Fcurve Editor Preferences

Sets the preferences for controlling the fcurve editor's appearance and function, as well as allowing you to set options for editing function curves.

To display, do one of the following:

Choose File Preferences from the main menu bar, then click the Editors Fcurve Editor icon or node in the explorer on the left of the Preferences property editor.
Choose File Preferences in the fcurve editor command bar.
Click the Preferences icon in the fcurve editor command bar.

You can determine the default function curve style, interpolation, and slope attributes using the options in the Animation Preferences. These settings are used when you create function curves by setting keys.

Editor

Controls various settings of the fcurve editor, including fcurve display options, how the grid is displayed, and how the clipboard is managed.

For more information, see Setting Up the Fcurve Editor Graph and Timeline.

Display

Display Options

Determines which fcurves are displayed in the graph by default:

Show None displays no fcurves for the selected object.
Show All Parameters displays fcurves for all parameters of the selected object.
Show Animated Parameters displays fcurves only for the object's animated parameters.
Show Marked Parameters displays fcurves only for the object's marked parameters.
Show Selected Parameters displays fcurves only for the object's selected parameters.

Allow selecting curves from the tree in Selected Mode

When the View Selected Parameters command is active in the fcurve editor and you select a parameter in the animation explorer, its fcurve is also automatically selected. This makes it easy to edit and manipulate the fcurve immediately.

Deselect this option if you want to display the fcurves, but not select them, when you select a parameter in the animation explorer.

Classic Mode

Toggles the View Classic Mode option in the fcurve editor which switches fcurve editor modes:

Classic mode: This mode is on by default and provides all the tools that you are used to if you are a seasoned Softimage user. It is the same as in previous versions of Softimage.
Suite mode: When the Classic Mode option is off, the Suite mode is active. This mode is designed to be used if you're running the Suite version of Softimage. It displays a simplified set of icons on the command bar, similar to other Autodesk 3D applications, and provides the same context (right-click) menu no matter what you click on in the fcurve graph.

Grids

Control the properties of the grid displayed in the fcurve graph. You can set the properties for the horizontal and vertical directions separately.

Display Grid	Sets the spacing between grid lines on the X (Time) and Y (Value) axes. Show displays or hides the X and Y axis grid lines.
Snap Grid	Sets the interval on the grid's X (Time) and Y (Value) axes to which a key will snap when it is moved or created. Snap toggles the snap-to-grid feature on and off.
Snap Slope	Sets the Length in Softimage units or the Angle in degrees to which slope handles on key points will snap when manipulated. Snap toggles this option on and off.

Rulers

Sets the spacing between ruler increments on the X (Time) and Y (Value) axes for the fcurve graph. The units displayed on the ruler are the same as the units you choose for the current Time Display. Use the Time preferences to choose units of frames, seconds, or milliseconds.

Show X /Show Y

Show displays or hides the rulers on the horizontal X (time) and vertical Y (values) axes.

Default Tool

Sets the default selection and editing tool to use in the fcurve graph.

Select Tool	Selects and moves function curves, keys, and slope handles.
Select Curve Tool	Selects only function curves.
Select Key Tool	Selects only keys.
Select and Move Key Tool	Selects and moves keys.

Custom Commands

Show Old Fcurve Custom Commands

Softimage does not automatically scan the Fcurve Editor's Edit menu for existing plug-ins. If you do want to scan for plug-ins, select this option.

View

Interaction Lag

The number of pixels a mouse moves before interaction begins. You can decide on how fine you want the control when moving points and slope handles on key points.

View

Controls how various elements appear in the fcurve editor.

Key Coordinates	Displays the X and Y coordinate values for each selected key.
Slopes on Unselected Keys	Displays the slope handles of all points on a selected function curve. When off, only the slope handles of selected keys are displayed.
Keys on Unselected Curves	Displays the keys of all displayed function curves. When off, only the keys of selected function curves are displayed.
Buffer Curves	Toggles the View Show Buffer Curves option in the fcurve editor. This option displays a temporary copy of the original function curve that has been saved into a buffer. See Editing Safely with Function Curve Buffers for more information.
Pan & Zoom Tool Mode	Choose either the Pan & Zoom or Zoom (rectangular selection) tool to be the default zoom mode.
Time Cursors Visible	Toggles the display of the red playback cursor in the animation editor.
Time Cursors Selectable	Toggles the selectability of the red playback cursor only in the fcurve graph. The playback cursor is always available in the animation editor's timeline, if visible.
Auto Frame Curves	Toggles the View Auto Frame option in the fcurve editor. This option automatically frames an object's fcurves in the graph when you open the animation editor or when you update the selection. If you have the View Selected Parameters filter active for the fcurve graph and you select one or more parameters in the animation explorer, their fcurves are automatically framed in the graph.

Interactive Update

Toggles the View Interactive Update command in the fcurve editor and controls its refresh speed.

Keys

Controls how keys are manipulated in the fcurve editor.

Express slopes as ratio as in SI\|3D	The slope angle text boxes in the fcurve editor command bar display the handle values as a ratio of Y values over X values.
Apply spline/linear interpolation to both sides of selected keys	Does as advertised! When you select keys on a curve and select either spline or linear as the interpolation type, the same interpolation is used on the slopes on both sides of the keys.

To set other options for selected keys, see the Key Properties Editor.

Curve Processing

Contains settings that control how function curves are recalculated during Resample, Smooth, and Fit operations.

Set the options on this page, then select the appropriate command from the Curves menu in the fcurve editor command bar: Smooth, Simplify Curve, or Resample.

For more information, see Cleaning Up Function Curves (Curve Processing).

Resample

Generates a function curve with keys at specific intervals.

Time Step	Specifies at what interval keys will be inserted when using the resampling option.
Keep Existing Keys	Keep keys that existed before adding keys through the resampling option.

Smooth

Removes sharp spikes and jags from a function curve by averaging between keys.

Average Filter	Smooths the function curve by applying a moving average. The weights of the averages are uniformly distributed.
Gaussian Filter	Smooths the function curve by applying a moving average. The weights of the averages are distributed as a bell curve. This usually gives better results than the average filter.
Filter Size	Defines the number of keys that are averaged to calculate a new key. A high filter size will yield a much straighter curve.
Variance	For the Gaussian filter only. Controls the degree of smoothing. A higher variance smooths the function curve more.

Simplify

Removes redundant keys while preserving the original shape of a function curve.

Tolerance	Adjusts the closeness of the fit. Smaller values will respect the original shape of the curve more by using more keys, while larger values will use less keys and result in a fit that deviates from the original curve.
Resample Before Simplify	Resamples the curve before the fit is applied using the value set for the Resample - Time Step. This is useful for fitting on low-density fcurves.

Paste Options

Controls how cut or copied keys are pasted onto function curves.

For more information, see Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Keys and Function Curves.

Paste Options

The paste options determine how the copied or cut keys will be pasted on the function curve.

Ripple Mode	Existing keys on the function curve will be pushed to the right on the timeline after the insertion point of the pasted keys. Selecting this option is the same as clicking the Ripple icon or choosing Edit Ripple in the fcurve editor command bar.
When Pasting	Determines whether the pasted keys will merge with or replace existing keys on the fcurve: Merge Keys: The pasted keys are merged with any existing keys on the fcurve that at the same frames. Replace Keys: The pasted keys replace any existing keys on the fcurve that are at the same frames.
Paste Mode	Determines the value of the pasted keys: Absolute — The pasted keys completely overwrite the equivalent area on the fcurve. Relative — The keys are pasted in relation to the first key in the paste region.
Legacy Cut/Copy/Paste	Allows you to cut or copy and paste fcurves and keys across multiple instances of Softimage. However, you can cut/copy and paste from only one fcurve at a time.

Continuity Options

Controls how new keys are integrated into the pasted area. The Left Key and Right Key settings specify which values will be used in calculating the key points to be inserted at the left and right of the paste region.

Left Key

Specifies which values will be used in calculating the key points to be inserted at the left of the paste region.

Use Average	Inserts a key at the left of the paste region by taking an average of the values of the copied and original curves at that point.
Use Left Value	Inserts a key at the left of the paste region by using the value of the original curve at that point.
Use Right Value	Inserts a key at the left of the paste region by using the value of the copied curve at that point.

Right Key

Specify which values will be used in calculating the key points to be inserted at the right of the paste region.

Use Average	Inserts a key at the right of the paste region by taking an average of the values of the copied and original curves at that point.
Use Left Value	Inserts a key at the right of the paste region by using the value of the copied curve at that point.
Use Right Value	Inserts a key at the right of the paste region by using the value of the original curve at that point.

Audio

Sets options for audio waveforms displayed in the background of the fcurve graph.

To display the waveform in the fcurve graph, drag and drop an audio clip from the animation mixer or explorer, or drag and drop an audio source or file from an explorer or browser into the fcurve graph.

For more information, see Viewing Audio Waveforms.

Audio Waveform

Audio Waveform Display

Toggles the display of the waveform in the graph.

Audio Waveform Display Area

Determines how much of the fcurve graph area the waveform covers. The waveform is always drawn starting from the upper-left corner of the graph.

By default, the waveform is displayed using 100% of the fcurve graph. If you change the amount of display area to take up, say 50%, the waveform is drawn at half the original height, but also shifts up in the graph.

Mixer Audio Clip

Shows the full path of the current audio clip being displayed (such as Mixer.Mixer_Audio_Track.Clip). You can enter a new path or delete this field to clear the audio clip.

Markers

Show Audio Markers	Toggles the display of any markers associated with the audio clip. The marker display level is also taken into account and displayed accordingly. These markers are for display purposes only, so you cannot select or move them.
Audio Marker Min Drawing Level	Determines the limit of how high the smallest level of markers is drawn. The lower the value, the higher up in the graph they are displayed.
Audio Marker Max Drawing Level	Determines the limit for how low the largest level of markers is drawn. The higher the value, the lower down in the graph they are displayed.
Show Labels	Toggles the display of the marker's value at the bottom of the marker. These values are any labels you have added to the marker to identify it. Values are set in the marker's Marker property editor.
Show Duration	Toggles the display of the marker's duration in frames. The duration appears as a gray box on the marker covering the appropriate number of frames.

Retime Tool

Sets the default behavior for the Retime Keys tool.

For more information, see Retiming Animation on Function Curves.

Snap Retime Marker on Frame

Toggles the snapping of the retime markers to the closest frame when both creating and moving retime markers.

With this option on, you can still temporarily deactivate snapping by pressing Shift as you drag the retime markers.

Clear Retime Markers when Exiting Retime Tool

Toggles the clearing of the current retime markers when you exit the Retime Keys tool.

When this option is off, the retime markers that were displayed when you exited the tool are remembered the next time you activate the Retime Keys tool.

Colors

Sets the color used for the different parts and states of the Retime Keys tool.

Marker Colors

Sets the color for the:

Marker Bar (A)
Marker Handle (B)
Marker Button (C)

Marker Highlight Colors

Sets the highlight color when you move the mouse over any part of an unselected retime marker:

Marker Over (D) includes the retime marker bar and handle.
Marker Button Over (not shown) is only for the button.

Marker Selected Colors

Sets the color for the selected retime marker:

Marker Selected (E) includes the retime marker bar and handle.
Marker Selected Over (not shown) is the highlight color when you move the mouse over any part of a selected retime marker.