The editor
Starting after another element
Keyframes are in absolute milliseconds, so without links, retiming a sequence means dragging everything after the change. A link says it once (this starts when that ends, 80ms later), and the timeline keeps it true as you move things.
- Making one
- Select an element, then use ⌘K “Start after…” or the link button on its row in the timeline. Choose what it follows, the point on it (its start, its end, or part way through) and an offset. The offset starts at whatever keeps the element exactly where it is, so making a link never moves anything. The dashed line on the row runs from that point to the element’s first keyframe.
- What it keeps true
- Move the element it follows (drag its last keyframe later, stretch it, retime it) and the linked element moves with it, every track together with its spacing kept. So does anything that follows that. One undo takes back the move and everything it moved.
- What it doesn’t do
- Moving the linked element’s own first keyframes changes its offset, not the link: it stays where you put it and keeps following from there. Links are between elements, so one keyframe can’t follow another yet. Links don’t change the export, which writes the times the timeline shows.
- What it refuses
- An element following itself, following part of itself (a picked child of its own component), or closing a loop through other elements. Each is refused with a message saying why. Delete the element something follows and the follower stops following, keeping its times. ⌘K “Stop following” does the same on purpose.