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Caution

In the Track View—Dope Sheet interface, position, rotation, and scale keys are red, green, and blue, but parameter keys are yellow. •

The current frame also appears in the Track Bar as a light blue, transparent rectangle, as shown in Figure 21.5. The icon at the left end of the Track Bar is the Open Mini Curve Editor button, which opens a mini Track View.

Cross-Reference

For more on the Track View interface, see Chapter 37, “Working with the F-Curve Editor in the Track View.” •

FIGURE 21.5

The Track Bar displays all keys for the selected object.

Using the Track Bar, you can move, copy, and delete keys. The Track Bar shows key markers only for the currently selected object or objects, and each marker can represent several different keys. When the mouse is moved over the top of these markers, the cursor changes to a plus sign, and you can select a marker by clicking it (selected markers turn white). Using the Ctrl key, you can select multiple keys at the same time. You can also select multiple key markers by clicking an area of the Track Bar that contains no keys and then dragging an outline over all the keys you want to select. If you move the cursor over the top of a selected key, the cursor is displayed as a set of arrows enabling you to drag the selected key to the left or right. Holding down the Shift key while dragging a key creates a copy of the key. Pressing the Delete key deletes the selected key.

Tip

If you drag a key off the end of the Track Bar, the frame number is displayed on the Prompt Line at the bottom of the interface and the key is not included in the current time range. If you ever want to hide a key without deleting it, you can drag it off the end of the Track Bar and recover it by resetting the time in the Time Configuration dialog box. •

Because each marker can represent several keys, you can view all the keys associated with the marker in a pop-up menu by right-clicking the marker.

Note

In the pop-up menu, a check mark next to a key indicates that the key is shared with another instance. •

The marker pop-up menu also offers options for deleting selected keys or filtering the keys. In addition, there is a Goto Time command, which automatically moves the Time Slider to the key's location when selected.

To delete a key marker with all of its keys, right-click to open the pop-up menu and choose Delete Key⇒All, or select the key marker and press the Delete key.

Viewing and Editing Key Values

At the top of the marker's right-click pop-up menu is a list of current keys for the selected object (or if there are too many keys for a marker, they are placed under the Key Properties menu). When you select one of these keys, a key information dialog box opens. This dialog box displays different controls, depending on the type of key selected. Figure 21.6 shows the dialog box for the Position key. There are slight variations in this dialog box, depending on the key type.

FIGURE 21.6

Key dialog boxes enable you to change the key parameters.

Note

You can also access key-specific dialog boxes in the Motion panel for a selected object by clicking the Parameters button. •

Within each of these key dialog boxes is a Time value that shows the current frame. Next to the Time value are two arrows that enable you to move easily to the other keys in the scene. The dialog box also includes several text fields, where you can change the key parameters.

Most of the key dialog boxes also include flyout buttons for selecting Key Tangents. Key Tangents determine how the animation moves into and out of the key. For example, if the In Key Tangent is set to Slow, and the Out Key Tangent is set to Fast, the object approaches the key position in a slow manner but accelerates as it leaves the key position. The arrow buttons on either side of the Key Tangent buttons can copy the current Key Tangent selection to the previous or next key.

The available types of Tangents are detailed in Table 21.3.

Using the Motion Panel

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