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Home > Timeline

Timeline

An object's position in the Timeline determines when that object becomes visible in the scene at runtime. 'Timeline Properties' allow you to specify when the object appears, how it appears and how long it is displayed for.

Depending on the object being worked on, the Timeline's appearance will adapt to show the options available for that specific object. Please note that objects with 'Events'(buttons , click zones and edit zones) are unique in that each individual event will have its own Timeline to enable you to precisely control the appearance and behavior of the event and the particular objects and actions making up that event.




Playhead
The Playhead is a red vertical line with a red rectangle at the top, and is displayed in the Timeline. The Playhead indicates the location of the movie within the Timeline. You can drag the Playhead with your mouse to the left or the right, and as you do, you will be advancing the play of the movie in the Canvas area. Alternatively, you can click the green arrow above the Timeline to automatically 'play' the movie, watching the Playhead advance automatically. There are also 'beginning' and 'end' icons on either side of the play button, that when clicked, automatically advances the Playhead to the beginning or to the end of the scene. The playhead is an extremely effective tool for going to a precise location within a movie.

Changes
Only for full-motion recordings. You can choose to show consecutive strips with alternate colors to better view 'changes' in the Timeline.

Tracks
You can have an unlimited number of 'tracks' in your Timeline. A track is a horizontal location that runs from time zero to some time in the future and it is in these tracks that objects will exist. For example, if you want an image to display for 3 seconds, starting 1 second into a theme, then that image will be displayed in a track on the Timeline, and it's length will be from the 1 second point to the 4 second point. The object will therefore be displayed for 3 seconds(see Preferences , Defaults Tab). If you then want another object to display after the first object disappears, you can place this object in the same track, after the first object. However, you can also display the new object in a second track, below the first track. You would do this if, for example, you wanted the second object to display before the first object had vanished. In other words, objects can 'overlap' when placed in separate tracks.

The track that an object is in has no bearing on the resulting movie. Therefore, it is often good practice to limit the number of tracks in use or otherwise you may end up with a Timeline that is difficult to navigate.... having to often scroll up and down more than would otherwise be necessary. An easy way to limit the number of required tracks is to use the Float feature.

Float
Use the Float feature to condense your objects into the least number of required tracks in the Timeline. Doing so will automatically condense the objects into the least number of tracks required.

Changes and Cursor Lock
If the Lock is turned on, then you cannot adjust/move any change/cursor motion in the Timeline or in the Canvas.

Add Mark
Above the Timeline and near the left side (but to the right of the green play button) there is another PLUS ('+') icon. This is the 'Add Mark' icon, and when clicked, will add a Mark to the Timeline in the location where the Playhead is located. A 'Mark' will be displayed as a small number at the top of the Timeline. You can add as many Marks to a scene as you like. Marks are useful to identify locations within a scene/movie and can also be tied to specific actions.

Magnet (Snap-to Timeline)
If you have more than one object in a given scene, and if it's important to you that this object begins to play right after the previous object ends, activate the 'Magnetic Ride' feature. Simply select 'Magnetic Ride' from the 'Options' drop down menu (or by right-clicking in the Timeline). Then, when you click on an object in the Timeline and drag it to the position you want, you'll notice that it "snaps" into position as you drag it near another object. This is a handy feature that helps position objects in the exactly where you want them in the Timeline.

Split
The 'Split' feature allows you to split a scene into two separate scenes. To split a scene, simply position the Playhead in the location where you wish to split the scene. The result will be two separate scenes that must be edited separately.

Merge
Although not an option in the Timeline options, merging two or more scenes into one scene is essentially the opposite of 'Splitting' scenes. To merge multiple scenes into one scene, you need to go to Thumbnail View.You can do this by clicking on your movie's title in the left margin in Design View or by pressing the home-shaped icon. Here, select the scenes you wish to merge by holding down CTRL and clicking the individual scenes (or by drag-selecting all scenes to be merged). Then, right-click on any of the selected scenes, and select 'Merge' from the resulting menu. All of the selected scenes will be merged into one, longer scene.

Select Multiple Objects
If you want to select multiple objects in the Timeline, perhaps because you want to move them all at the same time and by the same amount of time, you can do so simply by holding the CTRL and clicking on each object.



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