Curves for X, Y, and Z parameters are red, green, and blue, respectively. For example, an fcurve for scaling in Z is blue, whereas scaling in X is red.
To set custom colors for fcurves, see Using the Animation Explorer.
When the animation editor is open with Editor > Fcurve View active (the default), it displays the fcurves of any elements you select.
The graph in the view area is where you manipulate the fcurve of any animatable parameter. You can edit the keyframed values by adjusting the keys on a selected curve.
The graph’s horizontal axis (X) displays the time scale in frames or milliseconds. The vertical axis (Y) displays the values of the animated parameter.
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Curves for X, Y, and Z parameters are red, green, and blue, respectively. For example, an fcurve for scaling in Z is blue, whereas scaling in X is red. To set custom colors for fcurves, see Using the Animation Explorer. |
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Key coordinates indicate the exact frame number (on the X axis) and value (on the Y axis) of the most recently selected key. See Hiding and Displaying Fcurve Information for more information. |
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Keyed values on fcurves are indicated by keys. Selected keys are red, and unselected keys match the color of their fcurve. See Selecting (Tagging) Keys for more information. |
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Values for the parameter are shown on the Y axis. |
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Time is shown on the X axis. You can use this timeline as you would the main timeline in Softimage. See Using the Fcurve Editor’s Timeline and Setting Up the Fcurve Graph. |
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Curve and axis labels indicate the type of curve and the affected axis. For example, this fcurve represents the object’s rotation on the Z axis. The axis label is in the graph’s lower-left corner. See Hiding and Displaying Fcurve Information for more information. |
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By default, fcurves use spline interpolation to calculate intermediate values. See Choosing a Function Curve Interpolation Type for more information. |
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The slope handles at each key indicate the rate at which an fcurve’s value changes. You can change the curve’s slope by manipulating these handles. See Editing a Function Curve’s Slope for more information. |
When the animation editor is open with Editor > Fcurve View active, it displays the fcurves of any elements you select.
The graph in the view area is where fcurves are displayed and edited. You can set up the graph to display and set up the grid and axis element as you like.
Setting the Time Format (X Axis)
The graph’s horizontal axis (X) displays the time scale in frames or milliseconds, while the vertical axis (Y) displays the values of the animated parameter.
Setting the main timeline’s format also sets the format for the timeline in the animation editor, as well as the dopesheet and the animation mixer. See Setting the Timeline Display Format for more information on how to set the animation editor’s timeline.
Setting the Graph’s Grid and Rulers
• Choose View > Grid from the fcurve editor command bar.
or
• Press G.
To show or hide only the X-axis or Y-axis grid lines
• On the Editor page in the Fcurve Editor Preferences editor, select Display Grid > Show for the X and/or Y axes.
To set the size of units for the grid
• Specify a value in the Display Grid text boxes for the X and/or Y axes.
To show or hide the axes rulers
• You can display or hide both the X and Y axes (the numerical values) of the graph by choosing View > Rulers from the command bar.
To show or hide only the X-axis or Y-axis rulers
• On the Editor page in the Fcurve Editor Preferences property editor, select Rulers > Show for the X and/or Y axes.
Controlling Which Fcurves Are Displayed
You can use the commands in the Explorer and View menus in the animation editor to determine what you want to display in the animation explorer and the graph, respectively.
• Which parameters are shown in the animation explorer—see Choosing Which Parameters Are Displayed in the Animation Explorer.
• Which types of fcurves to display in the graph—see below.
• What sort of information each fcurve displays—see Hiding and Displaying Fcurve Information.
Only nodes that lead to a visible animated parameter are shown in the animation explorer, regardless of its Explorer menu filter type.
Children objects are shown only if the branch is selected. Root objects are always shown because they define the scope of the view.
Once you have the parameters you want shown in the animation explorer, you can control the display of fcurves in the graph with the commands in the View menu:
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You can set a preference for which View command is active by default in the Fcurve Editor Preferences. |
• View > All Parameters displays the fcurves of all animatable parameters for the selected object. You can also press 6.
• View > Animated Parameters displays the fcurves of all animated parameters for the selected object. You can also click its icon 
in the toolbar or press 7.
• View > Marked Parameters displays only the fcurves of marked parameters for the selected object. You can also click its icon 
in the toolbar or press 8.
The marked parameters are highlighted in yellow in the animation explorer when this command is active.
• View > Selected Parameters displays only the fcurves of the parameters that you select in the animation explorer. You can also click this icon 
in the toolbar or press 9 to choose this command.
This mode makes it easy to quickly isolate one or just a few fcurves in the graph. When you select a parameter in the animation explorer, its fcurve is also automatically selected so that you can easily edit and manipulate it.
If you want to have the fcurves for the selected parameters be displayed but not automatically selected, deactivate the Display > Allow selecting curves from the tree in Selected Mode option on the Editor page in the Fcurve Editor Preferences property editor.
To display fcurves for unanimated parameters
1. Make sure that Explorer > Animated Parameters Only is off in the animation animation explorer.
2. Choose View > Selected Parameters for the fcurve graph.
3. In the animation explorer, browse for and select the unanimated parameters for which you want an fcurve.
Selecting a folder (such as kine.local) displays fcurves for all unanimated parameters within it.
4. A flat fcurve appears for the each unanimated parameter you select. You can then add keys to this fcurve and edit it as you like.
When you lock an element, its fcurves are always visible. You can then select other elements and still have access to the locked element’s fcurves in the fcurve editor.
Click the Lock icon on the command bar to force the selected view to stay open (“locking” it) and prevent it from updating if you select a different object. Click the button again to deactivate it (and update the animation explorer if the selection has changed).
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When the animation explorer is locked, you can drag-and-drop new objects into it from any geometry view or an explorer. |
To update to a new object while keeping the animation explorer locked, select the object and then click the Update icon. This refreshes the animation explorer contents to the currently selected object.
You can hide one or more curves in the graph. Hiding curves does not remove them from the view, so any snapshot information is retained and available once you display the curve again.
To hide fcurves
• Do one of the following:
- Select one or more curves and choose View > Hide Curve to hide them or press H. This also deselects the curves.
or
- Choose View > Clear All Curves to hide all fcurves associated with the selected object without collapsing the animation explorer.
To display all hidden fcurves
• Do one of the following:
- Choose View > Unhide All Curves or press Shift+H.
or
- Select the parameter name from the animation explorer.
Hiding and Displaying Fcurve Information
You can choose to view extra curve, key, and slope information while you’re working in the graph. However, if you have many fcurves displayed in your graph, you may want to hide a certain amount of curve information to keep the view uncluttered.
To hide or display curve information
From the command bar, choose any or all of the following:
• View > Keys on Unselected Curves to show or hide keys on all unselected curves in the graph. If you choose this command, you can select keys without having to first select the fcurve.
If you don’t choose this command, you must select an fcurve before being able to select keys on it. This prevents you from accidentally manipulating keys, which can be a problem if there are many curves and keys.
You can set the default for this option’s state (on or off) on the View page in the Fcurve Editor Preferences property editor—see Setting Fcurve Editor Preferences.
• View > Slopes on Unselected Keys to show or hide the slope handles of all unselected keys on a selected curve.
You can set the default for this option’s state (on or off) on the View page in the Fcurve Editor Preferences property editor.
• View > Keys Coordinates to show or hide the current time and value of a selected key.
You can set the default for this option’s state (on or off) on the View page in the Fcurve Editor Preferences property editor.
• View > Curve and Axis Labels to show or hide labels on all selected curves in the graph. Because fcurves for expressions and linked parameters do not necessarily use the same horizontal time units as other curves, selecting Curve and Axis Labels helps you to know the meaning of their values.
Viewing Fcurves of Different Values (Normalizing)
When you’re working with many fcurves, it’s not unusual that some curves will have varying values: one curve is too big to fit in the graph, while another is too small to see clearly. By “normalizing” the graph’s Y axis, you can easily view multiple curves that have a broad range of values. Normalizing scales all selected curves so that they fit in the graph, regardless of their unit scale.
To normalize the Y axis
1. Select the curves you want to fit in the graph view.
2. Choose View > Normalized in Y (Value) from the fcurve editor command bar to activate it. To return to the default linear scale, choose it again.
For example, let’s say you have one curve that spans values between 0 and 5, and another curve whose values range between 0 and 400. Viewing both of them on a standard scale would make the first curve very difficult to work with.
Normalizing the Y axis lets you view the full range of each curve (you view 0 to 100% of its Y value).
Displaying an Overview Region (Metacurve)
When you choose View > Metacurve Region, a bar below the graph shows a “dopesheet-like” view called a metacurve. This gives you an overview representation of all the keys on the selected fcurves in the graph. If the selection changes, it updates to reflect the new selection.
The vertical bars, called metakeys, show where corresponding keys are located on the fcurves. When you move a metakey, it displaces all the corresponding keys on the corresponding curves.
Viewing Corresponding Time with Action Sources
If you have created action sources from fcurves, you can see the corresponding time of the animation between the action in the animation mixer and the fcurve editor.
• You can select an action clip in the mixer and choose View > Local Time in the fcurve editor. You’ll see that the playback cursor in the fcurve editor shows the local time of where the original action source is being evaluated, and the playback cursor in the mixer shows where this point is in relation to the global time of the scene.
• You can also choose Explorer > Driving Actions at Curr Time in the animation explorer to display parameters that are driven by an action clip in the animation mixer at the current frame (the playback cursor is at a frame that is covered by an action clip). Only the fcurves for the selected object’s current clip are displayed in the fcurve graph.
For more information on action sources and the fcurve editor, see Modifying Action Sources [ Nonlinear Animation ].
Autodesk Softimage v.7.5