Add Copycat to Motion Dock

  1. Click Edit layout in Motion Dock’s top bar.
  2. Click an empty area of the layout and choose Copycat from the module picker.
  3. Click Exit layout mode to use the tool.

If Copycat is already in the layout, use its existing slot.

Copy a precomp

  1. Open a composition containing a precomp layer in After Effects.
  2. Select that precomp layer in the Timeline. Unlock it if needed.
  3. Check that Copycat’s depth chip says All. If it does not, right-click Copy and choose All nested comps.
  4. Click Copy.

A new precomp layer should appear directly above the original. The new layer is selected and uses a copied source comp. The original layer still uses its original source.

With the default settings, copying a source named Title card creates Title card copy and copies of its nested comps inside a Title card copies folder in the Project panel. The folder is inside the same folder as the original source comp.

Check the independence

Open the new layer’s source comp, then open one of its copied nested comps. Change a text layer or add an effect to a layer there. The corresponding original comp should keep its previous appearance.

Footage and solid sources remain shared. To check independence with a solid, change a layer effect such as Fill in the copied comp, rather than changing the shared solid’s source settings.

Use Edit > Undo in After Effects to undo your practice edit. One more undo reverses the Copycat action, including the added layer, copied comps, and any folder it created.

If no new layer appears, read the message beside Copycat. Select a precomp layer or a comp means there is no usable selection. Selected precomp layers are locked means you need to unlock the selected precomp layer before copying. Other selection cases are covered in Troubleshooting.