The pad says “No layers selected”
Fling found no unlocked selected layers in the active composition. Select layers in its Timeline and unlock the ones you want to move. A selection containing only locked layers produces the same message.
Enter the pad again to refresh the count. In Edit Mode, allow about a second for a changed selection count to appear. Apply reads the selection again before placing it.
I see “No active composition”
Open a composition and click its viewer or Timeline, then try again. Fling acts on the active composition, not an arbitrary composition elsewhere in the Project panel.
Nothing happens when I drag
A click or a tiny pull is ignored. Drag farther until dots appear, then release. With snapping on, both endpoints can land on the same grid point, so try a larger pull or hold Cmd / Ctrl to switch temporarily to free placement.
If the pad shows Edit Mode, its preview belongs to the editor window. Close that window to resume pad drags. Wait for an in-progress placement to finish before starting another.
The layers land somewhere different from the dots
Dots represent layer anchor positions. Large artwork or an off-center anchor can make the visible result look displaced or overlapping.
Fling writes Position values directly. It does not convert composition coordinates into a parent’s coordinate system. A parented layer can therefore land somewhere different from the pad preview. Work with unparented layers for a direct match, or account for the parent transform separately.
For 3D layers, Fling changes X and Y while keeping Z. Camera perspective can make their visible positions differ from the flat pad.
Some layers did not move, and I got no explanation
Locked layers are skipped. Unlock them and select again.
Expressions and other property restrictions can prevent a value from being written or override it afterward. Check Position, Scale and Rotation on the affected layer. Fling does not bake or remove expressions, and individual write failures can be skipped without a per-layer warning. Undo the placement before retrying if only part of the selection changed.
The layers went outside the composition
The pad allows off-comp origins and targets. Slingshot can throw beyond the frame as the pull grows. Release only when the dots show the placement you want, or undo and use a shorter pull. Snap also continues outside the frame.
Snapping did not put every layer on the grid
The grid snaps the drag’s start and end points. A ring, wave or other resulting shape can still place layers between intersections. Use Grid mode for a regular arrangement, and Edit Mode to choose an exact column count.
A layout added keys even though Keyframe Mode was off
When a property already has keys, Fling writes its new value at the playhead instead of setting a static value. This also applies to Scale and Rotation when used. Keyframe Mode additionally creates keys on unanimated properties and applies its easing and Stagger.
To make an animated layer static, manage its animation in After Effects or use Fling’s explicit Position-key clearing behavior.
Turning keyframes off removed animation
Confirming Clear Position Keyframes? removes all Position keys on selected unlocked layers, including keys made outside Fling. The current position is kept. Use After Effects Undo to recover the keys. Scale and Rotation keys are not cleared by this action.
Enabling keyframes did not animate from the old position
Enabling the mode does not capture a starting pose by itself. Place the first layout at the start time, move the playhead, then place the second. A property keyed for the first time gets a departure key only when an earlier Position key provides a departure time.
Layers still rotate after I close Edit Mode
The Rotation choice is saved as you preview and carries over to pad drags. Open Edit Mode, expand Properties and choose Rotation > Off to leave rotation alone on future placements. This does not restore angles already applied.
Follow is unavailable for Slingshot. With one layer, or coincident points where a direction cannot be resolved, a useful Follow heading may not exist.
Setting Scale to 100% did not restore the layers
Fling leaves a layer’s Scale unchanged when its computed scale is exactly 100%. Set 100% directly in After Effects to restore that value. Pad drags do not apply the editor’s Scale settings.
The random preview changed after Apply
Apply places the current arrangement, then refreshes the random seed for the next preview. This affects random placement, Jitter, Scale variance and Random Rotation. Check the applied result in After Effects before applying again.
The mode names or footer disappeared
Narrow slots use a mode-name picker. Short slots hide the footer. A narrow keyframe popover shows easing curves without labels. Enlarge Fling’s slot in the dock’s Edit layout mode for the full toolbar and labels.
Fling reports a read, edit or placement error
Failed to read layers or Failed to parse result means Fling could not obtain usable selection data. Failed to open edit mode. means the separate editor did not open. Failed to clear Position keyframes means the clear operation failed. Fling failed is the fallback placement error.
Return to the composition viewer, check that the layers are unlocked and try the action again. If the editor failed to open, close any existing Fling editor before retrying. If the error persists, report the exact message, the action and whether the layers were parented, expression-driven or already animated.