Edit multiple shapes on multiple frames at same time?

[djoly]

Adobe Animate has the ‘edit multiple frames’ button, which allows you to set (and display) a range of frames that can then all be modified at the same time. So you’re effectively editing all shapes, or parts of shapes, on all those frames. Great for making global edits like scaling, rotating, color changes, etc..

Is there a similar function in Moho? I have some FBF animation frames and I like to tweak the contents all at once.

[Greenlaw]

Relative Keyframing will do that, but it's meant to work with one one layer, so it's not appropriate for the FBF layer. To use it, enable the option, then select all the keyframes you want to affect. Remember to turn it off when you're done because it can really mess things up if you're not aware it's on.

Multi-frame editing for FBF is trickier because you're actually working in multiple layers, but you can try this...

1. Open the layer settings for the FBF layer.
2. Click on Switch and disable Frame By Frame Drawing. This converts the layer into a Switch layer.
3. Make an empty folder and drag the contents of the Switch layer into the folder. Now you can see all the layers.
4. Use one or both of the multilayer tools from Mohoscripts.com to edit all the layers. (Be careful not to change the layer order)
5. When done, drag the drawings back into the Switch. The sequence is still keyframed in the Switch so you can play back the animation to see the changes you just made.
6. Re-enable the option to turn the Switch back into an FBF layer.

I just tried this procedure, and it should work...in theory, anyway. Moho crashed at step 6. but it worked perfectly up to step 5.

I'll try this one more time, saving before step 6, and see how it goes. (Update: On second try, Steps 1 - 6 worked fine. See below for more info.)

Let me know if it works for you.

[Greenlaw]

Moho auto-saved the file...whew.

So, then I tried step 6, and it worked fine.

Actually, step 6 is necessary only if you want to continue editing the layer as an FBF. Otherwise, it's okay to keep it as a Switch layer because the playback result is the same.

Remember to save, just in case.

[djoly]

Thanks very much for the detailed suggestions, Greenlaw. I’ll give it a shot and report back.

Thanks again!

[Greenlaw]

Sure! This procedure was something I thought about when I found that 14.1 didn’t allow editing FBF layers directly, and this was an opportunity to try it for real. Glad to see it works, and I hope it does what you need.

One interesting thing I stumbled upon was when I converted back to FBF (step 6,) I noticed the FBF layer remained open with the the individual frame layers exposed. I don’t know if they were still accessible because when I clicked away, the FBF layer collapsed and locked itself. I might have got revisit this and see if I can take advantage of it somehow. Which brings me to…

I get why they locked the FBF layer in 14.1 (open access apparently confused beginner users,) but I still feel there should be an option for users who want to insert point animation into the FBF like we could in previous releases of Moho. To me, the additional steps I have to take now makes this more complicated.

[Daxel]

I get why they locked the FBF layer in 14.1 (open access apparently confused beginner users,) but I still feel there should be an option for users who want to insert point animation into the FBF like we could in previous releases of Moho. To me, the additional steps I have to take now makes this more complicated.

I couldn't agree more. I remember the first time I used Moho's FBF to animate a character taking a jacket off, and mid process I realised I was able to use point interpolation to achieve two thirds of the frames needed for that shot, so I only had to actually redraw the jacket two or three times to make that 10 frames shot. Point interpolation is what makes Moho indispensable, removing it from FBF was a big downgrade for me.

[Greenlaw]

Yeah. I mean, we can still do this after converting the FBF to a Switch layer, but it's inconvenient when you want to continue adding FBF frames. It wouldn't be too bad if I could select an R+Click menu and choose Convert to Switch/FBF instead of opening the Switch/FBF Layer Settings, clicking on the Switch tab, and then toggling the FBF Drawing option.

(Side note: I still want to see Copy Layer/Paste Layer added to the Layers Window R+Click menu. This one is long overdue.)

[Greenlaw]

Just now, I needed to use Point-Based Selection again, and I was thinking: Instead of going into the settings and repeatedly toggling this option on and off as needed, wouldn't it be better instead to have a button for 'Select By Points'?

A button to select Shapes based on the current Point selection would be easier for me as this is essentially how I'm using the Point-Based Selection option. This way, Point-Based selection is active only in the brief moments it's needed.

The Select By Points button would be a companion to Shape Window's other shape selection buttons Select All/Select Inverse, and Select Matching.

Thanks, Rai, for any response.