The primary keyboard shortcuts to move layers in the After Effects timeline involve adjusting their start and end points using the bracket keys.
Here's a breakdown:
[(Left Bracket): Moves the selected layer's in-point to the current time indicator. This essentially trims the beginning of the layer.](Right Bracket): Moves the selected layer's out-point to the current time indicator. This trims the end of the layer.
It is crucial to understand that these shortcuts do not reposition the layer in time. They only change the layer's starting and ending points based on the current time indicator.
For example, if you have a layer that starts at 0:00 and ends at 0:05, and the current time indicator is at 0:02, pressing [ will make the layer start at 0:02 instead of 0:00. The layer will now only play from 0:02 to 0:05. Similarly, pressing ] will make the layer end at 0:02 instead of 0:05. The layer will now only play from 0:00 to 0:02.
If you need to reposition the entire layer in time (i.e., slide it along the timeline), you can simply click and drag the layer in the timeline panel. There isn't a single, dedicated shortcut for sliding layers in time besides the drag-and-drop method.
