Pre-Compose with Attributes
MotionLab's Pre-Compose button mirrors AE's native dialog — name the new composition, choose to leave or move attributes, open the new comp — and automatically applies your chosen layer-label color so pre-comps stay visually organized.
The dialog
Clicking Pre-Compose in the Main tab opens a centered dialog with three controls:
- New composition name — defaults to the selected layer's name (or a smart default if multiple layers are selected).
- Leave / Move attributes radio (when a single layer is selected) — same options as AE's native dialog.
- Open new composition checkbox — controls whether the new comp opens in the timeline after creation.
Leave vs Move — which one?
Leave all attributes
Use when the layer has effects, masks, or transforms that need to stay outside the new comp. The pre-comp container keeps the effects on its own layer; the source goes inside the new comp untouched.
When to pick: grouping clips together for a transition without baking in their effects.
Move all attributes
Use when you want the effects, masks, and transforms to live inside the new comp so it can be reused or nested elsewhere with the look intact.
When to pick: creating a reusable styled element, baking a treatment.
Set the label color once
The new pre-comp layer (and the FootageItem in your Project panel) get the AE label color configured in Settings → Appearance → Layer Label Colors → Pre-Comp. Pick a color once and every pre-comp from then on inherits it — no more manual right-click → Label.
Undo
The entire pre-compose operation wraps in a single AE undo group named "MotionLab: Pre-Compose". Cmd/Ctrl + Z reverts it in one shot, including the label color application.