Stacked panel groups enable single-click access to panels, while your workspace remains clean and uncluttered. The feature is similar to the panels in Adobe Lightroom.

In a stacked panel group, panels are minimized to their tabs and are stacked vertically. If you click a panel tab, the panel expands.

You can use stacked panel groups to display and hide panels that typically appear along the right side of the After Effects workspace.

Creating a stacked panel group

Modifying panel arrangements

Drag a panel from the stacked group to a different part of the workspace.

Drag a panel to the right of the composition viewer.

Drag a panel to the top of the composition frame.

Expanding and minimizing panels in a stacked group

Expand or minimize panels simultaneously by holding the Command (Mac OS) or Control (Windows) key and clicking the tab of a minimized or expanded panel in that group.

Solo panels in stack

When you click a panel in a stacked panel group, the rest of the panels in that stacked panel group minimize to their tabs. This is called Solo mode. You can disable Solo mode to allow more than one panel in a stacked panel group.

Do either of the following to disable or enable Solo mode:

1. Hold the Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows) key and click a panel tab.
2. Click on the panel menu on the tab of any panel in the panel group. In the Panel Group Settings submenu, choose Solo Panels in Stack.