https://www.wiki.synfig.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=DaveJ&feedformat=atomSynfig Studio :: Documentation - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T11:33:58ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.26.3https://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Dev:GoogleSoC/ApplicationForm&diff=15340Dev:GoogleSoC/ApplicationForm2012-03-07T06:32:25Z<p>DaveJ: typo envolvement -> involvement</p>
<hr />
<div>Questions from http://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/org/application/google/gsoc2012 (needs registration)<br />
<br />
* '''Organization name:'''<br />
** Synfig<br />
<br />
* '''Organization description:'''<br />
** We are a community of developers and animators centered around Synfig Studio, a 2D vector animation program aiming to improve artistic workflow by focusing on tweening and interpolation. We work together to refine and add new features to the Synfig software, create tutorials, and run challenges to help and inspire our artists.<br />
<br />
* '''Organization home page url:'''<br />
** http://synfig.org/<br />
<br />
* '''Main organization License:'''<br />
** GNU GPL v2 or later.<br />
<br />
* '''What is the URL for your Ideas page?'''<br />
** http://wiki.synfig.org/wiki/Dev:GoogleSoC/Ideas<br />
<br />
* '''What is the main IRC channel for your organization?'''<br />
** #synfig on irc.freenode.net Logs: http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/logs<br />
<br />
* '''What is the main development mailing list for your organization?'''<br />
** http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/synfig-devl<br />
<br />
* '''Why is your organization applying to participate in Google Summer of Code 2012? What do you hope to gain by participating?'''<br />
** Because our developing team is still rather small, we hope to attract new and enthusiastic developers to the project. <br />
An increase of developers would allow us to implement long-awaited features needed by the animation community.<br />
<br />
* '''Did your organization participate in past Google Summer of Codes? If so, please summarize your involvement and the successes and challenges of your participation.'''<br />
** Our organization has not participated in any past GSoCs.<br />
<br />
* '''If your organization has not previously participated in Google Summer of Code, have you applied in the past? If so, for what year(s)?'''<br />
** We applied to GSoC in 2008 and 2010.<br />
<br />
* '''Does your organization have an application template you would like to see students use? If so, please provide it now.'''<br />
** http://wiki.synfig.org/wiki/Dev:GoogleSoC/StudentApplicationTemplate<br />
<br />
* '''What criteria did you use to select your mentors for this year's program? Please be as specific as possible.'''<br />
** For our mentors, we have selected the most motivated and consistent contributors to the project who have extensive knowledge of specific areas of the Synfig Studio source code. Mentor: Carlos López González, Lead Developer<br />
<br />
* '''What is your plan for dealing with disappearing students?'''<br />
** We plan to ensure that students know how much we value their participation, and we will reach out to them by offering support and guidance. We ask students to provide their email and phone number to the project administrator. If a student disappears without notice, the mentor will contact him/her via email to clarify the situation. If there is no reply within 3 days, the administrator will phone him/her personally. If the student cannot be reached, the administrator will contact Google and report the situation.<br />
<br />
* '''What is your plan for dealing with disappearing mentors?'''<br />
** First and foremost, we are certain that our mentor and lead developer is incredibly commited, as he has demonstrated by his many years of service. However, our backup mentor will be available throughout the summer to provide additional support for students, and will be able to fill in for the primary mentor if he is unavailable. In the case of an emergency, or if the mentor disappears and the project administrator fails contact him by phone, the backup mentor will fully take over his responsibilities.<br />
<br />
* '''What steps will you take to encourage students to interact with your project's community before, during and after the program?'''<br />
** We want to have students who are active with the project before the application process begins. We ask potential students to introduce themselves on the project mailing list and forums and they would get to talk with some of our developers and animators. We will treat them as any new member of our community and help them learn how the project works, and we will answer any questions they may have.<br />
As part of our application process, we require that students are able to compile and run Synfig, and we ask them to submit several patches or pull requests and any artwork made in Synfig that they want to share. Those that have shown active involvement and eagerness to participate will be favored for acceptance into the program, and we believe that the enthusiastic students will choose to stay after the summer is over.<br />
Once a student's code is reviewed and critiqued, we will strive to integrate it into a new release of Synfig. If students see the tangible impact of their work over the summer, they will be more motivated to remain a part of our community after GSoC is over.<br />
<br />
* '''Are you a new organization who has a Googler or other organization to vouch for you? If so, please list their name(s) here.'''<br />
** No, we're not.<br />
<br />
* '''Are you an established or larger organization who would like to vouch for a new organization applying this year? If so, please list their name(s) here.'''<br />
** N.A.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Dev:GoogleSoC/ApplicationForm&diff=15339Dev:GoogleSoC/ApplicationForm2012-03-07T06:31:23Z<p>DaveJ: typo insure -> ensure</p>
<hr />
<div>Questions from http://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/org/application/google/gsoc2012 (needs registration)<br />
<br />
* '''Organization name:'''<br />
** Synfig<br />
<br />
* '''Organization description:'''<br />
** We are a community of developers and animators centered around Synfig Studio, a 2D vector animation program aiming to improve artistic workflow by focusing on tweening and interpolation. We work together to refine and add new features to the Synfig software, create tutorials, and run challenges to help and inspire our artists.<br />
<br />
* '''Organization home page url:'''<br />
** http://synfig.org/<br />
<br />
* '''Main organization License:'''<br />
** GNU GPL v2 or later.<br />
<br />
* '''What is the URL for your Ideas page?'''<br />
** http://wiki.synfig.org/wiki/Dev:GoogleSoC/Ideas<br />
<br />
* '''What is the main IRC channel for your organization?'''<br />
** #synfig on irc.freenode.net Logs: http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/logs<br />
<br />
* '''What is the main development mailing list for your organization?'''<br />
** http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/synfig-devl<br />
<br />
* '''Why is your organization applying to participate in Google Summer of Code 2012? What do you hope to gain by participating?'''<br />
** Because our developing team is still rather small, we hope to attract new and enthusiastic developers to the project. <br />
An increase of developers would allow us to implement long-awaited features needed by the animation community.<br />
<br />
* '''Did your organization participate in past Google Summer of Codes? If so, please summarize your involvement and the successes and challenges of your participation.'''<br />
** Our organization has not participated in any past GSoCs.<br />
<br />
* '''If your organization has not previously participated in Google Summer of Code, have you applied in the past? If so, for what year(s)?'''<br />
** We applied to GSoC in 2008 and 2010.<br />
<br />
* '''Does your organization have an application template you would like to see students use? If so, please provide it now.'''<br />
** http://wiki.synfig.org/wiki/Dev:GoogleSoC/StudentApplicationTemplate<br />
<br />
* '''What criteria did you use to select your mentors for this year's program? Please be as specific as possible.'''<br />
** For our mentors, we have selected the most motivated and consistent contributors to the project who have extensive knowledge of specific areas of the Synfig Studio source code. Mentor: Carlos López González, Lead Developer<br />
<br />
* '''What is your plan for dealing with disappearing students?'''<br />
** We plan to ensure that students know how much we value their participation, and we will reach out to them by offering support and guidance. We ask students to provide their email and phone number to the project administrator. If a student disappears without notice, the mentor will contact him/her via email to clarify the situation. If there is no reply within 3 days, the administrator will phone him/her personally. If the student cannot be reached, the administrator will contact Google and report the situation.<br />
<br />
* '''What is your plan for dealing with disappearing mentors?'''<br />
** First and foremost, we are certain that our mentor and lead developer is incredibly commited, as he has demonstrated by his many years of service. However, our backup mentor will be available throughout the summer to provide additional support for students, and will be able to fill in for the primary mentor if he is unavailable. In the case of an emergency, or if the mentor disappears and the project administrator fails contact him by phone, the backup mentor will fully take over his responsibilities.<br />
<br />
* '''What steps will you take to encourage students to interact with your project's community before, during and after the program?'''<br />
** We want to have students who are active with the project before the application process begins. We ask potential students to introduce themselves on the project mailing list and forums and they would get to talk with some of our developers and animators. We will treat them as any new member of our community and help them learn how the project works, and we will answer any questions they may have.<br />
As part of our application process, we require that students are able to compile and run Synfig, and we ask them to submit several patches or pull requests and any artwork made in Synfig that they want to share. Those that have shown active envolvement and eagerness to participate will be favored for acceptance into the program, and we believe that the enthusiastic students will choose to stay after the summer is over.<br />
Once a student's code is reviewed and critiqued, we will strive to integrate it into a new release of Synfig. If students see the tangible impact of their work over the summer, they will be more motivated to remain a part of our community after GSoC is over.<br />
<br />
* '''Are you a new organization who has a Googler or other organization to vouch for you? If so, please list their name(s) here.'''<br />
** No, we're not.<br />
<br />
* '''Are you an established or larger organization who would like to vouch for a new organization applying this year? If so, please list their name(s) here.'''<br />
** N.A.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15217Waypoint2012-02-18T11:39:23Z<p>DaveJ: /* Graphical Representation */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
panel. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" (or "undershoots") the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoint-combos.png}}<br />
<br />
In the chart above the 'in' interpolation is shown on the left, and the 'out' interpolation is shown across the top.<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
Look at the waypoints below. They are from the timetrack for the {{Literal|Vertices}} of an Outline layer.<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoints-undefined.png}}<br />
<br />
You'll see the left side of each of the Waypoints is colored. This means the 'in' interpolation for each vertex is the same. However, the right side is grey, indicating that the 'out' interpolation for each vertex differs.<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15216Waypoint2012-02-18T11:37:39Z<p>DaveJ: /* Graphical Representation */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
panel. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" (or "undershoots") the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoint-combos.png}}<br />
<br />
In the chart above the 'in' interpolation is shown on the left, and the 'out' interpolation is shown across the top.<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
Look at the waypoints below. They are from the timetrack for the {{Literal|Vertices}} of an Outline layer.<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoints-undefined.png}}<br />
<br />
You'll see the left side of each of the Waypoints is colored. This means the 'in' interpolation for each vertex is the same. However, the right side is grey, indicating that the 'out' interpolation for each vertex differs at each waypoint.<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15215Waypoint2012-02-18T11:31:10Z<p>DaveJ: /* Graphical Representation */ Removed Manual</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
panel. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" (or "undershoots") the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoint-combos.png}}<br />
<br />
In the chart above the 'in' interpolation is shown on the left, and the 'out' interpolation is shown across the top.<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoints-undefined.png}}<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15214Waypoint2012-02-18T11:30:39Z<p>DaveJ: /* Graphical Representation */ Replaced undefined graphic to include clamped</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
panel. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" (or "undershoots") the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoint-combos.png}}<br />
<br />
In the chart above the 'in' interpolation is shown on the left, and the 'out' interpolation is shown across the top.<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
* the purple (manual) sides act strangely (TODO!)<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoints-undefined.png}}<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=File:Waypoints-undefined.png&diff=15213File:Waypoints-undefined.png2012-02-18T11:29:37Z<p>DaveJ: Waypoints with undefined "out" interpolation.</p>
<hr />
<div>Waypoints with undefined "out" interpolation.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15212Waypoint2012-02-18T11:22:26Z<p>DaveJ: /* Interpolation */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
panel. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" (or "undershoots") the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoint-combos.png}}<br />
<br />
In the chart above the 'in' interpolation is shown on the left, and the 'out' interpolation is shown across the top.<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
* the purple (manual) sides act strangely (TODO!)<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-undef.png<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15211Waypoint2012-02-18T11:18:57Z<p>DaveJ: /* Interpolation */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
panel. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoint-combos.png}}<br />
<br />
In the chart above the 'in' interpolation is shown on the left, and the 'out' interpolation is shown across the top.<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
* the purple (manual) sides act strangely (TODO!)<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-undef.png<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15210Waypoint2012-02-18T11:18:29Z<p>DaveJ: /* Interpolation */ Removed Manual</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
panel. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoint-combos.png}}<br />
<br />
In the chart above the 'in' interpolation is shown on the left, and the 'out' interpolation is shown across the top.<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
* the purple (manual) sides act strangely (TODO!)<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-undef.png<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15209Waypoint2012-02-18T11:14:50Z<p>DaveJ: /* Graphical Representation */ Replaced grid to include Clamped</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
panel. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Manual: TODO (allows manual adjustment of {{l|TCB}} variables?)<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Waypoint-combos.png}}<br />
<br />
In the chart above the 'in' interpolation is shown on the left, and the 'out' interpolation is shown across the top.<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
* the purple (manual) sides act strangely (TODO!)<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-undef.png<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=File:Waypoint-combos.png&diff=15208File:Waypoint-combos.png2012-02-18T11:11:09Z<p>DaveJ: Possible cominations of Waypoint In and Out interpolation methods.</p>
<hr />
<div>Possible cominations of Waypoint In and Out interpolation methods.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15207Waypoint2012-02-18T08:04:26Z<p>DaveJ: /* Introduction */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
panel. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Manual: TODO (allows manual adjustment of {{l|TCB}} variables?)<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible. The<br />
following waypoints are from 5 vertices of a single bline:<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-all.png<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
* the purple (manual) sides act strangely (TODO!)<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-undef.png<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15206Waypoint2012-02-18T08:02:38Z<p>DaveJ: /* Interpolation */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
dialog. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Clamped : Acts like TCB interpolation, but never "overshoots" the values you set in the parameters panel.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Manual: TODO (allows manual adjustment of {{l|TCB}} variables?)<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible. The<br />
following waypoints are from 5 vertices of a single bline:<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-all.png<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
* the purple (manual) sides act strangely (TODO!)<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-undef.png<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Talk:Waypoint&diff=15205Talk:Waypoint2012-02-18T07:59:19Z<p>DaveJ: Added a couple of notes on Clamped for later</p>
<hr />
<div>[[User:DaveJ|DaveJ]] wrote: Until I add it into the page, some information about Clamped Interpolation is here:<br />
<br />
http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry/synfig-studio-gets-clamped-interpolation-method<br />
http://synfig.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1603<br />
<br />
[[User:DaveJ|DaveJ]] 07:59, 18 February 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[[User:Dooglus|dooglus]] wrote: The ability to delete whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful... <br />
<br />
I've found a way to work around this task. Just create a dummy waypoint at other frame (it could be an existing waypoint). Select the dummy waypoint. Place the cursor at the frame where the waypoints (root and children) are going to be deleted, and right click and select "Duplicate". It would overwrite the dummy waypoint (and all its children) at the frame where the cursor is. Then juts drag the duplicated dummy waypoint over the original dummy waypoint to restore the animation. [[User:Genete|Genete]] 19:01, 10 Sep 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Nice trick. I've found that you can also just drag the dummy waypoint onto the waypoint you want to delete, and then drag it back to where it started. It reminds me of removing fluff from clothes using sticky tape - when you drag the dummy waypoint onto another waypoint, the other waypoint sticks to the dummy one, and when you drag it away, they both go away together. We're still left with the problem of how to delete the dummy waypoint of course. :) [[User:Dooglus|dooglus]] 07:16, 12 Sep 2007 (EDT)</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15204Waypoint2012-02-18T07:48:11Z<p>DaveJ: /* Graphical Representation */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
dialog. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Manual: TODO (allows manual adjustment of {{l|TCB}} variables?)<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="6"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible. The<br />
following waypoints are from 5 vertices of a single bline:<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-all.png<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
* the purple (manual) sides act strangely (TODO!)<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-undef.png<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Waypoint&diff=15203Waypoint2012-02-18T07:45:18Z<p>DaveJ: /* Graphical Representation */ Added Clamped, remove Manual from types</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Waypoint}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints are the graphical symbols that show up on the {{l|timetrack}}<br />
dialog. Each time the value of a parameter is edited in<br />
{{l|Animate_Editing_Mode|animate editing mode}}, a waypoint will be<br />
created. For example, when you adjust a tangent {{l|duck}} of a vertex<br />
in a bline, a waypoint will be created to note the change. However,<br />
you didn't really adjust the tangent, you adjusted the two parameters<br />
which define the tangent: its angle ('Theta'), and its length<br />
('Radius'). Opening up the 'tangent' node in the params dialog will<br />
show that waypoints have been created against each of these 2<br />
parameters.<br />
<br />
As a result of adjusting a single tangent duck, waypoints have been created as follows:<br />
* the length of the tangent changed ('Radius')<br />
* the angle of the tangent changed ('Theta')<br />
* the tangent changed ('Tangent 1')<br />
* the vertex changed ('Vertex 001')<br />
* the vertices changes ('Vertices')<br />
Only the first 2 of these are 'leaf waypoints' - the rest are parents (and grandparents, etc) of these 2 waypoints.<br />
<br />
As things currently stand, it is only possible to delete one leaf<br />
waypoint at a time. If, for example, you want to delete the change<br />
made to the tangent duck above, you'll need to open up the tangent and<br />
delete both the 'Theta' and 'Radius' waypoints. The ability to delete<br />
whole trees of waypoints with a single click would be useful, as would<br />
the ability to select multiple waypoints at once, and operate upon<br />
them en masse.<br />
<br />
== Editing Waypoints ==<br />
<br />
Waypoints can be dragged left or right with the left mouse button to<br />
change the time at which they act upon their parameter(s). If you<br />
drag a parent's waypoint, all its child waypoints will move with it.<br />
<br />
Right-clicking on waypoint shows a context menu, containing:<br />
* Jump to: Set the current time to be the time of the waypoint.<br />
* Edit waypoint: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. TODO: writeme (brings up a dialog allowing various parameters to be set).<br />
* Duplicate: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. creates a copy of the current waypoint at the currently selected time.<br />
* Delete: Only appears for single-leaf waypoints. deletes the waypoint.<br />
* Change in/out interp.: Only appears for multi-leaf waypoints, and allows you to change the in (or out) interpolation setting for the waypoint and all its children. The choice of 'in' or 'out' is dependent upon which half of the waypoint you clicked on.<br />
<br />
== Interpolation ==<br />
<br />
Each waypoint has an 'In' and an 'Out' interpolation setting, which<br />
determines the manner in which its parameter changes - whether it<br />
changes linearly over time, or follows a curve.<br />
<br />
The 'In' interpolation defines how the parameter changes in the<br />
moments before the waypoint is reached, and 'Out' defines how it<br />
changes in the moments after the waypoint. Available interpolation<br />
types are as follows:<br />
<br />
* {{l|TCB|TCB Smooth}}: If you imagine a graph of the parameter's value against time, using the TCB interpolation type will fit a smooth curve between adjacent waypoints, much like the bline tool fits smooth curves between adjacent bline vertices.<br />
* Constant: Stops the animation.<br />
* Linear: The graph of parameter value against time is a straight line.<br />
* Ease In/Out: The graph is horizontal as it leaves the waypoint.<br />
* Manual: TODO (allows manual adjustment of {{l|TCB}} variables?)<br />
* Undefined: This is only shown for multi-leaf waypoints, where there is more than one different interpolation type amongst its leaf waypoints.<br />
<br />
=== Graphical Representation ===<br />
<br />
The color and shape of the waypoint as displayed in the timetrack<br />
indicates its interpolation type:<br />
<br />
<gallery caption="Waypoints" widths="64px" heights="64px" perrow="3"><br />
File:Waypoint-clamped.png|Clamped<br />
File:Waypoint-tcb.png|TCB Smooth<br />
File:Waypoint-constant.png|Constant<br />
File:Waypoint-ease.png|Ease In/Out<br />
File:Waypoint-linear.png|Linear<br />
File:Waypoint-undefined.png|Undefined<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
Each waypoint is split into two halves. The left half indicates its<br />
'in interpolation' and the right half indicates its 'out<br />
interpolation', so many different combinations are possible. The<br />
following waypoints are from 5 vertices of a single bline:<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-all.png<br />
<br />
Note: the .sif file used to generate these screenshots is<br />
available. [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoint-examples.sif]<br />
<br />
Here is an [http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.sif<br />
experimental .sif file] showing 25 different blobs, and how they move<br />
with different combinations of waypoints. It renders to a<br />
[http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/interpolation.avi 634K .avi<br />
file], and is available in lower resolution<br />
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI1VaH2psts on YouTube]. Notice how:<br />
* the blobs with any red (constant) on them don't move at all<br />
* the yellow (linear) sides of blobs 'bounce' off the walls<br />
* the cyan (ease) sides slow gracefully to a halt at the walls<br />
* the green (TCB smooth) sides bounce at the top (the animation is a single down-and-up animation, looped, so there's no 'context' at the top for the TCB to fit the curve to) but act smoothly at the bottom<br />
* the purple (manual) sides act strangely (TODO!)<br />
<br />
The 'undefined' (grey) symbol is used when the row in the timetrack<br />
dialog represents multiple waypoints. For example, the 'vertices'<br />
row represents all the vertices making up a bline. Each of those<br />
vertices can have multiple waypoints, each with different<br />
interpolations. If all the interpolations are the same, that<br />
interpolation's symbol will be used. Otherwise, the grey 'undefined'<br />
symbol is used.<br />
<br />
The following waypoints are from the 'vertices' row of the same bline<br />
as before. Notice that since the left side of each of the waypoints<br />
is colored, indicating that the 'in' interpolation of the vertices<br />
are the same for all vertices, whereas the right side is grey,<br />
indicating that there is more than one 'out' interpolation in each<br />
column.<br />
<br />
http://dooglus.rincevent.net/synfig/waypoints-undef.png<br />
<br />
TODO: rewrite the above so it doesn't hurt the brain so much.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=File:Waypoint-undefined.png&diff=15202File:Waypoint-undefined.png2012-02-18T07:31:22Z<p>DaveJ: Undefined waypoint symbol.</p>
<hr />
<div>Undefined waypoint symbol.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=File:Waypoint-tcb.png&diff=15201File:Waypoint-tcb.png2012-02-18T07:31:07Z<p>DaveJ: TCB waypoint symbol.</p>
<hr />
<div>TCB waypoint symbol.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=File:Waypoint-linear.png&diff=15200File:Waypoint-linear.png2012-02-18T07:30:45Z<p>DaveJ: Linear waypoint symbol.</p>
<hr />
<div>Linear waypoint symbol.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=File:Waypoint-ease.png&diff=15199File:Waypoint-ease.png2012-02-18T07:30:29Z<p>DaveJ: Ease In/Out waypoint symbol.</p>
<hr />
<div>Ease In/Out waypoint symbol.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=File:Waypoint-constant.png&diff=15198File:Waypoint-constant.png2012-02-18T07:30:04Z<p>DaveJ: Constant waypoint symbol.</p>
<hr />
<div>Constant waypoint symbol.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=File:Waypoint-clamped.png&diff=15197File:Waypoint-clamped.png2012-02-18T07:29:42Z<p>DaveJ: Clamped waypoint symbol.</p>
<hr />
<div>Clamped waypoint symbol.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=FAQ&diff=15195FAQ2012-02-17T12:02:33Z<p>DaveJ: /* Why does the Text Tool make Synfig Studio crash? */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|FAQ}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== General FAQs ==<br />
<br />
=== Who is synfigbot at the Synfig IRC channel? ===<br />
<br />
synfigbot is a bot that sits in the [http://www.synfig.org/cms/en/support/ Synfig IRC channel], not a human. It has some commands and could respond to some of the usual questions like: "What's the latest Synfig Studio version? One of its funnier commands is to quote past funny comments from people at the IRC. To make it remind a quote, just type: !q. Please be nice with it, it is still learning. ;)<br />
<br />
=== Why are the CIA in the Synfig IRC channel? ===<br />
<br />
"CIA-28" and friends are bots that sit in the {{l|Contact|Synfig IRC channel}} and report whenever they detect a new commit in the subversion repository, giving the committer's name, revision number, and commit log message. The same information for recent commits can be found on [http://cia.vc/stats/project/synfig cia.vc]. [http://www.ohloh.net/projects/4832?p=Synfig ohloh.net] has similar pages of statistics.<br />
<br />
== FAQs relating to the current Synfig release ==<br />
<br />
Many issues are documented in the [http://sf.net/tracker/?group_id=144022&atid=757416 bug tracker] and on the {{l|Download|download}} page.<br />
<br />
=== What is the status of the MacOS package? ===<br />
<br />
Some people have [http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1686495 volunteered] to work on a pure MacOS X package for synfig, but there have not yet been any results. Currently options for using synfig on MacOS X include: {{l|Dev:Building On Mac OS X|building it yourself}}, using Homebrew as mentioned in [http://synfig.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2678 this forum post], {{l|Download#fink|installing packages from fink}} or installing Linux or Windows on your machine and using it there.<br />
<br />
=== Is there any Flash/SWF support? ===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately not. Patches are welcome though. Please {{l|Contact|contact}} us to discuss your plans for adding SWF support so we can give any advice needed.<br />
<br />
=== Procedure entry point ... could not be located? ===<br />
<br />
If you are on Windows and it says "the procedure entry point_ZN6synfig5Color7set_hexERSs could not be located in the dynamic link library libsynfig-0.dll" that means you forgot to upgrade synfig when you upgraded synfigstudio. Due to the dependency systems on Linux you will probably not get this there unless your distro has broken packages. Be sure to install the latest version of synfig and synfigstudio.<br />
<br />
If you get the same error but with gtk, glib, iconv.dll or libxml2.dll you should look for old versions of these DLLs in your Windows directory and rename them to iconv.dll.bak and libxm2.dll.bak etc.<br />
<br />
=== libsynfig-0.dll was not found ===<br />
<br />
If you get the error message "libsynfig-0.dll was not found" please check that you have synfig (as well as synfig studio) correctly installed. <br />
<br />
<div id="Can_I_do_anything_to_improve_the_stability_of_the_Windows_version_of_Synfig.3F"></div><br />
=== Can I do anything to improve the stability of synfigstudio? ===<br />
<br />
If you're running on a Hyperthreading or multi-core CPU (e.g Pentium 4 with Hyperthreading or Intel Core2 Duo or Quadcore, etc.) then you may find Synfig is more stable if you restrict it to run on only one processor. '''Since version 0.62.01 the stability under Windows has increased noticiably. The single thread renderer option has been enabled by default in Synfig Studio.'''<br />
<br />
===== How do I do this on Windows? =====<br />
<br />
To do this on windows, start Synfig Studio, then press Ctrl-Shift-Esc this will start the 'Windows Task Manager', alternatively you can press Ctrl-Alt-Del and choose 'Task Manager'. Select the processes tab, find synfigstudio.exe in the processes list and right click on it. Choose 'Set Affinity...' and make sure only one CPU is checked. Unfortunately, this setting isn't preserved so you either have to do this manually each time you start Synfig Studio or use a tool such as the [http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/05/28/getting_more_bang_out_of_your_dual_processing_buck/index.html Tom's Hardware Guide Task Assignment Manager].<br />
<br />
===== How do I do this on Linux? =====<br />
<br />
On linux, you need to install schedutils.<br />
<br />
Then run synfigstudio like this:<br />
<br />
<pre>taskset -c 0 synfigstudio</pre><br />
<br />
Or if you have synfigstudio open already, run this:<br />
<br />
<pre>taskset -p -c 0 `pgrep synfigstudio`</pre><br />
<br />
=== Why can't I get sound to work? ===<br />
Synfig GUI implies that sound files can be loaded and played with the animation previews, to aid with e.g. lip synching. Synfig relies on a helper library called FMOD to handle sound. Unfortunately, it appears that this feature was not fully implemented, and the 'play' code is commented out. Windows support for sound does not even appear to have been attempted. If you need to need to synch to a soundtrack, the easiest way is to use video editing software to add the sound effects afterwards, or use an audio editor to take careful note of the audio cues, and animate the action to coincide with those timestamps.<br />
<br />
See this page for {{l|Sound Layer | sound}} implementation guidelines.<br />
<br />
=== How do I render moving pictures from Synfig under Windows === <br />
FFMPEG is now distributed as an optional component of the Windows installer (installed by default). If you're looking for a file to include on a web page, rendering to an animated gif file also works (although you may want to use a quality setting of 6 or higher to avoid rendering artifacts). For mpg, there are a couple of options. <br />
* Use the ffmpeg render target in Synfig to render to an mpg file, or <br />
* If you want more control over the final video file, the best solution may be to render to a sequence of png files and use a separate program, such as the command line version of ffmpeg, to assemble them to a video file. This could also allow you to incorporate an audio track in the same step.<br />
Be careful where you choose to save your rendered file. If you save it to an area where Microsoft doesn't think you should be writing (like "c:\" or "c:\Program Files\.." etc.) it will pretend to let you, but in fact save it to another location to save yourself. You can find it using a file search, but it won't be where you thought it was. Be safe - save to the desktop or a folder under "c:\Users\yourname\..."<br />
<br />
=== I have a weird problem building from source. What's up? ===<br />
<br />
Your copy of pkg-config probably doesn't look in the right places for .pc files. If you are installing to /usr/local, try running "export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig" before building or installing anything.<br />
<br />
=== Why does only the first frame of my animation render? ===<br />
<br />
You probably have '''Use current frame''' checked in the render dialog box.<br />
<br />
=== Why don't I get the colors I'm expecting? ===<br />
<br />
This [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model#Nonlinearity Wikipedia] article talks about how color output is non-linear, that if 0 is black and 100 is white, then 50 is only about 22 percent of the brightness of white, rather than 50% as you might expect.<br />
<br />
In synfig there is an option (on by default) to make sure that if you ask for 50, you get 50% of the brightness of white.<br />
<br />
In the {{l|Toolbox|Toolbox}} see File>Setup which would open the {{l|Setup Dialog|Setup Dialog}}. Then go to the Misc tab and to the Visually Linear Color Selection checkbox. If you turn that off, everything will go back to its non-linear, yet strangely comfortable and familiar mode.<br />
<br />
=== Why doesn't the rotate tool rotate rectangles? ===<br />
The rotate tool works on ducks. The rectangle layer works by drawing horizontal and vertical lines between the two ducks, so when the rotate tool is used with a rectangle it only rotates the ducks around the rotation point, but the lines of the rectangle are still horizontal and vertical. What you are probably looking for is the {{l|Layer#Rotate|Rotate Layer}}. If you have a build of Synfig SVN 1981 or later, there is a Rectangle -> Bline tool option which would allow the behaviour you might expect.<br />
<br />
=== Tablet doesn't track as expected ===<br />
When using some programs you may find that the mouse may not track as you would expect.<br />
Synfig, Inkscape and Gimp are ones that I have used that will give odd tracking.<br />
When drawing with the mouse the actual drawing is some distance from the cursor and when<br />
you use the pen the drawing is drawn where the cursor is.<br />
This can be easily fixed with the software that came with the tablet.<br />
<br />
When using the tablet software that came with the graphire 4 tablet you will find<br />
that it uses two different tracking methods for the mouse and pen and these two<br />
tracking methods are called Mouse Mode and Pen Mode.<br />
<br />
The Pen Mode uses absolute positioning, that means the active drawing area of the tablet<br />
is in proportion to the whole screen. Wherever you move the pen the cursor will move<br />
to the corresponding point on the screen, wether you drag the pen or you pick up the<br />
pen and move it to a new location that cursor will move or jump to where the pen is.<br />
<br />
The Mouse Mode uses a positioning system similar to a traditional mouse where you can pick up<br />
and slide the mouse where you wish and the cursor will follow the mouse as it is moved.<br />
It will not jump to new locations on the screen even if you pick up the mouse and place it<br />
in a new position on the tablet, the cursor will just continue from it's last position.<br />
<br />
In the case of the Wacom Graphire 4 tablet that I'm using in Windows XP I needed to open the<br />
program called Pen Tablet and change the settings for the mouse.<br />
To do this open Pen Tablet and you will see four tabs, click the tab marked Mouse and you will<br />
find a box called Tracking with two options. One is Pen Mode and the other is Mouse Mode.<br />
Select the Pen Mode and the mouse will now use absolute positioning.<br />
<br />
=== Why does the Text Tool make Synfig Studio crash? ===<br />
<br />
Occassionally, some users report that Synfig Studio crashes whenever the {{l|Text_Tool}} is selected. This is caused by one or more of their currently installed fonts being corrupted or containing non-standard data.<br />
<br />
Once the these fonts are uninstalled, the {{l|Text_Tool}} will work correctly.<br />
<br />
== FAQs relating to earlier Synfig versions ==<br />
<br />
These issues have been addressed in the current version of Synfig.<br />
<br />
=== Why do imported SVG images look bad? ===<br />
<br />
Synfig doesn't have the ability to import SVG images, it can only auto-render them to PNG with imagemagick and import those. The closest you can get to importing complex formats like SVG or XCF is to use one of the {{l|Converters|converters}}. <br />
Synfig can import SVG since 0.62.00 release.<br />
<br />
=== Why Synfig 0.61.08 doesn't work in Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10? ===<br />
Due to the incorporation if the newest GTK/GTKmm version (2.14) since Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10, the old version of synfigstudio included in that linux distribution has turned not usable. Until new Ubuntu version or the adoptation of a backport into 8.04 LTS, the only way to have synfigstudio running in Ubuntu Intrepid is build the binaries from he source code. Follow the {{l|Build Instructions|build instructions}} or [http://synfig.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=277 this thread] to do that.<br />
<br />
=== Where did the polygon, draw and sketch tools go? ===<br />
<br />
They are disabled by default due to problems. Instead of the polygon tool, you should use the bline tool. The draw tool was never completed, is very buggy, and frustrating to use. Since the draw tool is being disabled, then we might as well disable the sketch tool too. You can re-enable them without recompiling by setting some environment variables (you can [http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/environment_variables.mspx set environment variables on windows] too). Set SYNFIG_ENABLE_POLYGON, SYNFIG_ENABLE_DRAW and SYNFIG_ENABLE_SKETCH to 1. On Linux/Unix/MacOSX this is as simple as running these commands in a terminal:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_POLYGON=1<br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_DRAW=1<br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_SKETCH=1<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
Then run synfigstudio from the same terminal. You can probably find some way of getting these variables set automatically when you log in, but it depends on the distro. In Ubuntu you can put them in ~/.xprofile for example.<br />
<br />
The polygon, draw, and sketch tools will be on by default in future releases of Synfig, from 0.61.07 onwards. They can be disabled by replacing 'ENABLE' with 'DISABLE' in the above lines.<br />
<br />
=== Where did the width tool go? ===<br />
<br />
It is disabled by default due to problems. Instead of the width tool, you should just modify the width ducks directly. You can re-enable it without recompiling by setting an environment variable (you can [http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/environment_variables.mspx set environment variables on windows] too). Set SYNFIG_ENABLE_WIDTH to 1. On Linux/Unix/MacOSX this is as simple as running this command in a terminal:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_WIDTH=1<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
Then run synfigstudio from the same terminal. You can probably find some way of getting this variable set automatically when you log in, but it depends on the distro. In Ubuntu you can put it in ~/.xprofile for example.<br />
<br />
The width tool is enabled by default since {{l|Releases/0.61.09|Release 0.61.09}}. It can be disabled by replacing 'ENABLE' with 'DISABLE' in the above line.<br />
<br />
=== Why doesn't walk.sif from the SVN work? ===<br />
<br />
In the SVN repository, there's a walk cycle example, but the sif file includes features that are incompatible with the current version of Synfig. A re-worked example can be found in the {{l|Walk Cycle|Walk Cycle Tutorial}}.<br />
<br />
If you can look at the source code and figure out why the .sif file won't load, we'd love to have a fix.<br />
<br />
=== What happened to my synfig toolbox? ===<br />
<br />
If you no longer have a synfig toolbox, it means the window positions in your settings file for the toolbox got corrupted during a crash or something and your synfig toolbox is now off the screen. You should remove or edit your settings file to get it back. This bug ([http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1836848 1836848]) was fixed in SVN r1167.<br />
<br />
This is a very common issue on Windows computers. Quick fix: delete C:\Documents and Settings\*your user name*\Synfig. You should not lose any saved work. Synfig will run fine following this fix.<br />
<br />
=== The plant layer doesn't work/displays erratically/doesn't render. Why? ===<br />
<br />
The plant layer should allow pictures [http://home.comcast.net/~pxegeek/synfig/plant11.JPG like this one] to be drawn, but again it had a bug that prevented if from working correctly in Synfig 0.61.06 and earlier. The bug was fixed in svn r620 and release 0.61.07<br />
<br />
Further fixes were later added to stop it crashing when 'stem size' or 'splits' were set too high. <br />
<br />
=== Missing icons? synfig/studio doesn't render anything? ===<br />
<br />
You probably compiled synfig with g++ 4.1 using optimisation level 2 or higher. g++ has a bug that prevents Synfig Studio from compositing the images properly. Please recompile synfig using ./configure --enable-optimization=0 or disable optimisation and then rebuild the synfig images. The binary packages for some GNU/Linux distributions are affected by this. [http://sf.net/tracker/?group_id=144022&atid=757416 Bug] #[http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1509627 1509627]<br />
<br />
As of svn r774, it is now OK to build with any optimization level. Also, using gcc 4.2.1 or newer it's possible to successfully build old versions of synfig with strong optimization.<br />
<br />
=== synfigstudio can't find icons? ===<br />
<br />
(I know they rendered fine, but they show up with red crosses everywhere).<br />
<br />
This is #[http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1568925 1568925] that was introduced in SVN 180. Workaround is to set an environment variable at runtime like this: export SYNFIG_ROOT=/usr (or similar) or just install into /usr/local instead. Fixed in SVN r486.<br />
<br />
=== I'm using synfigstudio on a laptop but can't draw anything using my mouse. What gives? ===<br />
<br />
Try disabling the the touchpad from the input devices dialog. Unfortunately synfigstudio will not remember this setting so you have to do it every time you start synfigstudio.<br />
<br />
This was fixed in [http://kibi.dyndns.org:8083/~dooglus/gitweb.pl?p=synfig;a=commitdiff;h=r487 svn r487] and so synfig 0.61.06 and newer won't have this problem.<br />
<br />
=== Why is everything yellow? / Why are all the colors wrong? ===<br />
<br />
This can happen when you switch between locales, due to a bug in version 0.61.05. It's fixed in the subversion repository (r228). To work around the problem, do the following: from the main window, choose File > Setup what would open the {{l|Setup Dialog|Setup Dialog}}, then select the Gamma tab and set all 3 sliders back to the default value of 2.2.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=FAQ&diff=15194FAQ2012-02-17T12:00:11Z<p>DaveJ: /* Why does the Text Tool make Synfig Studio crash? */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|FAQ}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== General FAQs ==<br />
<br />
=== Who is synfigbot at the Synfig IRC channel? ===<br />
<br />
synfigbot is a bot that sits in the [http://www.synfig.org/cms/en/support/ Synfig IRC channel], not a human. It has some commands and could respond to some of the usual questions like: "What's the latest Synfig Studio version? One of its funnier commands is to quote past funny comments from people at the IRC. To make it remind a quote, just type: !q. Please be nice with it, it is still learning. ;)<br />
<br />
=== Why are the CIA in the Synfig IRC channel? ===<br />
<br />
"CIA-28" and friends are bots that sit in the {{l|Contact|Synfig IRC channel}} and report whenever they detect a new commit in the subversion repository, giving the committer's name, revision number, and commit log message. The same information for recent commits can be found on [http://cia.vc/stats/project/synfig cia.vc]. [http://www.ohloh.net/projects/4832?p=Synfig ohloh.net] has similar pages of statistics.<br />
<br />
== FAQs relating to the current Synfig release ==<br />
<br />
Many issues are documented in the [http://sf.net/tracker/?group_id=144022&atid=757416 bug tracker] and on the {{l|Download|download}} page.<br />
<br />
=== What is the status of the MacOS package? ===<br />
<br />
Some people have [http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1686495 volunteered] to work on a pure MacOS X package for synfig, but there have not yet been any results. Currently options for using synfig on MacOS X include: {{l|Dev:Building On Mac OS X|building it yourself}}, using Homebrew as mentioned in [http://synfig.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2678 this forum post], {{l|Download#fink|installing packages from fink}} or installing Linux or Windows on your machine and using it there.<br />
<br />
=== Is there any Flash/SWF support? ===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately not. Patches are welcome though. Please {{l|Contact|contact}} us to discuss your plans for adding SWF support so we can give any advice needed.<br />
<br />
=== Procedure entry point ... could not be located? ===<br />
<br />
If you are on Windows and it says "the procedure entry point_ZN6synfig5Color7set_hexERSs could not be located in the dynamic link library libsynfig-0.dll" that means you forgot to upgrade synfig when you upgraded synfigstudio. Due to the dependency systems on Linux you will probably not get this there unless your distro has broken packages. Be sure to install the latest version of synfig and synfigstudio.<br />
<br />
If you get the same error but with gtk, glib, iconv.dll or libxml2.dll you should look for old versions of these DLLs in your Windows directory and rename them to iconv.dll.bak and libxm2.dll.bak etc.<br />
<br />
=== libsynfig-0.dll was not found ===<br />
<br />
If you get the error message "libsynfig-0.dll was not found" please check that you have synfig (as well as synfig studio) correctly installed. <br />
<br />
<div id="Can_I_do_anything_to_improve_the_stability_of_the_Windows_version_of_Synfig.3F"></div><br />
=== Can I do anything to improve the stability of synfigstudio? ===<br />
<br />
If you're running on a Hyperthreading or multi-core CPU (e.g Pentium 4 with Hyperthreading or Intel Core2 Duo or Quadcore, etc.) then you may find Synfig is more stable if you restrict it to run on only one processor. '''Since version 0.62.01 the stability under Windows has increased noticiably. The single thread renderer option has been enabled by default in Synfig Studio.'''<br />
<br />
===== How do I do this on Windows? =====<br />
<br />
To do this on windows, start Synfig Studio, then press Ctrl-Shift-Esc this will start the 'Windows Task Manager', alternatively you can press Ctrl-Alt-Del and choose 'Task Manager'. Select the processes tab, find synfigstudio.exe in the processes list and right click on it. Choose 'Set Affinity...' and make sure only one CPU is checked. Unfortunately, this setting isn't preserved so you either have to do this manually each time you start Synfig Studio or use a tool such as the [http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/05/28/getting_more_bang_out_of_your_dual_processing_buck/index.html Tom's Hardware Guide Task Assignment Manager].<br />
<br />
===== How do I do this on Linux? =====<br />
<br />
On linux, you need to install schedutils.<br />
<br />
Then run synfigstudio like this:<br />
<br />
<pre>taskset -c 0 synfigstudio</pre><br />
<br />
Or if you have synfigstudio open already, run this:<br />
<br />
<pre>taskset -p -c 0 `pgrep synfigstudio`</pre><br />
<br />
=== Why can't I get sound to work? ===<br />
Synfig GUI implies that sound files can be loaded and played with the animation previews, to aid with e.g. lip synching. Synfig relies on a helper library called FMOD to handle sound. Unfortunately, it appears that this feature was not fully implemented, and the 'play' code is commented out. Windows support for sound does not even appear to have been attempted. If you need to need to synch to a soundtrack, the easiest way is to use video editing software to add the sound effects afterwards, or use an audio editor to take careful note of the audio cues, and animate the action to coincide with those timestamps.<br />
<br />
See this page for {{l|Sound Layer | sound}} implementation guidelines.<br />
<br />
=== How do I render moving pictures from Synfig under Windows === <br />
FFMPEG is now distributed as an optional component of the Windows installer (installed by default). If you're looking for a file to include on a web page, rendering to an animated gif file also works (although you may want to use a quality setting of 6 or higher to avoid rendering artifacts). For mpg, there are a couple of options. <br />
* Use the ffmpeg render target in Synfig to render to an mpg file, or <br />
* If you want more control over the final video file, the best solution may be to render to a sequence of png files and use a separate program, such as the command line version of ffmpeg, to assemble them to a video file. This could also allow you to incorporate an audio track in the same step.<br />
Be careful where you choose to save your rendered file. If you save it to an area where Microsoft doesn't think you should be writing (like "c:\" or "c:\Program Files\.." etc.) it will pretend to let you, but in fact save it to another location to save yourself. You can find it using a file search, but it won't be where you thought it was. Be safe - save to the desktop or a folder under "c:\Users\yourname\..."<br />
<br />
=== I have a weird problem building from source. What's up? ===<br />
<br />
Your copy of pkg-config probably doesn't look in the right places for .pc files. If you are installing to /usr/local, try running "export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig" before building or installing anything.<br />
<br />
=== Why does only the first frame of my animation render? ===<br />
<br />
You probably have '''Use current frame''' checked in the render dialog box.<br />
<br />
=== Why don't I get the colors I'm expecting? ===<br />
<br />
This [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model#Nonlinearity Wikipedia] article talks about how color output is non-linear, that if 0 is black and 100 is white, then 50 is only about 22 percent of the brightness of white, rather than 50% as you might expect.<br />
<br />
In synfig there is an option (on by default) to make sure that if you ask for 50, you get 50% of the brightness of white.<br />
<br />
In the {{l|Toolbox|Toolbox}} see File>Setup which would open the {{l|Setup Dialog|Setup Dialog}}. Then go to the Misc tab and to the Visually Linear Color Selection checkbox. If you turn that off, everything will go back to its non-linear, yet strangely comfortable and familiar mode.<br />
<br />
=== Why doesn't the rotate tool rotate rectangles? ===<br />
The rotate tool works on ducks. The rectangle layer works by drawing horizontal and vertical lines between the two ducks, so when the rotate tool is used with a rectangle it only rotates the ducks around the rotation point, but the lines of the rectangle are still horizontal and vertical. What you are probably looking for is the {{l|Layer#Rotate|Rotate Layer}}. If you have a build of Synfig SVN 1981 or later, there is a Rectangle -> Bline tool option which would allow the behaviour you might expect.<br />
<br />
=== Tablet doesn't track as expected ===<br />
When using some programs you may find that the mouse may not track as you would expect.<br />
Synfig, Inkscape and Gimp are ones that I have used that will give odd tracking.<br />
When drawing with the mouse the actual drawing is some distance from the cursor and when<br />
you use the pen the drawing is drawn where the cursor is.<br />
This can be easily fixed with the software that came with the tablet.<br />
<br />
When using the tablet software that came with the graphire 4 tablet you will find<br />
that it uses two different tracking methods for the mouse and pen and these two<br />
tracking methods are called Mouse Mode and Pen Mode.<br />
<br />
The Pen Mode uses absolute positioning, that means the active drawing area of the tablet<br />
is in proportion to the whole screen. Wherever you move the pen the cursor will move<br />
to the corresponding point on the screen, wether you drag the pen or you pick up the<br />
pen and move it to a new location that cursor will move or jump to where the pen is.<br />
<br />
The Mouse Mode uses a positioning system similar to a traditional mouse where you can pick up<br />
and slide the mouse where you wish and the cursor will follow the mouse as it is moved.<br />
It will not jump to new locations on the screen even if you pick up the mouse and place it<br />
in a new position on the tablet, the cursor will just continue from it's last position.<br />
<br />
In the case of the Wacom Graphire 4 tablet that I'm using in Windows XP I needed to open the<br />
program called Pen Tablet and change the settings for the mouse.<br />
To do this open Pen Tablet and you will see four tabs, click the tab marked Mouse and you will<br />
find a box called Tracking with two options. One is Pen Mode and the other is Mouse Mode.<br />
Select the Pen Mode and the mouse will now use absolute positioning.<br />
<br />
=== Why does the Text Tool make Synfig Studio crash? ===<br />
<br />
Occassionally, some users report that Synfig Studio crashes whenever the {{l|Text_Tool}} is selected. This is caused by one or more of the currently installed fonts being corrupted or containing non-standard data.<br />
<br />
Once the these fonts are uninstalled, the {{l|Text_Tool}} will work correctly.<br />
<br />
== FAQs relating to earlier Synfig versions ==<br />
<br />
These issues have been addressed in the current version of Synfig.<br />
<br />
=== Why do imported SVG images look bad? ===<br />
<br />
Synfig doesn't have the ability to import SVG images, it can only auto-render them to PNG with imagemagick and import those. The closest you can get to importing complex formats like SVG or XCF is to use one of the {{l|Converters|converters}}. <br />
Synfig can import SVG since 0.62.00 release.<br />
<br />
=== Why Synfig 0.61.08 doesn't work in Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10? ===<br />
Due to the incorporation if the newest GTK/GTKmm version (2.14) since Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10, the old version of synfigstudio included in that linux distribution has turned not usable. Until new Ubuntu version or the adoptation of a backport into 8.04 LTS, the only way to have synfigstudio running in Ubuntu Intrepid is build the binaries from he source code. Follow the {{l|Build Instructions|build instructions}} or [http://synfig.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=277 this thread] to do that.<br />
<br />
=== Where did the polygon, draw and sketch tools go? ===<br />
<br />
They are disabled by default due to problems. Instead of the polygon tool, you should use the bline tool. The draw tool was never completed, is very buggy, and frustrating to use. Since the draw tool is being disabled, then we might as well disable the sketch tool too. You can re-enable them without recompiling by setting some environment variables (you can [http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/environment_variables.mspx set environment variables on windows] too). Set SYNFIG_ENABLE_POLYGON, SYNFIG_ENABLE_DRAW and SYNFIG_ENABLE_SKETCH to 1. On Linux/Unix/MacOSX this is as simple as running these commands in a terminal:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_POLYGON=1<br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_DRAW=1<br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_SKETCH=1<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
Then run synfigstudio from the same terminal. You can probably find some way of getting these variables set automatically when you log in, but it depends on the distro. In Ubuntu you can put them in ~/.xprofile for example.<br />
<br />
The polygon, draw, and sketch tools will be on by default in future releases of Synfig, from 0.61.07 onwards. They can be disabled by replacing 'ENABLE' with 'DISABLE' in the above lines.<br />
<br />
=== Where did the width tool go? ===<br />
<br />
It is disabled by default due to problems. Instead of the width tool, you should just modify the width ducks directly. You can re-enable it without recompiling by setting an environment variable (you can [http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/environment_variables.mspx set environment variables on windows] too). Set SYNFIG_ENABLE_WIDTH to 1. On Linux/Unix/MacOSX this is as simple as running this command in a terminal:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_WIDTH=1<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
Then run synfigstudio from the same terminal. You can probably find some way of getting this variable set automatically when you log in, but it depends on the distro. In Ubuntu you can put it in ~/.xprofile for example.<br />
<br />
The width tool is enabled by default since {{l|Releases/0.61.09|Release 0.61.09}}. It can be disabled by replacing 'ENABLE' with 'DISABLE' in the above line.<br />
<br />
=== Why doesn't walk.sif from the SVN work? ===<br />
<br />
In the SVN repository, there's a walk cycle example, but the sif file includes features that are incompatible with the current version of Synfig. A re-worked example can be found in the {{l|Walk Cycle|Walk Cycle Tutorial}}.<br />
<br />
If you can look at the source code and figure out why the .sif file won't load, we'd love to have a fix.<br />
<br />
=== What happened to my synfig toolbox? ===<br />
<br />
If you no longer have a synfig toolbox, it means the window positions in your settings file for the toolbox got corrupted during a crash or something and your synfig toolbox is now off the screen. You should remove or edit your settings file to get it back. This bug ([http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1836848 1836848]) was fixed in SVN r1167.<br />
<br />
This is a very common issue on Windows computers. Quick fix: delete C:\Documents and Settings\*your user name*\Synfig. You should not lose any saved work. Synfig will run fine following this fix.<br />
<br />
=== The plant layer doesn't work/displays erratically/doesn't render. Why? ===<br />
<br />
The plant layer should allow pictures [http://home.comcast.net/~pxegeek/synfig/plant11.JPG like this one] to be drawn, but again it had a bug that prevented if from working correctly in Synfig 0.61.06 and earlier. The bug was fixed in svn r620 and release 0.61.07<br />
<br />
Further fixes were later added to stop it crashing when 'stem size' or 'splits' were set too high. <br />
<br />
=== Missing icons? synfig/studio doesn't render anything? ===<br />
<br />
You probably compiled synfig with g++ 4.1 using optimisation level 2 or higher. g++ has a bug that prevents Synfig Studio from compositing the images properly. Please recompile synfig using ./configure --enable-optimization=0 or disable optimisation and then rebuild the synfig images. The binary packages for some GNU/Linux distributions are affected by this. [http://sf.net/tracker/?group_id=144022&atid=757416 Bug] #[http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1509627 1509627]<br />
<br />
As of svn r774, it is now OK to build with any optimization level. Also, using gcc 4.2.1 or newer it's possible to successfully build old versions of synfig with strong optimization.<br />
<br />
=== synfigstudio can't find icons? ===<br />
<br />
(I know they rendered fine, but they show up with red crosses everywhere).<br />
<br />
This is #[http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1568925 1568925] that was introduced in SVN 180. Workaround is to set an environment variable at runtime like this: export SYNFIG_ROOT=/usr (or similar) or just install into /usr/local instead. Fixed in SVN r486.<br />
<br />
=== I'm using synfigstudio on a laptop but can't draw anything using my mouse. What gives? ===<br />
<br />
Try disabling the the touchpad from the input devices dialog. Unfortunately synfigstudio will not remember this setting so you have to do it every time you start synfigstudio.<br />
<br />
This was fixed in [http://kibi.dyndns.org:8083/~dooglus/gitweb.pl?p=synfig;a=commitdiff;h=r487 svn r487] and so synfig 0.61.06 and newer won't have this problem.<br />
<br />
=== Why is everything yellow? / Why are all the colors wrong? ===<br />
<br />
This can happen when you switch between locales, due to a bug in version 0.61.05. It's fixed in the subversion repository (r228). To work around the problem, do the following: from the main window, choose File > Setup what would open the {{l|Setup Dialog|Setup Dialog}}, then select the Gamma tab and set all 3 sliders back to the default value of 2.2.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=FAQ&diff=15193FAQ2012-02-17T11:58:51Z<p>DaveJ: /* FAQs relating to the current Synfig release */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|FAQ}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
== General FAQs ==<br />
<br />
=== Who is synfigbot at the Synfig IRC channel? ===<br />
<br />
synfigbot is a bot that sits in the [http://www.synfig.org/cms/en/support/ Synfig IRC channel], not a human. It has some commands and could respond to some of the usual questions like: "What's the latest Synfig Studio version? One of its funnier commands is to quote past funny comments from people at the IRC. To make it remind a quote, just type: !q. Please be nice with it, it is still learning. ;)<br />
<br />
=== Why are the CIA in the Synfig IRC channel? ===<br />
<br />
"CIA-28" and friends are bots that sit in the {{l|Contact|Synfig IRC channel}} and report whenever they detect a new commit in the subversion repository, giving the committer's name, revision number, and commit log message. The same information for recent commits can be found on [http://cia.vc/stats/project/synfig cia.vc]. [http://www.ohloh.net/projects/4832?p=Synfig ohloh.net] has similar pages of statistics.<br />
<br />
== FAQs relating to the current Synfig release ==<br />
<br />
Many issues are documented in the [http://sf.net/tracker/?group_id=144022&atid=757416 bug tracker] and on the {{l|Download|download}} page.<br />
<br />
=== What is the status of the MacOS package? ===<br />
<br />
Some people have [http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1686495 volunteered] to work on a pure MacOS X package for synfig, but there have not yet been any results. Currently options for using synfig on MacOS X include: {{l|Dev:Building On Mac OS X|building it yourself}}, using Homebrew as mentioned in [http://synfig.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2678 this forum post], {{l|Download#fink|installing packages from fink}} or installing Linux or Windows on your machine and using it there.<br />
<br />
=== Is there any Flash/SWF support? ===<br />
<br />
Unfortunately not. Patches are welcome though. Please {{l|Contact|contact}} us to discuss your plans for adding SWF support so we can give any advice needed.<br />
<br />
=== Procedure entry point ... could not be located? ===<br />
<br />
If you are on Windows and it says "the procedure entry point_ZN6synfig5Color7set_hexERSs could not be located in the dynamic link library libsynfig-0.dll" that means you forgot to upgrade synfig when you upgraded synfigstudio. Due to the dependency systems on Linux you will probably not get this there unless your distro has broken packages. Be sure to install the latest version of synfig and synfigstudio.<br />
<br />
If you get the same error but with gtk, glib, iconv.dll or libxml2.dll you should look for old versions of these DLLs in your Windows directory and rename them to iconv.dll.bak and libxm2.dll.bak etc.<br />
<br />
=== libsynfig-0.dll was not found ===<br />
<br />
If you get the error message "libsynfig-0.dll was not found" please check that you have synfig (as well as synfig studio) correctly installed. <br />
<br />
<div id="Can_I_do_anything_to_improve_the_stability_of_the_Windows_version_of_Synfig.3F"></div><br />
=== Can I do anything to improve the stability of synfigstudio? ===<br />
<br />
If you're running on a Hyperthreading or multi-core CPU (e.g Pentium 4 with Hyperthreading or Intel Core2 Duo or Quadcore, etc.) then you may find Synfig is more stable if you restrict it to run on only one processor. '''Since version 0.62.01 the stability under Windows has increased noticiably. The single thread renderer option has been enabled by default in Synfig Studio.'''<br />
<br />
===== How do I do this on Windows? =====<br />
<br />
To do this on windows, start Synfig Studio, then press Ctrl-Shift-Esc this will start the 'Windows Task Manager', alternatively you can press Ctrl-Alt-Del and choose 'Task Manager'. Select the processes tab, find synfigstudio.exe in the processes list and right click on it. Choose 'Set Affinity...' and make sure only one CPU is checked. Unfortunately, this setting isn't preserved so you either have to do this manually each time you start Synfig Studio or use a tool such as the [http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/05/28/getting_more_bang_out_of_your_dual_processing_buck/index.html Tom's Hardware Guide Task Assignment Manager].<br />
<br />
===== How do I do this on Linux? =====<br />
<br />
On linux, you need to install schedutils.<br />
<br />
Then run synfigstudio like this:<br />
<br />
<pre>taskset -c 0 synfigstudio</pre><br />
<br />
Or if you have synfigstudio open already, run this:<br />
<br />
<pre>taskset -p -c 0 `pgrep synfigstudio`</pre><br />
<br />
=== Why can't I get sound to work? ===<br />
Synfig GUI implies that sound files can be loaded and played with the animation previews, to aid with e.g. lip synching. Synfig relies on a helper library called FMOD to handle sound. Unfortunately, it appears that this feature was not fully implemented, and the 'play' code is commented out. Windows support for sound does not even appear to have been attempted. If you need to need to synch to a soundtrack, the easiest way is to use video editing software to add the sound effects afterwards, or use an audio editor to take careful note of the audio cues, and animate the action to coincide with those timestamps.<br />
<br />
See this page for {{l|Sound Layer | sound}} implementation guidelines.<br />
<br />
=== How do I render moving pictures from Synfig under Windows === <br />
FFMPEG is now distributed as an optional component of the Windows installer (installed by default). If you're looking for a file to include on a web page, rendering to an animated gif file also works (although you may want to use a quality setting of 6 or higher to avoid rendering artifacts). For mpg, there are a couple of options. <br />
* Use the ffmpeg render target in Synfig to render to an mpg file, or <br />
* If you want more control over the final video file, the best solution may be to render to a sequence of png files and use a separate program, such as the command line version of ffmpeg, to assemble them to a video file. This could also allow you to incorporate an audio track in the same step.<br />
Be careful where you choose to save your rendered file. If you save it to an area where Microsoft doesn't think you should be writing (like "c:\" or "c:\Program Files\.." etc.) it will pretend to let you, but in fact save it to another location to save yourself. You can find it using a file search, but it won't be where you thought it was. Be safe - save to the desktop or a folder under "c:\Users\yourname\..."<br />
<br />
=== I have a weird problem building from source. What's up? ===<br />
<br />
Your copy of pkg-config probably doesn't look in the right places for .pc files. If you are installing to /usr/local, try running "export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig" before building or installing anything.<br />
<br />
=== Why does only the first frame of my animation render? ===<br />
<br />
You probably have '''Use current frame''' checked in the render dialog box.<br />
<br />
=== Why don't I get the colors I'm expecting? ===<br />
<br />
This [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model#Nonlinearity Wikipedia] article talks about how color output is non-linear, that if 0 is black and 100 is white, then 50 is only about 22 percent of the brightness of white, rather than 50% as you might expect.<br />
<br />
In synfig there is an option (on by default) to make sure that if you ask for 50, you get 50% of the brightness of white.<br />
<br />
In the {{l|Toolbox|Toolbox}} see File>Setup which would open the {{l|Setup Dialog|Setup Dialog}}. Then go to the Misc tab and to the Visually Linear Color Selection checkbox. If you turn that off, everything will go back to its non-linear, yet strangely comfortable and familiar mode.<br />
<br />
=== Why doesn't the rotate tool rotate rectangles? ===<br />
The rotate tool works on ducks. The rectangle layer works by drawing horizontal and vertical lines between the two ducks, so when the rotate tool is used with a rectangle it only rotates the ducks around the rotation point, but the lines of the rectangle are still horizontal and vertical. What you are probably looking for is the {{l|Layer#Rotate|Rotate Layer}}. If you have a build of Synfig SVN 1981 or later, there is a Rectangle -> Bline tool option which would allow the behaviour you might expect.<br />
<br />
=== Tablet doesn't track as expected ===<br />
When using some programs you may find that the mouse may not track as you would expect.<br />
Synfig, Inkscape and Gimp are ones that I have used that will give odd tracking.<br />
When drawing with the mouse the actual drawing is some distance from the cursor and when<br />
you use the pen the drawing is drawn where the cursor is.<br />
This can be easily fixed with the software that came with the tablet.<br />
<br />
When using the tablet software that came with the graphire 4 tablet you will find<br />
that it uses two different tracking methods for the mouse and pen and these two<br />
tracking methods are called Mouse Mode and Pen Mode.<br />
<br />
The Pen Mode uses absolute positioning, that means the active drawing area of the tablet<br />
is in proportion to the whole screen. Wherever you move the pen the cursor will move<br />
to the corresponding point on the screen, wether you drag the pen or you pick up the<br />
pen and move it to a new location that cursor will move or jump to where the pen is.<br />
<br />
The Mouse Mode uses a positioning system similar to a traditional mouse where you can pick up<br />
and slide the mouse where you wish and the cursor will follow the mouse as it is moved.<br />
It will not jump to new locations on the screen even if you pick up the mouse and place it<br />
in a new position on the tablet, the cursor will just continue from it's last position.<br />
<br />
In the case of the Wacom Graphire 4 tablet that I'm using in Windows XP I needed to open the<br />
program called Pen Tablet and change the settings for the mouse.<br />
To do this open Pen Tablet and you will see four tabs, click the tab marked Mouse and you will<br />
find a box called Tracking with two options. One is Pen Mode and the other is Mouse Mode.<br />
Select the Pen Mode and the mouse will now use absolute positioning.<br />
<br />
=== Why does the Text Tool make Synfig Studio crash? ===<br />
<br />
Occassionally, some users report that Synfig Studio crashes whenever the {{l|Text_Tool}} is selected. This is caused by one or more of the currently installed fonts being corrupted or containing non-standard data.<br />
<br />
Once the offending fonts are uninstalled, the {{l|Text_Tool}} will work correctly.<br />
<br />
== FAQs relating to earlier Synfig versions ==<br />
<br />
These issues have been addressed in the current version of Synfig.<br />
<br />
=== Why do imported SVG images look bad? ===<br />
<br />
Synfig doesn't have the ability to import SVG images, it can only auto-render them to PNG with imagemagick and import those. The closest you can get to importing complex formats like SVG or XCF is to use one of the {{l|Converters|converters}}. <br />
Synfig can import SVG since 0.62.00 release.<br />
<br />
=== Why Synfig 0.61.08 doesn't work in Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10? ===<br />
Due to the incorporation if the newest GTK/GTKmm version (2.14) since Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10, the old version of synfigstudio included in that linux distribution has turned not usable. Until new Ubuntu version or the adoptation of a backport into 8.04 LTS, the only way to have synfigstudio running in Ubuntu Intrepid is build the binaries from he source code. Follow the {{l|Build Instructions|build instructions}} or [http://synfig.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=277 this thread] to do that.<br />
<br />
=== Where did the polygon, draw and sketch tools go? ===<br />
<br />
They are disabled by default due to problems. Instead of the polygon tool, you should use the bline tool. The draw tool was never completed, is very buggy, and frustrating to use. Since the draw tool is being disabled, then we might as well disable the sketch tool too. You can re-enable them without recompiling by setting some environment variables (you can [http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/environment_variables.mspx set environment variables on windows] too). Set SYNFIG_ENABLE_POLYGON, SYNFIG_ENABLE_DRAW and SYNFIG_ENABLE_SKETCH to 1. On Linux/Unix/MacOSX this is as simple as running these commands in a terminal:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_POLYGON=1<br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_DRAW=1<br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_SKETCH=1<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
Then run synfigstudio from the same terminal. You can probably find some way of getting these variables set automatically when you log in, but it depends on the distro. In Ubuntu you can put them in ~/.xprofile for example.<br />
<br />
The polygon, draw, and sketch tools will be on by default in future releases of Synfig, from 0.61.07 onwards. They can be disabled by replacing 'ENABLE' with 'DISABLE' in the above lines.<br />
<br />
=== Where did the width tool go? ===<br />
<br />
It is disabled by default due to problems. Instead of the width tool, you should just modify the width ducks directly. You can re-enable it without recompiling by setting an environment variable (you can [http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/environment_variables.mspx set environment variables on windows] too). Set SYNFIG_ENABLE_WIDTH to 1. On Linux/Unix/MacOSX this is as simple as running this command in a terminal:<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
export SYNFIG_ENABLE_WIDTH=1<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
Then run synfigstudio from the same terminal. You can probably find some way of getting this variable set automatically when you log in, but it depends on the distro. In Ubuntu you can put it in ~/.xprofile for example.<br />
<br />
The width tool is enabled by default since {{l|Releases/0.61.09|Release 0.61.09}}. It can be disabled by replacing 'ENABLE' with 'DISABLE' in the above line.<br />
<br />
=== Why doesn't walk.sif from the SVN work? ===<br />
<br />
In the SVN repository, there's a walk cycle example, but the sif file includes features that are incompatible with the current version of Synfig. A re-worked example can be found in the {{l|Walk Cycle|Walk Cycle Tutorial}}.<br />
<br />
If you can look at the source code and figure out why the .sif file won't load, we'd love to have a fix.<br />
<br />
=== What happened to my synfig toolbox? ===<br />
<br />
If you no longer have a synfig toolbox, it means the window positions in your settings file for the toolbox got corrupted during a crash or something and your synfig toolbox is now off the screen. You should remove or edit your settings file to get it back. This bug ([http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1836848 1836848]) was fixed in SVN r1167.<br />
<br />
This is a very common issue on Windows computers. Quick fix: delete C:\Documents and Settings\*your user name*\Synfig. You should not lose any saved work. Synfig will run fine following this fix.<br />
<br />
=== The plant layer doesn't work/displays erratically/doesn't render. Why? ===<br />
<br />
The plant layer should allow pictures [http://home.comcast.net/~pxegeek/synfig/plant11.JPG like this one] to be drawn, but again it had a bug that prevented if from working correctly in Synfig 0.61.06 and earlier. The bug was fixed in svn r620 and release 0.61.07<br />
<br />
Further fixes were later added to stop it crashing when 'stem size' or 'splits' were set too high. <br />
<br />
=== Missing icons? synfig/studio doesn't render anything? ===<br />
<br />
You probably compiled synfig with g++ 4.1 using optimisation level 2 or higher. g++ has a bug that prevents Synfig Studio from compositing the images properly. Please recompile synfig using ./configure --enable-optimization=0 or disable optimisation and then rebuild the synfig images. The binary packages for some GNU/Linux distributions are affected by this. [http://sf.net/tracker/?group_id=144022&atid=757416 Bug] #[http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1509627 1509627]<br />
<br />
As of svn r774, it is now OK to build with any optimization level. Also, using gcc 4.2.1 or newer it's possible to successfully build old versions of synfig with strong optimization.<br />
<br />
=== synfigstudio can't find icons? ===<br />
<br />
(I know they rendered fine, but they show up with red crosses everywhere).<br />
<br />
This is #[http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1568925 1568925] that was introduced in SVN 180. Workaround is to set an environment variable at runtime like this: export SYNFIG_ROOT=/usr (or similar) or just install into /usr/local instead. Fixed in SVN r486.<br />
<br />
=== I'm using synfigstudio on a laptop but can't draw anything using my mouse. What gives? ===<br />
<br />
Try disabling the the touchpad from the input devices dialog. Unfortunately synfigstudio will not remember this setting so you have to do it every time you start synfigstudio.<br />
<br />
This was fixed in [http://kibi.dyndns.org:8083/~dooglus/gitweb.pl?p=synfig;a=commitdiff;h=r487 svn r487] and so synfig 0.61.06 and newer won't have this problem.<br />
<br />
=== Why is everything yellow? / Why are all the colors wrong? ===<br />
<br />
This can happen when you switch between locales, due to a bug in version 0.61.05. It's fixed in the subversion repository (r228). To work around the problem, do the following: from the main window, choose File > Setup what would open the {{l|Setup Dialog|Setup Dialog}}, then select the Gamma tab and set all 3 sliders back to the default value of 2.2.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Text_Tool&diff=15192Text Tool2012-02-17T11:42:11Z<p>DaveJ: Added icon and shortcut</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Text Tool}}<br />
{{Category|Tools}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Tool_text_icon.png|64px}} <span style="font-size:150%">'''ALT-X'''</span><br />
<br />
Select the text tool icon from the toolbox, then click in the canvas window where the text layer should be created.<br />
<br />
A dialog box will appear, allowing you to enter the text you want in the created layer. Enter the text and a new text layer will be created.<br />
<br />
The 'Tool Options' panel allows you to specify:<br />
<br />
* the name used for the new layer; any number in this field will automatically increment with each layer created<br />
<br />
* whether to use a single or multi line editor for entering the text. If a single line is used then the enter key will submit the value. In the multi-line editor, you'll need to click the OK button with the mouse to confirm the text.<br />
<br />
* the horizontal and vertical size of the text<br />
<br />
* the 'orientation' of the text. The default (0.5, 0.5) means that the text will be centered around the point you clicked on. (0, 0) means that the top left corner of a box containing the text will be placed where you clicked. (1, 1) means that the bottom right corner of the text's bounding box will be placed where you clicked<br />
<br />
* the font family to be used</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=User_talk:DaveJ&diff=15191User talk:DaveJ2012-02-17T11:19:16Z<p>DaveJ: </p>
<hr />
<div>Hey DaveJ!<br />
GREAT contributions to the Wiki man! Thank you! Keep up your awesome work! [[User:Eldruin|Eldruin]] 12:11, 13 February 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Many thanks - I'll try and add as much to the Wiki as I can. [[User:DaveJ|DaveJ]] 11:19, 17 February 2012 (UTC)</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=User:DaveJ&diff=15190User:DaveJ2012-02-17T11:17:03Z<p>DaveJ: Added a couple of links</p>
<hr />
<div>I have a YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/stupidrubbish<br />
<br />
I have a blog here: http://kecskebak.blogspot.com</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Category:Manual&diff=15189Category:Manual2012-02-17T08:13:25Z<p>DaveJ: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Title|Manual}}<br />
<br />
<!-- Pages in this category should be listed in specific order. So let's place them here manually: --><br />
* '''Introduction'''<br />
** {{L|Doc:Overview}}<br />
<!-- ** {{L|Doc:Installation}} --><br />
* '''Diving In'''<br />
** {{L|Doc:Getting Started}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Animation Basics}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Adding Layers}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Creating Shapes}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Flower Animation}}<br />
* '''Interface'''<br />
** {{L|Doc:Quick Overview}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Interface}}<br />
* '''Artwork Import'''<br />
** {{L|Doc:Gimp2synfig|GIMP Import}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Svg2synfig|SVG Import}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:ListImporter|List Importer}} (Image sequence import)<br />
* '''Artwork Construction'''<br />
** {{L|BLine Tool}}<br />
** {{L|Outline Layer}}<br />
** {{L|Region Layer}}<br />
** {{L|Color_Editor_Dialog|Color Editor}}<br />
** {{L|Draw Tool}}<br />
** {{L|Width Tool}}<br />
** {{L|Paste Canvas Layer}}<br />
** {{L|Children Lock}}<br />
** {{L|Gradient Tool}}<br />
** {{L|Gradient_Editor_Dialog|Gradient Editor}}<br />
** {{L|Blend Method}} ???<br />
** {{L|Doc:Basic Masking|Masking}}<br />
** {{L|Groups Panel|Groups}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Guides}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Grid}}<br />
* '''Data Linking'''<br />
** {{L|Linking}}<br />
** {{L|Export}}<br />
** {{L|Convert}}<br />
** {{L|Sewing_BLines}}<br />
** {{L|Link to BLine}}<br />
** {{L|ValueNodes}}<br />
** {{L|Reuse_Exported_ValueNodes}}<br />
** {{L|Switching_Scenes}}<br />
* '''Advanced ...'''<br />
** {{L|Slideshow_Tutorial|Slideshows}}<br />
** {{L|Snowflake_with_the_Duplicate_Layer|Duplicate Layer}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Brushes}}<br />
* '''Animation'''<br />
** {{L|Keyframe}}<br />
** {{L|Timetrack_Panel}}<br />
** {{L|Waypoint}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Reuse Animations}}<br />
** {{L|Lock_Keyframes}}<br />
** {{L|Toggle_Onion_Skin|Onion Skin}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Following a BLine}}<br />
** {{L|Z_Depth_Parameter|Z-Depth}}<br />
** {{L|Time_Loop_Layer}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Rescale Animations}}<br />
** {{L|Time_Offset_Parameter}}<br />
* '''Animation Techniques'''<br />
** {{L|Walk_Cycle|Morphing}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Cut-out Animation|Cut-out}}<br />
* '''Output'''<br />
** {{L|Doc:Preview}}<br />
** {{L|Render_options}}<br />
** {{L|Render dialog}}<br />
** {{L|Sif2svg|SVG export}}<br />
* '''Configuring Synfig'''<br />
** {{L|Setup_Dialog}}<br />
** {{L|Unit System}}<br />
** {{L|Image_Dimensions}}<br />
** {{L|Canvas_Properties_Dialog|Canvas Properties}}<br />
** {{L|Environment_Variables}}<br />
* '''Appendix'''<br />
** {{L|Doc:Synfig Studio vs Synfig}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Synfig CLI Syntax}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Build Instructions}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:How Do I}}<br />
** {{L|FAQ}}<br />
** {{L|Window_Manager_Hints}} (merge to FAQ?)<br />
** {{L|Keyboard Shortcuts}}<br />
** {{L|Mouse_Shortcuts}}<br />
** {{L|Doc:Examples}}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15187Doc:Preview2012-02-17T08:12:32Z<p>DaveJ: moved Preview to Doc:Preview: Put in correct namespace for Manual page.</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
[[Category:Manual]]<br />
{{Navigation|Category:Manual|Render_options}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the {{Literal|End Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the last frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''after'' the last frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''before'' the {{Literal|Start Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the first frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''before'' the first frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
We let you do this because we're planning to make previewing frames that are outside the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} do something useful in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bugs|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.<br />
<br />
In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' the Preview Window always appears above all the Canvas windows. This is a bug and we've fixed it in the next version.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus (see below).<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Button has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame_focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Button does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
|} <br />
<br />
Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them.<br />
<br />
The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|If you press this button it will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. After you do this, the Slider will represent the duration of your preview render from {{Literal|Begin Time}} to {{Literal|End Time}} but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered. If the preview render has already finished rendering this button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|When you press this button all the rendered frames are erased. The Frame Display and the Preview Image disappear.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Preview&diff=15188Preview2012-02-17T08:12:32Z<p>DaveJ: moved Preview to Doc:Preview: Put in correct namespace for Manual page.</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Doc:Preview]]</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Grid&diff=15186Doc:Grid2012-02-17T08:10:33Z<p>DaveJ: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Navigation|Category:Manual|Linking}}<br />
{{Title|Grid}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
[[Category:Manual]]<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
You can add a grid of horizontal and vertical lines to your {{l|Canvas|canvases}} to help you to position items precisely. The grids won't appear in your finished animations, but they will be saved with your documents. Each {{l|Canvas|canvas}} has its own grid. The spacing of the horizontal and vertical lines in a grid can be changed independently, so you can have grids made up of rectangles as well as grids made up of squares.<br />
<br />
If you imagine the grid's lines are made of metal, {{l|Duck|ducks}} act like magnets around grid lines, snapping onto them when they get close enough. This means that, using grids, it is easy to ensure {{l|Duck|ducks}} are in particular places.<br />
<br />
Position ducks, vertex ducks, tangent ducks, radius ducks, width ducks and angle ducks can all snap onto grid lines. This means that you can use grids to accurately position anything and everything in Synfig Studio.<br />
<br />
==Appearance==<br />
<br />
A grid looks like this when you display it in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}:<br />
<br />
[[File:Grid.png]]<br />
<br />
As you can see above, the grid appears as grey dashed lines that extend across your working area to the edges of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}.<br />
<br />
==Showing and hiding a grid==<br />
<br />
There are four ways to show or hide a grid in your {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You can use a button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar, you can use the {{l|Canvas_View_Menu|Canvas View Menu}}, you can use the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}} that you'll find on the {{l|Canvas_File_Menu|Canvas File Menu}} or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window Toolbar button===<br />
<br />
There is a show/hide grid button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Show_Grid.png]] the grid is hidden. If you press it the grid will be shown.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Hide_Grid.png]] the grid is shown. If you press it the grid will be hidden.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas View menu===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|View|Show Grid}} to hide or show the grid.<br />
<br />
===Using the Options dialog box===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|File|Options}} to display the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}.<br />
<br />
You can use the {{Literal|Show Grid}} checkbox to show or hide the grid, and then press the {{Literal|OK}} or {{Literal|Apply}} button.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData panel===<br />
<br />
Although there is no real advantage in using this method, you can show or hide the grid using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
The {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} starts off empty, so to show or hide the grid on a canvas without canvas metadata you would have to:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Press the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} {{Literal|Add New MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]])<br />
# Type {{Literal|grid_show}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide the grid or {{Literal|1}} to show the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
To show or hide the grid on a canvas that already has canvas metadata you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide the grid or {{Literal|1}} to show the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether guides are visible or not. It stores {{Literal|0}} if guides are hidden or {{Literal|1}} if guides are visible.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|As well as {{Literal|0}} or {{Literal|1}}, you can also enter {{Literal|true}} or {{Literal|false}} (without quotes) to enable or disable boolean values in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.}}<br />
<br />
==Enabling and disabling snapping to a grid==<br />
<br />
The grid does not do anything until snapping to the grid is enabled. Once snapping is enabled, when you move a duck close to a grid line it will "snap" onto it, in much the same way as a magnet will snap onto a piece of metal. Once a duck has snapped to a grid line you will find it takes a stronger than normal movement to detach it from the grid line, again as if you were pulling a magnet off of something metallic.<br />
<br />
Having {{l|Duck|ducks}} snapping to grid lines is usually very useful, but sometimes it can be '''very''' annoying! Fortunately you can easily turn snapping to the grid off.<br />
<br />
There are four ways to enable or disable snapping to the grid in your {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You can use a button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar, you can use the {{l|Canvas_View_Menu|Canvas View Menu}}, you can use the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}} that you'll find on the {{l|Canvas_File_Menu|Canvas File Menu}} or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|If snapping to the grid is enabled, it will still work even if the grid is hidden.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window Toolbar button===<br />
<br />
There is a enable/disable snapping to the grid button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Enable_snapping.png]] snapping to the grid is disabled. If you press it snapping to the grid will be enabled.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Disable_snapping.png]] snapping to the grid is enabled. If you press it snapping to the grid will be disabled.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas View menu===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|View|Snap to Grid}} to enable or disable snapping to the grid.<br />
<br />
===Using the Options dialog box===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|File|Options}} to display the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}.<br />
<br />
You can use the {{Literal|Snap to grid}} checkbox to enable or disable snapping the grid, and then press the {{Literal|OK}} or {{Literal|Apply}} button.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData panel===<br />
<br />
Although there is no real advantage in using this method, you can enable or disable snapping to the grid using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
The {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} starts off empty, so to enable or disable snapping to the grid on a canvas without canvas metadata you would have to:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Press the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} {{Literal|Add New MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]])<br />
# Type {{Literal|grid_snap}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to disable snapping to the grid or {{Literal|1}} to enable snapping to the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
To enable or disable snapping to the grid on a canvas that already has canvas metadata you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide the grid or {{Literal|1}} to show the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|grid_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether snapping to the grid is enabled or disabled. It stores {{Literal|0}} if snapping to the grid is disabled or {{Literal|1}} if snapping to the grid is enabled.<br />
<br />
==Changing the spacing of grid lines==<br />
<br />
The default grid in Synfig Studio has its grid lines spaced 15.0 pixels apart horizontally and 15.0 pixels apart vertically. This may not be a useful size for your work, but fortunately you can change the spacing.<br />
<br />
You can change the spacing of the horizontal grid lines and vertical grid lines independently. This allows you to have rectangular rather than square grids. <br />
<br />
You also hide the horizontal grid lines, which gives you a grill of vertical lines rather than a grid. You can do this by setting the vertical spacing to 0. However, you cannot hide the vertical grid lines.<br />
<br />
There are two ways to adjust the spacing of grid lines in your {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You can either use the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}} that you'll find on the {{l|Canvas_File_Menu|Canvas File Menu}} or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The origin of the grid is '''always''' set to the centre of the canvas.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Options dialog box===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|File|Options}} to display the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}.<br />
<br />
You can change the spacing of vertical grid lines by typing a number into the {{Literal|Grid size X:}} box or you can use the arrows next to the {{Literal|Grid size X:}} value to increase or decrease the spacing.<br />
<br />
You can change the spacing of horizontal grid lines by typing a number into the {{Literal|Grid size Y:}} box or you can use the arrows next to the {{Literal|Grid size Y:}} value to increase or decrease the spacing.<br />
<br />
When you have finished adjusting the spacing of your grid lines you can click {{Literal|Apply}} or {{Literal|OK}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|If you enter a negative number for {{Literal|Grid size X:}} or {{Literal|Grid size Y:}} (or both) the grid will '''not''' be displayed when you click {{Literal|Apply}} or {{Literal|OK}}. However snapping to the grid '''will''' still work if it is enabled.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData panel===<br />
You can adjust the spacing of the grid lines on the current canvas using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. However, there is no real advantage in using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} to do this instead of the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}. In fact, you might find this method more complicated as the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores its data in Synfig's {{l|Unit_System|internal units}}, ''not'' in pixels, points, etc.<br />
<br />
To adjust the spacing of the grid on a canvas that already has a grid displayed you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_size}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter values.<br />
# Enter the spacing of the vertical grid lines in Synfig units.<br />
# Add a space after the this number<br />
# Enter the spacing of the horizontal grid lines in Synfig units.<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|grid_size}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores the grid spacing in Synfig's {{l|Unit_System|internal units}} as two floating point values separated by a space character. The first value stores the spacing of the vertical grid lines. The second value stores the spacing of the horizontal grid lines.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Guides&diff=15185Doc:Guides2012-02-17T08:10:12Z<p>DaveJ: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Navigation|Category:Manual|Doc:Grid}}<br />
{{Title|Guides}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
[[Category:Manual]]<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Guides are horizontal or vertical lines that you can add to your {{l|Canvas|canvases}} to help you to position items precisely. Guides can be placed anywhere on your canvas – even outside of your working area. Guides won't appear in your finished animations, but they will be saved with your documents. Each {{l|Canvas|canvas}} has its own set of guides.<br />
<br />
If you imagine guides are made of metal, {{l|Duck|ducks}} act like magnets around guides, snapping onto them when they get close enough. This means that, using guides, it is easy to ensure {{l|Duck|ducks}} are in particular places.<br />
<br />
Position ducks, vertex ducks, tangent ducks, radius ducks, width ducks and angle ducks can all snap onto guides. This means that you can use guides to accurately position anything and everything in Synfig Studio.<br />
<br />
==Appearance==<br />
<br />
Guides look like this in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}:<br />
<br />
[[File:Two-guides.png]]<br />
<br />
As you can see above, they appear as blue dashed lines that extend across your working area to the edges of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. A guide that is being positioned on the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will appear as a red dashed line instead of a blue dashed line.<br />
<br />
==Adding guides to your canvases==<br />
<br />
There are three ways to add guides to your {{l|Canvas|canvases}}. You can drag them from the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} rulers, you can click on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} rulers or you can add guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. <br />
<br />
===Dragging from the Canvas Window Rulers===<br />
<br />
You can add a horizontal guide by moving your mouse over the horizontal ruler at the top of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}, holding down the left mouse button and then dragging your mouse downwards. To show you that you are positioning the guide, it will appear as a red dashed line. When you release the left mouse button the guide will be placed on your canvas and the red dashed line will become blue.<br />
<br />
You can add a vertical guide by moving your mouse over the vertical ruler at the left of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}, holding down the left mouse button and then dragging your mouse to the right. To show you that you are positioning the guide, it will appear as a red dashed line. When you release the left mouse button the guide will be placed on your canvas and the red dashed line will become blue.<br />
<br />
===Clicking on the Canvas Window Rulers===<br />
<br />
Each time you click on the horizontal ruler at the top of the canvas window, a horizontal guide will be added at the horizontal centre of your canvas. Each time you click on the vertical ruler at the left of the canvas window, a vertical guide will be added at the vertical centre of your canvas.<br />
<br />
In Synfig Studio more than one guide can share the same position, so by repeatedly clicking on a ruler you will end up with a stack of guides in the same position.<br />
<br />
You can use the left, right or middle mouse button to click on the rulers.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
Advanced users may sometimes want to add guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. The {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores its data in Synfig's {{l|Unit_System|internal units}}, ''not'' in pixels, points, etc.<br />
<br />
To show you how this works, we'll open a new file and add a vertical guide to the centre of the canvas.<br />
<br />
# Select {{c|File|New}} or press {{Shortcut|ctrl|N}} to open a new file.<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Click the {{Literal|Add new MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]]) at the bottom of the panel. A {{Literal|New MetaData Entry}} dialog box will appear.<br />
# Type {{Literal|guide_x}} and click {{Literal|OK}} or press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_x}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}. A new vertical guide should appear at the centre of your canvas.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_x}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores all the vertical guides on the current canvas. It stores them as a list floating point numbers separated by spaces.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_y}} key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores all the horizontal guides on the current canvas. It stores them as a list of floating point numbers separated by spaces.<br />
<br />
==Positioning guides precisely==<br />
<br />
The purpose of guides is to allow you place things in exact positions, so being able to position guides accurately is very important. There are two ways you can position guides using Synfig Studio. You can look at the {{l|Info_Panel}} while you are dragging guides with the mouse, or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}} to enter guide positions directly.<br />
<br />
===Using the Info Panel===<br />
<br />
When you open or create a new file, it's possible to position guides to pixel boundaries (if pixels happen to be your currently selected unit system) by looking at the {{l|Info Panel}} while you drag them. Unfortunately, as soon as you have zoomed in or out of your canvas this is no longer possible. You will only see fractions of a pixel displayed in the {{l|Info Panel}}. However, there are various ways to fix this:<br />
<br />
* Click on the {{Literal|Zoom to Fit}} button and then click on the {{Literal|Zoom to 100%}} button to the left of the horizontal scroll bar in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}.<br />
* Save your file, close it and reopen it you'll find you're able to position guides to pixel boundaries once again – until the next time you zoom in or out of your canvas.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|The {{l|Info Panel}} is not updated when you first add guides to the canvas, but it is updated when you reposition them. We suggest that you place new guides roughly into position first, then reposition them with the help of the {{l|Info Panel}} to get them into exact position.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
Advanced users may sometimes want to enter guide positions using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This might be simply because they find this method is quicker, or it may be because they want to place guides very accurately - for example, at fractions of a pixel.<br />
<br />
To show you how this can be done, we'll open a new file and add a horizontal guide at 0.5 pixels above the centre of the canvas. For this example to work, you'll need to have kept the default setup values.<br />
<br />
# Select {{c|File|New}} or press {{Shortcut|ctrl|N}} to open a new file.<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Click the {{Literal|Add new MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]]) at the bottom of the panel. A {{Literal|New MetaData Entry}} dialog box will appear.<br />
# Type {{Literal|guide_y}} and click {{Literal|OK}} or press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_y}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0.0083335}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}. A new horizontal guide should appear at 0.5 pixels above the center of your canvas.<br />
<br />
==Removing guides from your canvases==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to permanently remove guides from your {{l|Canvas|canvases}}. You can drag them back onto the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} rulers or you can remove them using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. <br />
<br />
If you only want to remove guides temporarily, you should hide them instead of removing them (see below).<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|Unlike in many other programs, you cannot remove guides in Synfig Studio by dragging them off of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} to the right or to the bottom. You '''must''' drag guides off of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} to the top or to the left (towards the rulers) to remove them.}}<br />
<br />
===Dragging to the Canvas Window Rulers===<br />
<br />
In Synfig Studio, removing guides is done in the opposite way to adding them. You use the mouse to drag guides from the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} back onto the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} rulers. You remove vertical guides by dragging them onto the vertical ruler at the left of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You remove horizontal guides by dragging them onto the horizontal ruler at the top of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. If you have removed a guide successfully, the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} status bar will inform you "Erase canvas metadata Successful".<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
Advanced users will sometimes want to remove guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. For instance, if you have a lot of guides on your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} this is the fastest method of permanently removing them all.<br />
<br />
For instance, to remove all horizontal guides from a {{l|Canvas|canvas}} using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}} you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Select the row with the {{Literal|guide_y}} Key.<br />
# Click on the {{Literal|Remove selected MetaData entry}} icon (it looks like this [[File:Remove_metadata_entry.png]]).<br />
<br />
To remove a particular guide from the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}} you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column in the row for the {{Literal|guide_x}} or {{Literal|guide_y}} Key.<br />
# Select and delete the required value.<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|There '''must''' be at least one value remaining in your Data column after your edit for this to work, otherwise you will get a "Edit canvas metadata: Action is not ready." error dialog and your edit will not be successful.}}<br />
<br />
==Showing or hiding guides==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, particularly if you are using a lot of guides, you'll want to hide them all so you can see your artwork more clearly. There are two ways to show or hide all the guides on the current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} in Synfig Studio. You can use the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|Canvas Window}} {{Literal|View}} menu or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|If snapping to guides is enabled, it will still work even if the guides are hidden.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window View menu===<br />
<br />
Go to menu in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|Canvas Window}} (use the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button in the upper left corner) and select {{c|View|Show Guides}}.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
If you already have at least one guide on your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}, you can show or hide guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide guides or {{Literal|1}} to show guides and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether guides are visible or not. It stores {{Literal|0}} if guides are hidden or {{Literal|1}} if guides are visible.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|As well as {{Literal|0}} or {{Literal|1}}, you can also enter {{Literal|true}} or {{Literal|false}} (without quotes) to enable or disable boolean values in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.}}<br />
<br />
==Snapping==<br />
<br />
Guides do not do anything until snapping to guides is enabled. There are two ways to enable snapping to guides. The first is using the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|Canvas Window}} {{Literal|View}} menu. The second is using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
Once snapping is enabled, when you move a duck close to a guide it will "snap" onto it, in much the same way as a magnet will snap onto a piece of metal. Once a duck has snapped to a guide you will find it takes a stronger than normal movement to detach it from the guide, again as if you were pulling a magnet off of something metallic.<br />
<br />
Having {{l|Duck|ducks}} snapping to guides is usually very useful, but sometimes it can be '''very''' annoying! Fortunately you can easily turn snapping to guides off.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|Although {{l|Duck|ducks}} snap to guides, in Synfig Studio guides '''will not''' snap to {{l|Duck|ducks}}.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window View menu===<br />
<br />
Go to menu in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|Canvas Window}} (use the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button in the upper left corner) and select {{c|View|Snap to Guides}}.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
If you already have at least one guide on your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}, you can enable or disable snapping to guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|1}} to enable snapping to guides or {{Literal|0}} to disable snapping to guides and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether snapping to guides is enabled or not. It stores {{Literal|0}} if snapping to guides is disabled or {{Literal|1}} if snapping to guides is enabled.<br />
<br />
==Copying Guides from one canvas to another==<br />
<br />
When you export an encapsulated "Inline canvas" layer you'll find the exported canvas has no guides – but sometimes you would like it to have the same guides as its parent canvas. Or you may want to use the guides you added to a canvas in another file. You can solve this kind of problem easily using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
As an example, here's how you would copy vertical guides to another canvas that has no guides:<br />
<br />
# Open the canvas window of the canvas that has the guides you want to copy.<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Select the {{Literal|guide_x}} row.<br />
# Click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_x}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|ctrl|C}} or right-click on the highlighted numbers and select {{c|Copy}}.<br />
# Open the canvas window of the canvas you want to copy the guides into.<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Click the {{Literal|Add new MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]]) at the bottom of the panel. A {{Literal|New MetaData Entry}} dialog box will appear.<br />
# Type {{Literal|guide_x}} and click {{Literal|OK}} or press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_x}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|ctrl|V}} or right-click on the highlighted area and select {{c|Paste}}<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
To copy the horizontal guides you would perform the procedure above for the {{Literal|guide_y}} Key instead of the {{Literal|guide_x}} Key.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You '''must''' ensure the Data column for the {{Literal|guide_x}} or {{Literal|guide_y}} rows is selected before you try and copy or paste guide values in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. If you don't, you may find you are copying or pasting layers instead of guide values.}}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Grid&diff=15184Doc:Grid2012-02-17T08:08:58Z<p>DaveJ: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Navigation|Category:Manual|Linking}}<br />
{{Title|Grid}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
You can add a grid of horizontal and vertical lines to your {{l|Canvas|canvases}} to help you to position items precisely. The grids won't appear in your finished animations, but they will be saved with your documents. Each {{l|Canvas|canvas}} has its own grid. The spacing of the horizontal and vertical lines in a grid can be changed independently, so you can have grids made up of rectangles as well as grids made up of squares.<br />
<br />
If you imagine the grid's lines are made of metal, {{l|Duck|ducks}} act like magnets around grid lines, snapping onto them when they get close enough. This means that, using grids, it is easy to ensure {{l|Duck|ducks}} are in particular places.<br />
<br />
Position ducks, vertex ducks, tangent ducks, radius ducks, width ducks and angle ducks can all snap onto grid lines. This means that you can use grids to accurately position anything and everything in Synfig Studio.<br />
<br />
==Appearance==<br />
<br />
A grid looks like this when you display it in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}:<br />
<br />
[[File:Grid.png]]<br />
<br />
As you can see above, the grid appears as grey dashed lines that extend across your working area to the edges of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}.<br />
<br />
==Showing and hiding a grid==<br />
<br />
There are four ways to show or hide a grid in your {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You can use a button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar, you can use the {{l|Canvas_View_Menu|Canvas View Menu}}, you can use the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}} that you'll find on the {{l|Canvas_File_Menu|Canvas File Menu}} or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window Toolbar button===<br />
<br />
There is a show/hide grid button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Show_Grid.png]] the grid is hidden. If you press it the grid will be shown.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Hide_Grid.png]] the grid is shown. If you press it the grid will be hidden.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas View menu===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|View|Show Grid}} to hide or show the grid.<br />
<br />
===Using the Options dialog box===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|File|Options}} to display the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}.<br />
<br />
You can use the {{Literal|Show Grid}} checkbox to show or hide the grid, and then press the {{Literal|OK}} or {{Literal|Apply}} button.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData panel===<br />
<br />
Although there is no real advantage in using this method, you can show or hide the grid using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
The {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} starts off empty, so to show or hide the grid on a canvas without canvas metadata you would have to:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Press the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} {{Literal|Add New MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]])<br />
# Type {{Literal|grid_show}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide the grid or {{Literal|1}} to show the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
To show or hide the grid on a canvas that already has canvas metadata you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide the grid or {{Literal|1}} to show the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether guides are visible or not. It stores {{Literal|0}} if guides are hidden or {{Literal|1}} if guides are visible.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|As well as {{Literal|0}} or {{Literal|1}}, you can also enter {{Literal|true}} or {{Literal|false}} (without quotes) to enable or disable boolean values in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.}}<br />
<br />
==Enabling and disabling snapping to a grid==<br />
<br />
The grid does not do anything until snapping to the grid is enabled. Once snapping is enabled, when you move a duck close to a grid line it will "snap" onto it, in much the same way as a magnet will snap onto a piece of metal. Once a duck has snapped to a grid line you will find it takes a stronger than normal movement to detach it from the grid line, again as if you were pulling a magnet off of something metallic.<br />
<br />
Having {{l|Duck|ducks}} snapping to grid lines is usually very useful, but sometimes it can be '''very''' annoying! Fortunately you can easily turn snapping to the grid off.<br />
<br />
There are four ways to enable or disable snapping to the grid in your {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You can use a button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar, you can use the {{l|Canvas_View_Menu|Canvas View Menu}}, you can use the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}} that you'll find on the {{l|Canvas_File_Menu|Canvas File Menu}} or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|If snapping to the grid is enabled, it will still work even if the grid is hidden.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window Toolbar button===<br />
<br />
There is a enable/disable snapping to the grid button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Enable_snapping.png]] snapping to the grid is disabled. If you press it snapping to the grid will be enabled.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Disable_snapping.png]] snapping to the grid is enabled. If you press it snapping to the grid will be disabled.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas View menu===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|View|Snap to Grid}} to enable or disable snapping to the grid.<br />
<br />
===Using the Options dialog box===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|File|Options}} to display the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}.<br />
<br />
You can use the {{Literal|Snap to grid}} checkbox to enable or disable snapping the grid, and then press the {{Literal|OK}} or {{Literal|Apply}} button.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData panel===<br />
<br />
Although there is no real advantage in using this method, you can enable or disable snapping to the grid using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
The {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} starts off empty, so to enable or disable snapping to the grid on a canvas without canvas metadata you would have to:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Press the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} {{Literal|Add New MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]])<br />
# Type {{Literal|grid_snap}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to disable snapping to the grid or {{Literal|1}} to enable snapping to the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
To enable or disable snapping to the grid on a canvas that already has canvas metadata you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide the grid or {{Literal|1}} to show the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|grid_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether snapping to the grid is enabled or disabled. It stores {{Literal|0}} if snapping to the grid is disabled or {{Literal|1}} if snapping to the grid is enabled.<br />
<br />
==Changing the spacing of grid lines==<br />
<br />
The default grid in Synfig Studio has its grid lines spaced 15.0 pixels apart horizontally and 15.0 pixels apart vertically. This may not be a useful size for your work, but fortunately you can change the spacing.<br />
<br />
You can change the spacing of the horizontal grid lines and vertical grid lines independently. This allows you to have rectangular rather than square grids. <br />
<br />
You also hide the horizontal grid lines, which gives you a grill of vertical lines rather than a grid. You can do this by setting the vertical spacing to 0. However, you cannot hide the vertical grid lines.<br />
<br />
There are two ways to adjust the spacing of grid lines in your {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You can either use the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}} that you'll find on the {{l|Canvas_File_Menu|Canvas File Menu}} or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The origin of the grid is '''always''' set to the centre of the canvas.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Options dialog box===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|File|Options}} to display the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}.<br />
<br />
You can change the spacing of vertical grid lines by typing a number into the {{Literal|Grid size X:}} box or you can use the arrows next to the {{Literal|Grid size X:}} value to increase or decrease the spacing.<br />
<br />
You can change the spacing of horizontal grid lines by typing a number into the {{Literal|Grid size Y:}} box or you can use the arrows next to the {{Literal|Grid size Y:}} value to increase or decrease the spacing.<br />
<br />
When you have finished adjusting the spacing of your grid lines you can click {{Literal|Apply}} or {{Literal|OK}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|If you enter a negative number for {{Literal|Grid size X:}} or {{Literal|Grid size Y:}} (or both) the grid will '''not''' be displayed when you click {{Literal|Apply}} or {{Literal|OK}}. However snapping to the grid '''will''' still work if it is enabled.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData panel===<br />
You can adjust the spacing of the grid lines on the current canvas using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. However, there is no real advantage in using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} to do this instead of the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}. In fact, you might find this method more complicated as the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores its data in Synfig's {{l|Unit_System|internal units}}, ''not'' in pixels, points, etc.<br />
<br />
To adjust the spacing of the grid on a canvas that already has a grid displayed you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_size}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter values.<br />
# Enter the spacing of the vertical grid lines in Synfig units.<br />
# Add a space after the this number<br />
# Enter the spacing of the horizontal grid lines in Synfig units.<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|grid_size}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores the grid spacing in Synfig's {{l|Unit_System|internal units}} as two floating point values separated by a space character. The first value stores the spacing of the vertical grid lines. The second value stores the spacing of the horizontal grid lines.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Grid&diff=15183Doc:Grid2012-02-17T08:04:57Z<p>DaveJ: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Navigation|Category:Manual|Doc:Grid}}<br />
{{Title|Grid}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
You can add a grid of horizontal and vertical lines to your {{l|Canvas|canvases}} to help you to position items precisely. The grids won't appear in your finished animations, but they will be saved with your documents. Each {{l|Canvas|canvas}} has its own grid. The spacing of the horizontal and vertical lines in a grid can be changed independently, so you can have grids made up of rectangles as well as grids made up of squares.<br />
<br />
If you imagine the grid's lines are made of metal, {{l|Duck|ducks}} act like magnets around grid lines, snapping onto them when they get close enough. This means that, using grids, it is easy to ensure {{l|Duck|ducks}} are in particular places.<br />
<br />
Position ducks, vertex ducks, tangent ducks, radius ducks, width ducks and angle ducks can all snap onto grid lines. This means that you can use grids to accurately position anything and everything in Synfig Studio.<br />
<br />
==Appearance==<br />
<br />
A grid looks like this when you display it in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}:<br />
<br />
[[File:Grid.png]]<br />
<br />
As you can see above, the grid appears as grey dashed lines that extend across your working area to the edges of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}.<br />
<br />
==Showing and hiding a grid==<br />
<br />
There are four ways to show or hide a grid in your {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You can use a button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar, you can use the {{l|Canvas_View_Menu|Canvas View Menu}}, you can use the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}} that you'll find on the {{l|Canvas_File_Menu|Canvas File Menu}} or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window Toolbar button===<br />
<br />
There is a show/hide grid button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Show_Grid.png]] the grid is hidden. If you press it the grid will be shown.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Hide_Grid.png]] the grid is shown. If you press it the grid will be hidden.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas View menu===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|View|Show Grid}} to hide or show the grid.<br />
<br />
===Using the Options dialog box===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|File|Options}} to display the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}.<br />
<br />
You can use the {{Literal|Show Grid}} checkbox to show or hide the grid, and then press the {{Literal|OK}} or {{Literal|Apply}} button.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData panel===<br />
<br />
Although there is no real advantage in using this method, you can show or hide the grid using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
The {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} starts off empty, so to show or hide the grid on a canvas without canvas metadata you would have to:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Press the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} {{Literal|Add New MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]])<br />
# Type {{Literal|grid_show}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide the grid or {{Literal|1}} to show the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
To show or hide the grid on a canvas that already has canvas metadata you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide the grid or {{Literal|1}} to show the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether guides are visible or not. It stores {{Literal|0}} if guides are hidden or {{Literal|1}} if guides are visible.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|As well as {{Literal|0}} or {{Literal|1}}, you can also enter {{Literal|true}} or {{Literal|false}} (without quotes) to enable or disable boolean values in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.}}<br />
<br />
==Enabling and disabling snapping to a grid==<br />
<br />
The grid does not do anything until snapping to the grid is enabled. Once snapping is enabled, when you move a duck close to a grid line it will "snap" onto it, in much the same way as a magnet will snap onto a piece of metal. Once a duck has snapped to a grid line you will find it takes a stronger than normal movement to detach it from the grid line, again as if you were pulling a magnet off of something metallic.<br />
<br />
Having {{l|Duck|ducks}} snapping to grid lines is usually very useful, but sometimes it can be '''very''' annoying! Fortunately you can easily turn snapping to the grid off.<br />
<br />
There are four ways to enable or disable snapping to the grid in your {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You can use a button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar, you can use the {{l|Canvas_View_Menu|Canvas View Menu}}, you can use the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}} that you'll find on the {{l|Canvas_File_Menu|Canvas File Menu}} or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|If snapping to the grid is enabled, it will still work even if the grid is hidden.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window Toolbar button===<br />
<br />
There is a enable/disable snapping to the grid button on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Enable_snapping.png]] snapping to the grid is disabled. If you press it snapping to the grid will be enabled.<br />
<br />
* When the button looks like this [[File:Disable_snapping.png]] snapping to the grid is enabled. If you press it snapping to the grid will be disabled.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas View menu===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|View|Snap to Grid}} to enable or disable snapping to the grid.<br />
<br />
===Using the Options dialog box===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|File|Options}} to display the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}.<br />
<br />
You can use the {{Literal|Snap to grid}} checkbox to enable or disable snapping the grid, and then press the {{Literal|OK}} or {{Literal|Apply}} button.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData panel===<br />
<br />
Although there is no real advantage in using this method, you can enable or disable snapping to the grid using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
The {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} starts off empty, so to enable or disable snapping to the grid on a canvas without canvas metadata you would have to:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Press the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} {{Literal|Add New MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]])<br />
# Type {{Literal|grid_snap}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to disable snapping to the grid or {{Literal|1}} to enable snapping to the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
To enable or disable snapping to the grid on a canvas that already has canvas metadata you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide the grid or {{Literal|1}} to show the grid and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|grid_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether snapping to the grid is enabled or disabled. It stores {{Literal|0}} if snapping to the grid is disabled or {{Literal|1}} if snapping to the grid is enabled.<br />
<br />
==Changing the spacing of grid lines==<br />
<br />
The default grid in Synfig Studio has its grid lines spaced 15.0 pixels apart horizontally and 15.0 pixels apart vertically. This may not be a useful size for your work, but fortunately you can change the spacing.<br />
<br />
You can change the spacing of the horizontal grid lines and vertical grid lines independently. This allows you to have rectangular rather than square grids. <br />
<br />
You also hide the horizontal grid lines, which gives you a grill of vertical lines rather than a grid. You can do this by setting the vertical spacing to 0. However, you cannot hide the vertical grid lines.<br />
<br />
There are two ways to adjust the spacing of grid lines in your {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You can either use the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}} that you'll find on the {{l|Canvas_File_Menu|Canvas File Menu}} or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The origin of the grid is '''always''' set to the centre of the canvas.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Options dialog box===<br />
<br />
You can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then use {{c|File|Options}} to display the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}.<br />
<br />
You can change the spacing of vertical grid lines by typing a number into the {{Literal|Grid size X:}} box or you can use the arrows next to the {{Literal|Grid size X:}} value to increase or decrease the spacing.<br />
<br />
You can change the spacing of horizontal grid lines by typing a number into the {{Literal|Grid size Y:}} box or you can use the arrows next to the {{Literal|Grid size Y:}} value to increase or decrease the spacing.<br />
<br />
When you have finished adjusting the spacing of your grid lines you can click {{Literal|Apply}} or {{Literal|OK}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|If you enter a negative number for {{Literal|Grid size X:}} or {{Literal|Grid size Y:}} (or both) the grid will '''not''' be displayed when you click {{Literal|Apply}} or {{Literal|OK}}. However snapping to the grid '''will''' still work if it is enabled.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData panel===<br />
You can adjust the spacing of the grid lines on the current canvas using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. However, there is no real advantage in using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} to do this instead of the {{l|Options|Options dialog box}}. In fact, you might find this method more complicated as the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores its data in Synfig's {{l|Unit_System|internal units}}, ''not'' in pixels, points, etc.<br />
<br />
To adjust the spacing of the grid on a canvas that already has a grid displayed you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|grid_size}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter values.<br />
# Enter the spacing of the vertical grid lines in Synfig units.<br />
# Add a space after the this number<br />
# Enter the spacing of the horizontal grid lines in Synfig units.<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|grid_size}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores the grid spacing in Synfig's {{l|Unit_System|internal units}} as two floating point values separated by a space character. The first value stores the spacing of the vertical grid lines. The second value stores the spacing of the horizontal grid lines.</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Guides&diff=15182Doc:Guides2012-02-17T08:04:27Z<p>DaveJ: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Navigation|Category:Manual|Doc:Grid}}<br />
{{Title|Guides}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Guides are horizontal or vertical lines that you can add to your {{l|Canvas|canvases}} to help you to position items precisely. Guides can be placed anywhere on your canvas – even outside of your working area. Guides won't appear in your finished animations, but they will be saved with your documents. Each {{l|Canvas|canvas}} has its own set of guides.<br />
<br />
If you imagine guides are made of metal, {{l|Duck|ducks}} act like magnets around guides, snapping onto them when they get close enough. This means that, using guides, it is easy to ensure {{l|Duck|ducks}} are in particular places.<br />
<br />
Position ducks, vertex ducks, tangent ducks, radius ducks, width ducks and angle ducks can all snap onto guides. This means that you can use guides to accurately position anything and everything in Synfig Studio.<br />
<br />
==Appearance==<br />
<br />
Guides look like this in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}:<br />
<br />
[[File:Two-guides.png]]<br />
<br />
As you can see above, they appear as blue dashed lines that extend across your working area to the edges of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. A guide that is being positioned on the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will appear as a red dashed line instead of a blue dashed line.<br />
<br />
==Adding guides to your canvases==<br />
<br />
There are three ways to add guides to your {{l|Canvas|canvases}}. You can drag them from the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} rulers, you can click on the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} rulers or you can add guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. <br />
<br />
===Dragging from the Canvas Window Rulers===<br />
<br />
You can add a horizontal guide by moving your mouse over the horizontal ruler at the top of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}, holding down the left mouse button and then dragging your mouse downwards. To show you that you are positioning the guide, it will appear as a red dashed line. When you release the left mouse button the guide will be placed on your canvas and the red dashed line will become blue.<br />
<br />
You can add a vertical guide by moving your mouse over the vertical ruler at the left of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}, holding down the left mouse button and then dragging your mouse to the right. To show you that you are positioning the guide, it will appear as a red dashed line. When you release the left mouse button the guide will be placed on your canvas and the red dashed line will become blue.<br />
<br />
===Clicking on the Canvas Window Rulers===<br />
<br />
Each time you click on the horizontal ruler at the top of the canvas window, a horizontal guide will be added at the horizontal centre of your canvas. Each time you click on the vertical ruler at the left of the canvas window, a vertical guide will be added at the vertical centre of your canvas.<br />
<br />
In Synfig Studio more than one guide can share the same position, so by repeatedly clicking on a ruler you will end up with a stack of guides in the same position.<br />
<br />
You can use the left, right or middle mouse button to click on the rulers.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
Advanced users may sometimes want to add guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. The {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores its data in Synfig's {{l|Unit_System|internal units}}, ''not'' in pixels, points, etc.<br />
<br />
To show you how this works, we'll open a new file and add a vertical guide to the centre of the canvas.<br />
<br />
# Select {{c|File|New}} or press {{Shortcut|ctrl|N}} to open a new file.<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Click the {{Literal|Add new MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]]) at the bottom of the panel. A {{Literal|New MetaData Entry}} dialog box will appear.<br />
# Type {{Literal|guide_x}} and click {{Literal|OK}} or press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_x}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}. A new vertical guide should appear at the centre of your canvas.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_x}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores all the vertical guides on the current canvas. It stores them as a list floating point numbers separated by spaces.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_y}} key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores all the horizontal guides on the current canvas. It stores them as a list of floating point numbers separated by spaces.<br />
<br />
==Positioning guides precisely==<br />
<br />
The purpose of guides is to allow you place things in exact positions, so being able to position guides accurately is very important. There are two ways you can position guides using Synfig Studio. You can look at the {{l|Info_Panel}} while you are dragging guides with the mouse, or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}} to enter guide positions directly.<br />
<br />
===Using the Info Panel===<br />
<br />
When you open or create a new file, it's possible to position guides to pixel boundaries (if pixels happen to be your currently selected unit system) by looking at the {{l|Info Panel}} while you drag them. Unfortunately, as soon as you have zoomed in or out of your canvas this is no longer possible. You will only see fractions of a pixel displayed in the {{l|Info Panel}}. However, there are various ways to fix this:<br />
<br />
* Click on the {{Literal|Zoom to Fit}} button and then click on the {{Literal|Zoom to 100%}} button to the left of the horizontal scroll bar in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}.<br />
* Save your file, close it and reopen it you'll find you're able to position guides to pixel boundaries once again – until the next time you zoom in or out of your canvas.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|The {{l|Info Panel}} is not updated when you first add guides to the canvas, but it is updated when you reposition them. We suggest that you place new guides roughly into position first, then reposition them with the help of the {{l|Info Panel}} to get them into exact position.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
Advanced users may sometimes want to enter guide positions using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This might be simply because they find this method is quicker, or it may be because they want to place guides very accurately - for example, at fractions of a pixel.<br />
<br />
To show you how this can be done, we'll open a new file and add a horizontal guide at 0.5 pixels above the centre of the canvas. For this example to work, you'll need to have kept the default setup values.<br />
<br />
# Select {{c|File|New}} or press {{Shortcut|ctrl|N}} to open a new file.<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Click the {{Literal|Add new MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]]) at the bottom of the panel. A {{Literal|New MetaData Entry}} dialog box will appear.<br />
# Type {{Literal|guide_y}} and click {{Literal|OK}} or press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_y}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0.0083335}} and press {{Shortcut|enter}}. A new horizontal guide should appear at 0.5 pixels above the center of your canvas.<br />
<br />
==Removing guides from your canvases==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to permanently remove guides from your {{l|Canvas|canvases}}. You can drag them back onto the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} rulers or you can remove them using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. <br />
<br />
If you only want to remove guides temporarily, you should hide them instead of removing them (see below).<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|Unlike in many other programs, you cannot remove guides in Synfig Studio by dragging them off of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} to the right or to the bottom. You '''must''' drag guides off of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} to the top or to the left (towards the rulers) to remove them.}}<br />
<br />
===Dragging to the Canvas Window Rulers===<br />
<br />
In Synfig Studio, removing guides is done in the opposite way to adding them. You use the mouse to drag guides from the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} back onto the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} rulers. You remove vertical guides by dragging them onto the vertical ruler at the left of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. You remove horizontal guides by dragging them onto the horizontal ruler at the top of the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}}. If you have removed a guide successfully, the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} status bar will inform you "Erase canvas metadata Successful".<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
Advanced users will sometimes want to remove guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. For instance, if you have a lot of guides on your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} this is the fastest method of permanently removing them all.<br />
<br />
For instance, to remove all horizontal guides from a {{l|Canvas|canvas}} using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}} you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Select the row with the {{Literal|guide_y}} Key.<br />
# Click on the {{Literal|Remove selected MetaData entry}} icon (it looks like this [[File:Remove_metadata_entry.png]]).<br />
<br />
To remove a particular guide from the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}} you would:<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column in the row for the {{Literal|guide_x}} or {{Literal|guide_y}} Key.<br />
# Select and delete the required value.<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|There '''must''' be at least one value remaining in your Data column after your edit for this to work, otherwise you will get a "Edit canvas metadata: Action is not ready." error dialog and your edit will not be successful.}}<br />
<br />
==Showing or hiding guides==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, particularly if you are using a lot of guides, you'll want to hide them all so you can see your artwork more clearly. There are two ways to show or hide all the guides on the current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} in Synfig Studio. You can use the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|Canvas Window}} {{Literal|View}} menu or you can use the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|If snapping to guides is enabled, it will still work even if the guides are hidden.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window View menu===<br />
<br />
Go to menu in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|Canvas Window}} (use the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button in the upper left corner) and select {{c|View|Show Guides}}.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
If you already have at least one guide on your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}, you can show or hide guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|0}} to hide guides or {{Literal|1}} to show guides and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_show}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether guides are visible or not. It stores {{Literal|0}} if guides are hidden or {{Literal|1}} if guides are visible.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|As well as {{Literal|0}} or {{Literal|1}}, you can also enter {{Literal|true}} or {{Literal|false}} (without quotes) to enable or disable boolean values in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.}}<br />
<br />
==Snapping==<br />
<br />
Guides do not do anything until snapping to guides is enabled. There are two ways to enable snapping to guides. The first is using the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|Canvas Window}} {{Literal|View}} menu. The second is using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
Once snapping is enabled, when you move a duck close to a guide it will "snap" onto it, in much the same way as a magnet will snap onto a piece of metal. Once a duck has snapped to a guide you will find it takes a stronger than normal movement to detach it from the guide, again as if you were pulling a magnet off of something metallic.<br />
<br />
Having {{l|Duck|ducks}} snapping to guides is usually very useful, but sometimes it can be '''very''' annoying! Fortunately you can easily turn snapping to guides off.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|Although {{l|Duck|ducks}} snap to guides, in Synfig Studio guides '''will not''' snap to {{l|Duck|ducks}}.}}<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas Window View menu===<br />
<br />
Go to menu in the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|Canvas Window}} (use the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button in the upper left corner) and select {{c|View|Snap to Guides}}.<br />
<br />
===Using the Canvas MetaData Panel===<br />
<br />
If you already have at least one guide on your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}, you can enable or disable snapping to guides using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Type {{Literal|1}} to enable snapping to guides or {{Literal|0}} to disable snapping to guides and press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|guide_snap}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} stores whether snapping to guides is enabled or not. It stores {{Literal|0}} if snapping to guides is disabled or {{Literal|1}} if snapping to guides is enabled.<br />
<br />
==Copying Guides from one canvas to another==<br />
<br />
When you export an encapsulated "Inline canvas" layer you'll find the exported canvas has no guides – but sometimes you would like it to have the same guides as its parent canvas. Or you may want to use the guides you added to a canvas in another file. You can solve this kind of problem easily using the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
<br />
As an example, here's how you would copy vertical guides to another canvas that has no guides:<br />
<br />
# Open the canvas window of the canvas that has the guides you want to copy.<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Select the {{Literal|guide_x}} row.<br />
# Click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_x}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}.<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|ctrl|C}} or right-click on the highlighted numbers and select {{c|Copy}}.<br />
# Open the canvas window of the canvas you want to copy the guides into.<br />
# Select the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel}} in the Params, Children, Keyframes, Timetrack, Curves, Canvas MetaData window.<br />
# Click the {{Literal|Add new MetaData entry}} icon (the one that looks like this [[File:Add_new_metadata_entry.png]]) at the bottom of the panel. A {{Literal|New MetaData Entry}} dialog box will appear.<br />
# Type {{Literal|guide_x}} and click {{Literal|OK}} or press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
# Double click on the Data column next to the {{Literal|guide_x}} Key in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. This will allow you to enter a value.<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|ctrl|V}} or right-click on the highlighted area and select {{c|Paste}}<br />
# Press {{Shortcut|enter}}.<br />
<br />
To copy the horizontal guides you would perform the procedure above for the {{Literal|guide_y}} Key instead of the {{Literal|guide_x}} Key.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You '''must''' ensure the Data column for the {{Literal|guide_x}} or {{Literal|guide_y}} rows is selected before you try and copy or paste guide values in the {{l|Canvas MetaData Panel|Canvas MetaData Panel}}. If you don't, you may find you are copying or pasting layers instead of guide values.}}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15181Doc:Preview2012-02-17T08:01:23Z<p>DaveJ: </p>
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<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
[[Category:Manual]]<br />
{{Navigation|Category:Manual|Render_options}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the {{Literal|End Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the last frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''after'' the last frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''before'' the {{Literal|Start Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the first frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''before'' the first frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
We let you do this because we're planning to make previewing frames that are outside the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} do something useful in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bugs|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.<br />
<br />
In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' the Preview Window always appears above all the Canvas windows. This is a bug and we've fixed it in the next version.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus (see below).<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Button has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame_focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Button does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
|} <br />
<br />
Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them.<br />
<br />
The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|If you press this button it will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. After you do this, the Slider will represent the duration of your preview render from {{Literal|Begin Time}} to {{Literal|End Time}} but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered. If the preview render has already finished rendering this button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|When you press this button all the rendered frames are erased. The Frame Display and the Preview Image disappear.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15180Doc:Preview2012-02-17T07:58:37Z<p>DaveJ: </p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
{{Navigation|Category:Manual|Render_options}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the {{Literal|End Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the last frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''after'' the last frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''before'' the {{Literal|Start Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the first frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''before'' the first frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
We let you do this because we're planning to make previewing frames that are outside the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} do something useful in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bugs|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.<br />
<br />
In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' the Preview Window always appears above all the Canvas windows. This is a bug and we've fixed it in the next version.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus (see below).<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Button has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame_focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Button does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
|} <br />
<br />
Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them.<br />
<br />
The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|If you press this button it will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. After you do this, the Slider will represent the duration of your preview render from {{Literal|Begin Time}} to {{Literal|End Time}} but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered. If the preview render has already finished rendering this button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|When you press this button all the rendered frames are erased. The Frame Display and the Preview Image disappear.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15179Doc:Preview2012-02-17T07:48:54Z<p>DaveJ: /* The Preview Window */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the {{Literal|End Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the last frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''after'' the last frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''before'' the {{Literal|Start Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the first frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''before'' the first frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
We let you do this because we're planning to make previewing frames that are outside the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} do something useful in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bugs|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.<br />
<br />
In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' the Preview Window always appears above all the Canvas windows. This is a bug and we've fixed it in the next version.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus (see below).<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Button has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame_focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Button does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
|} <br />
<br />
Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them.<br />
<br />
The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|If you press this button it will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. After you do this, the Slider will represent the duration of your preview render from {{Literal|Begin Time}} to {{Literal|End Time}} but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered. If the preview render has already finished rendering this button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|When you press this button all the rendered frames are erased. The Frame Display and the Preview Image disappear.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15178Doc:Preview2012-02-17T07:44:06Z<p>DaveJ: /* End Time */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the {{Literal|End Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the last frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''after'' the last frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''before'' the {{Literal|Start Time}} of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. The Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the first frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''before'' the first frame of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} if you do this.<br />
<br />
We let you do this because we're planning to make previewing frames that are outside the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} do something useful in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus (see below).<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Button has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame_focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Button does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
|} <br />
<br />
Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them.<br />
<br />
The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|If you press this button it will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. After you do this, the Slider will represent the duration of your preview render from {{Literal|Begin Time}} to {{Literal|End Time}} but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered. If the preview render has already finished rendering this button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|When you press this button all the rendered frames are erased. The Frame Display and the Preview Image disappear.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15177Doc:Preview2012-02-17T07:38:47Z<p>DaveJ: /* End Time */ Correct some incorrect information</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. Currently the Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the last frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''after'' the last frame of this canvas if you do this.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''before'' the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. Currently the Preview Image in the Preview Window will display the first frame of the canvas you are previewing for all frames that occur ''before'' the first frame of this canvas if you do this.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus (see below).<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Button has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame_focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Button does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
|} <br />
<br />
Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them.<br />
<br />
The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|If you press this button it will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. After you do this, the Slider will represent the duration of your preview render from {{Literal|Begin Time}} to {{Literal|End Time}} but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered. If the preview render has already finished rendering this button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|When you press this button all the rendered frames are erased. The Frame Display and the Preview Image disappear.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15176Doc:Preview2012-02-17T07:21:34Z<p>DaveJ: /* Buttons */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through their duration when your current canvas duration has ended. By setting a {{Literal|Begin Time}} or and {{Literal|End Time}} that's after the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} after the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} ends.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through its duration when your current canvas is beginning (at 0f). By setting a negative {{Literal|End Time}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} before the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} begins.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus (see below).<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Button has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame_focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Button does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
|} <br />
<br />
Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them.<br />
<br />
The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|If you press this button it will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. After you do this, the Slider will represent the duration of your preview render from {{Literal|Begin Time}} to {{Literal|End Time}} but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered. If the preview render has already finished rendering this button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|When you press this button all the rendered frames are erased. The Frame Display and the Preview Image disappear.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=File:Preview_previous_frame_focus.png&diff=15175File:Preview previous frame focus.png2012-02-17T07:18:32Z<p>DaveJ: Preview Window Previous Frame button with focus
Synfig Studio 0.63.04 GNOME 3.2 Fedora 16</p>
<hr />
<div>Preview Window Previous Frame button with focus<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio 0.63.04 GNOME 3.2 Fedora 16</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15174Doc:Preview2012-02-16T16:36:52Z<p>DaveJ: /* Buttons */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through their duration when your current canvas duration has ended. By setting a {{Literal|Begin Time}} or and {{Literal|End Time}} that's after the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} after the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} ends.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through its duration when your current canvas is beginning (at 0f). By setting a negative {{Literal|End Time}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} before the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} begins.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus. Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them. The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|If you press this button it will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. After you do this, the Slider will represent the duration of your preview render from {{Literal|Begin Time}} to {{Literal|End Time}} but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered. If the preview render has already finished rendering this button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|When you press this button all the rendered frames are erased. The Frame Display and the Preview Image disappear.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15173Doc:Preview2012-02-16T16:34:06Z<p>DaveJ: /* Buttons */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through their duration when your current canvas duration has ended. By setting a {{Literal|Begin Time}} or and {{Literal|End Time}} that's after the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} after the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} ends.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through its duration when your current canvas is beginning (at 0f). By setting a negative {{Literal|End Time}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} before the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} begins.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus. Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them. The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|If you press this button it will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. After you do this, the Slider will represent the duration of your preview render from {{Literal|Begin Time}} to {{Literal|End Time}} but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered. If the preview render has already finished rendering this button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|TODO<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15172Doc:Preview2012-02-16T16:31:33Z<p>DaveJ: /* Buttons */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through their duration when your current canvas duration has ended. By setting a {{Literal|Begin Time}} or and {{Literal|End Time}} that's after the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} after the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} ends.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through its duration when your current canvas is beginning (at 0f). By setting a negative {{Literal|End Time}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} before the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} begins.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus. Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them. The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|Pressing the Halt Render button will stop any more frames of the preview render from being rendered. The Slider will represent the entire duration of your preview render but the Frame Display will stop at last frame actually rendered.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|TODO<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15171Doc:Preview2012-02-16T16:26:26Z<p>DaveJ: /* Buttons */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through their duration when your current canvas duration has ended. By setting a {{Literal|Begin Time}} or and {{Literal|End Time}} that's after the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} after the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} ends.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through its duration when your current canvas is beginning (at 0f). By setting a negative {{Literal|End Time}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} before the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} begins.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus. Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them. The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, press it to stop the preview render playing in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
<br />
When the button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, press it to make the preview render play in an endless loop when you play it with the Play / Pause button.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|TODO the slider will still cover entire duration, the frame display will stop at last rendered frame but you can scrub past it.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|TODO<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15170Doc:Preview2012-02-16T16:21:54Z<p>DaveJ: /* The Preview Window */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through their duration when your current canvas duration has ended. By setting a {{Literal|Begin Time}} or and {{Literal|End Time}} that's after the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} after the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} ends.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through its duration when your current canvas is beginning (at 0f). By setting a negative {{Literal|End Time}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} before the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} begins.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png|center}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus. Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them. The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the Loop / Don't Loop button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, TODO<br />
<br />
When the Loop / Don't Loop button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, TODO<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|TODO the slider will still cover entire duration, the frame display will stop at last rendered frame but you can scrub past it.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|TODO<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJhttps://www.wiki.synfig.org/index.php?title=Doc:Preview&diff=15169Doc:Preview2012-02-16T16:18:42Z<p>DaveJ: /* Buttons */</p>
<hr />
<div><!-- Page info --><br />
{{Title|Preview}}<br />
{{Category|Glossary}}<br />
{{Category|Canvas Window}}<br />
<!-- Page info end --><br />
<br />
==Introduction==<br />
<br />
Rendering a long or complicated animation can take a while. You may need to do several renders before you are happy with your finished animation. Therefore, before you render your animation, it's a good idea to preview all or just a part of it at lower quality to save time.<br />
<br />
You may also find that working on your animation by looking at a render in a normal media player is not very useful. You will see time displayed in fractions of a second instead of as frame numbers and moving backwards and forwards (scrubbing) can be difficult.<br />
<br />
Synfig Studio has a very flexible preview tool that solves both of these problems.<br />
<br />
==Previewing an animation==<br />
<br />
There are two ways to preview the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}:<br />
<br />
* You can press the {{l|Doc:Interface#The_Canvas_window|canvas window}} toolbar Preview button {{l|Image:Preview_button.png}}, or <br />
* you can open the Canvas Menu using the {{l|Canvas_Menu_Caret}} button and then select {{c|File|Preview}}.<br />
<br />
If you do either of these things the Preview Options dialog will appear.<br />
<br />
==The Preview Options Dialog==<br />
<br />
The Preview Options dialog looks like this:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Options.png}}<br />
<br />
It is divided into two sections: {{Literal|General Settings}} and {{Literal|Time Settings}}. They are described below. When you have finished adjusting these settings you can click {{Literal|Preview}} and Synfig Studio will start rendering your preview and open the Preview Window. If you want to close the Preview Options dialog box without starting to render a preview you can click {{Literal|Cancel}} or press {{shortcut|escape}}.<br />
<br />
===General Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|General Settings}} allow you to adjust the quality of your preview – its size and its frame rate.<br />
<br />
Normally, to save time, previews are smaller and have a lower frame rate than the original animation. But, because Synfig Studio is so flexible, you can actually render a preview with a ''higher'' frame rate and a ''larger'' size than the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are working on!<br />
<br />
====Zoom====<br />
The {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the size of your preview. <br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box is a '''scalar''' value. In other words, the width and height of your canvas are multiplied by this number to give you the final size of your preview. For example, a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting of:<br />
* {{Literal|1.0}} means your preview will be the same size as your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|0.5}} means your preview will be half the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
* {{Literal|2.0}} means your preview will be twice the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}<br />
<br />
You can enter a number directly into the {{Literal|Zoom}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can not enter a value of less than {{Literal|0.1}} which is a tenth of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} size or more than {{Literal|5.0}} which is five times the size of your {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
<br />
Your preview is scaled to fit inside the Preview Window. The {{Literal|Zoom}} setting does '''not''' change the size of the Preview Window. So, if you use a high zoom setting you may have to increase the Preview Window size to see your preview properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting that is less than {{Literal|1.0}} when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Zoom}} setting {{Literal|0.5}} is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
====Frames per second====<br />
The {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box allows you to increase or decrease the ''frame rate'' - the number of frames per second your preview will have.<br />
<br />
The number in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is a '''floating point''' number with one decimal place, so you can specify the frame rate accurate to a tenth of a second.<br />
<br />
You can enter your frame rate setting directly into the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box, or use the spin box arrows to increase or decrease it. You can enter a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting between {{Literal|1.0}} and {{Literal|120.0}}.<br />
<br />
The default frame rate setting in the {{Literal|Frames per second}} spin box is the frame rate of the canvas you are previewing divided by 2.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Tip|When you are animating you'll probably want to look at previews often. To save time, we recommend that you normally use a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is less than the frame rate of your finished animation when previewing your work. We think a {{Literal|Frames per second}} setting that is half of your final frame rate is a good compromise between preview rendering speed and quality.}}<br />
<br />
===Time Settings===<br />
<br />
The {{Literal|Time Settings}} allow you to specify which point in time you want your preview to begin and end. You don't have to adjust these settings – if you don't adjust them the entire duration specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} will be previewed.<br />
<br />
However, for complicated animations it can save a lot of time if you just preview a small section.<br />
<br />
====Begin Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to begin at a time that is not the beginning of you {{l|Canvas|canvas}} (0f) then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|Begin Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|Begin Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Entering Time Values|To input a '''time value''' you enter one or more floating point numbers separated by a space. You can add a time unit suffix immediately after each number. The time unit suffixes are h (hours), m (minutes), s (seconds) and f (frames). If you don't add a suffix to a number it is treated as a frame value. The numbers you enter are '''added together''' and then converted into a single time value in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. <br />
<br />
Here are some valid time values:<br />
<br />
* 34 (Synfig Studio will treat this as 34f)<br />
* 3.5s<br />
* 3s 3s 3s (these will be added together to become 9s)<br />
* 0.5m 2f<br />
* 3s 34f<br />
* 0.75h 3f<br />
* 0.5f<br />
<br />
Don't forget that the number of frames per second for your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} is specified in the {{l|Canvas_Properties_Dialog}} and may change from {{l|Canvas|canvas}} to {{l|Canvas|canvas}}.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
====End Time====<br />
If you want to your preview to end at a time before the end of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you want to preview then:<br />
# Check the {{Literal|End Time}} check box<br />
# Enter a '''time value''' in the {{Literal|End Time}} entry field.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|You can set a {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}} that are ''after'' the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through their duration when your current canvas duration has ended. By setting a {{Literal|Begin Time}} or and {{Literal|End Time}} that's after the duration of your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} after the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} ends.<br />
<br />
You can also set a ''negative'' {{Literal|Begin Time}} and {{Literal|End Time}}. This is because your {{l|Canvas|canvas}} could contain one or more imported or exported {{l|Canvas|canvases}} that are part way through its duration when your current canvas is beginning (at 0f). By setting a negative {{Literal|End Time}} you can see animation that occurs in those child {{l|Canvas|canvases}} before the animation in your current {{l|Canvas|canvas}} begins.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you can specify an {{Literal|End Time}} that's before the {{Literal|Begin Time}}. This is a bug and we'll fix it soon.}}<br />
<br />
==The Preview Window==<br />
<br />
When you click {{Literal|Preview}} in the Preview Options dialog your preview will start to render and the Preview Window will appear:<br />
<br />
{{l|Image:Preview_Window.png}}<br />
<br />
The progress of your preview render is shown at the bottom of the Preview Window in the status bar. The {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time shows you the last frame of your preview that has been rendered. When the {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time equals the {{Literal|End Time}} you set in the Preview Options dialog your preview has finished rendering.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that sometimes, due to rounding errors, the final {{Literal|Last Rendered}} time will be one frame past your {{Literal|End Time}}. We'll fix this soon.}}<br />
<br />
You don't have to wait for your preview to finish rendering before you start to look at it – you can preview the frames that have been rendered so far.<br />
<br />
You can close the Preview Window at any time by pressing {{shortcut|escape}}, pressing {{shortcut|alt}}{{shortcut|f4}} or clicking the {{Literal|Close}} button in the top corner of the Preview Window.<br />
<br />
===Preview Image===<br />
<br />
The Preview Image shows you frames from your preview render. The Preview Image is scaled to fit into the Preview Window. This means you may need to adjust the size of the Preview Window to see the Preview Image properly.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|We know it can be difficult to size your Preview Window so you see the Preview Image at the exact size you rendered it. We are planning to add a combo box to help you size the Preview Image precisely in a later version of Synfig Studio.}}<br />
<br />
===Frame Display===<br />
<br />
There is a red frame display to the top left of the Preview Image. It looks like this: {{l|Image:Frame_display.png}}<br />
<br />
The Frame Display tells you which frame the Preview Image is displaying.<br />
<br />
{{Note|Note|The Frame Display will '''not''' show you the time values of frames that do not exist in the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing:<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur before the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|Start Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
* if the Preview Image is displaying frames that occur after the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing, the Frame Display will show you the {{Literal|End Time}} of the {{l|Canvas|canvas}} you are previewing<br />
<br />
Although the Frame Display is not updated, the Slider and Preview Image will continue to work as normal.}}<br />
<br />
{{Note|Bug|In '''Synfig 0.63.04''' and before you'll find that occassionally, due to rounding errors, the frame display will display a frame number that is incorrect. We've fixed this for the next version.}}<br />
<br />
===Slider===<br />
<br />
There is a Slider beneath the Preview Image. It looks like this:<br />
{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
<br />
You use it to do something that traditional animators call "rolling" or "flipping" their drawings. This is where animators use their fingers to flip through several drawings on paper quickly to look at movement.<br />
<br />
The box the Slider sits on represents the duration of the ''currently available preview'' – the number of preview frames that have been rendered so far. The position of the Slider on this box shows you where the frame shown in the Preview Image appears within the currently available preview.<br />
<br />
There are three ways you can use the Slider:<br />
<br />
# you can move your mouse anywhere over the box the Slider sits on and move the Slider with your mouse wheel<br />
# you move your mouse over the Slider, hold down the left mouse button and then move your mouse left and right<br />
# if the Slider has focus (see below) you can also use the {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} keys to move it backwards and forwards. You can give the Slider focus by pressing {{shortcut|tab}} until it gains focus or by clicking on it with your mouse<br />
<br />
{|align="center" |<br />
!align="left" |Slider has focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-focus.png}}<br />
|-<br />
!align="left" |Slider does not have focus <br />
|{{l|Image:Slider-no-focus.png}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Buttons===<br />
<br />
There is a row of buttons under the Slider. You can press the buttons with your mouse or you can press {{shortcut|tab}} until one of the buttons has focus. Once one of the buttons has focus you can use {{shortcut|left}}{{shortcut|right}} to move between the buttons and {{shortcut|space}} to press them. The buttons are all explained below:<br />
<br />
{|align="center" cellpadding="2" width="85%" |<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Previous Frame button<br />
|Press the Previous Frame button to see the frame before the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the first frame of your preview render, the Previous Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}<br />
!Play / Pause button<br />
|When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_play.png}}, press it to play your preview render starting from the currently displayed frame.<br />
<br />
When the Play / Pause button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_pause.png}}, press it to pause your preview render at the currently displayed frame.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_previous_frame.png}}<br />
!Next Frame button<br />
|Press the Next Frame button to see the frame after the currently displayed frame. If the Preview Image is showing you the last frame of your preview render, the Next Frame button does nothing.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}<br />
!Loop / Don't Loop button<br />
|When the Loop / Don't Loop button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_loop.png}}, TODO<br />
<br />
When the Loop / Don't Loop button looks like this {{l|Image:Preview_dont_loop.png}}, TODO<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_halt.png}}<br />
!Halt Render button<br />
|TODO the slider will still cover entire duration, the frame display will stop at last rendered frame but you can scrub past it.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_repreview.png}}<br />
!Re-preview button<br />
|Re-preview reshows the Preview Options dialog and allows you to do a new preview with different settings.<br />
|-<br />
|{{l|Image:Preview_erase.png}}<br />
!Erase Rendered Frames button<br />
|TODO<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>DaveJ