Houdini 20.5 Reference Panes

Dopesheet

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Overview

The dopesheet view of the animation editor lets you work with blocks of keys. You can also use the graph view and table view to edit animation. To switch between these views, use the buttons at the top left corner of the animation editor.

To...Do this

Select a range of keys

  1. Click the Region Tool.

  2. drag to select keys.

Drag left/right to select frames, and up/down to select multiple parameters.

Tip

To select all the keys in a certain frame range, drag along the All Displayed row.

Select multiple ranges of keys

  1. Click the Region Tool.

  2. ⇧ Shift + drag to select multiple ranges of keys.

The keys that have been selected, and the keys that are currently being selected have different colors.

Deselect ranges of keys

In Region Tool mode, ⇧ Shift + to deselect keys.

Change the extent of a selection

In Region Tool mode, drag the handles at the ends of the selected range.

Move the selection region (not the selected keys)

drag the selection region. Drag left/right to move the selection region through time, and up/down to move the selection region across parameters.

If you move the selection region to include the All Displayed row at the top, the region will expand vertically to include the entire column.

Move the selected keys

drag the selection.

Stretch the keys in the selected range

drag the handles at the ends of the selected range.

Mute or unmute keys

Select the keys, click, and choose Mute Keys or Unmute Keys.

To mute/unmute all the keys on a parameter, turn off/on the checkbox to the right of the parameter name.

Delete keys

Select the keys, click, and choose Delete Keys.

Cut/Copy and paste keys

  1. Select the keys, click, and choose Cut or Copy.

  2. Click the location in the timeline where you want to paste the keys.

  3. click and choose Paste.

Note

The hotkeys to expand the selection region to include the entire row (A) or column (⇧ Shift + A) does not work on the box that appears under the mouse when Paste is selected.

Note

Attempting to copy keys that are not on all channels, and then pasting into the All Displayed row is not allowed and yields a warning.

Move keys forward or backward in time

  1. Click the Ripple Tool.

  2. A vertical line will appear under the mouse location. drag the vertical line to move the keys after this line forward or backward in time.

Edit/Select keys toolbar

The toolbar above the dopesheet provides several quick access options for selecting and editing groups of keys. When you hover over a button, a tooltip will display the button name and any associated hotkeys.

Selection Tool

Box selects a group of keys.

Region Tool

Box selects a region of frames and keys.

Ripple Tool

drag the vertical line under the mouse location to move the keys after this line forward or backward in time.

Deselect All

Deselects all the current selections.

Select Entire Rows

Expands the current selection horizontally to include entire rows.

Select Entire Columns

Expands the current selection vertically to include entire columns.

Snap Current Selection to Keys

Shrinks the current selection region horizontally so that the left and right sides touch the minimum/maximum keys in time. This only has an effect if the Region Tool is selected.

Mute Keys

Mutes the selected keys so they don’t affect the animation.

Unmute Keys

Unmutes the selected keys so they affect the animation.

Snap Selected Keys to Nearest Frame

Moves the keys inside the selection to integer frame values.

Display toolbar

The right toolbar provides several quick access options for displaying and framing the keys. When you hover over a button, a tooltip will display the button name and any associated hotkeys.

Home Channels (All Graphs)

Pans and zooms the dopesheet to display all the keys.

Frame Selection

Pans and zooms the dopesheet to display the selected keys/region.

One Line Per Group

Collapses the rows so that there is one row per channel group. This only has an effect when there are channel groups.

One Line Per Channel

Represents each row as a single channel. This is the default behavior.

Show All-Channels Row

Displays an additional row at the top representing all displayed channels.

Show Full Channel Path Names

Displays the full channel path for each row, as opposed to only the channel name.

Channels menu

When a channel is displayed, it is visible for viewing/editing in the animation editor’s graph, dopesheet, and table views. You can display a channel by selecting the channel in the channel list.

Set Keyframes at Current Time

Adds keyframes to the selected channels at the current time.

Sample Values at Current Time

Copies the values of the selected channels at the current time to the clipboard. Move to a different time and choose Paste Sampled Values at Current Time to use the same values at another frame.

Paste Sampled Values at Current Time

Pastes the values copied using Sample Values at Current Time.

Import Channels

Opens a dialog to load previously saved animation data from Export Channels into the channels that are currently displayed.

Export Channels

Opens a dialog that allows you to save the data from the displayed channels.

Edit Channels Properties

Opens up a window that allows you to set various properties of the selected channels, including the channel alias, the channel behavior before the first segment and after the last segment, the auto-key and auto-select flags, and the channel colors displayed in the graph.

Edit menu

Deselect All

Deselects all the current selections.

Adjust Selection

Select Entire Columns

Expands the current selection vertically to include entire columns.

Select Entire Rows

Expands the current selection horizontally to include entire rows.

Snap Current Selection to Keys

Shrinks the current selection region horizontally so that the left and right sides touch the minimum/maximum keys in time. This only has an effect when the Region Tool is selected.

Key Selection

Creates a key at the selected frame. If you have multiple frames selected, every frame becomes a keyframe.

Delete Keys

Removes keys from the selected frames.

Mute Keys

Mutes the selected keys so they don’t affect the animation.

Unmute Keys

Unmutes the selected keys so they affect the animation.

Cut

Copies the selected keys to the clipboard and removes them.

Copy

Copies the selected keys to the clipboard.

Paste

When the Selection Tool is selected, this option pastes the keys from the clipboard at the current frame. The current frame is indicated by the frame marker at the top of the dopesheet, and the vertical line that runs down the dopesheet.

When the Region Tool is selected, this option pastes the keys from the clipboard at the selected region. If no region is selected, the keys are pasted at the current frame. The current frame is indicated by the frame marker at the top of the dopesheet, and the vertical line that runs down the dopesheet.

Replace

When the Selection Tool is selected, this option replaces the contents at the current frame with the clipboard data. The current frame is indicated by the current frame marker at the top of the dopesheet, and the vertical line that runs down the dopesheet.

When the Region Tool is selected, this option replaces the selected region with the keys from the clipboard. If no region is selected, this option replaces the contents at the current frame with the clipboard data. The current frame is indicated by the current frame marker at the top of the dopesheet, and the vertical line that runs down the dopesheet.

Paste Special

The visual paste options let you view the clipboard data as you interactively position the paste location with the mouse. With the stretch/cycle at region selection options, you select the region in the dopesheet, and the clipboard data is pasted into that region.

Visual Paste

Lets you interactively position the clipboard data in the dopesheet.

Visual Replace

Lets you interactively position the clipboard data in the dopesheet, replacing the current contents.

Visual Stretch

Stretches the clipboard data to fill the size of the selection.

  1. Select the Region Tool on the top toolbar.

  2. Select the range of frames you want to paste into. Select a longer range of frames than keys copied to the clipboard.

  3. Select the Visual Stretch option.

  4. Position the mouse at the frame location where you want to paste the keys.

  5. click to fill the range with the stretched clipboard data.

Visual Cycle

Repeats the clipboard data to fill the size of the selection.

  1. Select the Region Tool on the top toolbar.

  2. Select the range of frames you want to paste into. Select a longer range of frames than keys copied to the clipboard.

  3. Select the Visual Cycle option.

  4. Position the mouse at the frame location where you want to paste the keys.

  5. click to fill the range with the repeated clipboard data.

Visual Cycle with Offset

Repeats the clipboard data with offsets to fill the size of the selection. Data with offsets have the first value of the cycle starting at the last value of the previous cycle.

  1. Select the Region Tool on the top toolbar.

  2. Select the range of frames you want to paste into. Select a longer range of frames than keys copied to the clipboard.

  3. Select the Visual Cycle with Offset option.

  4. Position the mouse at the frame location where you want to paste the keys.

  5. click to fill the range with the repeated clipboard data.

Stretch at Region Selection

Stretches the clipboard data to fill the size of the selection.

  1. Select the Region Tool on the top toolbar.

  2. Select the range of frames you want to paste into. Select a longer range of frames than keys copied to the clipboard.

  3. Select the Stretch at Region Selection option.

Cycle at Region Selection

Repeats the clipboard data to fill the size of the selection.

  1. Select the Region Tool on the top toolbar.

  2. Select the range of frames you want to paste into. Select a longer range of frames than keys copied to the clipboard.

  3. Select the Cycle at Region Selection option.

Cycle with Offset at Region Selection

Repeats the clipboard data with offsets to fill the size of the selection. Data with offsets have the first value of the cycle starting at the last value of the previous cycle.

  1. Select the Region Tool on the top toolbar.

  2. Select the range of frames you want to paste into. Select a longer range of frames than keys copied to the clipboard.

  3. Select the Cycle with Offset at Region Selection option.

Snap Selected Keys to Nearest Frame

Moves the keys inside the selection to integer frame values.

View menu

Home All Channels

Pans and zooms the dopesheet to display all the keys.

Home Playback Range

Pans and zooms the dopesheet to display the playback range. The playback range is the range between the playback start and end frames.

Home Global Range

Pans and zooms the dopesheet to display the global frame range set in the playbar.

Frame Selection

Pans and zooms the dopesheet to display the selected keys/region.

One Line Per Group

Collapses the rows so that there is one row per channel group. This only has an effect when there are channel groups.

One Line Per Channel

Each row represents a single channel. This is the default behavior.

Show All-Channels Row

When turned on, displays an additional row at the top representing all displayed channels.

Show Bookmarks

When turned on, displays bookmarks on the timeline.

Settings menu

Add Keys at Pasted Selection Boundary

When turned on, Houdini automatically adds keys at the frames on the edges of the pasted data.

Turn on this option to preserve the original look of the copied animation. Turn off this option if you want to blend the copied animation into the existing animation.

Always Snap Selection to Keys

When turned on, any region selection snaps to the first and last keys inside the region. This only has an effect when the Region Tool is selected.

Ripple Keys After Dragging

When turned on, moving a selection of keys will also move the keys after the selection forward or backward in time.

Show Full Channel Path Names

When turned on, the full channel path is displayed for each row, as opposed to only the channel name.

Show Channel Colors

When turned on, the color swatches to the left of the channel names/paths are displayed.

Snap Scaled Keys to Nearest Frame

When turned on, keys that are scaled are snapped to the nearest integer frame once the mouse is released. (Scale keys by dragging on the ends of the selection handle.)

Reset Channels Settings

Resets all channel settings to their factory default settings.

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