How to use?

  1. Choose the scope: the layers you selected, or every layer in the comp
  2. Click one of the five buttons
  3. To change which colors are used, open Colors Options and tick the ones you want
  4. To change the color a layer type gets, open Colors by Type and click that type's swatch

Scope

  • Selected Layers: Works on the layers you selected. It asks you to select some if nothing is selected
  • All Layers in Comp: Works on every layer in the active composition, whatever is selected

Buttons

  • Unique Colors: Gives every layer a different color, moving through your chosen colors and starting again when they run out
  • By Hierarchy: Gives every family one color. A layer takes the color of the layer at the top of its parent chain, so parents, children and grandchildren match. A layer with no parent and no children is its own family. If the top of the chain is outside the scope, its current color is used
  • By Type: Gives each kind of layer the color set for it in Colors by Type: text, shape, null, solid, adjustment, precomp, video, still, audio, camera, light, guide, 3D model and 3D mesh
  • By Name: Gives layers with the same name one color. Case, trailing numbers and copy suffixes are ignored, so "Title", "Title 2" and "Title copy 3" all match
  • Track Matte Pairs: Gives each track matte and every layer that uses it one color. Selecting any layer of a pair colors the whole pair

Colors Options

  • Swatches: Tick the label colors the four color modes may use. They are your own label colors and names from Preferences > Labels
  • All / None: Ticks or unticks every color
  • Shuffle colors: Unique Colors hands the colors out in a random order, so a second click gives a new arrangement

Note

💡 With fewer than two colors ticked, the four color modes are switched off, since they need at least two colors to tell layers apart. By Type keeps working: it has its own colors

Colors by Type

  • Swatches: Click the swatch next to a layer type to give it another color, or None
  • A white dot: Two or more types share that color. The header counts them, and the tooltip says which types
  • From AE: Copies your Label Defaults from Preferences > Labels. Guide keeps its color, since AE has no guide default
  • Reset: Gives every type its own color again

Note

💡 A guide layer always takes the Guide color, whatever it is made of, and a shape or text layer with the Adjustment switch on counts as an adjustment layer