how can I copy composition After Effects

[Jarvz Pa]

yes I already did that, but it also applies the changes to the original composition

[Douglas Curran]

Are you making changes OUTSIDE of AE, like in a Photoshop file that you imported into AE? If so, then any compositions that use that Photoshop file will reflect those changes.

When you want to work in the duplicated comp, be sure to double click on it in the Project window (so that you’re not working on the original comp).

Other than that, I’m not sure why changes to Comp B would affect Comp A.

[Jarvz Pa]

yes I’m sure

[Robert Kuns]

Actually this is pretty common. I’m in CS4 and it’s really annoying. I want to copy a comp and have ALL THE PARTS within the NEW COMP independent of the ONES in the OLD COMP. However, I duplicate the comp, then go in and change things in the duplicate and it inevitably changes things in the OLD COMP. If I want to add one simple thing I have to rebuild a comp entirely instead of just copying. Don’t know how to fix.

RK

[Robert Kuns]

Thanks. It’s too bad that you just can’t duplicate and have everything independent. The problem I’ve found, is when NESTED COMPS or PRECOMPS are in a comp and then you duplicate that COMP. All independent layers you can adjust, but once you adjust anything in the precomp stuff it effects all other COMPS with the same PRECOMPS in it. Any way around that?

RK

[Franco Strobbia]

I think that you are missing something…
When you say that copy a comp, I think that you are copying a layer.
Pay attention to separate what a comp is, and that comp working as a layer.

If you select your Comp1 in the timeline and duplicate it, then you haven’t a second comp. You have the same comp working as two layers.

But if you select the Comp1 in the bin project and duplicate it, you have a Comp2 and then you drop it to timeline. In this way you have 2 ‘real’ comps independently.
You can change all the content of the Comp2 without any change in the Comp1.

Ok, now suppouse that you have in the bin project a Comp1 and a independent copy called Comp2.
And in the MainComp timeline have only the Comp1 (is working as a layer) with some settings.
Then you want to have there the Comp2 with the same settings,attributes, keyframes, etc of the Comp1.
So, you duplicate your Comp1 IN timeline (like you are doing right now, making a duplicate of the layer, not creating a new comp) and then replace it by your Comp2.
You just need to drop your Comp2 from the bin to the Comp2 in the timeline maintaining pressed alt.
That will replace the content of the layer (and your content is a comp), but will maintain the adjustments.
Sorry about my english, I wish this words helps you.

[Matthew Szewczyk]

Thanks Franco. You’re distinction is spot on and fixed my problem!!!

[Umar Zia]

It helped me out…thanks man

[Srinivasan Venkat]

here in my case i want to run both comp1 and comp 2 that is duplicated from from comp1 in bin to run in the same timeline one after the other. i just want to change text from comp1, but when i duplicate it from bin, it redirects me to comp1. how can i do changes in comp2 and comp1 to remain unchanged?

[Lou Ruiz]

I was having difficulty with this as well, I searched the internet and found out that I had to duplicate the comp in the project bin and not in the layer; doing so still resulted in the same problem, till i realized that I had other precomps inside this duplicated comp.

So, I duplicated those comps and well, and replaced them inside the new duplicated comp, and it worked! Would be nice if there were a way to duplicate the main comp container and have it automatically create duplicates of any precomps that resides inside it.