Names Panel

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This page describes the Keyframe Animator names panel.

The names panel, the column along the left-hand side of the keyframes, lists the Master, member, object, property, and field components of the animation. The Master and member names (in boldface type) are always listed. To display more information on a member, press the blue down arrow, which displays the objects that compose the member. If you press the down arrow on an object, the properties for the object are displayed (and the object line disappears). If you press the down arrow on a property, the fields for the property are displayed (and the property line disappears). Here's an example of the names for one piece of a robot. Depending on which level is being displayed, you would see the Master and member lines, plus one of the last three types of lines:

Master (Master)
Member (Robot)
Object (Left Arm)
Property (LeftArm/xfm)
Field (LeftArm/xfm/translation)

Each entry in the names panel has an associated record button. If a field button is blue, the field value at the current time has not been changed, and you don't need to record it. If a field button is red, you have changed the field, and you should record it in order to save this value in your animation. For field lines, you can force a keyframe to be recorded even if the button is blue.

For property, object, member, and master lines, the record button is either gray or red. Gray indicates that none of the field lines underneath the group-level line has changed. Pressing a gray button has no effect. Red for a group-level line indicates that at least one field line beneath the group is red. When you press a red button on one of these group-level lines, all of the red field-level lines beneath it are recorded, and you will see the group lines return to gray.

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