Controls and modifiers
| Control | Click | Modifier |
|---|---|---|
| Adopt | Creates a shared null. See null creation and placement. | Shift creates a null per layer. Alt places the shared null at the first unlocked selected layer’s anchor. |
| Chain | Builds a parent chain in selection order. See chain order. | Shift reverses the direction. |
| Release | Removes selected layers’ parent links. See release and null removal. | Alt also deletes eligible selected Nanny nulls. |
On macOS, Option is Alt. Shift takes precedence over Alt on Adopt. Alt adds no behavior to Chain, and Shift adds no behavior to Release. Cmd and Ctrl add no special actions.
All three controls use the active composition’s selected layers. Buttons are temporarily disabled while an action is running. Every action is one After Effects undo step, named Nanny: Adopt, Nanny: Chain, or Nanny: Release.
Hover help
Hover a tile to preview its relationship diagram. Shift and Alt update that diagram before clicking. The tooltips are Adopt · Shift each · Alt in place, Chain · Shift reversed, and Release · Alt deletes Nanny nulls.
When there is room, a hint below the tiles follows the hovered control. It shows Shift each · Alt in place, Shift reversed, or Alt deletes Nanny nulls. With nothing hovered, it shows the Adopt hint.
The previews are diagrams of the action. Their dots do not represent the number, positions, or names of selected layers.
Results
A successful action briefly gathers the icon's dots and shows a count inside the tile. A toast reports the action and any locked layers skipped. The badge lasts about 1.6 seconds.
| Result | Count and message |
|---|---|
| Adopt | Number of layers directly parented to new nulls. The toast says Adopted N layers, adding a null each for Shift. Selected descendants kept in an existing branch do not increase the count. |
| Chain | Number of layers in the chain, including its head. The toast says Chained N layers. |
| Release | Number of parent links removed or handed to a removed null’s parent. The toast says Released N layers, adding N nulls deleted when applicable. Deleting an empty null can report zero released layers. |
| Locked layers skipped | The toast adds N skipped (locked). Wide badges add N locked. |
Narrow tiles show only the number. An action that cannot run nudges the tile and may show No selection, Select 2+, No comp, N locked, or Not done. The smallest tiles omit refusal badges. The toast gives the reason. Fixes for these states are in Troubleshooting.
Resizing Nanny
Nanny starts at half width and supports full width. Its three tiles always fill the available slot, in the order Adopt, Chain, Release. In Edit layout, drag the resize handle to change the slot’s shape.
A tall slot stacks the tiles. Wider slots place them side by side. Labels and icon sizes adapt to the available space, and labels disappear when the tiles are too small.
A short row keeps the same three actions without the hint line. Hover a tile for its tooltip when you need to identify an icon.