Animating with the Channel Editor > Expressions > About Expressions >
Simplified Expressions

A reference to another channel does not have to be fully qualified when it is at the same hierarchical level as the channel to which the expression is being applied. For example, the following simplified expressions are valid when applied to the specified channel. The fully qualified versions of the expressions are also provided.

Channel | Simplified Expression | Fully Qualified Expression
--- | --- | ---
axis1.position.y | x + 50 | axis1.position.x + 50
axis1.rotation | position / 2 | axis1.position / 2
image1.material.diffuse | specular * 3 | image1.material.specular * 3

References to other channels also work when referring to the siblings of any parent. For example, consider the following structure.

You can apply the expression position.x to axis.rotation.x because position is a sibling of rotation, and rotation is a parent of rotation.x.