Looping a composition

[La...@adobeforums.com]

Should be simple enough, but I can't seem to figure out how to loop a composition using expressions (...Or any other method, if there are any). Example: I have a comp that consists of one cycle of some animation. I bring it into the main comp, but I want it to play continuously (looping), rather than animating repeating keyframes or having multiple sequenced instances of the animation comp in the main timeline.

I'm assuming you use the loopIn command (or similar one)... but I can't seem to get it to work. Do you put it in the instance of the animation comp in the main comp, or in the animation comp (...the comp with the one cycle)? What is the full coding for making a comp (or even a layer) loop infinitely?

The manual doesn't seem to explain it well, and I can't find anything on it online.

Thanks...

[Aaron...@adobeforums.com]

Put the comp you want to loop into a longer comp, enable time remapping, move the outpoint to where you want it, add a keyframe one frame before the last keyframe, delete the last keyframe, and then apply the following expression to time remapping:

loopOut(type = "cycle", numKeyframes = 0)

[La...@adobeforums.com]

Ahhhhh... I didn't know about the time remap thing. Excellent. I'll tray that out. Thanks, Aaron

[Aaron...@adobeforums.com]

One warning: this might do some funny things on the last frame of the cycle if you have motion blur enabled.

[-st...@adobeforums.com]

Hey Aaron, is there any difference between the expression you posted and:

loopOut("cycle")

?
Is the latter used only when you apply it to a layer that has 2 time-remapping keyframes?

-stev=o

[Dan_E...@adobeforums.com]

loopOut(type = "cycle", numKeyframes = 0) is the way it appears in the User Guide, but the default for numKeyframes is 0. So both expressions are equivalent.

Dan

[-st...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks!

-stev=o

[Aaron...@adobeforums.com]

I just copied that syntax from the Expressions popup menu.