- General preferences
- Previews preferences (CS5.5, and earlier)
- Previews preferences (CS6)
- Display preferences
- Import preferences
- Output preferences
- Grids & Guides preferences
- Labels preferences
- Media & Disk Cache preferences
- Video Preview preferences
- Appearance preferences
- Auto-Save preferences
- Memory & Multiprocessing preferences
- Audio Hardware and Audio Output Mapping preferences
To open the Preferences dialog box, choose Edit > Preferences > [category name] (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > [category name] (Mac OS).
To open the Preferences dialog box to the General category, press Ctrl+Alt+; (semicolon) (Windows) or Command+Option+; (Mac OS).
To restore default preference settings, hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (Mac OS) while the application is starting. To also restore default keyboard shortcuts, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the OK button.
Preferences, including keyboard shortcuts and workspaces, are stored in files in the following locations:
(Mac OS) <drive>/Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/Adobe/After Effects/10.0
(Windows) <drive>\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\After Effects\10.0
In After Effects CS6, preferences can be revealed without searching your hard drive for them. To reveal preferences, choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows), or After Effects > Preferences > Genereal (Mac OS) and do one of the following:
Click the Reveal Preferences in Explorer button (Windows).
Click the Reveal Preferences in Finder button (Mac OS).
Clicking the button opens the folder containing the After Effects preference files.
This section provides links to pages in which the various preferences that aren’t self-explanatory are explained in context.
General preferences
Levels Of Undo: Undo changes
Path Point Size: Specifies size of Bezier direction handles and vertices for masks and shapes, direction handles for motion paths, and other similar controls.
Show Tool Tips: After Effects user interface tips
Create Layers At Composition Start Time: Layers overview
Switches Affect Nested Comps: About precomposing and nesting
Default Spatial Interpolation To Linear: About spatial and temporal keyframe interpolation
- Preserve Constant Vertex Count When Editing Masks: Designate the first vertex for a Bezier pathNote: Preserve Constant Vertex Count when Editing Masks has been renamed to “Preserve Constant Vertex and Feather Count when Editing Masks” in After Effects CS6.
Pen Tool Shortcut Toggles Between Pen and Mask Feather Tools (After Effects CS6): Variable-width mask feather (CS6)
Synchronize Time Of All Related Items: Preferences and composition settings that affect nested compositions
Expression Pick Whip Writes Compact English: Edit an expression with the pick whip
Create Split Layers Above Original Layer: Split a layer
Allow Scripts To Write Files And Access Network: Loading and running scripts
Enable JavaScript Debugger: After Effects scripting guide at the Adobe After Effects Developer Center on the Adobe website
Use System Color Picker: Choose a color picker
Create New Layers At Best Quality: Layer image quality and subpixel positioning
Use System Shortcut Keys (Mac OS only): Keyboard shortcuts
Dynamic Link with After Effects Uses Project File Name with Highest Number (After Effects CS6): About Dynamic Link
Previews preferences (CS5.5, and earlier)
Adaptive Resolution Limit: Preview modes and Fast Previews preferences
Enable OpenGL and Accelerate Effects Using OpenGL (When Possible): Render with OpenGL
Enable Adaptive Resolution With OpenGL: Preview modes and Fast Previews preferences
Viewer Quality (Zoom Quality and Color Management Quality): Viewer Quality preferences
Audio Preview Duration: Preview video and audio
Previews preferences (CS6)
Adaptive Resolution Limit: Preview modes and Fast Previews preferences
Also, see Fast Previews (CS6).
The OpenGL Information button and dialog box has been replaced with a GPU Information dialog box in After Effects CS6. The dialog box is available for checking on texture memory for your GPU, and to set the ray-tracing preference to the GPU, if it is available. The OptiX version number is available, as well as, Copy button to copy the general information at the top of the dialog box to the system clipboard.
Viewer Quality (Zoom Quality and Color Management Quality): Viewer Quality preferences
Audio Preview Duration: Preview video and audio
Display preferences
Motion Path: Motion paths
Disable Thumbnails In Project Panel: Composition thumbnail images
Show Rendering Progress In Info Panel And Flowchart: Preview video and audio
Hardware Accelerate Composition, Layer, And Footage Panels: Improve performance
Import preferences
Still Footage: Create layers from footage items or change layer source
Sequence Footage: Import a single still image or a still-image sequence
Interpret Unlabeled Alpha As: Alpha channel interpretation: premultiplied or straight
Drag Import Multiple Items As: Import footage items by dragging
Adobe After Effects CS5.5 and later contains a dropdown menu to choose drop-frame or non-drop-frame timecode for Indeterminate Media NTSC, which applies to imports like still image sequences in which timecode values are not present or are unknown.
Output preferences
Segment Sequences At, Segment Movie Files At, and Audio Block Duration: Segment settings
Use Default File Name And Folder: Name output files automatically
Media & Disk Cache preferences
Enable Disk Cache and Maximum Disk Cache Size: Caches: RAM cache, disk cache, and media cache
Conformed Media Cache and Clean Database & Cache: Media cache
Create Layer Markers From Footage XMP Metadata and Write XMP IDs To Files On Import: XMP metadata in After Effects
Appearance preferences
Use Label Color For Layer Handles And Paths and Use Label Color For Related Tabs: Color labels for layers, compositions, and footage items
Cycle Mask Colors: Cycle through colors for mask paths
Use Gradients: Use gradients in user interface.
Brightness: Brightens or darkens user interface (UI) colors.
