manual/animation/actions.rst

@@ -7,13 +7,12 @@ Actions
 
 *Actions* are Blender's container for animation data.  For example, when you animate the location of an object, that animation is stored in an action rather than directly on the object itself.  The object then uses the action to get animated, much the same way that a mesh uses a material to get shaded.  All animatable :term:`data-blocks <Data-Block>` (:doc:`objects </scene_layout/object/introduction>`, :doc:`meshes </modeling/meshes/introduction>`, :doc:`materials </render/materials/introduction>`, etc.) are animated this way: they don't store their own animation data, but instead use an action that stores the animation data for them.
 
-
+Actions are also data-blocks themselves, and therefore can be easily appended or linked into other blend files.  This lets actions be used not just for storage, but also for organizing and reusing animation data.  For example, if you're building a library of animations (run cycles, jumps, idling, etc.), each animation can go into its own action, which can then be conveniently linked or exported as a distinct animation.
-The benefit of this approach is that animation data can be flexibly organized and reused.  For example, if you're building a library of animations (run cycles, jumps, idling, etc.), each animation can go into its own action, which can then be linked or imported into other files to be reused as needed.
 
 Action Slots
 ============
 
-The animation data inside an action is further organized into *Slots*.  Each action has a set of slots and different animation data for each of those slots.  An animated data-block then specifies both which action it uses and also which slot within that action it uses, and that determines which animation data the data-block is animated by.
+The animation data inside an action is further organized into *Slots*.  Each action has a set of slots and different animation data for each of those slots.  An animated data-block then specifies both an action and a slot within that action, and that determines which animation data the data-block is animated by.
 
 .. figure:: /images/animation_actions_slots_ui.png
 
@@ -44,15 +43,15 @@ Note that slots are not "for" any specific data-block: any data-block can use an
 Slot Names and Associated Types
 -------------------------------
 
-Each slot in an action has a name.  You can set these names however you like, but by default slots are named after the data-block they were initially created for.
+Each slot in an action has a name, and you are free to name them whatever you like.  By default slots are named after the data-block they were initially created for.
 
 In addition to having a name, each slot also has an associated data-block type that it is intended for (for example, "material", "object", etc.).  This is set automatically when a slot is first assigned to animate a data-block.
 
-In the action editor's channel list you can see the associated type of each slot displayed as an icon next to its name.
+One of the places you can see a slot's associated type is in the action editor's channel list, where it's displayed as an icon next to the slot's name.
 
 .. figure:: /images/animation_actions_slots_in_channel_list.png
 
-   Slots displayed in the :doc:`Action Editor's </editors/dope_sheet/modes/action>` channel list, with their associated type as an icon.
+   Slots displayed in the :doc:`Action Editor's </editors/dope_sheet/modes/action>` channel list, with their associated type as an icon to the right of their name.
 
 A slot must have a unique combination of name + associated type within its action.  For example, you can have two slots named "Cube" in an action as long as one of them is for objects and the other is for materials, but not if they are both for objects.
 
@@ -88,9 +87,9 @@ When you first animate an object (or other data-block) in Blender, Blender tries
 Manually Assigning Actions and Slots
 ------------------------------------
 
-Rather than letting Blender automatically choose an action and slot for a data-block, you can also manually assign them.
+In addition to letting Blender automatically choose an action and slot for a data-block, you can also manually assign them.
 
-In the properties of each data-block there is an Animation panel with action and slot selectors.  You can use these to assign actions and slots to a data-block.
+For each data-block in the properties editor there is an Animation panel with action and slot selectors.  You can use these to assign actions and slots to a data-block.
 
 .. figure:: /images/animation_actions_properties_action_slot_selector.png
 
@@ -106,7 +105,7 @@ For the active object you can also assign its action and slot in the action Edit
 
    When selecting a slot for a data-block, you won't necessarily see all the slots of an action listed in the dropdown.  This is because Blender limits that dropdown to the slots with an associated type that matches the data-block.
 
-When you select an action to animate a data-block, for convenience Blender will also attempt to automatically select an appropriate slot for you based on name and associated type.  If no appropriate slot is found, the slot selector will remain empty.
+When you select an action to animate a data-block, for convenience Blender will also attempt to automatically select an appropriate slot for you based on name and associated type.  If no appropriate slot is found then the slot selector will remain empty, in which case you can manually select an existing slot, create a new one, or just start keying and let Blender automatically create a new slot for you.
 
 NLA
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