Shortcuts from the File Browser to the Project Pane

Some say that a successful project is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. This is equally true when building a project in Motion. Part of the perspiration comes from clicking and navigating the mouse to move from tab to tab and window to window. Fortunately, the Motion developers created some easy keyboard shortcuts to cut down the time you spend hunting and fumbling through the interface, so you can focus on the fun, creative, inspirational elements in building your project.

You've already learned that Cmd-1 opens the File Browser tab and Cmd-2 opens the Library tab of the Utility window. The Utility window has one more tab: the Inspector tab.

If Cmd-1 opens the File Browser and Cmd-2 opens the Library tab, then it would only make sense that Cmd-3 opens the Inspector tab.

Let's test this theory.

1.	Press Cmd-3. The Inspector tab opens. The Inspector tab in the Utility window shows details about anything selected in the project. Since you have an empty project with nothing selected, the Inspector is empty. You'll work with the Inspector again shortly. For now, let's focus on the shortcuts to get there and back.
2.	Press Cmd-2 to open the Library tab.
3.	Press Cmd-1 to open the File Browser. Cmd-1, Cmd-2, and Cmd-3 open and close tabs in the Utility window. Cmd-4, Cmd-5, and Cmd-6 open and close tabs in the Project pane. Let's start with Cmd-4 to see which tab it opens in the Project pane.
4.	Press Cmd-4. The Layers tab opens in the Project pane. You'll be opening and closing this tab often during this lesson. By default, all new projects include one empty layer on the Layers tab. When you add an object to your project, it will appear on that layer. You can close a pane with the same shortcut that you used to open it.
5.	Press Cmd-4 again to close the Project pane. There are two other tabs in the Project pane next to the Layers tab. Let's take a look.
6.	Press Cmd-5. The Media tab opens in the Project pane. You'll work more with the Media tab later in this lesson.
7.	Press Cmd-6 to open the Audio tab. You'll work with the Audio tab in Lesson 9. You can open any combination of tabs in the Utility window and Project pane. For example, you can open the Layers tab in the Project pane and the Inspector tab in the Utility window.
8.	Press Cmd-4 to go back to the Layers tab.
9.	Press Cmd-3 to open the Inspector tab. Now both the Layers tab and the Inspector tab are open.
10.	Press Cmd-4 to close the Layers tab and the Project pane and then Cmd-1 to return to the File Browser.