Next/Previous Keyframe Keyboard Command?

Started by PabloMack, April 10, 2010, 06:51:28 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

PabloMack

I am trying to master timeline navigation and have learned what I know by trial and error.  I found that, when the timeline is selected,
I can advance to the Next Frame with the Right Arrow and receed to the Previous Frame with the Left Arrow.  Advance by 10 frames is done with PageDown while receed by 10 frames is done with PageUp.  Goto First Frame is accomplished with the Home Key while goto the Last Frame is accomplished with the End Key.  These are good.  I also noticed that the camera's coordinates/orientation are shown in blue if the frame is not keyed while it is shown in green if it is.  Is there a keystroke I can press to advance to the next keyed frame?  The keyframes don't appear to be visible on the timeline as they are in Lightwave and it is very cumbersome to find out where they are by advancing through each frame one by one while watching the color of the coordinates/orientation. 

Oshyan

Animation functionality is still in development, as I think you're aware. Visible keyframes on the timeline would be a good thing; we're actually going to be adding a full timeline keyframe/curve editor.

It does appear that the timeline shortcuts are undocumented, and not customizable, which is an oversight. As you can see in Help->Mouse and Key Settings, most of the other UI key commands are easily referenced.

- Oshyan

PabloMack

That is great news! 

For practice, I have taken the benchmark that you posted on <www.3dspeedmachine.com> and am doing a 1000 frame flythrough (at low resolution).  I have removed the black ball which my wife said was an "eye sore".  I knew she would because I have this "birdy" that tells me what she's going to say before she says it (sometimes a day or two before she says it).  It's uncanny.  Anyway, I have found that the best way to find the keyframes for the render camera's motion is to use the "Perspective View" to leave the animation curve and use it to observe the track drawn for the render camera.  The keyframes show up as knobs on the track.  I have a suggestion for improvement of navigation.  When you go from the render camera to the perspective view, the software always forces the perspective camera to start where the render camera is.  If I want to go back and forth between the two, the software forgets where the perspective view was and makes me start over.  If I had a way to bounce back and forth between the two without changing where either was, it would be more useful.  You might then need a "set perspective view to render camera position" command. 

I have another question:  What is the difference between explicitly selecting the "Perspective View" then navigating about versus just navigating off the animation curve while in "Render Camera" mode?  Reselecting Render Camera in either case just seems to take my view back to where the current Render Camera is on the animation curve.