Is this something or nothing?
We try to use native Ae functionality whenever possible. Unfortunately, Nulls tend to clog up project files (especially when sharing with teammates), and that's giant bummer.
Void started as a replacement for Nulls, but it turned into so much more.
The null layer plague. Following projects through time. Be free of the past.
Available for free 😚
For a layer that is supposed to be less than nothing, Void does a whole lot of things that Nulls cannot. Use it for a lot of things.
Take control of selected layers, effects, and rigs like never before.
power in simplicity
New Void
The way Void layers are created depends entirely on what you have selected in your Ae timeline.
Nothing selected - Void at comp center
One layer - Void becomes the parent and takes the layer's Position/Rotation/Scale zeroing out the transforms of the layer
Optional checkboxes to disable zeroing Scale or Rotation
2+ layers - Void becomes the parent at the mid-point of the layers
Transform keyframes - Select a layer's Position, Scale, or Rotation properties and the keyframes will be transferred to the new Void layer.
2D position properties - The selected property is expression linked to a Void and the Void is parented to the layer. Supported properties:
Position inside a shape layer
Shape layer gradient end points
Puppet pin
Effect position (Gradients)
Path - Path to Void (like the native script Path to Nulls but with Voids)
Keyboard modifiers
Shift - Create Void at comp center regardless of selection
great for slow scaling a bunch of elements
Alt/Option - Zero layer
Create Voids for each layer
Zero out the transforms of selected layers
Move the Void to the bottom of the layer stack
Hide/shy/lock the Void
Shift + Alt/Option (with multiple layers selected) - Creates a Void as a parent for each selected layer rather than a single layer at the midpoint
Visibility
Show/hide the outline on new Void layers depending on your own preferences. Disabling visibility will remove the expressions used to draw the Void layer bounding box. This might shave off a few milliseconds of render time.
Volume and Variant
New Variant - Create a shape layer that acts like an adjustment layer. Placing effects and plugins on a Variant will affect all the layer’s below it
New Volume - Create a shape layer that acts like a solid and is filled with a solid color.
Be aware that some effects like to be on footage layers rather than shape layers in order to have real coordinates rather than vectors that redraw constantly to be resolution independent.
