Select, move, and fine-tune keyframes.
A keyframe is a point that records what a value is at a given time. On the timeline, you select points to move them in time and change their values. In the Motion panel, you choose how things move until the next keyframe.
Select, move, edit, and delete keyframes
Start in Animation mode with an object that has keyframes. If you don’t have one yet, see Your first animation first.
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Select keyframes
Click a keyframe dot on the timeline. The dot is selected, and the playhead moves to its time. To select more than one, hold ⇧ and click, or drag from an empty spot in the rows to draw a box around them.
Clicking a dot moves the playhead to its time, and the circle shows where it is at that time. Video: Clicking the dot at 0.5 seconds in the Ellipse 1 row marks it as selected, moves the playhead to 0.5 seconds, and shows the circle in its spot on the right. -
Change the time
Drag the selected dot left or right. A dot on an object row moves all the keyframes at that time, and a diamond on a property row moves only that one value. To expand the property rows, click the arrow to the left of an object’s name. Hold ⇧ while you drag to snap to other keyframes, the playhead, and tick marks. Press ← or → to move one frame at a time.
After the last dot is dragged to a later time, the circle moves more slowly when it plays again. Video: Dragging the dot at 0.5 seconds in the Ellipse 1 row to 0.8 seconds stretches the row’s bar out to 0.8 seconds. -
Change the value
Click the keyframe dot whose value you want to change. The playhead moves to its time. After you move a dot, the playhead doesn’t follow it, so click the dot once more. At that time, move the object on the canvas, or select the object and change a value in the right panel. The new value goes into that keyframe, and the curve you set stays as it is.
With the playhead on the last keyframe, moving the circle down changes where the motion ends. Video: The playhead sits on the 0.5-second keyframe (placed there by clicking its dot), and the circle is moved down. When it plays again, the circle moves to its new end spot at the bottom right. -
Delete keyframes
With keyframes selected, press Delete. The dots disappear. Once you delete a value’s last keyframe, that value no longer moves.
Deleting the 0.5-second keyframe removes the bar, and the circle goes back to where it started. Video: Selecting the 0.5-second keyframe and pressing Delete removes the dot and the bar from the Ellipse 1 row, and the circle goes back to where it started.
Pressing Delete with no keyframe selected deletes the object
Delete deletes the selected keyframes if there are any, and otherwise deletes the selected object. Keyframes are no longer selected after you delete keyframes, click an empty spot in the rows, or select another object. Before you press it, check that a dot is selected. If you delete the wrong thing, press ⌘Z to undo.
Choose the motion to the next keyframe
Each keyframe has one curve, used from that keyframe to the next. New keyframes start with easing that sets off gently and slows to a stop.
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Open the Motion panel
Double-click the earlier keyframe dot, where the motion starts. The Motion - Keyframe panel opens and shows the current curve. To change several keyframes at once, select them all, right-click one of the dots, and choose Edit Motion. Double-clicking leaves only that one dot selected.
Double-clicking the first dot opens the Motion - Keyframe panel with its curve. Video: Double-clicking the dot at 0 seconds in the Ellipse 1 row opens the Motion - Keyframe panel at the top right, showing the current curve. -
Choose the motion
Choose Easing, Spring, or Step. Easing sets the speed with a curve. Spring settles into place with a bounce. Step holds the value, then changes it all at once at the next keyframe. You can also pick a named curve from Templates.
Clicking Spring changes the curve to one that overshoots the end and comes back, and the Stiffness, Damping, and Mass fields appear. Video: In the open Motion - Keyframe panel, clicking Spring changes the curve to one that overshoots the end and comes back, and the Stiffness, Damping, and Mass fields appear. -
Apply it
Click Apply. The new motion goes into all the selected keyframes. In the timeline’s button row, click Jump to start. Press Space. It plays with the new motion.
With the spring applied, the circle overshoots its end spot on playback and bounces back. Video: After Apply is clicked in the Motion - Keyframe panel, then Jump to start, and Space is pressed to play, the circle overshoots its end spot and bounces back.
Values you can keyframe
| Value | Property row name | Between keyframes |
|---|---|---|
| Position · rotation · scale · skew · anchor · depth · perspective | “Position X” · “Rotation Z” · “Scale X” … | Each axis changes smoothly on its own, following the curve. |
| Width · height | “Width” · “Height” | The actual size changes. Resizing with a corner handle records these values. Groups, tables, and text set to Auto Size don’t have them. |
| Opacity | “Opacity” | Changes smoothly between 0 and 100%. |
| Fills · strokes · effects | “Fill 1” · “Stroke 1” · “Effect 1” | Each item changes on its own, with colors and numbers blending. Adding or removing a fill, stroke, or effect changes the object itself, not a keyframe. |
| Corner radius · inner radius | “Radius TL” … · “Inner Radius” | Each corner changes smoothly on its own. |
| Text content | “Text” | Doesn’t blend: it changes all at once at the next keyframe’s time. |
| Path shape | “Points” | The shape changes smoothly only when the number and makeup of the points match. Move points instead of adding or removing them. |
| Distort | “Distort” | All four corners change smoothly together. |
| Volume (video · audio) | “Volume” | Changes smoothly. |
| Scene background | “Style” in the scene row | The scene’s fills and effects change together. |
Copy and repeat keyframes
With keyframes selected, press ⌘C to copy them. Click the ruler to move the playhead, then press ⌘V to paste. Hold ⇧ as you click to snap the playhead exactly to a tick mark. The keyframes go onto the same values of the same object, starting at the playhead’s time with their original spacing. Keyframes already at those times are replaced by the pasted ones.
⌘D duplicates the selected keyframes one frame later and selects the copies. Then drag them into place. The same commands are in the menu when you right-click a dot.
Other ways to make keyframes
Keyframe a single value. Click the diamond at the end of a value field in the right panel to keyframe just that value as it is now. Click it again to remove the keyframe. If that value’s first keyframe goes somewhere other than 0 seconds, another one appears at 0 seconds with the original value. The diamond sits inside the field, so click the number when you want to type a value.
The current look, all at once. In the timeline’s button row, click the Add key button, a diamond with a + cut out of it. Each moving value of the selected object gets a keyframe with its current value. Use it to hold things still for a moment before the next move.
To fix only the layout. Just left of Add key, turn off the Auto-keyframe button, the diamond with a round hole. Values without keyframes then change the object itself. Values that already have keyframes are still recorded at the playhead, even with it off.
Shortcuts on this page
| Move the playhead to the previous keyframe | J |
|---|---|
| Move the playhead to the next keyframe | K |
| Move the selected keyframes one frame at a time | ←or→ |
| Duplicate one frame later | ⌘D |
| Delete the selected keyframes | Delete |
| Select all keyframes on the timeline (after clicking the timeline) | ⌘A |
Updated 10/15/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.