Copyright: 1995, Autodesk, Inc


Player Overview

The Player plays movies and scripts. Movies can be AVI files, or FLICs. You can load these files using either menu commands or command-line options. You can navigate Player with your mouse or with keyboard shortcuts.

You can play a movie in the Player window or in full-screen mode.

To play sounds and still images with the Player, you can use Scriptor to incorporate them into a script.


Menu Commands

Player displays the following menus:

File -- Opens and closes files and exits Player

Movie -- Controls the movie or the sound of the movie

Options -- Sets full-screen or unattended play of the movie

Help -- Displays help for Player


Command line options
Command-Line Options

You can control Player's behavior on startup by using the following switches in the command line:

/F -- Sets full-screen play mode.

/Upassword -- Sets unattended play mode and the password for exiting Player. Enter the password immediately after the /U switch with no space in between, and do not use any spaces inside the password. If you don't enter a password after the /U switch, Player ignores this switch.

/Qmovie name -- Sets quiet mode. You can use this switch to suppress the startup screen of Player and play the movie specified in the command line as soon as the movie loads. Quiet mode also prompts Player to exit after the movie is closed without showing the credits screen. If you don't specify a movie file with the /Q switch, Player ignores this switch.

Switches and parameters are not case-sensitive, except for the password following the /U switch.

If you specify a valid movie filename and path on the command line, Player opens it and starts playing it automatically.


Keyboard Shortcuts

You can use the underlined keyboard accelerator keys in menus and commands to navigate Player with your keyboard. Use the ALT key and the underlined letter key together to drop down a menu or to execute a command. In addition to the accelerator keys, Player also recognizes the following keyboard shortcuts:

CTRL + C -- Plays or continues to play a movie

CTRL + E -- Stops playing a movie

CTRL + F -- Sets the option to play the movie in full-screen mode

CTRL + O -- Opens a file

CTRL + P -- Pauses a movie

CTRL + Q -- Exits Player

CTRL + S -- Toggle: Turns the movie's sound OFF if it is ON, or turns it ON if it is OFF

CTRL + T -- Toggle: Pauses a movie if one is playing or resumes playing a movie if one is paused

CTRL + U -- Plays the movie in unattended mode

CTRL + W -- Closes a file

Home -- Rewinds a movie

PgUp -- Turns the movie's sound ON

PgDn -- Turns the movie's sound OFF


File Menu

Gives you access to the following commands:

Open -- Opens a file

Close -- Closes a file

Exit -- Exits Player


Movie Menu

Gives you access to the following commands:

Continue or Play -- Plays or continues to play a movie

End Play -- Stops playing a movie

Pause -- Pauses a movie

Toggle Play -- Pauses a movie if one is playing or resumes playing a movie if one is paused

Rewind -- Rewinds a movie

Sound On -- Turns ON the movie's sound

Sound Off -- Turns OFF the movie's sound

Toggle Sound -- Turns OFF the movie's sound off if it is ON, or turns it ON if it is OFF


Options Menu

Gives you access to the following commands:

Full Screen Play -- Plays the movie in full-screen mode

Unattended Play -- Plays the movie in unattended mode


Help Menu

Gives you access to the following commands:

Contents -- Displays the table of contents for Player help

Keyboard -- Displays the keyboard shortcut list for Player

Using Help -- Displays the standard Windows Help on Help file

About Autodesk Animator Studio Player -- Displays the About box for Player


Open Command

Menu path: File / Open

Displays the common File Open dialog box. The List Files of Type dropdown list contains two items:

Movie Files (*.avi,*.fli,*.flc,*.aps,*.aas, *.mov, *.cel)

All Files (*.*)

If you select a valid movie file and click OK, Player opens the file and displays its first frame, replacing the credits screen. The Player's window resizes to fit the movie's frame size and shifts its position, if necessary, to prevent the frame from extending off-screen. Player's window title changes from "Autodesk Animation Player" to "AA Player: <filename>", where <filename> is the name of the movie file you selected.


Close Command

Menu path: File / Close

Closes the current movie and restores the main window to fit the displayed credit screen. The Player's window title changes back to "Autodesk Animation Player."


Exit Command

Menu path: File / Exit

Closes any open file and exits Player.


Continue or Play Command

Menu path: Movie / Continue or Play

Plays or continues to play the current movie.


End Play Command

Menu path: Movie / End Play

Stops playing the current movie. Player continues to display the last frame played until you restart or Rewind the movie from the beginning.


Pause Command

Menu path: Movie / Pause

Pauses the currently playing movie. Player continues to display the last frame played until you select the Continue or Play command or the Toggle Play command. Player then continues to play the current movie from the last frame played.


Toggle Play Command

Menu path: Movie / Toggle Play

Pauses the current movie if it is playing or resumes playing the movie if it is paused.


Rewind Command

Menu path: Movie / Rewind

Resets the current movie to its first frame. If the movie is playing, it continues playing from the first frame onward.


Sound On Command

Menu path: Movie / Sound On

Turns ON the movie's sound. This command has no effect if the sound is already ON.


Sound Off Command

Menu path: Movie / Sound Off

Turns OFF the movie's sound. This command has no effect if the sound is already OFF.


Toggle Sound Command

Menu path: Movie / Toggle Sound

Turns ON the movie's sound if it is OFF, or turns OFF the sound if it is ON.


Full Screen Play Command

Menu path: Options / Full Screen Play

Selects the full-screen play mode, indicated by a check mark in the menu command. Player overrides the screen's resolution and plays the movie with its frames filling the screen. In this mode, no aspects of the Windows desktop are visible, and you can control the movie with the Keyboard shortcuts only. If you select the Full Screen Play command again, Player returns to playing the movie in its main window.


Unattended Play... command
Unattended Play Command

Menu path: Options / Unattended Play

Selects the unattended play mode, indicated by a check mark in the menu, and displays the Set Password dialog box. You must enter the password to stop the movie.


Contents Command

Menu path: Help / Contents

Displays the table of contents for the Player help file.


Keyboard Command

Menu path: Help / Keyboard

Displays the keyboard shortcut list for Player.


About Autodesk Animation Player... command
About Autodesk Animator Studio Player Command

Menu path: Help / About Autodesk Animator Studio Player

Displays the About box for Player.