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After Effects
Shy Bar
✨ Cut through the chaos — show, hide, and select only what matters, fast and in style.
NEW 1.2.0! ▸ Case-sensitive search ▸ Multi-label selection ▸ Custom buttons ▸ Support for AE 2025 themes.
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Trial
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EULAEND USER LICENSE AGREEMENT
This software ("the Software Product") and accompanying documentation is licensed and not sold. This Software Product is protected by copyright laws and treaties, as well as laws and treaties related to other forms of intellectual property. The author owns intellectual property rights in the Software Product. The Licensee's ("you" or "your") license to download, use, copy, or change the Software Product is subject to these rights and to all the terms and conditions of this End User License Agreement ("Agreement").
Acceptance
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This Agreement entitles you to install and use one copy of the Software Product. In addition, you may make one archival copy of the Software Product. The archival copy must be on a storage medium other than a hard drive, and may only be used for the reinstallation of the Software Product. This Agreement does not permit the installation or use of multiple copies of the Software Product, or the installation of the Software Product on more than one computer at any given time, on a system that allows shared used of applications, on a multi-user network, or on any configuration or system of computers that allows multiple users. Multiple copy use or installation is only allowed if you obtain an appropriate licensing agreement for each user and each copy of the Software Product.Restrictions on Transfer
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You may not use, copy, or install the Software Product on any system with more than one computer, or permit the use, copying, or installation of the Software Product by more than one user or on more than one computer. If you hold multiple, validly licensed copies, you may not use, copy, or install the Software Product on any system with more than the number of computers permitted by license, or permit the use, copying, or installation by more users, or on more computers than the number permitted by license.You may not decompile, "reverse-engineer", disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code for the Software Product.
Restrictions on Alteration
You may not modify the Software Product or create any derivative work of the Software Product or its accompanying documentation. Derivative works include but are not limited to translations. You may not alter any files or libraries in any portion of the Software Product.Restrictions on Copying
You may not copy any part of the Software Product except to the extent that licensed use inherently demands the creation of a temporary copy stored in computer memory and not permanently affixed on storage medium. You may make one archival copy which must be stored on a medium other than a computer hard drive.Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability
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This Agreement is governed by the laws of New York, without regard to New York's conflict or choice of law provisions.Severability
If any provision of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. To the extent any express or implied restrictions are not permitted by applicable laws, these express or implied restrictions shall remain in force and effect to the maximum extent permitted by such applicable laws.Updated: Oct 21, 2025 1:35 AM
SHYBAR
Your Timeline • Your Control
Unleash the full potential of your After Effects experience with Shy Bar. Shy Bar empowers you to take command of your timeline and composition like never before, offering a comprehensive suite of features designed to elevate your workflow and declutter your timeline.
✨The Magic Formula ✨
how what you need
ide what you don't
our timeline, simplified
rowse by type or name
ct fast, stay focused
edefine your workflow
The Powerful UI
Shy Bar boasts a fully responsive user interface, ensuring a seamless experience across various
workspaces.
Enjoy a clutter-free workspace with the ability to customize which buttons appear on
the
panel. Tailor Shy Bar to your needs, placing the buttons you use most at your fingertips.
- Text
- Solid
- Camera
- Light
- Null
- Shapes Window
- Precomps
- Audio Enabled Precomps new
- Adjustment
- Audio
- Audio Enabled new
- Image
- Video new
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- Missing Assests new
- Parents Window
- Selected Layers
- Selected Time and Later fixed
- Enabled Layers
- Solo Layers
- Locked Layers
- Guide Layers
- 3D Layers
- 3D Files new
- Layers With Masks
- Layers With Comments
- Layers With Markers
- Track Matte Window
- Layers With Effects
- Layers with Motion Blur
- Layers With Expressions
- Keyframes Window
- Label Colors Window
- Blending Modes Window
- Seeker Sleuth updated
- Solo Selected Layers
- Solo non Selected Layers
- Solo Up
- Solo Down
- Visible Layers At Composition Start
- Layers With Same Selected inPoint
- Layers Visible In Work Area
- Layers With Same Selected outPoint
- Layers With Same inPoint As CTI
- Layers Visible at CTI
- Layers With Same outPoint As CTI
- Visible Layers At Composition End
- Disable Filters Window
- Settings Window
Why Shy Bar?
Label Colors
Infuse vibrancy into your workspace! Explore the rich Label Color Window, letting you label your layers with a spectrum of hues for easy identification and organization.
Blending Modes
Elevate your visuals with our Fusion Modes window. Experiment with different blending modes to add depth and drama to your compositions, unlocking a realm of artistic possibilities.
Seeker Sleuth
Lost in layers? Fear not! The Seeker Sleuth window acts as your guiding spellbook, swiftly locating the elements you seek amidst the complexity of your project.
Custom Visibility
Tailor your timeline effortlessly. With Shy Bar, you can selectively reveal layers on the timeline or in the viewer, ensuring complete control over your composition.
Responsive UI
Experience a fluid interface that adapts to your needs.
Tailor your workspace by
selecting
which buttons to display on the panel, creating a personalized environment that matches your
workflow.
Advanced Layer Insight
Delve into layers by attributes such as masks, effects, markers, comments, and more.
Explore
layers based on their status at the current time, at the composition's start or end, ensuring
unparalleled visibility.
Keyframe Finesse
Navigate through your keyframes with finesse! The Keyframe Navigator window provides a quick access of your animation journey, allowing you to refine every keyframe with precision.
Matte Mastermind
Conquer complex matte tracking challenges with the Matte Tracking window. Elevate your compositions with seamless administration of mattes and achieve professional-grade visual effects.
Parents Management
Simplify your hierarchy with the parents window. Effortlessly link and control layers, achieving seamless animations and intricate designs.
Smart Time-Based Filters
Find layers based on their time – whether they're visible in the work area, present at the current time, or positioned at the composition's start or end.
Built for Creators
From motion designers to video editors, Shy Bar is tailored to fit any workflow. Its intuitive interface and powerful features adapt to your style, not the other way around.
More Power in Every Click
Right-click is the new shortcut. Switch functions, reveal hidden layers, open advanced panels—all with intuitive clicks that boost your efficiency.
Why You’ll Love It
Tame the Timeline Chaos. Shy Bar is your secret weapon for navigating complex After Effects projects. Say goodbye to cluttered timelines and hello to clarity — whether you're managing hundreds of layers or refining a single animation detail. Shy Bar streamlines your workflow, helps you stay creative under pressure, and gives you back control of your timeline — with precision, speed, and ease.
How It Works?
Click. Filter. Focus. Using Shy Bar is effortless. One click instantly reveals only the layers you need. Want to keep a few extra layers visible? Just hold Shift. It’s all about intuitive control: work smarter, not harder. Your timeline, your rules.
Selected Layers!
Seamlessly narrow your focus to selected layers, streamlining your workflow and amplifying your creative precision.
Add more layers!
Elevate your composition by seamlessly incorporating additional layers. Unlock creative possibilities with just a press of the Shift key, effortlessly expanding your focus beyond the initial selection.
Focus on your labeled layers!
Instantly spotlight layers based on their color labels, bringing clarity to your composition. Effortlessly streamline your workflow and focus on what truly matters.
Relabel your layers!
Effortlessly color-code and categorize your layers or keyframes, boosting efficiency and clarity.
The magic of 'Seeker Sleuth'
Effortlessly find and manage what you need by searching through layer names, effects, comments, markers, expressions, and composition markers by letters or words. Unlock a world of efficiency and precision at your fingertips.
Keyframes Window
Open a window and exclusively view layers with specific keyframe types. Effortlessly streamline your workflow and focus on the keyframes that matter.
Made For Creatives Like You
Motion Designers: Shy Bar brings order to chaos, making large compositions manageable.
Character Animators: Zero in on limbs, parts, or key details with surgical precision.
Content Creators & Editors: Quickly isolate audio layers, effects, missing files, and 3D elements.
Studios & Teams: Speed up reviews and collaboration by filtering timelines for clear feedback.
Trial Limitations
- Layer Selection:
You can view and select up to 5 layers at a time. Experience the essence of Shy Bar with a taste of its layer management prowess.
- Search Window:
In the search window, you're limited to entering just 3 search terms Just a glimpse of the search capabilities Shy Bar brings to the table.
Tips
Bonus tip: In window buttons, hold Shift to open them in floating window for more control on your workspace.
Tutorial
Master Shy Bar in Minutes. Watch this comprehensive tutorial to unlock the full potential of Shy Bar and revolutionize your After Effects workflow.
Get up and running with Shy Bar - See all the powerful features to transform your After Effects workflow.
Frequently Asked Questions
While After Effects' native shy function only hides layers you've manually marked as shy, Shy Bar takes timeline management to another level. It lets you instantly filter layers based on dozens of criteria like layer type, properties, timing, and even search terms. This means you can focus on exactly what you need without manually marking anything first.
Shy Bar is compatible with Adobe After Effects CC 2024 and newer versions. We regularly update the script to ensure compatibility with the latest After Effects releases.
Absolutely! Shy Bar features a fully customizable interface. You can show or hide any buttons from the panel through the Settings Window, allowing you to create a streamlined workspace with only the tools you use most frequently.
The easiest way to install and license Shy Bar is through the aescripts + aeplugins manager
To install a trial you can select Add Trial from the 'Account' menu.
Or you can install manually, here are the steps:
- Unzip the downloaded file from aescripts.
- Locate the file named Shy Bar.jsxbin.
- Copy Shy Bar.jsxbin to the ScriptUI Panels folder.
- If you prefer a label colors panel independent, copy Shy Bar - Labels.jsxbin to the ScriptUI Panels folder.
ScriptUI Panels Location:
For MacOS Users:
/Applications/Adobe After Effects (version)/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels
For Windows Users:
Program Files/Adobe/Adobe After Effects (version)/Support Files/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels
Finalizing the Installation
That's it! You're almost there.
- Reopen After Effects.
- To launch Shy Bar go to Window > Shy Bar.jsxbin.
- If you installed Shy Bar Label Colors Panel, to launch, go to Window > Shy Bar - Labels.jsxbin.
Important: Shy Bar is specifically designed to be docked into the After Effects interface. It won't run from File > Scripts menu.
Yes! In fact, Shy Bar excels with complex projects. The more layers you have, the more valuable Shy Bar becomes. It's been optimized to handle projects with hundreds or even thousands of layers efficiently, making it an essential tool for complex animations and compositions.
Discussions
Want to talk about it?
Head over to r/aescripts to chat with fellow users about this product.
Need Support?
Please open a support ticket to be connected directly with the author of this product
Version History
1.2.0.3 -
Aug 26, 2025
• Fixed an issue where the keyboard shortcut on macOS did not work properly with the combination Command + Option + Left Click.
• The shortcut behavior is now consistent across platforms.
1.2.0.2 -
Aug 12, 2025
• Fixed issue on macOS where the Control/Command key was not detected, preventing the “Exclude Selected Layers” function from working.
1.2.0.1 -
Aug 11, 2025
• Resolved bug in Markers Search mode.
• Fixed issue with the UnsoloSelected function.
• Corrected problem when opening the Shapes Window in floating mode.
• Fixed Control/Command key detection issue on Mac.
1.2.0 -
Mar 5, 2024
• Seeker Sleuth Window:
◦ Now you can search case-sensitive by toggle the new case-sensitive button.
◦ Right-clicking the search button now sends the selected layer's name or the selected layer duration to the search field for easier input.
◦ Multi-label color selection: Removed the dropdown and introduced a custom checkbox. Right-clicking opens a window similar to Label Colors but allows multiple selections.
◦ Pressing Ctrl + Alt on the checkbox automatically selects the label colors of the selected layers.
◦ Holding Ctrl + Alt on the search button hides selected layers from view.
◦ Holding Ctrl on the choose functions button reveals all layers
◦ Holding Alt choose functions button disables ‘shy’ and ‘solo’.
◦ Added layer duration as a search criterion.
◦ Search within the names of selected layers.
◦ Two types of button for choose function modes: A palette-opening button or a cycling button.
General:
• Added compatibility with After Effects Beta versions
• Improved UI for the settings panel.
• Now supports localization for all languages supported by After Effects.
• Right-clicking in the scrollbar now closes the Blending Modes window.
• Open the Label Colors panel independently with Alt + Click on the Label Colors button.
• Right-clicking the ‘Effects’ button temporarily switches its functionality to ‘Layer Styles’.
• New vector buttons instead of images.
• Support for UI color themes in AE 2025.
• Added a setting option to enable or disable alert messages.
• New function to restore previous Shy States, allowing users to revert to the last recorded shy layers.
• New function to shy layers with Easy Ease Keyframes (previously included in Bezier Keys function).
• New function to shy layers with Auto Bezier Keyframes (previously included in Bezier Keys function).
• New Layer Filtering Functions:
◦ Audio Enabled Precomps (User-requested)
◦ Audio Enabled Layers
◦ Missing Assets
◦ 3D Files (User-requested)
◦ Layers with Layer Styles
◦ Video Layers (User-requested)
New Options for Disable Filters Button:
• Disable ‘Shy’ and ‘Solo’ by clicking the button.
• Exclude selected layers by pressing Alt + Ctrl + Click on the disable filters button or Shift + Click on the ‘Shy’ disable button.
• Enable all layers in the composition by pressing Ctrl + Click on the disable filters button.
• Disable ‘Solo’ mode by pressing Alt + Click on the disable filters button.
• Restore ‘Previous’ Shy Layers by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Click
Changed
• Optimized search functions for better performance.
• Label color application modified:
◦ Left-click: Shy functions.
◦ Right-click: Apply label color.
◦ Shift + Right-click: Apply label color to project items.
◦ Ctrl + Right-click: Apply label color to selected keyframes.
• Shy, Solo, Enabled, and Selected functions are now faster.
Fixed
• Fixed an issue where Shy Selected Time and Later was working in reverse.
• Fixed button positioning issue near the right edge of the window.
• Fixed a bug causing errors when clicking Label Panel and Label Window buttons.
• Fixed a bug that prevented real-time UI updates when modifying button visibility.
• Shy Audio Button: Pressing Ctrl + Click enables audio for all layers containing audio in the selected composition.
• Shy Enabled function now considers layers containing audio and enables them accordingly.
• Fix for empty error on startup
• Updated license framework to v4.3.2
1.1.1 -
Mar 5, 2024
1.1.0 -
Mar 3, 2024
-Fixed multiple small bugs.
1.0 -
Feb 3, 2024
Compatibility
After Effects
2025, 2024, 2023