Apply behaviors overview

Most behaviors are applied to objects in the Canvas, Layers list, or Timeline. However, the Parameter category of behaviors are applied in the Inspector to a specific parameter you want to animate.

Important: Text, Particles, Replicator, Audio, Shape, and Camera behaviors should only be applied to their namesake objects.

When you apply a behavior to an object, the object parameters affected by that behavior are animated based on the behavior’s default settings. For example, if you apply the Gravity behavior to an object in the Canvas, that object’s position is animated and it moves down, according to the Gravity behavior’s default setting. In most cases, a behavior’s duration is the Timeline duration of the object to which it is applied (the length of the bar in the Timeline track area). For example, if you apply a Spin behavior to an object that begins at frame 20 and ends at frame 300, the Spin behavior’s duration is also frame 20 to frame 300.

Not all behaviors automatically apply motion to an object. Some behaviors, such as Throw, require you to set the throw velocity before the object is “thrown.” Other behaviors, such as Orbit Around, require a source object to act as the central object for other objects to move around.

In addition to applying behaviors to objects, you can apply behaviors to groups in the Layers list or Timeline. Depending on the applied behavior, all objects nested in that group are affected in one of two ways: as if they were a single object or as individual elements.