Animation Settings Dialog
Used to define animation settings for previewing and recording. Also used to display the current time of the animation frame in the view while previewing the animation or in a movie produced by the animator.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Time Display | Two option menus and an input field let you define the time display mode, and what time period each frame of the animation represents. |
| Start | Field in which you can key in the starting time or frame number for the animation sequence. If your Time Display is set to a date style format, clicking the icon to the right of the field opens a Select Start Time dialog, which lets you select the month, year, and day. |
| End | Field in which you can key in the end time or frame number for the animation sequence. If your Time Display is set to a date style format, clicking the icon to the right of the field opens a Select End Time dialog, which lets you select the month, year, and day. |
| Prompt For Keyframe Name | If on, a dialog will open to prompt for a name and description for the keyframe just created. If off, a default system name is given to the keyframe. |
| Alternate Views | Lets you define, via toggles, alternate views (of the views that are currently open) in which the animation preview will display. These views will display the preview, regardless of which view you select in the Animator Preview tool settings. |
| Animated Elements | If on, animated elements are previewed. |
| Clear View Between Frames | If on, the view is cleared between preview frames. If the view is not cleared, all of the preview frames are overlaid. This can be useful for determining the range of motion for a sequence. |
| Maintain Frame Rate | If on, the animator will respect the Frame Rate setting in the View Options category of the Preferences dialog. In doing so, it will try to maintain a frame rate for preview. If off all elements will always be drawn for all frames. |
| Disable Intermediate Updates | When a large model is updated in a view, it is usually done in chunks of 1000 elements at a time. However, when you turn on this setting, the complete frame displays at once. This is useful when previewing animations for large models because the entire view updates from one frame to the next so that you can easily see what has changed from one frame to the next. When off, after one frame is complete the screen clears and the elements display in chunks until the entire display is complete. |
| Static Elements | If on, static (unanimated) elements are previewed. |
| Loop | If on, the preview is repeated until you Reset. |
| Cameras | If on, a cone displays for the camera position at each frame so that the camera motion can be more accurately previewed. |
| Time | Turn on to display the date and time in the view during the preview of an animation or while recording a movie. Also displays the date and time in the Animator Preview window. |
| Camera Speed | Turn on to display the speed of the camera in the view during the preview of an animation or while recording a movie. |
| Prefix | Defines the title for time and camera speed to display during the preview of an animation. |
| Vehicle Speed Unit | Defines the unit of camera speed. |
| Font | Sets the font of the text to be placed. |
| Location | Controls the location of the text in the view. Options are Top Left, Bottom Left, Top Right and Bottom Right. The text is automatically justified correctly for the corner selected so that the text does not extend off the view. |
| Color | If on, allows you to select the color of the text, using the color picker. |
| Text Height | Sets the text height in pixels. The text height and width can be locked together using the lock item located to the right. |
| Text Width | Sets the text width in pixels. The text width and height can be locked together using the lock item located to the right. |
| Edge Inset X | Sets the inset distance in pixels from the location point at which the text is to be drawn in the X direction. The edge inset distance for X and Y can be locked together using the lock item located to the right. |
| Edge Inset Y | Sets the inset distance in pixels from the location point at which the text is to be drawn in the Y direction. The edge inset distance for X and Y can be locked together using the lock item located to the right. |
| Text Spacing | Defines the space between the two prefixes (Time and Camera Speed) displayed during the preview of an animation. |
| Use Background Shape | If on, the text is overlaid on a rectangle. This ensures a consistent background if the camera is moving and the text is drawn over shapes of differing colors. When previewing an animation, the animator updates the view in the most efficient way possible. This can mean just drawing the section of the view where a change has occurred. In order that the time display text is not drawn over itself and therefore becomes unreadable, the background shape is automatically switched on for the frames when this occurs. |