Use composition-time markers and layer-time markers to mark important times in a composition or in a specific layer. Both kinds of markers can hold the same information, but composition-time markers appear in the time ruler for the entire composition, whereas layer-time markers appear on a specific layer duration bar.

When you render a composition that contains markers, the markers can be converted to web links, chapter links, Flash Video cue points, or Clip Notes comments, depending on the values that you set in the marker dialog box. The default comment for a composition-time marker is a number, whereas the default comment for a layer-time marker is nothing.

To view a video tutorial on working with markers and cue points, visit the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/vid0255.

Markers make it easier to align layers or the current-time indicator with specific points in time: When you drag a keyframe, the current-time indicator, or a layer duration bar in the Timeline panel, hold down Shift to snap these items to markers.

A marker that contains data other than a comment has a small dot in its icon.

A.

Composition-time marker

B.

Composition-time marker with cue-point data

C.

Layer-time marker

D.

Layer-time marker with cue-point data

If you add one composition to another, the original composition becomes a layer in the composition. All of the nested composition’s composition-time markers become layer-time markers in the timeline of the parent composition. These markers are not linked to the original composition-time markers. Changes you make to the composition-time markers in the original composition do not affect layer-time markers in the nested composition. For example, if you remove one of the original composition-time markers, the corresponding layer-time marker for the nested composition remains in place.