Channels (Editor)

Channels is an editor that allows you to set up and rename channel animation clips. The editor will open when you create a new channel animation clip or when you double-click on an existing clip in order to modify it.

Once open, it will always show the information for the current active clip in the Timelines editor. To change the clip shown in the editor, select a different clip in the Timelines editor using one of the following methods:

• Click on the name of a clip in the Channel Animation library tab,
• Click on the representation of a channel animation clip in one of the Channel tracks,
• Create a new channel animation clip using the button below the list of existing clips in the Channel Animation library tab. This will create a new clip and activate it. It will also open the New Channel Selector window, where you can provide a name for the clip, select the channel or channels that will be animated in the clip, and select the desired type of control over the animation: Standard (basic, single-channel animation) or Advanced (custom, multi-channel animation). Validating this choice will open the Channels editor.

The editor will display different controls depending on which configuration mode you have chosen.

Channel Selector

The Channel Selector determines which channels will be available for animation in a clip. When creating a channel animation clip, you must first select the channel or channels to include in the clip. The Channel Selector therefore appears automatically when you create a new clip.

When using advanced configuration, you can also modify the channels in the clip at a later time. To add or remove channels from the clip, open the Channel Selector from the toolbar of the Channels editor.

The main body of the Channel Selector is the hierarchy of channels available for the active product. There are four ways to find a channel:

• Expand the entries in the hierarchy until you reach the channel you want to use. Channels are grouped by type, then by option. If, for example, you want to modify the orientation of an environment called  "Studio_Default", expand the nodes Environment, Studio_Default, and Orientation. Select the axis or axes you want to modify.
• By using the mesh eyedropper to pick the animated mesh you want to use. Click on the eyedropper, then click on the surface in the 3D viewport. This selects the mesh. Expand the mesh in order to select the Frame channel.
• By using the material eyedropper to pick the material in which the channel you want to use is found. Click on the eyedropper, then click on the material in the 3D viewport. This selects the material. Expand the material in order to view its channels and select the pertinent ones.
• By using the transformation eyedropper to pick the part that will undergo the transformation you want to use. Click on the eyedropper, then click on one of the surfaces of the part in the 3D viewport. This selects the first parent of that surface in the Kinematics tab in Shaper.

To add a channel, click within the selection column next to the name of the channel, or right-click on the channel and select Add channel from the context menu that appears. The same actions will remove a channel that has already been added: to remove a channel, click in the selection column of a selected channel or right-click and select Remove channel from the context menu that appears. The selection column lists the status of each channel:

Icon	Description
	Channel included in the clip.
	Channel excluded from the clip.

Multiple channels can be added to the clip at once. Highlight the channels you want to add by clicking on their names while holding down Shift to select a range of channels or Ctrl to select separate individual channels. Right-click to open the context menu and select Add channel to select these channels, or Remove channel to deselect them.

Once you have selected the channel or channels to add to the clip, choose the configuration mode. If you have selected only one channel, you will be able to select Standard configuration if you prefer. Multi-channel clips, however, must be configured in Advanced mode.

Standard Configuration

The standard configuration of an animation clip is a single-channel mode that gives you access to all of the parameters needed to animate a channel. The speed of the animation is calculated automatically based on the range of the change and the duration of the clip. Both the interval of values for this channel (the range) and the duration are set in this editor.

At the top of the editor, a text field displays the name of the clip. It can be edited directly in this field. Use the Enter key to validate your changes.

Below the name of the clip, the following settings are available:

• Initial value of the animated parameter,
• Final value of the animated parameter,
• Duration of the clip in seconds,
• Easing. The value of this option smooths the animation so that the beginning, the end, or both appear less abrupt. Choose from the following options:
  • Linear : The development of the animation will be linear. No easing is added.
  • Ease in : Easing is added at the beginning of the animation.
  • Ease out : Easing is added at the end of the animation.
  • Ease in and out : Easing is added at the beginning and at the end of the animation.

Depending on the channel select, the initial and final positions are expressed:

• in the Patchwork 3D Design default units for translation and other distances,
• in degrees for rotation and other angles,
• in whole numbers from 0 to 255 for colors,
• in decimal numbers between the minimum and maximum values for other parameters such as intensity,
• in 0 (disabled) or 1 (enabled) for the state of a binary parameter.

Using Preset Values for an Animated Mesh

Choosing an animated mesh and the standard configuration mode allows you to automatically replicate the animation exactly as it was prepared in Autodesk Maya or Autodesk 3ds Max.

1. In the Timelines editor's Channel Animation Library, create a new channel animation.
2. The Channel Selector will appear. Select the animated mesh you want to use. You can use the mesh eyedropper to pick the mesh directly from the viewport. Do not select any other channels.
3. Select Standard configuration.

The animation parameters for the mesh are initialized with the values taken directly from the imported settings that were established in Autodesk Maya or Autodesk 3ds Max:

• Initial value: frame 0, the first frame of the animation,
• Final value: frame N, the last frame of the animation,
• Duration: the original length of the animation, expressed in seconds,
• Easing: linear.

Advanced Configuration

Advanced configuration of a channel animation clip handles the animation of multiple channels at once. It also gives you direct control over the temporal development of the animation using points placed along a graph representing time on the X axis and the range of animation of the part on the Y axis. This produces a curve representing the development of a given channel over time. Each channel has its own curve.

The Y-axis is expressed in the default units for the selected channel:

• in the Patchwork 3D Design default units for translation and other distances,
• in degrees for rotation and other angles,
• in whole numbers from 0 to 255 for colors,
• in decimal numbers between the minimum and maximum values for other parameters such as intensity,
• in 0 (disabled) or 1 (enabled) for the state of a binary parameter.

The typical steps for using this mode are outlined in the chapter Animating Channels with Advanced Configuration.

At the top of the editor, a text field displays the name of the clip. It can be edited directly in this field. Use the Enter key to validate your changes.

The operations toolbar above the graph provides the following tools:

Icon	Function	Description
	Selection	Use this mode to select points placed along the curve.
	Pan	In this mode, the mouse is used to move the curve so as to display the section you are interested in. This does not change the scale of the graph.
	Zoom	In this mode, the mouse is used to zoom in or out on the curve, changing the scale of the graph.
	New key frame	In this mode, clicking places a new key frame along the curve. A new key frame can also be added by holding down Alt and clicking when using any of the modes to select and move key frames (see below).
	Select and change value	Dragging a key frame changes the value, but not the time. You can also provide a exact value in the Value field.
	Select and change time	Dragging a key frame changes the time of the point, but not the value that has been set. You can also provide a exact value in the Time field.
	Select and move	Dragging a key frame changes the time and the value. You can also provide its exact time and value in the corresponding fields. For any two key frames, increasing the time (horizontal distance) between them will make the animation slower. Increasing the difference in values (vertical distance) will make the change more pronounced.
	Key Frames editor	Provides access to the key frame options: Current key frame,  Previous key frame,  Next key frame, Key frame Time (horizontal position), Key frame Value (vertical position), The variations of a channel's value between two successive key points over time are represented by curves. The forms of the curves to the Left and to the Right of a key frame can be one of the following types: Curve type  (default), Linear type , Step type . The form chosen at a key point for the curve to the left of the point is applied to all of the curve starting from the previous key frame. Likewise, the form chosen at a key point for the curve to the right of the point is applied to all of the curve until the next key frame. If another form was previously applied at a different key point for the same segment of curve, it will be overriden by the current choice.
	Capture current values	Places new key frames at the time cursor position for each of the selected channels. Each key frame is positioned at the current value for its channel in the active viewport.
	Capture RGB values	When the curves for the R, G, and B channels of a color parameter are selected, this button appears. It can be used to open the color picker, in which you can select a color for the parameter. Once the choice of a new color has been validated, the new R, G, and B values are placed at the time cursor's position on the corresponding curves. If key points do not already exist at this location, they will be created for the new values.
	Channel Selector	Allows you to modify the channels used in this clip.
	Zoom to fit	Zoom to adjust the scale to fill the display area with the curve, vertically and horizontally.
	Zoom to fit (selection)	Zoom to adjust the scale so that the selected key frame and curve segments fill the display area.
	Zoom to fit (horizontal)	Zoom to adjust the scale so that length (time) of the curve fills the display area.
	Zoom to fit (vertical)	Zoom to adjust the scale so that the height (changes in position or orientation) of the curve fills the display area.

To the left of the graph, the list of all of the available curves is displayed. By default, all of the curves are selected. Modify the selection by clicking on the names of the curves. Only the selected curves are visible on the graph.

The color of a curve can be customized. Right-click on name of the curve and choose Change curve color to open the color chooser.

Below the graph, you have options to provide the maximum duration in seconds of the animation, and an indicator of the cursor's current position in the Mouse at field.