Transforms, anchors & parenting
The transform properties
| Property | Notes |
|---|---|
| Position | One property with a spatial path. Turn on Separate Dimensions (Graph panel, motion path controls) to keyframe and ease X and Y on their own tracks. Z appears when the layer is 3D |
| Scale | Percentage, X and Y |
| Rotation | Degrees, around the anchor point. X and Y rotation appear when the layer is 3D |
| Opacity | 0–100 |
| Anchor Point | The origin that rotation and scale pivot around |
| Size | Width and height, where the layer type has them |
Every row has a stopwatch to arm keyframing and a scrubbable value field — drag on the number rather than clicking into it.
The document lives in the engine, and the interface reads from it rather than keeping a copy of its own. Every edit here is a command sent to the engine, so the Properties panel, the timeline and the viewport cannot disagree about a layer’s transform for longer than it takes the change to arrive.
The anchor point
Almost every “why is it rotating around the wrong place” question is an anchor point question. Two ways to fix it:
- The Pan Behind tool (Y) moves the anchor without moving the layer on screen.
- The Anchor Point row in Properties ▸ Transform takes exact values, and its field is scrubbable. Layer → Transform → Center Anchor Point in Layer Content puts it back in the middle.
Parenting
Set a parent from the Parent row in Properties ▸ Blending and switches, or from a layer’s right-click menu in the Layers panel. The child inherits the parent’s transform; its own transform then applies on top.
Two guarantees:
- Reparenting does not move the layer on screen. The transform is compensated so the visual result is unchanged at the moment you reparent.
- Cycles are not expressible. The parent picker excludes the layer itself and all of its descendants, so you cannot build a loop.
The classic use is a null: parent a group of layers to a null, then animate the null to move them together while each keeps its own animation.
The pick-whip
The fastest way to set a parent is to drag the spiral — from a row in the Layers panel or the timeline, or from the Parent row in Properties — and drop it on any layer in the Layers panel or the timeline. The line turns solid over a layer that can accept the link and stays dashed over one that cannot (itself, or its own descendant). Same gesture as After Effects, same guarantees as the dropdown: it goes through the identical reparent path, so it never moves the layer on screen. Two modifiers change that on purpose: Alt keeps the child’s values, so the layer jumps; Shift snaps the child onto the parent.
The expression editor has a whip too: drag from an expression’s header onto a property row to insert a reference to that property at the caret — no need to know the function name, the layer’s exact spelling or the property’s internal key. Dropped on a layer, it references the same property the expression is on (“follow that layer’s Y”).
Align & distribute
With two or more layers selected, an align row appears at the top of the Properties panel. The same actions are in the Align panel (Window ▸ Panels ▸ Align) and under Align & Distribute in a layer’s right-click menu:
- Align left / centre / right horizontally.
- Align top / middle / bottom vertically.
- Distribute evenly — needs three or more layers to mean anything.
Auto-orient
Layer → Transform → Auto-Orient…, or the motion-path controls in the Graph panel. When a layer has an animated position path, auto-orient rotates it to face its direction of travel. Useful for anything that should look like it is flying rather than sliding.
Multi-select
Select several layers and the canvas draws a group gizmo: combined bounds with corner scale handles. Moving, scaling and the align/distribute actions all operate on the group.
Motion paths
Toggle motion-path display from the viewport header. The path is drawn on the canvas with its keyframes as points; drag them to reshape the trajectory directly.
Ctrl/⌘ + Alt + S smooths the motion path of the selected layers.