Skip to content

Dope sheet

The Dope Sheet shows every keyframe across every channel as a single grid. Each row is one channel; each column is one frame. The view is purpose-built for changing timing without disturbing curve shape.

Open

Animate > Dope Sheet opens the panel. It is a separate surface from the Graph Editor (and complementary): use the Dope Sheet for "when does this happen", use the Graph Editor for "how does this look between keys".

Layout

  • Channel list (left): same channel selector as Graph Editor.
  • Grid (right): each row is a channel, each column a frame. Keys are dots; breakdowns are small marks; gaps are silence.
  • Toolbar (top): time scale, snap, frame number visibility.

Move keys around

  • Click a key to select; Shift-click to extend.
  • Drag selected keys horizontally to shift them in time.
  • Drag-box to grab every key inside a rectangle.

Holding Shift during a drag constrains to whole-frame steps; holding Ctrl snaps to the nearest existing key on any channel.

Scale time

Select multiple keys, then drag the scale handle at either end of the selection (a small triangle marker). The selection compresses or expands proportionally:

  • Drag the right handle right: stretches the selection longer.
  • Drag the left handle left: stretches earlier in time.

Use this to slow down or speed up an animation without re-keying.

Hold keys

To extend a key as a "hold" without adding another:

  1. Right-click the key > Convert to Held.
  2. The key turns into a flat segment until the next key.

Equivalent to setting the out-tangent to Flat / Stepped, but faster to author when many channels share a hold.

Mute / Solo

The channel list's two icons per row:

  • Mute: ignore this channel during scrub / playback. Useful for auditioning.
  • Solo: hide every other channel from playback. Useful for isolating a sub-rig (only the wings, not the body).

Multiple channels can be soloed at once.

Filters

  • Show empty channels: include channels with zero keys (off by default).
  • Show child placements: flatten the rig hierarchy so all joint channels appear at the same indent level.

Snap to step

For block-in passes the Dope Sheet supports stepping at fixed intervals (every 2 frames, every 4 frames, every 8 frames). The toolbar's Snap to step dropdown enforces that all moved keys land on the chosen step.

See also