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Presets

Intro​

Presets provide a way to save and apply pre-configured settings and set defaults for Layers, Compositions and Render Queue Items.

Working with Presets​

Presets can be set or accessed via the header row of a Layer's Attribute Editor UI, the header of the Scene Tree or the header row of a Render Queue Item.

Quick Start

How to use a Preset to set a default Composition:

  1. Open the Composition Settings window and define your Composition's settings (Resolution, FPS, Background Color etc.).
  2. Click the Preset
    Button icon
    button at top of the Scene Window and choose Save Preset....
  3. Give the Preset a name.
  4. Click the Preset
    Button icon
    button again and choose 'Manage Presets...'
  5. Right click on the Preset row and choose 'Set as Default Settings'.

Each time a new Composition is created, it will inherit its settings from the Preset.

Saving a Preset​

To save a Preset:

  1. Change a Layer's attribute value/setting.
  2. Click the Preset
    Button icon
    button in the header row of the Layer's Attribute Editor UI.
  3. Choose Save Preset....
  4. Enter a 'Preset Name'.
  5. Click Save.

Save Options​

  • Reset Layer - When checked, the Preset is saved so that when it's applied to a Layer, it will also reset any non-default attributes.
  • Include Primitive Type (Basic Shape only) - When checked, if this Preset is later applied to a Basic Shape, it will also set the Primitive Type. Leave this unchecked to create a preset that applied exclusively to affect common attributes.
  • Include Transforms (Shape Layers only) - When checked, transform settings (Position/Rotation/Scale/Pivot) are included in the Preset.
  • Include Path (Editable Shape Layers only) - When checked, the Path is also included in the Preset.
  • Availability (Shape Layers only) - Determine whether a saved Preset can be later applied to all Shape Layers or just the specific Shape type being saved:
    • This Shape Type - The preset will be exclusively available on the specific Shape type being saved.
    • All Shapes - The preset will be available on all Shape Layers. This is useful when making Presets that affect common attributes like Fill or Stroke.

Apply a Preset​

To apply a Preset:

  1. Load a Layer's Attribute Editor UI.
  2. Click the Preset
    Button icon
    button in the header row of the Layer's Attribute Editor UI.
  3. Choose the Preset from the list.

Managing Presets​

To rename, delete or set a Preset as a default:

  1. Click the Preset
    Button icon
    button in the header row of the Layer's Attribute Editor UI.
  2. Choose Manage Presets.... This will open a Manage Presets popover window.

Options​

Rename a Preset​

To rename a Preset either:

  • Select a Preset's row and hit Return.
  • Double click a Preset's row.
  • Click the '...' icon on a Preset's row and choose 'Rename'.
  • Right click on a Preset's row and choose 'Rename'.
Remove a Preset​

To remove a Preset either:

  • Click the '...' icon on the Preset's row and choose 'Delete'.
  • Right click on a Preset's row and choose 'Delete'.

A confirmation dialogue will appear – this can be bypassed by holding Option/Alt when deleting the Preset.

Set a default Preset​

Presets can be used to override default settings. For example, when creating a Basic Shape, this can be set to a blue rectangle with a width of 400.

To use a Preset as a Layer's default settings either:

  • Click the '...' icon on the Preset's row and choose 'Set as Default Settings'.
  • Right click on a Preset's row and choose 'Set as Default Settings'.

Default Presets will be marked with a green icon.

To remove a Layer's custom default settings either:

  • Click the '...' icon on the Preset's row already set to default and choose 'Remove as Default Settings'.
  • Right click on a Preset's row already set to default and choose 'Remove as Default Settings'.

Sharing Presets​

Presets are saved to presets.json in the Presets directory within the Preferences folder.

Adding other valid .json files to the Presets directory will result in the Presets contained within those files being available when applying or deleting Presets. If the .json is invalid (contains syntax errors) the Presets will not be loaded.

Notes​

Connections are not saved with Presets. This includes Compositions added to a Render Queue Item.

Attributes with system default values are not saved with a Preset.

Presets are not supported when using the Tools.