Work with Library themes

Work with Library themes

Library themes help you organize projects that may share objects by allowing you to label specific objects with a default theme, such as Abstract, Nature, or Sci-Fi, or to assign objects to a custom theme. By default, some preset Library objects are assigned to a theme. For example, the Hypnotic particle emitter preset is in the Sci-Fi category.

Note: Library themes are different from the themes in the Themes pop-up menu of the Project Browser. Project Browser themes are applied to entire Motion projects and shared between Motion and Final Cut Pro X when creating templates. For more information on creating templates for Final Cut Pro, see Final Cut Pro templates overview.

Sort using the Theme pop-up menu

  • Select a category or subcategory in the Library sidebar, then choose a theme from the Theme pop-up menu.

    Items belonging to the chosen theme appear in the stack.

Create a new custom theme

  1. In the Library, below the preview area, choose New Theme from the Theme pop-up menu.

  2. In the Create New Theme dialog, type a theme name, then click OK.

    A new theme is added to the Library. New themes appear in the Theme pop-up menu.

    Custom themes are saved in the “themes” document in your /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Motion/Library/ folder.

Assign a theme to custom content

  • Control-click a custom item in the Library stack (such as a shape saved to the Favorites folder), choose Theme from the shortcut menu, then choose a theme from the submenu.

    An item must be saved in the Library before you can assign a theme. For more information, see Save custom objects to the Library.

    Items that can be assigned a theme include the following:

    • Replicators

    • Emitters

    • Shapes

    • Gradients

    • Text styles

    • Shape styles

    • Layers or groups

Note: You cannot assign a theme to behaviors, filters, fonts, images, image sequences, or movies.

Remove a custom theme

  1. Choose the theme to remove from the Theme pop-up menu.

    The Remove Theme item becomes available in the Theme pop-up menu.

  2. Choose Remove Theme from the Theme pop-up menu.

    The theme is removed from the list.

    Note: You can only remove custom themes.