<p>Here's another trick worth knowing that will do the job without any third party software.</p>

<p>To quickly duplicate your layers: first set the label colour to something you haven't used in your comp. duplicate it, and then click on the label and choose <strong>Select Layer Group</strong>, duplicate the selected layers to create four layers. Repeat and you'll have eight, sixteen, thirty two, sixty four and so on. You'll end up with more layers than is feasible in no time at all.</p>

<p>To offset all your layers by <em>n</em> frames: select them all and align their in-points to the same frame by hitting <kbd>[</kbd> – if they're not already aligned. Now go to the <em>n</em>th frame of the layers (e.g. to offset the layers by one go to the first frame), and hit <strong><kbd>Alt/Option</kbd>+<kbd>]</kbd></strong> to make all the layers <em>n</em> frames long. Now right-click (or from the <em>Animation</em> menu) choose <strong>Keyframe Assistant>Sequence Layers</strong>. <em>Don't</em> check the <strong>Overlap</strong> box. Now all your layers will be offset by <em>n</em> frames. You can then go to the end of the comp and hit <kbd>Alt/Option</kbd>+<kbd>]</kbd> to trim them all back to the full length again, or select them all and drag out their end points to the desired length.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-30T12:33:52.643Z
2015-09-07T07:06:04.910Z
2015-09-07T07:06:04.910Z
stib
<p>One other thing to add. On the Layer Repeater plugin you can offset your animation in time as well. So you could do the same thing by animating the opacity of the 1st layer, and that will get offset in time to the rest of the layers.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-13T04:01:25.060Z
2012-12-13T04:01:25.060Z
Adam K
<p>You could also use the <a href="http://www.redgiant.com/products/all/trapcode-echospace/" rel="nofollow">Trapcode Echospace</a> plugin to achieve the same kind of thing</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-30T11:51:32.823Z
2014-12-30T11:51:32.823Z
tomh
<p>Check the <a href="http://aescripts.com/array/">Array</a> script on <a href="http://aescripts.com">aescripts.com</a> website. It duplicates your layer in desired numbers and has more control for offsetting the properties like position, scale, rotation as well as time. It is really easy to use and has many great built in functions for creating really good looking and creative motion graphics. Especially for your case, playing around with the script might function as a brainstorm tool to create new looks. Just watch the provided tutorial video to see the features.</p>

<p>By default, AEScripts website will set a price but you can "Name your own price" for this particular script. Just register with the website and type zero in the price field and add to cart.</p>

<p>My personal thought on the pricing, if you are using the script in a commercial project, it is always a good thing to pay some amount for it. As this is a great and creative tool, it deserves some donations, think it as a tip. It is not compulsory but a way of showing appreciation.</p>

<p>By the way, check the other scripts on the website, it is a gold mine. There are lots of great tools to speed your workflow.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-04T02:24:37.200Z
Although you *can* pay zero money for it, it might be worth slinging the developer a cup of coffee if it helps you out, so that said developer continues to make useful scripts for everyone.
stib
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-05T12:18:27.400Z
@stib absolutely.
Inan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-27T21:36:12.247Z
Thank you for this reply! I already saw aescripts and some plugins like Layer Repeater but I don't know we can set any price! To test it, that's perfect. Thank you ;)
flks
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-27T21:42:41.817Z
But, with Array, I don't know if I can offset the frame position in the timeline and not with X, Y or Z positions…
flks
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-28T07:46:12.190Z
In the tutorial video, [around 3:07](http://youtu.be/fosi3b1tIqM?t=3m7s), the script does that as well, isn't that what you are looking for?
Inan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-28T12:24:53.097Z
That's exa-ct-ly that. Thank you so much for your tips!  'will save a lot of time !
flks
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-29T19:11:05.703Z
Glad it works for you.
Inan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-27T20:44:54.740Z
2012-11-27T20:44:54.740Z
Inan
<p>I do a lightpainting video on After Effects (CS6 here) where I duplicate my layert to create continuous lines based on a moving light. I have a lot of comps to do and many layers to duplicate, then I search a solution to avoid this boring task…</p>

<p>If you knows a script or something else which <strong>duplicates a layer X times and moves it 1 frame everytime</strong> (like stairs), it would be very welcomed!</p>

<p>Here is a screenshot of the current (but working) solution, by hand:</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/aEbOv.jpg" alt=""></p>

<video><after-effects>
Duplicate layers X times and move 1 frame each time
flks
# Duplicate layers X times and move 1 frame each time

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-11-27)

I do a lightpainting video on After Effects (CS6 here) where I duplicate my layert to create continuous lines based on a moving light. I have a lot of comps to do and many layers to duplicate, then I search a solution to avoid this boring task…

If you knows a script or something else which **duplicates a layer X times and moves it 1 frame everytime** (like stairs), it would be very welcomed!

Here is a screenshot of the current (but working) solution, by hand:

![](https://i.sstatic.net/aEbOv.jpg)

**Tags:** video, after-effects


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2012-11-27. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

Check the [Array](http://aescripts.com/array/) script on [aescripts.com](http://aescripts.com) website. It duplicates your layer in desired numbers and has more control for offsetting the properties like position, scale, rotation as well as time. It is really easy to use and has many great built in functions for creating really good looking and creative motion graphics. Especially for your case, playing around with the script might function as a brainstorm tool to create new looks. Just watch the provided tutorial video to see the features.

By default, AEScripts website will set a price but you can "Name your own price" for this particular script. Just register with the website and type zero in the price field and add to cart.

My personal thought on the pricing, if you are using the script in a commercial project, it is always a good thing to pay some amount for it. As this is a great and creative tool, it deserves some donations, think it as a tip. It is not compulsory but a way of showing appreciation.

By the way, check the other scripts on the website, it is a gold mine. There are lots of great tools to speed your workflow.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for this reply! I already saw aescripts and some plugins like Layer Repeater but I don't know we can set any price! To test it, that's perfect. Thank you ;)  
> **username_0**: But, with Array, I don't know if I can offset the frame position in the timeline and not with X, Y or Z positions…  
> **username_4**: In the tutorial video, [around 3:07](http://youtu.be/fosi3b1tIqM?t=3m7s), the script does that as well, isn't that what you are looking for?  
> **username_0**: That's exa-ct-ly that. Thank you so much for your tips!  'will save a lot of time !  
> **username_4**: Glad it works for you.  
> **username_1**: Although you *can* pay zero money for it, it might be worth slinging the developer a cup of coffee if it helps you out, so that said developer continues to make useful scripts for everyone.  
> **username_4**: @username_1 absolutely.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-12-30. Score: 6

Here's another trick worth knowing that will do the job without any third party software.

To quickly duplicate your layers: first set the label colour to something you haven't used in your comp. duplicate it, and then click on the label and choose **Select Layer Group**, duplicate the selected layers to create four layers. Repeat and you'll have eight, sixteen, thirty two, sixty four and so on. You'll end up with more layers than is feasible in no time at all.

To offset all your layers by *n* frames: select them all and align their in-points to the same frame by hitting `[` – if they're not already aligned. Now go to the *n*th frame of the layers (e.g. to offset the layers by one go to the first frame), and hit **`Alt/Option`+`]`** to make all the layers *n* frames long. Now right-click (or from the *Animation* menu) choose **Keyframe Assistant>Sequence Layers**. *Don't* check the **Overlap** box. Now all your layers will be offset by *n* frames. You can then go to the end of the comp and hit `Alt/Option`+`]` to trim them all back to the full length again, or select them all and drag out their end points to the desired length.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2012-12-13. Score: 2

One other thing to add. On the Layer Repeater plugin you can offset your animation in time as well. So you could do the same thing by animating the opacity of the 1st layer, and that will get offset in time to the rest of the layers.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2014-12-30. Score: 1

You could also use the [Trapcode Echospace](http://www.redgiant.com/products/all/trapcode-echospace/) plugin to achieve the same kind of thing


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