Load Character Animation Options dialog box

When you load animation onto a character using the File > Load Character Animation option in the Character Controls, the Load Character Animation Options dialog box appears.

The Load Character Animation Options dialog box consists of the areas:

Note

If you load animation onto a character with the Load Character Animation option, shoulder FK effectors may be offset If you select the Assign as Character Input option as the Load Technique. To workaround this problem, instead select Retarget as the Load Technique.

Load Technique area

The Load Technique area consists of options that let you load animation in different ways.

Option	Function
Assign as Character Input	The Assign as Character Input option loads the selected .fbx file into your scene, and assigns the loaded character as the Character Input for the current character. A group called Imported Character is created. This group contains all imported assets, so that you can easily find or delete them.
Copy Animation	The Copy Animation option lets you copy animation from one character to another without retargeting or plotting. The copied animation is the same as the original animation only when the characters and their control rigs are exactly the same.
Retarget	The Retarget option lets you retarget character animation to the current character. Use this option to retarget keyframe animation where each keyframe is important.
Add Keyframes	Activate this option if you want to allow extra keyframes to be added during retargeting. Keyframes are adjusted when necessary during retargeting to compensate for differences between the two characters. Allowing added keyframes helps to preserve the original animation as closely as possible.
Plot to Control Rig	Use the Plot to Control Rig option when you want to retarget and plot motion capture data. You can also use this option with keyframe animation when individual keyframes are not important. Use the Retarget option instead, if you want to keep individual keyframes the way they are.
Plot to Skeleton	Use the Plot to Skeleton option to transfer the animation from your character's control rig to the skeleton.
Plot Options	Click the Plot Options button to open the Plot Options dialog box and select plotting options. These options are the same as in the Plot Properties window. See Plot Properties window for more information.
Override Option	The Override Option area contains the Plot for Dense Data option, which lets you override retargeting options under specific conditions. When the Plot for Dense Data option is active, if dense data (such as motion capture data or plotted animation) is detected, the animation is automatically plotted to the current character, not only retargeted. This option works with the Retarget option (see Retarget).

Control Rig area

The Control Rig area contains options that affect the characters’ control rigs.

Option	Function
Replace Control Rig option	The Replace Control Rig option lets you replace the current character’s Control rig with the Control rig in the .fbx file you are loading. The current character’s old Control rig is detached from the character, but is not deleted from the scene. Replacing the Control rig lets you retarget the animation with more accuracy. This option is available only if the current character has a Control rig. When Replace Control Rig is activated, the following two options become available: Reset Control Rig’s Rotation DOF, which lets you reset the DOF Rotation Properties on the Control rig to default values, and Reset the Control Rig’s Hierarchy, which Resets the Control rig to the default hierarchy. See The Control rig hierarchy for more information.
Remove Constraint Reference option	The Remove Constraint Reference option lets you disable the Constrain Reference property for source and target characters. The Constrain Reference property can affect the result of retargeted character animation when it is active for either the target and source characters.

Option

Function

Replace Control Rig option

The Replace Control Rig option lets you replace the current character’s Control rig with the Control rig in the .fbx file you are loading. The current character’s old Control rig is detached from the character, but is not deleted from the scene. Replacing the Control rig lets you retarget the animation with more accuracy. This option is available only if the current character has a Control rig. When Replace Control Rig is activated, the following two options become available: Reset Control Rig’s Rotation DOF, which lets you reset the DOF Rotation Properties on the Control rig to default values, and Reset the Control Rig’s Hierarchy, which Resets the Control rig to the default hierarchy. See The Control rig hierarchy for more information.

Remove Constraint Reference option

The Remove Constraint Reference option lets you disable the Constrain Reference property for source and target characters. The Constrain Reference property can affect the result of retargeted character animation when it is active for either the target and source characters.

Character Extensions area

The Character Extensions area contains two options that let you copy Character Extension animation and copy missing Extensions.

Option	Function
Process Animation	The Process Animation option copies Character Extension animation onto the Character Extensions of the current character, but only when the source Character Extension and the Character Extension in the current scene are exactly the same. If they are not exactly the same, the animation is not copied.
Copy Missing Character Extensions	The Copy Missing Character Extensions option copies Character Extensions that do not exist in the current character. For example, if the source file contains a character with two wings and a tail, and the current character has two wings, the tail extension is copied onto the current character. If the current character already has a tail, but it has a different name than the tail in the source file, the character has two tails. If both Character Extensions have the same name but are made differently, they merge. In this case, a dialog box appears listing the parts of the Character Extension that will merge and asking you if you want to continue. Click Continue to merge the Character Extensions or Cancel to abort the operation.

Option

Function

Process Animation

The Process Animation option copies Character Extension animation onto the Character Extensions of the current character, but only when the source Character Extension and the Character Extension in the current scene are exactly the same. If they are not exactly the same, the animation is not copied.

Copy Missing Character Extensions

The Copy Missing Character Extensions option copies Character Extensions that do not exist in the current character. For example, if the source file contains a character with two wings and a tail, and the current character has two wings, the tail extension is copied onto the current character. If the current character already has a tail, but it has a different name than the tail in the source file, the character has two tails. If both Character Extensions have the same name but are made differently, they merge. In this case, a dialog box appears listing the parts of the Character Extension that will merge and asking you if you want to continue. Click Continue to merge the Character Extensions or Cancel to abort the operation.

Merge Takes area

The Merge Takes area shows all the takes stored in the .fbx file that you are merging.

Use the Take Start/End field to select how the start and end of takes are set when they are merged. Take Start/End gives you the following options:

Option	Description
Leave As Is	Leaves the take start and end times unchanged. If you are creating a take, the take start and end times are imported from the file.
Import From File	Uses the start and end time codes specified by the .fbx file being loaded.
Frame Animation	Frames the start and end of the animation for each take.

Take List

The Take list is split into the following columns:

Column	Function
Take name	Shows the name of the take as it was saved in the .fbx file. You cannot rename takes using this column.
Import	Marks the take for merging. When active, the corresponding take replaces any takes with the same name. When disabled, the take is not merged.
As Take	Changes the name of the take when merged. This is useful if your scene has a take with the same name and you don’t want to replace it with the take being merged.