Action Connection Resolution Dialog Box

Appears when you try to instantiate an action clip and the object and parameter names stored in the action source are not available in the current model. Use these controls to redirect the animation in the action source so that it drives other, available objects and parameters.

For more information, see Copying Action Sources between Models [Nonlinear Animation in the Animation Mixer].

Find and Replace	Lets you replace parts (substrings) of names. Type a search string in the first text box and a replacement string in the second box, then click the Replace button.
Target	When on and you click Replace, the replacement operation is performed on the Connect To column instead of the Unconnectable column. This lets you combine several substring replacements iteratively, for example, first changing a prefix and then changing a suffix. When off, replacements are performed on the Unconnectable column and changes previously made to the Connect To column are lost.
Obj Only	Limits substring replacement to object names (the part before the first period). When on, parameter names are not affected when you click Replace.
Unconnectable	Lists the parameters in the action source that are unconnectable on the current model. A parameter is unconnectable if it does not exist in the current model and it has not been remapped in the first active connection resolution template.
Connect To	Lists the new parameters to connect to animation source items. You can type object and parameter names directly in this column. After typing an object name, press the Tab key to automatically fill in the rest of the parameter name from the Unconnectable column. If a row is left blank and you click Connect, the corresponding parameter in the Unconnectable column will not drive any of the current model's parameters in the resulting action clip.
AutoFill Object Name	When on, you can enter an object name in the Connect To column and press the Tab key to automatically replace all instances of the object name in the Unconnectable column with the string you typed.
Merge with Template	When on and you click Connect, the contents of the Unconnectable and Connect To columns become new rules in the first active connection resolution template. The next time you instantiate an action clip containing the parameters in the Unconnectable column, they are automatically connected the corresponding parameters in the Connect To column if that connection resolution template is still the first active one.
Cancel	Cancels the connection operation and closes this dialog box.
Validate	Click to check whether the object and parameter names in the Connect To column exist in the current model. Invalid names are displayed in red.
Connect	Click to instantiate a clip, with the animation stored for the parameters in the Unconnectable column driving the corresponding parameters in the Connect To column.

Specifying Parameters for Connecting

For each parameter in the Unconnectable column, type a new parameter in the Connect To column. You can type the entire scripting name of a parameter or you can use the autofill features. To leave a source parameter unconnected so that it does not animate anything, leave the corresponding column blank.

Autofilling parameter names

When entering a parameter in the Connect To box, you can type just the object name and press Tab to automatically fill in the rest of the parameter name.

For example, typing

	cone

in the first row, then pressing Tab, results in

	cone.kine.local.posx

Autofilling object names

When the AutoFill Object Name option is selected and you replace one instance of an object name, all instances are replaced.

Continuing the example, when you type

	cone

and press Tab, all rows are changed:

	
	cone.kine.local.posx
	cone.kine.local.posy
	cone.kine.local.posz

Replacing Parts of a Name (Substrings)

If you want to replace parts (substrings) of a name rather than an entire name, you must use the Find and Replace options.

Type a search string in the first text box.
Type a replacement string in the second text box.
Click Replace.

The first occurrence of the search string in each unconnectable parameter name is replaced. If Obj Only is selected, the scope is limited to the object name before the first period and the rest of the parameter name is not considered.

Iterative substring replacements

Sometimes you need to perform more than one find-and-replace operation on the parameter names. For example, you may need to map prefix_Object1_suffix to Object1, prefix_Object2_suffix to Object2, and so on.

If you replaced "prefix_" with an empty string, the objects in the Connect To column would be:

	Object1_suffix. ...
	Object2_suffix. ...
	...

However if you then replace "_suffix" with an empty string, the objects in the Connect To column become:

	prefix_Object1. ...
	prefix_Object2. ...
	...

This happens because the replacements are performed on the Unconnectable column. To stop it from happening, select the Target option. This allows the replacements to be performed on the Connect To column, allowing you to use successive find-and-replace operations with the desired result:

	Object1. ...
	Object2. ...
	...

Validating and Connecting

Before you click Connect, you can test your replacements by clicking Validate. Any parameter name in the Connect To column that is still not recognized is shown in red.

Once you have specified new parameters for the unconnectable ones, click Connect to create the action clip. If any parameter names in the Connect To column are still unrecognizable, they are shown in red. However, you can leave rows blank — the corresponding parameters are unconnected and don't drive anything.

If Merge with Template is selected, the Unconnectable and Connect To columns are saved as new rules in the active connection-mapping template. If no template is active, a new one is created. This means that the next time you create a clip with the same source parameters, these values are remembered and automatically used again.

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