> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tackstudio.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> A brand new pre-comping experience.

Pre-composing has been an essential part of After Effects forever, but it hasn't really been updated since the beginning. You guessed it, we've given it a complete overhaul with auto-cropping, padding and a whole bunch of new stuff to boot.

Pre-compose Pro is a plugin so it appears in the Layer menu, right below the old Pre-compose button. You'll never need to use the old and outdated Pre-compose ever again!

## Key features

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Smart naming" icon="case-sensitive" href="/precompose-pro/naming">
    Build names from placeholders (`[c]` comp name, `[l]` layer name, `[#]` auto-incrementing index), plus an automatic prefix and suffix.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Adjust duration to content" icon="timer" href="/precompose-pro/using-the-dialog#adjust-composition-duration">
    Trim the new composition to the time span of the layers inside it, instead of inheriting the parent comp’s full duration.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Crop to content" icon="crop" href="/precompose-pro/cropping">
    Resize the new composition to fit its visible content, at the current time or across the whole duration, with optional padding.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pre-compose layers separately" icon="layers" href="/precompose-pro/using-the-dialog#pre-compose-all-layers-separately">
    Turn each selected layer into its own pre-comp in one go.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set the label color" icon="tag" href="/precompose-pro/using-the-dialog#set-composition-label">
    Assign the new pre-comp layer a label in the same step, using your actual label names and colors.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Take over the native shortcut" icon="keyboard" href="/precompose-pro/settings-and-shortcuts#keyboard-shortcut">
    Optionally rebind **Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+C** so Pre-compose Pro opens instead of the native dialog.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Everything runs as a single undoable step, and the dialog remembers all of your choices for next time.

## Requirements

<Callout icon="lightbulb" color="#F05F3F">
  Unlike our panel-based tools, Pre-compose Pro is a native plugin. It lives in the **Layer** menu, not **Window > Extensions**.
</Callout>

* After Effects version 24.4 or later
* An active Pre-compose Pro license, activated through the Tack Studio app (see [Installing tools](/the-app/installing-tools))