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How to search for effects quickly in After Effects

Search for effects fast to keep yourself in the flow — you don’t want to hunt through menus when you’re in creative mode.

Steps to search for effects quickly

Open the Effects & Presets panel.

After Effects interface showing the Effects and Presets panel open

Type the effect’s name (like “Gaussian Blur”) into the search box at the top.

Typing the name of an effect like Gaussian Blur into the search box in After Effects

Drag and drop the result onto your layer in the timeline or comp viewer and it applies instantly.

Dragging a searched effect onto a layer in After Effects timeline

One more thing

Search abbreviations too — typing “blur” shows all blur options, not just one specific effect. It’s a fast way to browse related effects.

Related how-tos

How to apply an effect in After Effects
How to use the effects & presets panel in After Effects
How to add glow effect in After Effects

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