3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [402]
You can also specify whether the function curve display includes the Position, Rotation, and Scale components for each axis or the RGB color components.
Creating a track set
A selection of tracks can be saved into a track set by clicking the Edit Track Set button located at the bottom of the Track View interface. This button opens the Track Sets Editor, shown in Figure 37.22. Clicking the Create a New Track Set button in the Track Sets Editor creates a new track set containing all the currently selected tracks and lists it in the editor window. Selected tracks can be added, removed, and selected using the other editor buttons.
FIGURE 37.22
The Track Sets Editor dialog box lets you name track selections for easy recall.
After a track set is created, its tracks can be instantly selected by choosing the track set's name from the drop-down list located next to the Edit Track Set button at the bottom of the Track View window.
Working with Controllers
Controllers offer an alternative to positioning keys manually. Each controller can automatically control a key's position or a parameter's value. The Controller menu includes several commands for working with controllers. The Copy Controller and Paste Controller commands let you move existing controllers between different tracks, and the Assign Controller command lets you add a new controller to a track.
Cross-Reference
Chapter 22, “Animating with Constraints and Simple Controllers,” covers all the various controllers used to automate animated sequences. •
Although the commands are named Copy Controller and Paste Controller, they can be used to copy different tracks. Tracks can be copied and pasted only if they are of the same type. You can copy only one track at a time, but that single controller can be pasted to multiple tracks. A pasted track can be a copy or an instance, and you have the option to replace all instances. For example, if you have several objects that move together, using the Replace All Instances option when modifying the track for one object modifies the tracks for all objects that share the same motion.
All instanced copies of a track change when any instance of that track is modified. To break the linking between instances, you can use the Controller⇒Make Unique menu command.
Selecting the Controller⇒Assign Controller menu command opens the Assign Controller dialog box, where you can select the controller to apply. If the controller types are similar, the keys are maintained, but a completely different controller replaces any existing keys in the track.
Using visibility tracks
When an object track is selected, you can add a visibility track using the Tracks⇒Visibility Track⇒Add menu command or the Object Properties dialog box. This track enables you to make the object visible or invisible. The selected track is automatically assigned the Bézier controller, but you can change it to an On/Off controller if you want that type of control. You can use function curves mode to edit the visibility track.
Adding note tracks
You can add note tracks to any track and use them to attach information about the track. The Tracks⇒Note Track⇒Add menu command is used to add a note track, which is marked with a yellow triangle and cannot be animated.
After you've added a note track in the Controller pane, use the Insert Keys button to position a note key in the Key pane by clicking in the note track. This adds a small note icon. Right-clicking the note icon opens the Notes dialog box, where you can enter the notes, as shown in Figure 37.23. Each note track can include several note keys.
The Notes dialog box includes arrow controls that you can use to move between the various notes. The field to the right of the arrows