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Smooth Rotation controller

The Smooth Rotation controller automatically produces a smooth rotation. This controller doesn't add any new keys; it simply changes the timing of the existing keys to produce a smooth rotation. It does not have any parameters.

Parameter controllers

Other controllers are used to affect the animated changes of parameters whether they are float, Point3, or other parameter types. Many of these controllers combine several controllers into one, such as the List and Block controllers. Others include separate interfaces, such as the Waveform controller for defining the controller's functions.

Most of these special-purpose controllers can be assigned only by using the Track View window. The Motion panel contains only the tracks for transformations.

Boolean controller

The Boolean controller, like the On/Off controller, can hold one of two states: 0 for off and 1 for on. But, unlike the On/Off controller, the Boolean controller changes only when a different state is encountered.

Limit controller

The Limit controller sets limits for the motion or parameters of the selected controller. It is applied on top of the existing controller and opens the Limit Controller dialog box, shown in Figure 35.25, when applied.

The upper limit is the maximum value to which the controller can be set, and the lower limit is the minimum value that the controller uses. Controller values may exceed the upper and lower limit values, but the object's motion stops at the limit values when the Limit controller is enabled. The Smoothing Buffer value provides a range that gradually alters the value as it approaches the limit value.

FIGURE 35.25

The Limit controller dialog box lets you set upper and lower limits for the current controller value.

After a Limit controller is applied to an object, you can quickly change its upper and lower limit values by right-clicking the object in the Track View and accessing the Limit Controller option in the quadmenu.

Tip

You can disable all limits at once using the Animation⇒Toggle Limits menu command. •

List controller

You can use the List controller to apply several controllers at once. This feature enables you to produce smaller, subtler deviations, such as adding some noise to a normal Path controller.

When the List controller is applied, the default track appears as a subtrack along with another subtrack labeled Available. By selecting the Available subtrack and clicking the Assign Controller button, you can assign additional controllers to the current track.

All subtrack controllers are included in the List rollout of the Motion panel. You also can access this list by right-clicking the track and selecting Properties from the pop-up menu. The order of the list is important because it defines which controllers are computed first.

The Set Active button lets you specify which controller you can interactively control in the viewport; the active controller is marked with an arrow, which is displayed to the left of the name. You also can cut and paste controllers from and to the list. Because you can use the same controller type multiple times, you can distinguish each one by entering a name in the Name field.

On/Off controller

The On/Off controller works on tracks that hold a binary value, such as the Visibility track; you can use it to turn the track on and off or to enable and disable options. In the Track View, each On section is displayed in blue, with keys alternating between on and off. No parameters exist for this controller. Figure 35.26 shows a Visibility track that has been added to a sphere object. This track was added using the Tracks⇒Visibility Track⇒Add menu command. You can add keys with the Add Keys button. Each new key toggles the track on and off.

Note

You also can add a Visibility track by changing the Visibility value in the Object Properties dialog box. •

FIGURE 35.26

The On/Off controller lets you make objects appear and disappear.

Waveform controller

The Waveform controller can produce regular