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44 topics
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Help on Help
HELP ON HELP
To View the Help Index:
1. Select the Index button to see the
Chronos list of all available help
articles.
To View a Help Article:
1. Select an article from the Help
index.
2. Select the Topic button to see the
contents of the article.
To Scroll Through an Article or Index:
Click on the slider arrow buttons to
scroll through the index or article a
line at a time.
Or
Click on the scroll bar outside of the
scroll box area to increment a page at a
time or by 11 lines at a time.
Or
Drag the scroll box to move around
freely within the article or index.
@
Clipboard
CLIPBOARD
The Clipboard is special space in memory
that is used to temporarily keep objects
and frames that are cut or copied from
an animation.
The Clipboard functionality includes
the Cut, Copy, Paste, and Paste Motion
options. When you Cut or Copy frames for
selected objects, you place the cut or
copied information into the clipboard.
When you paste, the frames and
associated object information is copied
from the clipboard and placed back into
the animation.
@
Cycles
CYCLES
In Chronos, you can create motion in
many ways. Besides simple motion, where
you move and position objects to create
action, you can create complex motion.
In complex motion, objects change shape
and transform while they are moving.
The Cycle command can create complex
motion sequences. With Cycles you move
an object normally, but in each frame of
its motion, you replace the object with
a different object or variation of the
same object. This creates the effect
that the object changes shape as it
moves.
To Create a Cycle:
1. Make sure to load all objects you
want to cycle. You load Cycle
objects just like any other object.
If you haven't loaded them, load
them using the Load command in the
File menu.
2. Select the object you want to
cycle. This object's motion will
decide where each object in the
cycle will be positioned when it
appears.
3. Select a range of frames for the
cycle using the Frame Window. This
step is optional because you can
redefine the range of frames later
from within the Cycle dialog.
4. Choose the Cycle command from the
Object menu. The Cycle dialog
appears.
5. In the Object list box, click the
name of each object you want to be
in the cycle and click the Add
Object button. Add each object in
the order you want them displayed.
As you add each object, its name
will appear in the Cycle list box.
6. Click the Hide check box to hide
all objects added to the cycle in
every frame unless it appears as
part of the cycle. If you do not
select this option, the objects
will appear in the cycle and in
every other frame of the animation.
Do not use this option if you
want to use the cycle objects
elsewhere in the animation without
reloading them. This is here simply
as a convenience.
Most often the objects in a
cycle list will not be used for
anything else, and therefore you
would want to hide them.
7. Click the OK button to accept the
cycle. The cycle will start on the
first selected frame and will end
on the last selected frame.
The letter C will appear in each
frame that the cycle has been as-
signed to. A capital C represents a
Key Frame and lowercase c
represents a tween frame.
@
Deleting Frames
DELETING FRAMES
If you make a mistake or if you add too
many frames, you may want to delete
frames from one or more timelines.
To Delete Frames:
1. You can delete frames from one or
more timelines or from all
timelines. To select timelines,
select the objects whose timelines
you want to edit.
2. Select the frames you want to
delete. Select one frame or a range
of frames. See the previous section
on selecting frames.
3. Choose the Delete Frames command
from the Frame menu or press the
Delete key. The Delete Frames
dialog appears.
4. If you want to delete frames from
the timelines of the selected
objects, click the Selected
Timelines button. If you want to
delete frames from every timeline
in the animation, click the All
Timelines button.
5. Click the OK button or press the
Return key to delete the selected
frames.
@
Dialogs
DIALOGS
Dialogs are boxes that appear in the
middle of the Chronos screen in response
to a command or action. Chronos displays
dialog boxes when it needs more
information and when you need to make a
decision. Menu commands that have an
ellipsis (...) following their name
display dialogs.
Chronos dialogs cannot be moved and
are modal. Modal means that no other
function can be used until you close the
dialog.
Normally, you close dialogs by
clicking the OK or Cancel button. Record
Setup is an exception to this rule
because it has Record, Preview and
Cancel buttons instead.
@
Edit menu
EDIT MENU
The Edit menu functions give you greater
control over object manipulation, object
selection, and error recovery.
The Edit menu provides the following
functions:
* Undo or redo changes to an
animation made with a tool over one
frame or over many.
* Cut and Copy selected frames or
timelines for selected objects.
* Paste frames for selected objects
into an animation at a selected
point, that were previously copied
or cut from an animation.
* Paste motion for selected objects
so you can reuse a series of object
motion over and over again.
* Specify object's center point for
using the rotation, scale, and
shear functionality.
* Specify the Home or base point
which can be used for object
rotations and quick object
manipulations.
@
Editing Frames
EDITING FRAMES
Frames are created and edited using the
Frame window and the Frame menu. The
Frame window lets you visualize and
select the frames in your animation. The
Frame menu command let you insert,
delete and clear frames within the
animation.
When editing an animation, you select
or deselect frames to select and
deselect the point in time you wish to
change.
A single frame, multiple frames, or
all frames can be selected at any given
time.
To Select Single Frames:
1. Point to the desired frame and
click the left mouse button.
Chronos highlights the selected
frame.
To Select a Frame Associated With a
Specific Object:
1. Select the object.
2. Select the frame.
To Select a Range of Frames:
1. Point to the first frame in the
range of frames you want to select
and click the left mouse button.
2. Point to the last frame and
Shift-click the left mouse button.
@
Editing Modes
EDITING MODES
The Editing Mode tools consist of four
icon buttons at the top the tool pal-
ette. The four icons include:
* Director Icon
* Camera Icon
* About Center Icon
* About Home Icon
The first pair, representing the
director and camera modes determine
whether you are currently viewing and
modifying the Director's or Camera's
view.
The second pair, the About Center and
About Home modes determine what point
you will use to move about when
rotating, scaling or skewing an object.
@
File menu
FILE MENU
The File menu controls the flow of
information into and out of Chronos.
The File menu provides the following
functions:
* Open and Save an entire animation.
* Load individual objects or frames
into the animation.
* Revert to a previously saved
version of the current animation.
* Delete files from disk.
* Replace your animation's objects
with new objects.
* Record a rendered animation to
disk.
* Play a previously recorded
animation.
* Check and configure the amount of
memory available to Chronos.
* Quit Chronos.
@
Frame menu
FRAME MENU
The Frame menu commands are used to
insert, delete, clear, and edit ani-
mation frames. The File menu provides
the following functions:
* Display the Frame Window
* Add frames to your animation.
* Delete frames from your animation.
* Specify tweening smoothness
* Clear Key Frames and return them to
tween frames.
@
Frames
FRAMES
A frame is a single image in an
animation. It represents an instant in
time. A good way to understand frames is
to think of an animation as a movie
film.
Each image in a strip of film is
equivalent to a single frame in Chronos.
Also, like film, each frame in the
animation is a still picture. Only by
viewing the frames in rapid succession,
can you create the illusion of motion.
@
Frame Window
FRAME WINDOW
The Frame Window command displays the
Frame Window. You can use the Frame
window to select, edit, and display the
frames of an animation.
To display the Frame Window:
1. Choose the Frame Window command in
the Frame menu or press the Ctrl-F
keys. The Frame Window appears at
the bottom of the Work area.
Once displayed, the Frame Window
can be moved to any location within
the Chronos Work area. To move the
window, point the title bar and
drag the window to a new location.
To Expand the Frame window:
1. Click the Expand button in the
upper right corner of the Frame
Window. The Frame window expands to
show multiple timelines.
To Close the Frame Window:
1. Click the Close button in the upper
left corner of the Frame Window.
The Frame window will be removed
from the Work area.
@
Help menu
HELP MENU
The Help menu function allows you to
display the Help Window which displays
an index of Help topics and in-depth
Help articles.
@
Inserting Frames
INSERTING FRAMES
The Insert Frames command adds frames to
one or more timelines. It inserts the
frames at the selected insertion point.
You can insert frames after, before
or between any frames. To insert frames
you must tell Chronos where to insert
them. This is done by selecting an
insertion point.
To Select an Insertion Point:
1. In the Frame window, move the mouse
pointer inside the line that lies
below the frame numbers and above
the frames. Click the mouse button
above and between two frames. The
insertion point appears as a small
black triangle.
To Insert Frames:
1. You can add frames to one or more
timelines or to all timelines. To
select timelines, select the
objects whose timeline you want to
edit.
2. Select your insertion point.
3. Choose the Insert Frames command
from the Frame menu or press the
Insert key. The Insert New Frames
dialog appears.
4. Enter the number of frames you want
added.
5. If you want to add the frames to
the timelines of the selected
objects, click the Selected
Timelines button. If you want to
add frames to every timeline in the
animation, click the All Timelines
button.
6. Click the OK button or press the
Return key to insert the frames.
@
Item Selector
ITEM SELECTOR
Every Atari comes with a standard Atari
Item Selector but many people have
substituted the Atari Item Selector for
one with more functionality. If you have
chosen to use a different Item Selector,
whenever this manual refers to using the
Item Selector, refer to the user's
manual that accompanies your selector.
But because most Gem-based Item
Selectors have many things in common,
you can follow these basic guidelines.
CHANGING DRIVES AND DIRECTORIES
Enter a new drive letter and directory
path at the Directory text field. After
you change drives, click the button in
the upper left corner of the Item
Selector list box, to refresh the list
of files.
@
Keyboard Controls
KEYBOARD CONTROLS
Besides using the mouse, you can use the
keyboard to help you work faster and to
let you access commands while you are
using the Work screen.
ASSIGNED KEYS
Assigned keys are keys that will invoke
a function or will select a tool. It is
a single keystroke, usually a letter.
SHORTCUT KEYS
Shortcuts are a set of keystrokes
designed to let advanced users access
Chronos functions more quickly and
easily. Shortcuts are usually a letter
used in combination with the Shift,
Control or Alternate keys.
@
Key and Tween Frames
KEY AND TWEEN FRAMES
In Chronos, there are two different
kinds of frames, Key and Tween frames.
Key Frames define how and where an
object moves. You, the master animator,
define which frames should be Key
frames.
The second type of frames, tweens,
lies between the Key frames (hence,
their name). For each tween frame,
Chronos calculates where the object will
be, based on the number of tween frames
and the objects' position in the
previous and next Key frames.
@
Loading Objects
LOADING OBJECTS
Once you have chosen and created your
actors or objects, the next step is to
load the objects into the current
animation.
You can load 3D objects created in
Antic's Cyber format (CAD-3D,
CyberSculpt, or CyberTexture) or
Lexicor's .3D4 format. Also, you can
load objects translated to either of
these formats using Rosetta-3D File
Translator.
Rosetta-3D will allow you to
translate many different types of 3D
files into the .3D4 format, so look into
this option if you have another type of
3D object you wish to load into Chronos.
To Load an Object into an Animation:
1. Open an animation. Use the File
menu's Open command to open an
existing animation. Use the File
menu's New command to start a new
animation.
2. Choose the Load command from the
File menu or press Alt-L. The Load
File dialog appears.
3. Click the Object button under File
Type.
4. Select the file format you used to
create your objects.
Click the .3D2 button to load
CAD-3D, CyberSculpt, and
CyberTexture objects.
Click the .3D4 button to load
objects from Lexicor's Clip Art or
translated from other file formats
by Rosetta-3D File Translator.
5. If you wish to save time and load
more than one object file at a
time, click the Multiple checkbox.
This will cause the Item Selector
to display repeatedly until you
click the Item Selector's Cancel
button.
6. Use the Item Selector to select an
object file.
7. If you selected the Multiple
checkbox in the Load File dialog,
continue selecting object names and
clicking the Item Selector's OK
button until you have chosen all
the objects you want. When the Item
Selector appears for the last time,
click the Cancel button to stop
loading objects.
@
Main Screen
MAIN SCREEN
The Chronos main screen can be divided
into five distinct areas. These areas
include the Title bar, the Status area,
the Menu bar, the Work area, and the
Tool palette.
@
Menus
MENUS
In Chronos, commands appear in menus. To
use a menu, you display it and then
choose a menu command.
Each menu displays many options. Each
menu option represents a Chronos command
or function.
Menu options that have an ellipsis
(...) after the menu option name, will
display a dialog. Menu options without
an ellipsis, will perform a function on
the currently selected object(s).
Some commands have keyboard
equivalents. Keyboard equivalents are a
set of keys you press to invoke a
command instead of choosing a command
from a menu.
When a menu command has a keyboard
equivalent, it displays the keys you
need to press next to its name in the
menu.
To Display A Menu:
Point to the menu name in the action
bar.
To Select A Menu Option:
Once the menu appears, point to the menu
option. When the menu option appears
highlighted, click the left mouse
button.
@
Motion tools
MOTION TOOLS
The motion tools consists of two columns
of icons. The left column has four tool
selection icons and the right column has
four tool option icons. Each tool has
its current option displayed directly to
the right of the tool button.
The four motion tools include:
* Move tool
* Rotate tool
* Scale tool
* Skew tool
@
Move tool
MOVE TOOL
The tool that you will probably use most
often is the Move tool. Simply put, the
Move tool moves an object from one place
to another. When you run Chronos, the
Move tool will be selected by default.
The Move tool options include:
* Move Any Direction
* Move Left/Right
* Move Up/Down
@
Object menu
OBJECT MENU
The Object menu allows you to add and
set lights, duplicate, and delete
objects. Also the Object menu contains
commands that let you set object
properties and view object statistics.
The Object Menu functionality includes:
<<<MARK>>>
* Display the Object Window
* Add additional light sources to an
animation to create lighting
effects.
* Specify the type and attributes for
a selected light source.
* Rename an object.
* Remove an object completely from an
animation.
* Specify the type of shading,
dithering and smoothing to use with
Solid rendering when recording or
previewing an animation.
* Substitute a box for the selected
object to reduce rendering and
editing time.
* Define an object's visibility to
create fade and transparency
effects.
* Create sequences of motion
consisting of different versions of
objects.
* Display name and size statistics
for a selected object.
@
Object Window
OBJECT WINDOW
The Object Window command displays the
Object Window. You use the Object window
to select objects by name and to view
which objects are loaded into the
animation.
To Display the Object Window:
1. Choose the Object Window command
from the Object menu or press the
Ctrl-O keys. The Object window
appears in the far right area of
the screen.
Once displayed, the Object
Window can be moved to any location
within the Chronos Work area. To
move the window, point the title
bar and drag the window to a new
location.
To Close the Object Window:
1. Click the Close button in the upper
left corner of the Object Window.
The Object window will be removed
from the Work area.
To Select an Object:
1. Point to the name of the object you
wish to select and click the left
mouse button.
To Select Multiple Objects:
1. Select the first object by clicking
on the object name in the Object
window.
2. Press and hold the Shift key.
Shift-click on the additional
object names.
@
Objects
OBJECTS
Because Chronos cannot create the
objects you need for animations, you
must create them in 3D Modeling
applications or use a 3D Clipart object.
If you are creating your own objects,
there are many things to keep in mind.
Chapter Ten, "Putting It All Together"
lists special considerations and
problems that you may need to think
about when you are creating objects.
The most important thing to remember
when creating objects is that to get
predictable tweening and motion, you
should always center your objects about
the Modeling application's center point
or origin point.
If you are creating a complex object,
where the actor has many smaller parts,
you should align the group of objects
and then center the group as if it's a
single object.
@
Playing animations
PLAYING ANIMATIONS
Chronos can playback any animations
created using Lexicor's Film format or
Antic's Delta Format. You can playback
all animations you create in Chronos
plus animations created in other
applications.
To Play an Animation:
1. Choose the Play command in the File
menu or press the Alt-P keys. The
Play Animation dialog appears.
2. Click a File Type option to choose
the type of animation you wish to
play.
Click the .FLM button to play a
Film file animation.
Click the .DLT button to play a
Delta file animation.
3. Choose a Play From option to choose
whether you would like to play an
animation from RAM (memory) or from
disk.
4. Choose a Playback option to choose
whether you want the animation to
be repeated in a loop or play
forwards and backwards as a ball
travels in a ping-pong game.
Note: Ping-Pong is not selectable if you
are playing a .DLT animation.
5. Click the Double Buffering check
box if you wish to take advantage
of the monitor's double buffering
capabilities.
6. Enter the speed you wish to play
the animation in the text field or
click a speed option button to
automatically fill in the field for
you.
7. Click the OK button or press Return
when you are ready to select the
filename of the animation you wish
to play.
8. The Item Selector appears and the
"Select File to play" message
displays in the status bar. By
default, Chronos displays the
appropriate file extension for the
type of file you are playing. Use
the Item Selector to enter a
filename.
9. Click the OK button or press
Return.
10. Once the animation is playing, you
can return to Chronos by clicking
either mouse button or by pressing
any key except a function key.
@
Quick View tools
QUICK VIEW TOOLS
The Quick View tools consist of six icon
buttons. These tools let you quickly
move the current view, whether it is the
Camera or the Director, to a standard
view.
The six Quick View tools include:
* South View
* North View
* West View
* East View
* Top View
* Bottom View
@
Recording animations
RECORDING ANIMATIONS
Once you have created an animation and
you wish to preview it or output the
rendering to a file, you can Record your
animation.
To Record an Animation:
1. Choose the Record command in the
File Menu or press Alt-R. The
Record Setup dialog box appears.
This dialog defines 2D animation
file options including image,
color, and rendering options.
2. Enter the frame numbers of the
frames you wish to render.
Click the All or Selected button to
select which frames you wish to
record.
3. If you choose Selected, enter the
frame numbers of the first and last
frame you want to record and enter
the frame divisor.
4. Choose your rendering check box
options.
5. If you wish to only preview the
selected frames, click the Preview
button. Chronos will immediately
start to render and display each
frame you selected.
6. If you wish to record the
animation, click a Format button to
select the type of 2D animation
file format to record and click the
Record button or press Return.
@
Rendering Modes
RENDERING MODES
WIRE FRAME RENDERING
Use the Wire frame rendering options to
render only the edges of object surfaces
(faces). Wire frame rendering is quick
and can give an object a wire or
ethereal effect. Also Wire frame's All
Edges rendering can be combined with
depth-cued shading.
Click the All Edges button to render all
surface edges including lines that would
be hidden from view.
Click the Visible Edges button to render
only those surface edges that are
visible. This option will not show
hidden edges or internal components that
do not appear in the current view.
SOLID RENDERING
Use the Solid rendering options to
render the faces of objects in an
animation. To see shading effects like
gouraud, phong or flat shading, you must
select solid rendering.
Click the Faces button to render all
surfaces that appear in the current
rendering view. This option will not
render face edges and will give better
shading effects for objects that don't
contain sharp or faceted edges.
Click the Faces & Edges button to render
all faces and their edges that appear in
the current rendering view.
@
Rotate tool
ROTATE TOOL
The Rotate tool pivots an object about
the X, Y, or Z axis, about a specified
pivot point. You choose the pivot point
by choosing a Editing mode icon (About
Center or About Home) and you choose how
to rotate the object by selecting a
Rotate tool option.
The Rotate tool options include:
* Rotate about X (about your ear)
* Rotate about Y (about your neck)
* Rotate about Z (about your nose)
* Rotate about X & Y Axis (combining
the X and Y rotations).
@
Saving animations
SAVING ANIMATIONS
When you have finished an animation and
periodically while you work, you should
save your work. Saving copies your
animation to your hard or floppy disk so
that you may archive your work.
Saving periodically while you work,
helps lessen your losses in the case of
power, hardware, or heaven forbid,
software failure.
To Save an Animation:
1. Choose the Save command from the
File menu or press Alt-S.
2. The Item Selector appears and the
"Select File to Save to" message
appears in the status bar. Use the
Item Selector to specify the new
file name or just accept the
current name by clicking on the OK
button.
Note: When you save an animation,
all objects, lights, camera
settings, tripod settings, object
properties and motion are auto-
matically saved in the animation
file.
@
Scale tool
SCALE TOOL
The Scale tool lets you scale or squash
objects. Whether you scale or squash an
object depends upon which Scale tool
option you use.
Scaling shrinks or enlarges an object
in one or in all dimensions. The other
dimensions are left exactly the way they
were. Squashing scales an object in one
dimension and inversely scales the other
dimensions so that the object maintains
its total volume.
The Scale Tool Options Include:
* Scale All Directions
* Scale Left/Right
* Scale Up/Down
* Scale In/Out
* Squash Left/Right
* Squash Up/Down
* Squash In/Out.
@
Selection
SELECTION
In Chronos, you can select objects and
frames. To select an object use the
Object window or click the object of
your choice. To select a frame, open the
Frame window and click the frame of your
choice.
@
Shear tool
SKEW TOOL
The Skew tool slants or tilts objects so
that they appear angular or in motion.
When skewing, you choose the pivot point
and the axis to skew along. You can tilt
the vertical axis and hold the hori-
zontal axis still. Or you can tilt the
horizontal axis and hold the vertical
axis still.
You also choose whether you want to
skew the object about its center point
or about the Home point. You choose the
pivot point by choosing an Editing mode
icon and you choose how to rotate the
object by selecting a Skew tool option.
The Skew Tool Options Include:
* Skew Left/Right
* Skew Up/Down
@
Status bar
STATUS BAR
The Status area displays the current
frame number, the name of the selected
object, and the current tool and option.
@
Timelines
TIMELINES
Most animations contain many frames.
Each object you load into an animation
displays in every frame. But each object
can be positioned and moved separately
from the other objects. This is because
each object has its own timeline.
Timelines hold information about the
object's position and motion for each
frame of the animation. Timelines keep
track of where an object's key and tween
frames lie.
@
Tool Palette
TOOL PALETTE
The Tool palette is used to select the
tool you wish to use to manipulate
objects and to set the tool's options.
The Tool Palette is always displayed on
the left side of the Chronos Main
Screen. The Tool Palette includes four
Mode tools, four motion tools and their
options, and six Quick View tools.
@
Traces
TRACES
Object traces are lines that show where
the object has been in past frames and
where it is going to go in future
frames. Traces show an object's path in
the animation. This trace line passes
through every position the object moves
for every frame in its timeline.
This function is very useful because
it is helpful to know past and future
position while positioning an object in
the current frame. Traces can be shown
or hidden for one, multiple, or all
objects. By default, traces are hidden
for all objects.
To Show Object Traces:
1. Select the objects you want to
trace.
2. Choose the Show Trace command from
the View Menu. Chronos displays the
Traces until you hide them or until
you quit Chronos.
To Hide Object Traces:
1. Select any objects that currently
have their traces displayed.
2. Choose the Hide Trace command from
the View Menu. Chronos hides the
selected objects' traces.
@
Tracking
TRACKING
The Track command lets you aim one
object at another object. You can aim
the Camera or a light source or an actor
object at any other object.
To Track an Object:
1. Select the frame or range of frames
where you wish to track the object.
2. Select the object you want to aim.
3. While holding the Shift key, select
the object you want to aim at or
track.
4. Choose the Track command from the
View menu. When the Track alert
appears, click the Continue button.
Important: If you track an image over
one frame, Chronos will create a key
frame for the object you are aiming for
that frame. If you track an object over
a range of frames, Chronos will create a
key frame for the object's timeline on
the first and last frame of the range.
In either case, it will not create key
frames for the object you are tracking.
@
Undo
UNDO
Like most Atari applications, you can
use the Undo key. The Undo key removes
the last change you have made to your
animation. This key is equivalent to
choosing the Undo command from the Edit
menu.
Undo will help you recover from an
unintentional change or mistake. It also
lets you view a change to see if it is
what you want.
To Use Undo:
1. Press the Undo key. The last change
you have made will be removed and
the frame or picture you are
working on will be returned to the
state it was in before you made the
change.
2. Select Undo again to replace the
change.
Undo will only remove a change made with
a Motion tool or the Home command.
@
Using the Mouse
USING THE MOUSE
In Chronos you use the mouse just like
you do in any other Atari application.
If you have had experience with a mouse
in the past, using the mouse with this
program will be easy.
If You Haven't Used The Mouse Before:
1. To use your mouse, you need a flat
surface about the size of your
screen. At first you may need more
space, but when you get used to the
mouse, you will get better at
manipulating it with less and less
available space.
2. Roll the mouse in any direction.
The mouse pointer usually appears
as an arrow or cross-hair. Notice
that the mouse pointer on your
screen moves relative to how you
move the mouse itself. Experiment
and notice how the mouse pointer
and mouse respond.
Note: Because the mouse moves the
pointer relative to its current
position, you can pick up the mouse and
move it if you run out of room and it
will not affect your cursor position.
MOUSE BUTTONS
In Chronos, you use both mouse buttons.
Special functionality can be achieved
using the left mouse button with the
Shift, Alternate and Control keys.
Chronos uses the left mouse button
for selecting objects, tools and tool
options. It also uses this button to
manipulate objects and controls. You use
the right mouse button to switch between
the Main screen and the Work screen.
Use either mouse button to exit the
Play function when you are viewing a
recorded animation.
MOUSE TECHNIQUES
The manual refers to four different
mouse techniques. These techniques
include Moving, Pointing, Clicking, and
Dragging.
Pointing is when you move the mouse
so that the mouse cursor is over or on
top of an object.
Moving the mouse refers to sliding
the mouse in any direction.
CLICKING refers to the noise the
mouse makes when you quickly press and
release a mouse button. You click to
select a button or command. Two
variations of clicking include
double-clicking and shift-clicking.
DOUBLE-CLICKING refers to pressing
the mouse button twice very quickly. You
use a double-click to select files in
the Item Selector. Double-clicking on a
filename is equivalent to clicking once
on a file name and then clicking the OK
button.
SHIFT-CLICKING refers to holding the
Shift key and clicking additional
objects. You use a shift-click to select
multiple objects or frames.
DRAGGING refers to pointing to a
location or object, pressing a mouse
button, and then moving the mouse while
the button is still down. You drag an
object to move it to a new location.
Dragging is the same as picking up an
object and sliding it to a new spot.
@
View menu
VIEW MENU
The View menu commands give you control
over how your objects appear in the
animation during the editing stages of
the animation process.
The View Menu Functionality Includes:
* Display the View Window.
* Set the current view's rendering
mode, color palette, and view
options to increase your rendering
quality or object manipulation
speed.
* Display objects as a box instead of
their actual form to speed
rendering and editing.
* Define and display a grid to use
for to align and position objects.
* Define constraints for moving
objects.
* Move quickly to frames and
viewpoints.
* Store view (camera or director)
position and settings to a reusable
camera tripod.
* Cause an object, such as the Camera
or a spotlight to track or look at
an object for one or more frames.
* Show and hide objects in selected
frames.
* Show and hide motion traces in
previous and future frames to view
where objects have been or are
moving to.
@
View Window
VIEW WINDOW
View Window displays the on-screen view
manipulation tools and a template for
the keyboard view manipulation tools.
For a detailed description of view
manipulation tools, see Chapter Eight,
"Lights, Camera...".
To Display the View Window:
1. Choose the View Window command from
the View menu or press the Ctrl-V
keys. The View Window appears.
To Expand the View Window:
1. Click the Expand button in the
upper right corner of the View
Window. The expanded section
displays the on-screen view
manipulation buttons and also
serves as a template for the
keyboard keypad controls.
To Close the View Window:
1. Click the Close button in the upper
left corner of the View Window. The
View window will be removed from
the screen area.
@
Work Screen
WORK SCREEN
The Work screen gives you a larger work
area and clears the screen of
unnecessary windows and the tool palette
to make editing easier and to give you a
full screen perspective.
The Work screen contains a Title bar
and a status area at the top of the
screen. The status area displays the
current frame number, the name of the
selected object and the current tool and
option.
While you are manipulating an object,
a field is displayed that shows how your
manipulation is affecting the object.
DISPLAYING THE WORK SCREEN
You can switch to the edit screen by
clicking the right mouse button. You can
return to the Main window area by
clicking the right mouse button again.
When you use a tool to manipulate an
object, you automatically switch to the
Work Screen. As soon as you start to
drag an object, the edit screen
displays. When you release the mouse,
Chronos switches back to the Main
Screen.
@
35 dialogs
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ABOUT DIALOG
The About Chronos dialog gives you
important information about Chronos
software. This information is important
to know when you call Lexicor's customer
support for assistance.
VERSION X.XX
This is the current level of Chronos
software that you have loaded onto your
system.
SERIAL NUMBER
This is a unique number assigned to your
copy of Chronos.
SECURITY DEVICE NUMBER
This is a unique number assigned to your
security device.
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HELP DIALOG
The Help dialog has no help button, this
text will never be displayed!
@
LOAD FILE DIALOG
This dialog lets you select a file type
and format to load.
FILE TYPE
Select what type of file you want to
load into the current animation: objects
or frames.
Object
Loads 3D objects into the current
animation.
Frames
Loads or merges an animation,
stored on disk, into the current
animation.
FORMAT
If you are loading objects select a
format option.
.3D2
loads CAD-3D objects.
.3D4
loads Lexicor objects obtained from
Lexicor's Clip Art or translated
from other file formats by Rosetta-
3D File Translator.
If you are loading frames, specify where
the frames should be loaded into the
animation by entering a frame number.
MULTIPLE
Check the multiple check box when you
want to load more than one object or
animation file at a time. This will
cause the Item Selector to appear
continually until you click the Item
Selector's Cancel button.
@
CONFIGURATION DIALOG
This dialog lets you change and modify
the system memory and hardware
configuration.
JRI 4096 COLOR BOARD
Check the JRI 4096 Color Board option if
you are currently using the John Russel
Innovation's 4096 Color Board.
GRAYSCALE
Check the Grayscale option if you are
currently running Chronos on a Atari TT
and you wish to use their Hyper Mono or
Gray scale mode.
RECONFIGURE MAX
Click the Reconfigure Max button to
redefine the maximum number of objects
that can be loaded into Chronos.
STATUS FIELDS
Total Objects
the total number of objects
currently loaded into the
animation.
Maximum Objects
the total number of objects that
can be loaded into the current
animation.
Total Frames
the total number of frames you have
created in the current animation.
Bytes in Objects
the number of bytes of RAM that
objects in the current animation
are using.
Bytes in Frames
the number of bytes of RAM that
frames in the current animation are
using.
Total Bytes
The total amount of RAM used by the
current animation and the Chronos
application.
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CONFIGURE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF OBJECTS
This dialog lets you change the maximum
number of objects allowed in an
animation.
ENTER NEW MAXIMUM
Enter a number to represent the new
maximum number of objects that can be
loaded into Chronos.
APPLY BUTTON
Click the Apply button to update the
Memory Used: Field.
MEMORY USED
displays the number of bytes of RAM
needed to support the maximum number of
objects you have specified. If you
configure Chronos to allow fewer
objects, less memory will be needed.
@
OBJECT INFORMATION DIALOG
Displays status information on a
selected object.
NAME
the name of the selected object. This
field can be edited to change the
current object's name.
NUMBER
displays the internal database number
used by customer support for database
troubleshooting.
TYPE
displays the type of object currently
selected. Types include 3D solid, light,
and camera.
POINTS
displays the number of 3D points used to
define the selected object.
FACES
displays the number of triangles used to
create the selected object.
RAM
displays the number of bytes of Random
Access Memory (RAM) used by the selected
object. This is important when you are
trying to manage your memory to create
complex animations on hardware with
limited memory capabilities.
@
GRID OPTIONS DIALOG
The grid dialog allows you to define a
three dimensional grid. Once defined you
can choose whether to display the grid
and its directional labels.
SHOW GRID OPTIONS
These options turn the grid on and off.
If the grid is on, it will appear in
every frame of the animation.
On
Click the On button to display the
grid.
Off
Click the Off button to remove the
Grid from the display.
GRID HEIGHT
Enter a Grid Height to display the grid
at higher or lower Y coordinate. The
default value is -50.
SQUARES PER SIDE
Enter the number of squares you want on
one side of the grid. The number of
squares in the grid will be this number,
squared. This number must be an even
number.
SQUARE SIZE
Enter the size of each square in Chronos
units.
SHOW LABELS CHECK BOX
Click the Show Labels check box if you
want to display the North, East, South
and West directional labels.
@
SHOW OBJECTS DIALOG
This dialog lets you display previously
hidden objects.
OBJECT SELECTION BOX
Click object names to select the objects
you wish to display. Click a name a
second time to deselect it.
ALL BUTTON
Click the ALL button to select all
hidden objects within the object
selection box.
NONE BUTTON
Select the None button to deselect
objects currently selected within the
object selection box.
@
HIDE OBJECTS DIALOG
This dialog lets you choose to hide only
the selected objects or hide all objects
except those that are selected.
HIDE OPTIONS
Click a button to choose which objects
to hide.
Selected
Hides only those objects currently
selected.
All Except Selected
Hides all objects except for those
that are currently selected.
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SET TRIPOD DIALOG
This dialog lets you specify which
tripod number to assign to the current
view. The default setting for every
tripod is the standard southern view.
@
GOTO DIALOG
This dialog is used to specify the type
of view you want to move to.
FRAME BUTTON
This option moves you to a new frame.
Click the Frame button and enter a frame
number.
TRIPOD BUTTON
This option moves you to a view tripod.
Click the Tripod button and click the
number of the tripod you wish to move
to.
CAMERA OR DIRECTOR
This option moves you the current
position of the camera or director. If
your current view mode is Camera then
the Director button appears. If your
current view mode is Director then the
Camera button appears.
@
EDIT MULTIPLE FRAMES DIALOG
When you select more than one frame and
then manipulate objects, this dialog
lets you choose whether you want to
manipulate the objects relative to the
Chronos universe or relative to the
object.
Universe button
Moves the object in each frame by
the amount specified relative to
its current orientation in the
universe.
Object button
Moves the object in each frame by
the amount specified relative to
modeling orientation.
@
SET CENTER DIALOG
This dialog defines the center point for
an object or group of objects. Chronos
holds the center point stationary when
your are rotating, scaling, or skewing
an object when using the About Center
editing mode.
MODELER
Defines the selected objects' center
points as the origin point assigned to
objects in the modeler program they were
created in.
OBJECT
Defines the selected objects' center
points as their geometric center point.
GROUP
Defines the selected objects' center
points as the average center point of a
group of objects. Chronos calculates the
average center point based on their
geometric center points.
EXPLICIT
Defines the select objects' center
points as a user-defined value. If you
select this option, enter a set of X, Y,
and Z coordinates to define this center
point.
@
SET HOME DIALOG
This dialog defines the position of
Home. Chronos uses the point defined as
Home as a pivot point when you are
rotating, scaling or skewing an object
the About Home editing mode.
UNIVERSE
Defines Home as the center of the
Universe (X,Y,Z coordinates 0,0,0).
GROUP
Defines Home as the average center point
of a group of objects. Chronos
calculates Home based on the geometric
center points of all selected objects.
EXPLICIT
Defines Home as a user-defined value. If
you select this option, enter a set of
X, Y, and Z coordinates to define Home.
@
SET CONSTRAINTS DIALOG
This dialog defines motion constraints,
lets you turn constraints on and off,
and choose whether object movement
should be according to the current view
or according to the closest standard
view.
Off
Turns motion constraints off. This
option lets you move objects freely
and manually.
On
Turns motion constraints on. This
option limits object motion to
predefined increments.
MANIPULATION VIEWS
When manipulating objects from a
viewpoint other than a standard view, it
is difficult to predict how motion tools
will affect an object. To make motion
more intuitive, Chronos lets you move,
rotate, scale or skew an object, as if
you were viewing the object from the
closest standard view.
The View Manipulation options in this
dialog, let you decide if you should
move the object relative to the closest
standard view or relative to your
current view.
Standard View button
Manipulates objects relative to the
closest standard view.
Current View button
Manipulates objects relative the
view you are currently in.
CONSTRAINT VALUES
Constraints limit motion to defined
increments. Constraint values define
those increments.
Movement Constraint
Represents the minimum distance you
can move an object at a time. The
default value is 10 units.
Rotation Constraint
Represents the minimum number of
degrees you can rotate an object at
a time. The default value is 10
degrees.
Scale Constraint
Represents the minimum percentage
you can scale an object at a time.
The default value is 10 percent.
Skew Constraint
Represents the minimum number of
degrees you can skew an object at a
time. The default value is 10
degrees.
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MOVE (EXPLICIT) DIALOG
This dialog lets you define exactly how
far to move an object. You describe
motion in terms of X, Y and Z
directions. Enter the number of Chronos
units you want the object to move in any
or all of these directions.
@
ROTATE (EXPLICIT) DIALOG
This dialog lets you define exactly how
far to rotate an object. Enter the
number of degrees you want to rotate the
objects. The current Rotate tool option
determines the direction the objects
rotate in.
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SCALE (EXPLICIT) DIALOG
This dialog lets you define exactly how
much to scale an object.
Enter the percentage you want to
enlarge or shrink the objects. Enter a
number larger than 100% to enlarge an
object. Enter a number smaller than 100%
to shrink an object by the specified
amount. The current Scale tool option
determines the direction the object
scales in.
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SKEW (EXPLICIT) DIALOG
This dialog defines exactly how much to
skew an object. Enter the number of
degrees you want to skew the object. The
current Skew tool option determines the
direction the object skews in.
@
RECORD SETUP DIALOG
This dialog lets you choose which frames
to render, the type of file to record
to, and a variety of rendering and
lighting options.
Frames
You can render all or a range of
frames in the current animation.
All button
Click this button if you wish to
render and record all the frames of
your animation.
Select button
Click this button if you wish to
render only part of the animation.
Enter a beginning and ending
frame number for the frames you
wish to render and record. By
default, The From: and To: fields
will be filled in with the first
and last frame number of any frames
currently selected.
Every field
This field lets you render every
other frame, every third frame,
etc., so that you can verify motion
without rendering every frame.
RESOLUTION OPTIONS
You can render an animation in the
current resolution or you can select a
specific resolution.
Current
Click this button to render the
animation using the system
resolution you were using when you
ran Chronos (on a ST or TT, this
means all modes except Low
Resolution).
16 Color
Click this button to render the
animation in the ST Low resolution
mode.
256 Color
Click this button to render the
animation in the TT Low resolution
mode.
ISAC 1024 or 800
Click these buttons to render the
animation using the ISAC graphic's
board high resolution and 16 color
palette.
RENDER MODES - WIRE FRAME
Use these rendering options to render
only the edges of object surfaces. Wire
frame rendering gives the object the
appearance that it was sculpted out of
wire.
All Edges
Click this button to render all
surface edges including lines that
would be hidden from view. This
mode is typically known in 3D
modeling packages as just "Wire
Frame".
Visible Edges
Click this button to render only
those surface edges that are
visible. This option will not show
hidden edges or internal components
that are normally hidden from view.
This mode is typically known in 3D
modeling packages as "Hidden Line".
RENDER MODES - SOLID
Use these rendering options to render
the faces of objects in an animation. To
see shading effects like gouraud, phong,
or flat shading, you must select a solid
rendering option.
Faces
Click this button to render all
faces that appear in the current
rendering view.
Faces & Edges
Click this button to render all
faces and their edges that appear
in the current rendering view.
SHADING OPTIONS
The shading options let you choose what
type of shading technique will be used
to render the animation.
None
Click this button to turn shading
off.
Lighted
Click this button to shade
according to the current light
sources of an animation.
Object Depth Cue
Click this button to override the
current light sources and shade the
object according to the depth of an
object.
Group Depth Cue
Click this button to override the
current light sources and shade all
objects in the current view
according to their relative depth
to each other.
World Depth Cue
Click this button to override the
current light sources and shade all
objects in the current view
according to their relative depth
in the Chronos 3D world.
PALETTE OPTIONS
These options let you choose the type of
color system Chronos uses to create
object colors while rendering the
animation.
None
Click this button to forgo using
any palette. No colors are used.
Shading effects are created using
dither patterns of black and white.
Gray Scale
Click this button to render the
image in shades of gray (taking
advantage of the TT's gray scale
mode) or in shades of Blue and cyan
(using any color monitor). Grey and
Blue shading can create a crystal
or ice-like effect.
Real
Click this button to render an
image using the color information
associated with the object
VIEW OPTIONS
The View options lets you choose which
viewpoint to use when rendering
animations.
Current
Click this button to render and
record the animation from the view
point that is currently displayed
in the work area of the main
screen. The whole animation will be
rendered from this perspective
regardless of the camera settings
and position associated with the
frames.
Camera
Click this button to render and
record the animation from the
camera view point and settings
previously setup for the frames to
be rendered.
QUALITY OPTIONS
The Quality options determine which
rendering technique Chronos uses to
render an animation.
Draft
Click this button to get a quick
and dirty rendering of your
animation.
Final
Click this button to get a slower,
but more precise rendering of your
animation. Final supports the Z-
buffering hidden surface technique.
Use Final to render self-
intersecting objects correctly.
FORMAT OPTIONS
The Format options let you choose what
type of sequential image file to create
when you record the current animation.
.FLM
Click this button to record the
animation to Lexicor's Film
animation format. This format can
be played using Chronos' play
function or Lexicor's Kinetics
Player program.
.DLT
Click this button to record to
Antic's Delta animation format.
WHITE BACKGROUND
Click this check box to render your
animation using a white background. By
default animations are rendered using a
black background.
CULL BACK FACES
Click this check box to prevent
rendering the back faces of an object.
Back faces do not refer to the back
faces in the current view.
SHOW AS BOXES
Click this check box to substitute the
objects in the current view with boxes
so you can quickly check motion and
rendering effects. Boxes render quickly
and illustrate rendering and motion
techniques effectively.
SHOW GRID
Click this check box to render the view
grid. The Grid always renders in
Wireframe.
SHOW CAMERA
Click this check box to render the
camera object. This will allow you to
view the camera motion as well as the
object motion. The camera always renders
in Wireframe.
SHOW LIGHTS
Click this check box to render the light
objects. This will allow you to view the
light motion as well as the object
motion. The lights always render in
Wireframe.
@
ADD LIGHT DIALOG
This dialog lets you choose which type
of light to add to the current
animation.
POINT
Creates a light source that emits light
in all directions from a single point.
Unlike solar or ambient lighting, the
closer a point light source is to an
object, the brighter the lighting effect
is. If the effect of a point source
light is too dim, try increasing the
intensity past 1.0 or moving it closer
to the object you wish to illuminate.
SOLAR
Creates a light source that imitates a
distance light source, such as a sun,
where all rays emitting from the light
source are parallel. Solar lights cast
light toward the center of the Chronos
3D universe as if they are emitting
light from an infinite distance. Always
use intensity values from 0.0 to 1.0.
AMBIENT
Creates a light source that lacks
position or direction, only intensity.
It casts light evenly throughout the
animation. Always use intensity values
from 0.0 to 1.0.
SPOT
Creates a light source that is similar
to a point source light except that it
casts light only in one direction and
casts a cone-shaped light. This effect
is similar to a stage spot light or a
flashlight.
Unlike solar or ambient light, the
closer a spot light source is to an
object, the brighter the lighting effect
is. If the effect of a spot light is too
dim, try increasing the intensity past
1.0 or moving it closer to the object
you wish to illuminate.
@
SET LIGHTS DIALOG
This dialog lets you define global
illumination for the entire animation
and change light source attributes.
GLOBAL ILLUMINATION
If you didn't have light sources and you
turned Global illumination off, your
animation would render completely black.
It is recommended that you leave Global
Illumination set to its default value,
.20, unless you are trying to create
special lighting effects or are using an
ambient light for fill lighting.
INTENSITY
Light intensity determines how brightly
the light source will emit light. A
higher intensity creates brighter
lights. For ambient and solar light
sources, intensity should be between 0.0
and 1.0. For point and spot lights,
intensity can be set any value greater
than 0.0.
SPOT LIGHT SETTINGS.
Spot lights have more settings than the
other types of light sources. To create
a Spot lighting effect, you must define
the Spot lights inside angle, its
dropoff angle, and its beam
distribution.
Inside Cone Angle
Inside cone angle determines the
cone angle of the brightest part of
the spot light.
Dropoff Angle
Dropoff angle adds an additional
area of light about the inside cone
where light is much dimmer and
fades. In other words, it is the
angle between where the brightest
part of the Spot light drops off or
ends and the dimmer part ends.
Beam Distribution
Beam Distribution determines how
drastically the light fades to
black in the Dropoff area. Enter a
value between 0.0 and 2.0.
@
OBJECT APPEARANCE DIALOG
This dialog lets you set shading, the
dithering, and smoothness attributes for
the selected objects.
DRAW ALL FACES CHECK BOX
Click the check box to override the
Record and View setup dialog's Cull back
faces options for a particular object.
SHADING METHOD OPTIONS
Shading options affect how Chronos
interpolates or calculates how an object
is shaded.
Flat
Click this button to create a
simple and quick shading effect.
Gouraud
Click this button to create a
shading effect that is more
realistic than flat but takes
longer to render.
Phong
Click this button to realistically
shade objects that use spot or
point light sources for
illumination.
@
SHOW AS BOX DIALOG
This dialog lets you toggle an object's
Show as Box status.
On
Click this button to show the
selected objects as boxes.
Off
Click this button to display the
real version of the selected
objects.
@
VIEW SETUP DIALOG
This dialog lets you define how objects
will appear while you are editing the
animation.
RENDER MODES - WIRE FRAME
Use these rendering options to render
only the edges of object surfaces. Wire
frame rendering gives the object the
appearance that it was sculpted out of
wire.
All Edges
Click this button to render all
surface edges including lines that
would be hidden from view. This
mode is typically known in 3D
modeling packages as just "Wire
Frame".
Visible Edges
Click this button to render only
those surface edges that are
visible. This option will not show
hidden edges or internal components
that are normally hidden from view.
This mode is typically known in
3D modeling packages as "Hidden
Line".
RENDER MODES - SOLID
Use these options to display the faces
of objects in an animation. To see
shading effects like gouraud, phong, or
flat shading, you must select a solid
rendering option.
Faces
Click this button to render all
faces that appear in the current
rendering view.
Faces & Edges
Click this button to render all
faces and their edges that appear
in the current rendering view.
SHADING OPTIONS
The shading options let you choose what
type of shading technique will be used
to display the objects in the animation.
None
Click this button to turn shading
off.
Lighted
Click this button to shade
according to the current light
sources of an animation.
Object Depth Cue
Click this button to override the
current light sources and shade the
object according to the depth of an
object.
Group Depth Cue
Click this button to override the
current light sources and shade all
objects in the current view
according to their relative depth
to each other.
World Depth Cue
Click this button to override the
current light sources and shade all
objects in the current view
according to their relative depth
in the Chronos 3D world.
PALETTE OPTIONS
These options let you choose the type of
color system Chronos uses to create
object colors while editing the
animation.
None
Click this button to forgo using
any palette. No colors are used.
Shading effects are created using
dither patterns of black and white.
Gray Scale
Click this button to render the
image in shades of gray (taking
advantage of the TT's gray scale
mode) or in shades of Blue and cyan
(using any color monitor). Grey and
Blue shading can create a crystal
or ice-like effect.
Real
Click this button to render an
image using the color information
associated with the object.
WHITE BACKGROUND
Click this check box to render your
animation using a white background. By
default animations are rendered using a
black background.
CULL BACK FACES
Click this check box to prevent
rendering the back faces of an object.
Back faces do not refer to the back
faces in the current view.
SHOW AS BOXES
Click this check box to substitute the
objects in current view with boxes to
speed screen effects. Boxes render
quickly and illustrate rendering and
shading techniques effectively.
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OBJECT VISIBILITY DIALOG
This dialog lets you define the
opaqueness or transparency of an object.
Enter a percentage value between 0
and 100 in the text field. Enter zero to
make an object completely invisible.
Enter a value between 1 and 99 percent
for partial visibility and 100 percent
for normal visibility.
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CYCLE DIALOG
This dialog lets you create lists of
objects (cycle lists) that together,
make up sequences of complex motion.
CYCLE OBJECT
Displays the name of the object that the
cycle will be attached to. This object
was selected when you chose the Cycle
command from the Object menu.
HIDE CHECK BOX
This check box hides all objects in the
cycle in every frame except for the
cycle frames it is scheduled to appear
in. If you do not select this option,
the objects in the cycle list appear in
every frame of the animation as well as
in their scheduled cycle frames.
ADD OBJECT BUTTON
Adds the object currently selected in
the Objects list to the Cycle list.
ADD MORPH BUTTON
Adds a tween frame to the cycle before a
selected object name in the cycle list.
REMOVE BUTTON
Removes the currently selected object
name from the Cycle list.
REMOVE ALL BUTTON
Removes all object names from the cycle
list.
LOAD BUTTON
This button displays the Item selector
so you can retrieve a previously saved
cycle list. To load a cycle list, all
objects in the desired cycle list must
be already loaded into the animation.
SAVE BUTTON
This buttons displays the Item selector
so you can store the current cycle list
under as a file.
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PLAY DIALOG
This dialog lets you define file and
player options so you can control how
Chronos plays animation sequence files.
File Type options
Chronos's player program lets you play
.FLM and .DLT files.
.FLM
Click this button to play an Film
file animation.
.DLT
Click this button to play a Delta
file animation.
PLAY FROM OPTIONS
These options let you choose whether you
want the animation to be played from RAM
or from disk.
RAM
Click this button if you have
enough RAM to contain Chronos and
the animation file you wish to
play. This will enable the
animation to play at faster speeds.
Disk
Click this button if you do not
have enough RAM to load the entire
animation. This feature lets you
play very large animations, even on
less powerful systems.
PLAYBACK OPTIONS
These options let you choose how you
want the animation to repeat while it is
playing.
Loop
Click this button to continually
play the animation, each time
starting over at frame one.
Ping-Pong
Click this button to continuously
play the animation, each time
reversing the order the frames play
in. This option will play the
frames backward until the first
frame displays and then it will
reverse again.
DOUBLE BUFFERING
This option eliminates screen flicker on
ST, STE, and TT monitors. This option
does not work with ISAC monitors.
SELECTING A SPEED
This option lets you determine how fast
the animation will play. You can enter a
speed as a value representing frames per
second (fps) or you can click on a speed
button.
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REPLACE OBJECT DIALOG
This dialog lets you choose what type of
file you are going to replace the
selected object with.
FILE TYPE
Pick the format type that the object you
are loading was stored in.
.3D2
Click this button to load an object
file created in Antic's CAD-3D
object file format.
.3D4
Click this button to load objects
obtained from Lexicor's Clip Art or
translated from other file formats
by Rosetta-3D File Translator.
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MOVE VIEW DIALOG
This dialog lets you define exactly
where you want the current view to be
move to.
Enter a set of absolute X, Y, and Z
coordinates to move the view to a new
location.
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CUT FRAMES DIALOG
This dialog lets you choose to cut
frames from selected objects' timelines
or from all objects' timelines.
TIMELINES
Click a timeline button to choose
whether you want frames deleted from all
timelines or just the timelines of the
currently selected objects.
All Timelines
Click this button to remove the
selected frames from every timeline
in the current animation.
Selected Timelines
Click this button to remove the
selected frames from the timelines
of only those objects that are
currently selected.
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COPY FRAMES DIALOG
This dialog lets you choose to copy
frames from selected objects' timelines
or from all objects' timelines.
All Timelines
Click this button to copy the
selected frames from every timeline
in the current animation.
Selected Timelines
Click this button to copy the
selected frames from the timelines
of only those objects that are
currently selected.
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INSERT NEW FRAMES DIALOG
This dialog lets you enter the number of
frames to insert and to choose if the
frames are to be copied into the
selected objects' timelines or from all
objects' timelines.
ENTER NUMBER TO INSERT
This field is used to enter the number
of frames you want to add to the object
timelines.
TIMELINES
Click a timeline button to choose
whether you want frames inserted into
all timelines or just the timelines of
the currently selected objects.
All Timelines
Click this button to copy the
selected frames from every timeline
in the current animation.
Selected Timelines
Click this button to copy the
selected frames from the timelines
of only those objects that are
currently selected.
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DELETE FRAMES DIALOG
This dialog lets you choose to delete
frames from selected objects' timelines
or from all objects' timelines.
TIMELINES
Click a timeline button to choose
whether you want frames deleted from all
timelines or just the timelines of the
currently selected objects.
All Timelines
Click this button to remove the
selected frames from every timeline
in the current animation.
Selected Timelines
Click this button to remove the
selected frames from the timelines
of only those objects that are
currently selected.
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TWEENING SMOOTHNESS DIALOG
This dialog sets the tweening smoothness
that Chronos uses to generate tween
frames.
SMOOTHNESS
Smoothness makes your objects move in a
more life-like fashion. Key frame
animations can sometimes appear stilted
or angular. This option creates
smoother, more natural motion.
You define Smoothness as a
percentage. The percent of smoothness
can range from 0 to 100 percent. The
default value for any frame or section
of frames is zero(0).
Zero percent smoothness means no
smoothness will be used when creating
tweens, the object moves in a straight
path. 100 percent is the most smoothness
Chronos can generate. For life-like
smoothness, 50 percent is recommended.
TIMELINES
Click a timeline button to choose
whether you want smoothness added to all
timelines or just the timelines of the
currently selected objects.
All Timelines
Click this button to add smoothness
to the timeline segments of every
timeline in the current animation.
Selected Timelines
Click this button to add smoothness
to the timeline segments of only
those objects' timelines that are
currently selected.
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