Switch layouts and remember projects

Use the 1, 2 and 3 buttons in the top bar to switch layouts. Each number holds a separate arrangement of tools and elements.

You can also press 1, 2 or 3 while Motion Dock has focus. These shortcuts pause while you type in a field or have a dock dialog open. They work in and out of layout mode.

Set up another layout

Click an unused number. The empty layout offers the same starters as a new dock. Choose one, or click Build your own.

If the layout you just left contains tools or elements, the empty layout also offers Copy layout followed by that layout’s number. Click it to use a copy as your starting point. Moving or removing slots in the copy does not rearrange the source.

If the previous layout is empty, the dock offers another occupied layout to copy, when one exists.

The copy has its own slots and elements. Tool preferences and shared libraries still follow each tool’s normal behavior. Use the tool’s docs for details about what a particular copy displays.

To start an occupied layout again, clear that layout. Starters and copying are offered on empty layouts.

Let a project bring back its layout

For a saved After Effects project, switch to the layout you want to use with it. When you return to that project, the dock recalls the layout number last used for that project file path.

A saved project seen for the first time uses the layout already on screen. Unsaved projects do not get a remembered layout assignment. Saving under a new name or moving the project changes its path, so select the layout you want for that path.

This remembers which of your three layouts to show. It does not make a private copy of the arrangement inside the .aep file. Editing layout 2 changes the layout seen by every project assigned to layout 2 on that dock panel.

Each dock panel keeps its own three layouts and its own project assignments.