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Transform tab ¶
Keep Position When Parenting
When the object is re-parented, maintain its current world position by changing the object’s transform parameters.
Child Compensation
When the object is being transformed, maintain the current world transforms of its children by changing their transform parameters.
Transform Order
The left menu chooses the order in which transforms are applied (for example, scale, then rotate, then move. This can change the position and orientation of the object, in the same way that going a block and turning east takes you to a different place than turning east and then going a block.
The right menu chooses the order in which to rotate around the X, Y, and Z axes. Certain orders can make character joint transforms easier to use, depending on the character.
Translate/Rotation/Scale
See transforming objects .
Pivot
See setting the pivot point .
Uniform Scale
This slider changes the size of an object uniformly along all three axes.
Look At
Constrains an object so it always points at another object’s origin (see pivot point vs. origin ). This is useful if, for example, you want a camera to follow another object.
Look At Up Vector
When specifying a “look at”, it is possible to specify an up vector for the look at. Without using an up vector, it is possible to get poor animation when the look at object passes through the Y axis of the target object.
Don’t Use Up Vector
Use this option if the look at object does not pass through the Y axis of the target object.
Use Up Vector
This precisely defines the rotates on the object doing the looking. The up vector specified should not be parallel to the look at direction. See Orient Up Vector below.
Use Quaternions
Quaternions are a mathematical representation of a 3D rotation. This method finds the most efficient means of moving from one point to another on a sphere.
Path Object
Names the object that functions as the path you want this object to move along. For example, you can name an object that provides a spline path for the camera to follow.
Having an object follow an animation path is simple. However, when using a NURBS curve as your path, you might notice that the object speeds up and slows down unexpectedly as it travels along the path. This is usually because the CVs are spaced unevenly. In such a case, use the Resample SOP to redistribute the CVs so that they are evenly spaced along the curve. A caution however - using a Resample sop can be slow if you have an animating path curve.
An alternative method is to append a Basis sop to the path curve and change it to a Uniform Curve. This way, your object will move uniformly down the curve, and there is no need for the Resample sop and the unnecessary points it generates.
Roll
Using the angle control or the editing filed, you can specify an object’s rotation as it animates along the path.
Position
This parameter lets you specify the position of the object along the path. The values you can enter for this parameter range from zero to one, where zero equals the starting point and one equals the end point of the path. The value slider allows for values as high as ten for multiple “passes” along the path.
Orient Along Path
If this option is selected, the object will be oriented along the path. The positive Z axis of the object will be pointing down the path.
Orient Up Vector
When orienting an object, the up vector is used to determine where the positive Y axis points.
Auto-Bank Factor
The Auto-Bank factor rolls the object based on the curvature of the path at its current position. To turn off auto-banking, set the bank scale to 0.
Misc tab ¶
Use Display Color
When this parameter is enabled, and the object is being displayed in wireframe mode in the Viewport, the object will be displayed using the color specified below.
Display color
Set the desired display color by specifying an RGB value here, or by using the HSV sliders. Clicking the Plus button displays a color dialog that allows you to select from a range of predefined colors. Click on the desired color’s name, or on the color swatch, to select that color. The name of the selected color appears highlight to indicate that it is active.
Viewport Selecting Enabled
Enabling this button changes the object’s status to selectable, meaning that the object is capable of being selected for specific commands and of being singled-out as an editable object in the Viewport.
Selection Script
Clicking the button to the right of the edit field displays an open file dialog that lets you search for a script to execute when you click on the selected object in the Viewport using the Select Operation.
