Page 624 - Kitab3DsMax

Part V: Animation and Rendering Basics

Using the Track Bar, you can move, copy, and delete keys. The Track Bar shows key markers only for the cur-
rently 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 click-
ing 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 dia-
log box. n
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. n

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.

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