Transform

Transform Layer

The transform layer has no visual content but has a transform property. It is used to add another coordinate system into a transform hierarchy.

Animate the movement of multiple layers at once#

The common way to animate multiple layers at once is using groups layers.

You can also use transform layers to animate the movement of multiple timeline layers together. They can be particularly useful for this when the layers to be moved in sync are visually interleaved with other layers that should not be moved. In that case, it can be cumbersome to animate the movement using group layers.

In order to animate the movement of multiple layers at once using transform layers:

1. Add a transform layer via the layer list.
2. Open the transform hierarchy screen.
3. Drag the transform layer into the hierarchy section.
4. Parent all layers that you want to be animated to the transform layer.
5. Select and animate the transform layer using keyframes and the transform tool.

Effects#

Since transform layers have no visual content and can only be used to affect other layers via the transform hierarchy, they don't support most types of effects. This includes the perspective and warp effects, since both of these effects distort the visual contents of their layer.

If you want to apply such an effect to multiple layers at once, you should place the layers in a group and apply the effect to the group layer, instead of using a transform layer.