Create a linked group
- Select the source layer and the other layers you want in the group, all in one composition.
- Check the source chip. Open it and pick the effects or properties to share.
- Leave Stagger at
+ 0for identical values. - Click Link. Alt-clicking Copy performs the same action.
Ditto adds a null named Ditto · followed by the first picked item, such as Ditto · Glow. With several items, the name includes a count of the remaining items. Existing names get a numeric suffix. The null sits above the highest linked layer.
The source and every eligible selected layer now read the null’s controls through expressions. The original layer selection is kept. Link can also create a controller for a single selected layer.
Add Missing Effects controls whether missing effects and Layer Styles are added here too. Locked members are skipped. Properties with existing non-Ditto expressions are left alone, even if that expression is disabled. A previous Ditto expression can be replaced by a new link.
Edit the shared controls
Click the group's name to select its controller in After Effects. The same groups are available under Linked in the picker when the main slot has no room for them.
Open the controller's Effect Controls and edit or keyframe its controls. Each one uses the corresponding source parameter's name.
The controller holds Slider, Point, 3D Point, or Color controls for the supported properties. It does not hold a working copy of the original effect. For a Glow, adjust the controller’s Glow Radius control while the Glow effects remain on the member layers.
Source keyframes are copied onto the controls at their original composition times. An unkeyed source initializes a control from its evaluated value at the playhead. Link does not transfer source expression logic. Properties with types outside numbers, points, and colors cannot be linked, and the result message reports skipped properties.
Keep the controller until you have unlinked its members. Deleting it manually leaves their expressions without a controller. The count beside a group is the stored member count from Ditto’s last link or unlink operation, so manual expression edits can leave it out of date.
Unlink selected layers or a whole group
| What you want to release | Action |
|---|---|
| Only some members | Select those layers, then Alt-click Link. Its label changes to Unlink. |
| Every member of one group | Click that group’s unlink icon in the main panel or picker. |
| A group through its controller | Select its Ditto controller, then Alt-click Link. |
Unlink affects the Ditto expressions in that scope, regardless of the current picker choices. Selected members can belong to more than one group.
When the matching controller control has keyframes, Ditto evaluates the member at each control key time, restores those keys with the control’s keyframe shaping, and removes the expression. This includes any stagger.
Without control keys, Ditto keeps the member’s evaluated value at the playhead as a static value and clears its previous keys. It does not sample every frame. If you animated a control only with an expression, Unlink therefore keeps one current value rather than that whole animation.
An unused, unlocked controller is removed. If members remain linked, the controller stays and its count is updated. Locked linked layers stay connected; unlock them and unlink again. A locked controller is not removed automatically, even after its last member is released.
Use After Effects’ Edit > Undo to reverse the entire Link or Unlink action.