Each preview mode provides a different balance between quality and speed for playback and for updating of images during editing and other interactions.

Draft 3D and Live Update modes apply to all views of a composition.

Draft 3D

Disables lights, shadows, and cameras’ depth-of-field blur. To turn Draft 3D mode on or off, click the Draft 3D button at the top of the Timeline panel.

Live Update

Updates video in the Composition or Layer panel during editing and other interactions. When Live Update is deselected, After Effects displays wireframe representations during edits, such as dragging a layer in the Composition panel or modifying a property value in the Timeline panel. To turn Live Update mode on or off, click the Live Update button , at the top of the Timeline panel.

To temporarily toggle Live Update mode, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while dragging to move a layer, modify a property value, or move the current-time indicator.

Fast Previews

You can use a different Fast Previews mode for each view in the Composition panel. For example, in a 4 Views layout, you could use OpenGL for the Active Camera view and Wireframe for Left, Right, and Top views. Click the Fast Previews button , at the bottom of the Composition panel to set Fast Previews preferences or choose from the following Fast Previews modes:

Wireframe

Represents each layer as a wireframe outline, which increases playback speed and allows you to quickly reposition a layer with a high resolution or several effects applied.

Adaptive Resolution

Decreases the preview resolution of layers when necessary to maintain speed of updating of images during editing and other interactions. The Adaptive Resolution Limit option in the Fast Previews preferences category specifies the maximum reduction in resolution to use.

OpenGL-Interactive or OpenGL-Always On

OpenGL mode provides high-quality previews that require less rendering time than other playback modes. OpenGL can also be used to speed up rendering to final output. OpenGL features in After Effects rely on OpenGL features of your video hardware. When OpenGL does not support a feature, it simply creates a preview without using that feature. For example, if your layers contain shadows and your OpenGL hardware does not support shadows, the preview will not contain shadows. Select OpenGL-Interactive to use OpenGL only for interactions, such as manually previewing (scrubbing) in the Timeline panel or dragging a layer in the Composition panel. You can tell that OpenGL is engaging by looking at the Fast Previews icon, which will light up. Select OpenGL-Always On to use OpenGL for all previews. In this mode, “OpenGL” will appear in the upper-left corner of each view in the Composition panel.

Note: The Enable OpenGL option in the Fast Previews preferences category must be selected for you to use OpenGL.