Timeline, Import Object and Selection Requests

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Neillydubh
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:03 pm
Location: scotland
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Timeline, Import Object and Selection Requests

Post by Neillydubh »

Some requests for the writers of this great software which I use every day for my animation work. :0)

Keyframe Editing
One of the new features of 9.0/9.5 is multiple keyframe editing. I can see the benefit of it but I don't use it myself, it's something that should really be an option to give more flexibility. Please consider adding a checkbox on the timeline to enable this behaviour to be switched off. I like almost all of the new features of 9.5 but this one really has snarled me up. I have lost a lot of time as a result of having to go back over animation that's been messed up as a result of some keyframe I've unwittingly left selected in some other part of the timeline.

Bone Keyframes
Previously the keyframes for the whole bone and the selected bone were situated on the timeline one above the other. Now they are separated out so if I have bone scaling, translation and rotation keyframes in the timeline I have to look down through the rows to see which selected bone keyframe I'm looking for. Please consider putting it back to the way it was in version 8.0 or at least give users the option as to which way they want to display it as it.

Add Keyframe Menu Command
The Add Keyframe menu command throws in a keyframe for the camera as well if there are any camera moves on the timeline. Please consider removing this as it is completely unintuitive. If I am adding a keyframe to an object why would I want to automatically add a keyframe for the camera? It's just something else that needs to be deleted - this may not seem like a lot of work but when you're doing it 100 times a day it gets a little bit tiresome.

Bone translate keyframes
This may be a bug rather than a 'feature' but please look at it anyway.
For some reason selected bone translation keyframes don't appear on the timeline even when the bone is selected until after the bone has been moved. Makes going back in and editing moves a little fiddly. Please look at this.

Timeline Cursor
Please consider focusing on the cursor when the zoom in/zoom out buttons are pressed. It would useful, for me anyway, if the currrent keyframe remained centred (or in view at least) when zooming in and out.

Import Object
The Import Object command now changes the working directory to be that of the file containing the object that has just been imported. Please consider changing this back to what it was. The working directory is for the file currently being worked on and this shouldn't change.

Object Selection Logic
Please consider the way that objects are selected for editing. Once an object has been selected, all of its properties should be available for editing. You consolidated the layer translate, scale and rotate into one tool to save selecting different tools which is a big timesaver and makes editing a much smoother process. Can you do the same for shapes? Currently a shape's points can be selected and translated but if you want to edit the colours you have to drop the translate points tool, pick up the shape select tool, select the object again (even if it's already selected) and then change the colours. Why not just have it so you can change the colours if the object has been selected with the points translation tool? It seems a small point but when you're doing this 1000 times a week as I am it becomes time consuming - anything that saves time when I'm animating is a big bonus!

Thanks
:0)
I didn't get to where I am today.
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