Unparent layer at certain frame???

[George Goodman]

Easiest thing to do would probably be to just split the layer (cmd-shft-d or ctrl-shft-d on pc) and unparent the second half. If you really wanted to do it via expression this might work:

Rather than parent the entire layer, just parent the position property and add an if/else parameter

On the position property of the child layer add this expression:

if (time<1) (thisComp.layer(“Purple Solid 1”).transform.position – [100,100]) else transform.position

Change the value of time to the time you want it to stop following the the parent layer. Change the part in quotations to the appropriate name of the parent layer. Change the [100,50] to the difference in value.

You’ll want to place the child layer where it should be at the time you want it to stop following. This expression is saying “be the same as the parent layer position minus 100px on the x value and minus 50px on the y value” also “only work before time is 1 second, otherwise reference whatever keyframes are in the child layer position property.”

There is probably a better expression than this, but it would work.

Anyway, just split the layer, ha, it’s better.

“|_ (°_0) _|”

Sincerely,

George

[Daniele De luca]

There’s also a way to unparent with expression. In some cases that gives you more freedom to manipulate the layer, more than splitting the layer. You only have to put this fix function on the position of the parented layer. When you call it you have to specify the absolute position (that can be keyframed if you use “value” as input) and the layer that you want to unparent, e.g. : fix ( value , thisLayer).

function fix ( pos , layer ) {
if (layer.hasParent) {
var p=layer.parent;
pos = fix ( pos , p );
var rp = degreesToRadians(p.rotation);
var delta = pos - p.position;
var s = p.scale / 100;
delta = [ delta[0] / s[0] , delta[1] / s[1] ];
rad = Math.sqrt ( delta[0]*delta[0] + delta[1]*delta[1] );
if (delta[1] != 0) ang = Math.atan (delta[0]/delta[1]) else ang = Math.PI/2;
dx = Math.sin (ang+rp) * rad;
dy = Math.cos (ang+rp) * rad;
if (delta[1]<0) {dx=-dx; dy=-dy};
return [dx,dy] + p.anchorPoint;
}
else return pos;
}

[Jordan Santiago]

Hey there, just wanted to post another resource in case anyone else is having the same problem.

I was looking for a way to dynamically switch between having one layer be parented to something and then turning it off.
With this tutorial, you can do just that.

No “if/else” expression required, you turn it on/off with a slider.

https://vimeo.com/48790227

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