Component edit mode and nesting
How opening a component works like a precomp: its own clock and lanes, a path of levels, and edits that reach every copy.
A component is a small scene of its own: its own box, its own duration and its own layers. Instances place it in the main scene on their own clock. When you open a component, EaseKit swaps the stage and timeline over to that small scene, like opening a precomp in After Effects. Components can contain instances of other components, so you can go several levels deep.
The levels
Think of a stack. The main scene is level 0. Opening a card instance puts the Card component on top; opening a button inside it puts Button on top of that. The timeline header shows the stack as a path:
‹ Main timeline › ◆ Card › ◆ Button
- The last item is where you are. The timeline shows that component's own clock and lanes.
- Earlier items are buttons: click Card to go back one level.
- ‹ Main timeline goes all the way back to the scene.
- In a narrow timeline, the middle folds into “…”.
Going in and out
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Open a component | Double-click an instance on the stage, its lane or its clip in the timeline; or select it and press ⌘↓ (Stage → Open Component) |
| Go one level deeper | Inside a component, double-click a nested instance |
| Go up one level | ⌘↑ (Stage → Back to Parent), esc with nothing selected, or Done in the stage pill |
| Go back to the scene | ‹ Main timeline in the path |
| Open from the library | Double-click a component in Stage → Show Components |
What edits do
Edits at any depth are written back through every level, so they reach every copy everywhere. Change the button while you're inside the card, and every button in every card, and every button placed directly in the scene, follows.
- Undo works across levels as usual: one history with the scene.
- Apply saves the whole scene as a version and keeps the same path open.
- A new version from somewhere else (an AI answer, History) shows the scene again.
- Music belongs to the scene. To add music, press Done to leave the component first.
Instances and their clocks
An instance doesn't copy the component's keyframes; it plays the component on its own clock, with its own Start, Speed and Play mode (Once, Loop or Hold on one Frame). Opening the component shows its local time, starting at 0, not the scene time where the instance begins.
Each level keeps its own playhead for the session: go back up and down again, and every timeline resumes where you left it (playing if it was). A level you open for the first time starts at 0.
Safety rules
- A component can't be opened inside itself. If a component already contains an instance of itself somewhere down the path, double-clicking it goes back to the level where it's open.
- Swaps and nested instances that would make a component contain itself are refused, and the component list for a swap slot leaves those out.
- If an undo or a delete removes the component that's open, EaseKit closes it and shows the nearest level that still exists.