Timeline Control Quick Tips
Let’s take a look at some quick tips to make your experience using timeline even smoother.
Objective: Learn some useful hotkeys to navigate Timeline with ease.
Table of Contents
· Moving Frame by Frame or Beginning to End
· Mix Modes
∘ Mix mode(1)
∘ Ripple Mode
∘ Replace Mode
· Quality of Life
∘ Alt to move Timeline
∘ Frame All Clips
∘ Frame Singular Clip
∘ Zooming in and Out
∘ Inserting Frames
∘ Specific Selection
∘ Bringing Clips Closer Together
∘ Separating Clips
Moving Frame by Frame or Beginning to End
You can scout your recording by moving frame by frame, this can help you find any awkward cuts or jumps in your animation, as well as pinpoint underlying issues with an overall clip.
Your Timeline can get pretty extensive at times so when you need to go back to the start or reach the end, it’s easier to do it automatically rather than manually.
Mix Modes
Mix modes handle how we move and combine our clips in the Timeline. There are three different mix modes to consider:
Mix mode(1)
The default mix mode allows us to drag our clips around and make them overlap to create an ease-in/ease-out effect. I find this mode extremely helpful when stitching different animation clips to blend seamlessly into one cohesive experience.
Ripple Mode
Select and drag a bundle of clips together. This is very helpful when you need to make multiple changes to the positioning of clips and tracks in your Timeline.
Replace Mode
When you select Replace Mode, if you add a new clip on top of another existing clip in your Timeline, it will layer it on top of the existing clip and you can then position it to replace the existing clip altogether.
Quality of Life
Alt to move Timeline
You can quickly and easily scout your Timeline by holding down the Alt key and dragging around it.
Frame All Clips
Press the A key to frame all your clips.
Frame Singular Clip
Press F over a selected clip to frame it specifically.
Zooming in and Out
You can zoom in and out by holding the Alt Key and the Right Mouse Button as you drag it along, or by using the mouse wheel.
Inserting Frames
If you right-click over the Playhead, you have the option to insert a given number of frames wherever the Playehad is located in the Timeline.
Specific Selection
You can also make more specific Selections from this menu. These selections are made in perspective to the position of your Playhead in the Timeline. For example, if you select Clips Intersecting, only the clips in a range of the Playhead will be highlighted despite there being more intersecting clips in the overall Timeline.
Bringing Clips Closer Together
If you find that you have clips that are too far away from one another in the Timeline, you can select the clips → Right Click on one of them → Select Tile from the menu.
Separating Clips
If you click on the Curve View icon beside the Record button, you can view the Curves in your animation for an individual clip.
This also allows you to separate clips by pressing the S key, this split will always happen wherever your Playhead is located on the clip. You can move the separate clip as an independent piece.
By using these simple tips and hotkeys, you can make the best use of Timeline.
