Timeline panel controls and features

Consult this reference when you need to identify specific Timeline panel controls, understand the differences between frame and timeline animation modes, or verify control functions for animation workflows.

The Timeline panel (Window > Timeline) supports two distinct animation modes: frame mode for creating frame-by-frame animations with discrete states, and timeline mode for creating keyframe-based animations with continuous properties. Each mode provides specialized controls optimized for its animation approach.

Panel structure

Both animation modes share a common panel structure with mode-specific controls. The panel menu (accessible via the menu icon in the upper-right corner) provides additional commands for editing frame or timeline durations and configuring panel display options.

In timeline mode, the Timeline panel synchronizes with the Layers panel. When you add, delete, rename, group, duplicate, or change a layer's color in either panel, the change updates in both locations. When animated layers are grouped as a Smart Object, the animation information from the Timeline panel is stored within the Smart Object.

Frame mode controls

Frame animation mode displays thumbnails of individual frames in a horizontal sequence. Each frame represents a distinct state of your layer composition.

Timeline mode controls

In timeline animation mode, each document layer (except the background layer) is displayed as a horizontal track with expandable properties. The timeline ruler shows duration, and layer duration bars indicate each layer's active time range.

Comments track operations

The comments track in timeline mode supports text annotations at specific positions along the timeline.

Add a comment:

1. Position the current-time indicator at the desired location
2. Choose Edit Timeline Comment from the Panel menu
3. Enter comment text

View comments:

• Hover over comment icons to display text as tooltips
• Double-click icons to edit existing comments

Navigate comments:

• Select the Go To Previous button at the left edge of the Comments track
• Select the Go To Next button at the left edge of the Comments track

Export comments:

• Choose Export Timeline Comments from the Panel menu to create an HTML table listing timecodes, frame numbers, and text

Panel customization

Thumbnail size

Control the size of frame thumbnails or layer track heights:

1. Choose Panel Options from the Timeline panel menu
2. Select thumbnail size option (Small, Medium, Large)
3. In timeline mode, select None to display only layer names without thumbnails

Timeline units

Display the timeline ruler in either frame numbers or timecode format:

Method 1:

1. Choose Panel Options from the Timeline panel menu
2. Select Frame Numbers or Timecode

Method 2:

• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (macOS) the current-time display in the upper-left corner to toggle between formats

Layer visibility in timeline

By default, all document layers appear as tracks in timeline mode. To display only a subset of layers:

1. Select one or more layers in the Timeline panel
2. Choose Show > Set Favorite Layers from the Panel menu
3. Choose Show from the Panel menu
4. Select either All Layers or Favorite Layers

Mode conversion

Switch between frame and timeline animation modes using any of these methods:

• Select the Convert To Frame Animation icon in timeline mode
• Select the Convert To Timeline Animation icon in frame mode
• Choose Convert To Frame Animation or Convert To Timeline from the Panel menu