Overview of the Fcurve Editor

When you open the animation editor, the fcurve editor is displayed by default, The fcurve editor is where you control the animation of the currently selected element by editing its function curves.

For information about the animation editor in general, including the animation explorer on the left, see The Animation Editor.
For information about the profile curve editor that it used in several property editors, see The Profile Curve Editor.

NoteTo see videos on this topic, check out the Softimage YouTube Learning Channel.

A	Command bar contains menu commands and icons to edit fcurves in many different ways - see Commands and Tools for Editing Fcurves.
B	Values for the parameter are shown on the graph's Y (vertical) axis.
C	Timeline displays the same timeline as is used for the fcurve editor. Time is shown on the graph's X (horizontal) axis. Click and drag the red playback cursor in it to "scrub" through the animation. See Setting Up the Fcurve Editor Graph and Timeline
D	Frames that are outside of the scene's timeline range.
E	Selected fcurves are white - see Selecting Function Curves.
F	The keys on the fcurves represent the keyframes of the selected parameter's animation. Selected keys are red. See Selecting (Tagging) Keys.
G	The slope handles (tangents) at each key indicate the rate at which an fcurve's value changes at that key. See Editing a Function Curve's Slope.

Switching between Classic and Suite Modes

There are two different modes in which you can work in the fcurve editor:

Classic mode: This mode is on by default and provides all tools that you are used to as a seasoned Softimage user. It is the same as in previous versions of Softimage, although there may be a few icons that look different.
Suite mode: This mode is designed to be used if you're running the Suite version of Softimage. If you're used to working with other Autodesk 3D applications, you may feel most comfortable in this mode. It displays a simplified set of icons on the toolbar, and provides the same context (right-click) menu no matter what you click on in the fcurve graph.

To switch between the two modes, do any of the following:

Toggle the View Classic Mode command from the fcurve editor toolbar.
In Classic mode, right-click in the fcurve graph area and toggle the View Classic Mode option.
Open the Fcurve Editor Preferences property editor and toggle the Classic Mode option on the Editor tab.
In the profile curve editor (see The Profile Curve Editor), right-click in the graph area and toggle the View Classic Mode option.

When the Classic Mode option is off, the Suite mode is active.

Setting Preferences for the Fcurve Editor

The Fcurve Editor Preferences let you set up options for different tasks you do in the fcurve editor, such as setting keys, setting the slopes of the fcurves, or displaying audio waveforms and markers.

To determine the default fcurve options when creating keys, see the options on the Curves tab in Animation Preferences.

There are also a preferences for the animation editor in general - see Animation Editor Preferences.

To open the fcurve editor preferences:

Do any of the following:

Click the Preferences icon in the fcurve editor toolbar.
Choose File Preferences from the fcurve editor's toolbar.
Choose File Preferences from the Softimage main menu. In the explorer that appears, select Editors > Fcurve Editor or click its icon.