Insert Keys

Command entry: Track View

Keys toolbar

(Insert Keys)

Command entry: Track View

Keys menu

Insert Keys

Use Insert Keys to refine an animation by placing additional keys wherever you like. When Insert Keys is active, you can click anywhere on a function curve (Curve Editor) or in an animation track (Dope Sheet) to insert a key at that location. Insert Keys stays active until you activate a different mode.

If you insert a key in a component of a multi-part controller, vertices are inserted to each curve at the time location where you clicked. For example, inserting a key in the red X curve of a TCB Position track simultaneously inserts keys in the green Y curve and the blue Z curve.

TipYou can move a new or existing key while in Insert Keys mode simply by dragging it.

The value of each inserted key is set by one of the following conditions:

Keys inserted between keys receive the interpolated value shown by the function curve at that location.
Keys inserted before the first or after the last key on the curve receive the same value as the nearest key.
You can change a key value and/or time while inserting it by dragging after clicking the curve.

Procedures

To insert keys in a function curve:

In the Hierarchy list, highlight a track.
On the Track View toolbar, click (Insert Keys).
Click the function curve (Curve Editor) where you want to insert the key.
If the highlighted curve is part of a multicurve controller, vertices are inserted into each curve at the time location where you clicked. For example, if you are using a Bezier Position controller, inserting a key into the red X curve of a Position track simultaneously inserts keys into the green Y curve and the blue Z curve.

To insert keys in Dope Sheet mode:

On the Track View toolbar, click (Insert Keys).
Click an animation track to insert a key.
The horizontal position where you click sets the time of the key as measured on the time ruler.

The value of the new key is set by one of the following conditions:
- Keys inserted before the first key of a track receive the same value as the former first key.
- Keys inserted between two keys receive an interpolated value based on the values of the original keys.
- Keys inserted after the last key in the track receive the same value as the former last key.
TipYou can change the time of the inserted key by dragging after you click.

If you are unable to insert a key into a track, make sure its controller uses keys. Not all controllers use keys; for example, procedural controllers such as Noise do not.