Page 941 - Kitab3DsMax

Chapter 36: Working with Function Curves in the Track View
Tip
If you want to access a specific parameter in the Track View, you can right-click the parameter and select the
Show in Track View command from the pop-up menu, and the Track View loads with the parameter visible. n
Using soft selection
The Keys menu also includes a Use Soft Select option. This feature is similar to the soft selection found in
the Modify panel when working on a subobject, except that it works with keys causing adjacent keys to
move along with the selected keys, but not as much. The Keys ➪ Soft Select Settings menu command opens
a simple toolbar where you can enable soft selection and set the Range and Falloff values.
When enabled, all keys within a specified range are also selected and moved to a lesser degree than the
selected key. When enabled, the function curve is displayed with a gradient for the Curve Editor layout and
as a gradient across the key markers in the Dope Sheet layout. This shows the range and falloff for the curve.
The Keys ➪ Soft Select Settings menu opens a hidden toolbar that lets you enable and disable the soft selec-
tion feature with a single button labeled Soft. The Range value sets how many frames the soft selection cov-
ers. This toolbar may be docked to the edge of the window.
Adding and deleting keys
You can add a key by clicking the Add Keys button (or pressing the A key) and clicking the location where
the new key should appear. Each new key is set with the interpolated value between the existing keys.
To delete keys, select the keys, and click the Delete Keys button or press the Delete key on the keyboard. By
selecting the track name and pressing the Delete key, you can delete all keys in a track.

Moving, sliding, and scaling keys
The Move Keys button (keyboard shortcut, M) lets you select and move a key to a new location. You can
clone keys by holding down the Shift key while moving a key. Using the flyout buttons, you can select to
restrict the movement horizontally or vertically. You can also move the selected key to the cursor’s location
with the Keys ➪ Align to Cursor menu command.
The Slide Keys button lets you select a key and move all adjacent keys in unison to the left or right. If the
selected key is moved to the right, all keys from that key to the end of the animation slide to the right. If the
key is moved to the left, then all keys to the beginning of the animation slide to the left.
The Scale Keys button lets you move a group of keys closer together or farther apart. The scale center is the
current frame. You can use the Shift key to clone keys while dragging.
If the Snap Frames button (keyboard shortcut, S) is enabled, then the selected key snaps to the nearest key
as it is moved. This makes aligning keys to the same frame easy.

Editing keys
To edit the key parameters for any controller, click the Properties button; this opens the Key Info dialog
box for most controllers. You can also access this dialog box by right-clicking a key and selecting Properties
from the pop-up menu. These commands can also be used when multiple keys on the same or on different
tracks are selected.

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