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User Guide
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Reverse Allows you to reverse the sequence of key frames on the Timeline
Control, so that the animation starts with the last frame and ends with the first.
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Smooth Motion Path Plays the animation smoothly, where the transition from one
frame to the next becomes less noticeable.
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Plug-in Mask Allows you to set the start and end points of a plug-in effect in the
animation sequence.
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Plug-in Enable Toggles between showing and hiding a plug-in effect.
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Current Frame Denotes the frame number that is currently displayed.
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Number of Frames Sets the total number of frames in the animation sequence.
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Frame Rate Sets the speed in frames per second (fps) at which the animation
plays.
Working with key frames and timelines
When you start to create an animation, you begin with a timeline. The timeline represents a
number of frames in the animation. In COOL 3D, you use the Timeline Control to edit the
attributes of timelines. Many properties of the 3D object (such as size, position, color, and any
plug-in effects) have individual timelines that you can edit independently. These are listed in the
Properties Menu.
Key frames let you choreograph your animation sequence as you work with the timeline. By
adding key frames and editing attributes in those key frames, you can, for instance, set your
object to move from left to right, and then rotate. Any adjustments you make to your object at a
given key frame determines the state of the object at that frame of the animation (for example,
the position, size, color, etc.). The following describes some basic controls of the Timeline
Control:
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Properties Menu Use this to select the timeline for a specific property that you
want to edit. By default, the basic attributes are listed (i.e. Position, Orientation,
Color, etc.). If you apply a plug-in effect to the object, that will be added to the list.
Once you select a property, the timeline for that property will appear.
Properties Menu
Slider
Move to
Next Frame
Move to
Previous
Frame
Jump to Next
Key Frame
Jump to Previous
Key Frame
Key Frames
Object List