timeControl

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Synopsis

timeControl [-animCurveNames] [-animLayerFilterOptions string] [-annotation string] [-backgroundColor float float float] [-beginScrub] [-defineTemplate string] [-displaySound boolean] [-docTag string] [-dragCallback script] [-dropCallback script] [-enable boolean] [-enableBackground boolean] [-endScrub] [-exists] [-forceRefresh] [-fullPathName string] [-globalTime boolean] [-height int] [-isObscured] [-mainListConnection string] [-manage boolean] [-noBackground boolean] [-numberOfPopupMenus] [-parent string] [-popupMenuArray] [-pressCommand script] [-preventOverride boolean] [-range] [-rangeArray] [-rangeVisible] [-releaseCommand script] [-repeatChunkSize float] [-repeatOnHold boolean] [-resample] [-showKeys string] [-showKeysCombined boolean] [-snap boolean] [-sound string] [-tickSize int] [-useTemplate string] [-visible boolean] [-visibleChangeCommand script] [-waveform string] [-width int] string

timeControl is undoable, queryable, and editable.

Return value

In query mode, return type is based on queried flag.

Flags

Long name (short name)	Argument types	Properties
-exists(-ex)
Returns true|false depending upon whether the specified object exists. Other flags are ignored.
-defineTemplate(-dt)	string
Puts a command in a mode where any other flags and args are parsed and added to the command template specified in the argument. They will be used as default arguments in any subsequent invocations of the command when templateName is set as the current template.
-useTemplate(-ut)	string
Force the command to use a command template other than the current one.
-parent(-p)	string
The parent layout for this control.
-enable(-en)	boolean
The enable state of the control. By default, this flag is set to true and the control is enabled. Specify false and the control will appear dimmed or greyed-out indicating it is disabled.
-width(-w)	int
The width of the control. The control will attempt to be this size if it is not overruled by parent layout conditions.
-height(-h)	int
The height of the control. The control will attempt to be this size if it is not overruled by parent layout conditions.
-visible(-vis)	boolean
The visible state of the control. A control is created visible by default. Note that a control's actual appearance is also dependent on the visible state of its parent layout(s).
-visibleChangeCommand(-vcc)	script
Command that gets executed when visible state of the control changes.
-isObscured(-io)
Return whether the control can actually be seen by the user. The control will be obscured if its state is invisible, if it is blocked (entirely or partially) by some other control, if it or a parent layout is unmanaged, or if the control's window is invisible or iconified.
-manage(-m)	boolean
Manage state of the control. An unmanaged control is not visible, nor does it take up any screen real estate. All controls are created managed by default.
-numberOfPopupMenus(-npm)
Return the number of popup menus attached to this control.
-popupMenuArray(-pma)
Return the names of all the popup menus attached to this control.
-preventOverride(-po)	boolean
If true, this flag disallows overriding the control's attribute via the control's right mouse button menu.
-annotation(-ann)	string
Annotate the control with an extra string value.
-backgroundColor(-bgc)	float float float
The background color of the control. The arguments correspond to the red, green, and blue color components. Each component ranges in value from 0.0 to 1.0. When setting backgroundColor, the background is automatically enabled, unless enableBackground is also specified with a false value.
-noBackground(-nbg)	boolean
Clear/reset the control's background. Passing true means the background should not be drawn at all, false means the background should be drawn. The state of this flag is inherited by children of this control.
-enableBackground(-ebg)	boolean
Enables the background color of the control.
-docTag(-dtg)	string
Add a documentation flag to the control. The documentation flag has a directory structure like hierarchy. Eg. -dt render/multiLister/createNode/material
-dragCallback(-dgc)	script
Adds a callback that is called when the middle mouse button is pressed. The MEL version of the callback is of the form: global proc string[] callbackName(string $dragControl, int $x, int $y, int $mods) The proc returns a string array that is transferred to the drop site. By convention the first string in the array describes the user settable message type. Controls that are application defined drag sources may ignore the callback. $mods allows testing for the key modifiers CTL and SHIFT. Possible values are 0 == No modifiers, 1 == SHIFT, 2 == CTL, 3 == CTL + SHIFT. In Python, it is similar, but there are two ways to specify the callback. The recommended way is to pass a Python function object as the argument. In that case, the Python callback should have the form: def callbackName( dragControl, x, y, modifiers ): The values of these arguments are the same as those for the MEL version above. The other way to specify the callback in Python is to specify a string to be executed. In that case, the string will have the values substituted into it via the standard Python format operator. The format values are passed in a dictionary with the keys "dragControl", "x", "y", "modifiers". The "dragControl" value is a string and the other values are integers (eg the callback string could be "print '%(dragControl)s %(x)d %(y)d %(modifiers)d'")
-dropCallback(-dpc)	script
Adds a callback that is called when a drag and drop operation is released above the drop site. The MEL version of the callback is of the form: global proc callbackName(string $dragControl, string $dropControl, string $msgs[], int $x, int $y, int $type) The proc receives a string array that is transferred from the drag source. The first string in the msgs array describes the user defined message type. Controls that are application defined drop sites may ignore the callback. $type can have values of 1 == Move, 2 == Copy, 3 == Link. In Python, it is similar, but there are two ways to specify the callback. The recommended way is to pass a Python function object as the argument. In that case, the Python callback should have the form: def pythonDropTest( dragControl, dropControl, messages, x, y, dragType ): The values of these arguments are the same as those for the MEL version above. The other way to specify the callback in Python is to specify a string to be executed. In that case, the string will have the values substituted into it via the standard Python format operator. The format values are passed in a dictionary with the keys "dragControl", "dropControl", "messages", "x", "y", "type". The "dragControl" value is a string and the other values are integers (eg the callback string could be "print '%(dragControl)s %(dropControl)s %(messages)r %(x)d %(y)d %(type)d'")
-fullPathName(-fpn)	string
Return the full path name of the widget, which includes all the parents
-globalTime(-gt)	boolean
"true" means this widget controls and displays the global, dependency graph time. "false" means time changes here do NOT affect the dependency graph. Query returns int.
-snap(-sn)	boolean
"true" means this widget is constrained to having values that are integers representing the current time unit.. "false" means the current time indicator is "free floating" and not constrained.
-sound(-s)	string
Name of audio depend node whose data should display in the sound-display widget. Query returns string.
-displaySound(-ds)	boolean
Turn sound display off. Query returns int.
-waveform(-wf)	string
Determines what part of the sound waveform to display, when -displaySound is "true". Valid values are "top", "bottom", and "both". Default is "top". Query returns string.
-resample(-r)
Resample the sound display to fit the widget
-repeatOnHold(-roh)	boolean
Repeat sound during mouse-down events
-repeatChunkSize(-rcs)	float
How much sound (in the current time unit) is repeated when -repeatOnHold is true. Default is 1.0.
-beginScrub(-bs)
Set this widget up for sound scrubbing. Subsequent changes to current time will result in "sound scrubbing" behavior, until the "-endScrub" command is issued for this widget.
-endScrub(-es)
End sound scubbing for this widget. This stops sound scrubbing behavior and should be issued before any subsequent "-beginScrub" flags
-showKeys(-sk)	string
"active" will show tick marks for keyframes on all active objects. "none" shows no tick marks. Any other name is taken as the name of a channel box whose selected attributes will display tick marks. Default "active". Query returns string.
-showKeysCombined(-skc)	boolean
This flag can be used in conjunction with the showKeys flag to enable a combination of "active" + "channel box" behavior. Specifically, if channel box attributes are selected, tick marks will be shown for those attributes. If no channel box attributes are selected, tick marks will be shown for keyframes on all active objects.
-animCurveNames(-acn)
When "showKeys" is not "none", querying this flag will return the names of all the animCurves for which keyframe ticks are being displayed. Query returns string[].
-range(-rng)
Returns string representing the currently highlighted range visible on the time slider. A range from 10 to 20 would be returned as "10:20". When there's no range visible on the time slider, the query returns a range spanning the current time: for example, "10:11". These values are in the current time unit.
-rangeArray(-ra)
Returns a float array representing the currently highlighted range visible on the time slider. A range from 10 to 20 would be returned as { 10.0, 20.0 }. When there's no range visible on the time slider, the query returns values spanning the current time: { 10.0, 11.0 }. These values are in the current time unit.
-rangeVisible(-rv)
Returns true if a currently highlighted range is visible on the time slider, false if no.
-pressCommand(-pc)	script
script to run on mouse-down in this control.
-releaseCommand(-rc)	script
script to run on mouse-up in this control.
-mainListConnection(-mlc)	string
Specifies the name of a selectionConnection object which the time slider will use as its source of content. The time slider will only display keys for items contained in the selectionConnection object.
-animLayerFilterOptions( -alf)	string
Specifies whether a filter is to be applied when displaying animation layers. If so, the options can be "allAffecting" (no filter), "active" (only the active layers on the object will be displayed) and "animLayerEditor" (the settings will be taken from the animation layer editor).
-tickSize(-ts)	int
Specifies the witdth of keyframe ticks drawn in the time slider. The value will be clamped to the range [1, 63].
-forceRefresh(-fr)
Force a refresh of the time control UI.

Flag can appear in Create mode of command	Flag can appear in Edit mode of command
Flag can appear in Query mode of command	Flag can be used more than once in a command.

MEL examples

// To display sound in the time slider, there must first be a sound
// node in the scene. We'll create one and give it the name "ohNo".
// Note that the argument to the -file flag must be a path to a valid
// soundfile.
//
sound -file "C:/My Documents/maya/projects/default/sound/ohNo.aiff" -name "ohNo";
// To display sound in the time slider, you must specify
// the sound node to display and turn display of sound "on."
//
global string $gPlayBackSlider;
timeControl -e -sound "ohNo" -displaySound true $gPlayBackSlider;
// To hear sound while scrubbing in the time slider, set the press and
// release commands to begin and end sound scrubbing.
//
timeControl
       -e -pressCommand
       "timeControl -e -beginScrub $gPlayBackSlider"
       -e -releaseCommand
       "timeControl -e -endScrub $gPlayBackSlider"
       $gPlayBackSlider;