quickly move it there by selecting Layer > Transform > Center Anchor Point in Layer Content.

Move Anchor Point

Manually Position Layers

If you’re working on a project where eyeballing a graphic’s position is insufficient, you can always manuallyposition the layer. To do this, first, choose the layer and then go to Layer > Transform > Position. This will bring up your position dialog box, which allows you to specify exactly where you want your layer to be on both the X and Y axes. Choose the location in a variety of different units, including pixels, inches, millimeters, or a percent of the source or composition. Bring up the position dialogue box with the keyboard shortcut Command+Shift+P.

Use Grids & Guides

While positioningassetsmanually can prove helpful, it can also quickly become cumbersome. If you’re working with multiple assets and you need more precision, you’ll want to harness the power of grids, guides, and rulers. Both grids and guides help you quickly align and snap assets to specific locations. Whether you’re trying to keep your graphics proportional or alignseveral elements, these tools can help. To use grids and guides, go to the Viewdrop-down menu or click on the grids and guides button in the composition panel. Customizegrids and guides in the Preferencespanel.

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Align & Distribute Assets

If you aren’t already using the Alignpanel then it’s time to start. The tools in this panel allow you to perfectly positionsingle or multiple layers in After Effects. Quicklyalign a layer to the composition’s horizontal right, left, or center — or vertically to the top, bottom, or center. You can also alignlayers to other layers. This is especially useful when working with multiple text elements that need to be preciselypositioned. In addition to aligning, you also have several options to distribute layers vertically and horizontally.

Version History

Version 4.0.2

  • CC 2020+ future update compatibility

Version 4.0.1

  • CC2019 compatibility

Version 4.0

Anchor Point Tool After Effects

  • Move Anchor Point is now an Extension
  • Modular interface for improved customization
  • Re-sizable grid and z-space presets
  • New 'Match' functionality. Match anchor points by layer name searching
  • Create quick presets for custom moves and search matches
  • Move a shape layer's anchor point based on its contents

Version 3.0

  • Completely rebuilt from the ground up
  • New Modes - Object, Selection, and Composition to give more control over how Anchor Points are moved
  • Match - Quickly match a selection of layers to the anchor point of another
  • Z-Space Presets - Work in 3D space
  • Improved Custom move options: Choose between pixel or percentage values and move anchor points anywhere

Anchor Point Tool Not Working After Effects

Version 2.0

  • Added 'Move to Custom Point' option
  • Move anchor point now works with masks applied to the layer by default
  • The 'Ignore Masks' option was added to disregard masks applied to the layer
  • Layers with parents are now repositioned correctly
  • Layers with non-uniform scale values now are repositioned correctly.
  • Several other minor bug fixes and improvements

After Effects Change Anchor Point

Version 1.0

Move Anchor Point Tool After Effects

Anchor Point Tool After Effects

Move Anchor Point Tool After Effects

  • Initial Release