Time slider¶

The time slider runs across the bottom of the View Panel and is the primary control surface for animation. It shows the timeline, the current frame, every key on the active channel, and the playback range.

Time slider with keyframes visible on two channels and the playback range marked

Anatomy¶

Region	Position	Purpose
Transport	Left edge	Rewind, Step Back, Play, Step Forward, Fast Forward
Current-frame readout	Just right of transport	Click to type a frame number
Timeline track	Center, full width	Drag the playhead to scrub; keyframes appear as diamonds
Start / End fields	Right edge	Set the playback range; default 1 to 24
Auto Key indicator	Far right	Small red dot when `Animate > Toggle Auto Key` is on
Playback speed dropdown	Far right	24 / 30 / 60 fps; defaults follow project settings

Scrubbing¶

Drag the playhead horizontally to scrub. The View Panel updates every frame; keyboard arrows step one frame at a time (Shift+arrow steps to the next key).

Adding and editing keys¶

Set a key on the current channel: S or Animate > Set Key.
Set a breakdown (interpolation hint between two keys): Shift+S or Animate > Set Breakdown.
Delete a key: select the diamond, press Backspace.
Move a key: drag it horizontally. Hold Shift to clamp to whole frames.

Multi-selection (drag a box across diamonds) lets you move several keys together.

Auto Key¶

When the red dot is on, any property change at any frame creates a key automatically. Useful for blocking. Turn off before doing spacing or polish passes so a stray nudge does not accidentally key a new pose.

The range selectors¶

Drag the small slim brackets at the start and end of the timeline to set a sub-range for playback. The playhead loops inside the sub- range; the rest of the timeline grays out. Right-click the timeline and choose Reset Range to clear the sub-range.

Deeper editing¶

For curve-level work move to the Graph Editor; for clip-level work to the Trax Editor; for layout the Dope Sheet. All three are panels you can dock alongside the time slider.

Hide / show¶

Window > Toggle Time Slider hides it (useful when you are only authoring static skins). Auto-shows again when you set the first key.