Viz Artist User Guide

Version 3.13 | Published March 28, 2019 ©

Stage Editor

The Stage Editor area shows the animated items as bars and splines along the time-line.

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Stage Editor Menu

Above the Stage Tree Area is a menu that defines the appearance of the Stage Editor.

images/download/attachments/50613985/animation_stage_pulldown.png

Stage Editor Bar

The Stage Editor bar is located above the Dopesheet Editor/Spline Editor.

images/download/attachments/50613985/animation_stage_editor_bar.png

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_add_key.png Add Key Frame: Adds a Key Frame at the current time/frame/field (see Key Frames).

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_delete_keyframe.png Delete Key Frame: Deletes the selected Key Frame.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_add_stop.png Add Stop/Tag: Adds a stop/tag Event to the selected Director at the current time/frame/field.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_del_stop.png Delete Stop/Tag: Deletes the selected stop/tag Event.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_spline_linear_linear.png Linear Left and Right: Sets the left and right spline handles in the selected Key Frame to linear.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_spline_smooth_linear.png Smooth Left and Linear Right: Sets the spline handles in the selected Key Frame to smooth left and linear right.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_spline_linear_smooth.png Linear Left and Smooth Right: Sets the spline handles in the selected Key Frame to linear left and smooth right.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_spline_smooth_smooth.png Smooth Left and Right: Sets the left and right spline handles in the selected Key Frame to smooth.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_spline_tangential.png Handles Tangential: Sets the left and right spline handles in the selected Key Frame to tangential.

  • images/download/attachments/50613985/animation_search_key_frame.png Search: Searches the name of a Key Frame.

  • images/download/attachments/50613985/animation_search_results.png Items Found: Shows how many items were found.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_search_set.png Search Results: The arrow buttons can be used to search for the first, next, previous and last Key Frame matching the search criteria:

    images/download/attachments/50613985/animation_search_set_anno.png

    • 1: Previous Key Frame

    • 2: Next Key Frame

    • 3: First Key Frame

    • 4: Last Key Frame

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_spline_view_stand.png Zoom to Standard: Zooms the Dopesheet Editor and Spline Editor to standard view.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_spline_view_all.png Zoom to Whole Spline: Zooms the Dopesheet Editor and Spline Editor to fit the animation time-line of the current Channel.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_spline_views.png Show Spline 1, 2, or 3: Shows spline 1, 2, or 3 in the Spline Editor. The splines refer to animations performed on various axes. If only one axis is animated, only the spline 1 option is available.

    Example: When animating a rotation, each spline describes the rotation around one axis. Spline 1 shows the rotation around axis X, spline 2 shows axis Y, and spline 3 shows axis Z.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_animate_timeline.png Animate Time-line Marker: Moves the Time-line Marker along the Dopesheet Editor and Spline Editor while playing the animation when enabled.

    Tip: When computing performance should be reduced to a minimum, this option should be disabled.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_info.png Show Info: Shows time-line information as a tool tip when holding the pointer over an item in the Dopesheet or Spline Editor, for example a Key Frame, when enabled.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_grid_times.png Seconds/Frames/Fields: Switches the time scaling between seconds, frames, and fields. The time scaling is available in the bar separating the Dopesheet and Spline Editor.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_grid_show.png Show Grid: Shows a grid of vertical lines in the Dopesheet and Spline Editor, making it easier to position items accurately along the time-line when enabled.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_grid_snap.png Snap to Grid: Shows the snap to grid feature in the Dopesheet and Spline Editor when enabled. This feature shows vertical lines at the field interval defined in the grid width option. By using this feature, Key Frames and other items can be dragged precisely along the time-line, as it is not possible to drop items between the grid lines.

    Example: If the snap to grid feature is enabled and the grid width is set to 10, it is only possible to drag Key Frames to field 10, 20, 30, and so on. If a Key Frame should be placed at field 23 while the snap to grid feature is enabled, this must be manually entered in the Key Frame Editors.

  • images/download/thumbnails/50613985/animation_an_top_grid_width.png Grid Width: Defines the width of the snap to grid in fields.