Changing selection mode / resizing entire mask

[farbus]

I'm trying to scale a mask that I created via auto-trace.  When I click on it, I don't see the box around it that I believe I need in order to scale the whole thing.  Instead, only the individual vertices (if that's the right word) of the mask show up.

This page references "selection modes" which sounds like what I need to change when selecting the mask: Managing and animating shape paths and masks in After Effects

I've googled around a lot but I can't figure out how to actually choose between those selection modes.  Can someone point me in the right direction?

[Rick Gerard · Accepted solution]

If you auto trace and select one frame instead of continuous you can select the pen tool (g) and then click on one of the points in a mask to make sure that you have the right mask selected. Then change to the selection tool (v) and double click on any of the other mask points to bring up the transform selection tool.

A better approach to make the mask bigger would probably be to select the layer, press the M key twice to reveal all mask properties and then adjust the mask expansion. If your mask has keyframes this may be the best solution.

The last option would be to duplicate the layer, scale it up, and then use the scaled layer as a track matte for the original layer.

The best approach depends on the shot and what you are trying to accomplish. We can give you better advice if you post a screenshot of your project showing us the modified properties of the layer you are working on. Just select the layer, press the u key twice, then use Print Screen and then paste the screenshot to the reply field on this forum or use Shift + Ctrl/Cmnd + 3 to take a screenshot on a Mac and drag it from the desktop to the reply field. Make sure that you give us a detailed description of what you are trying to accomplish.

[farbus]

Thank you for the numerous options.  I'm gonna give all of these a shot and see if I can get a feel for them.  I ended up double clicking a bunch on the mask and various points inside the mask editor that popped up, and eventually I seemed to be able to simply scale the mask.  I'm not sure what series of events led me to being able to do this though!