Update Action documentation #104974
@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ One of the places you can see a slot's associated type is in the action editor's
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Within an action, a slot must have a unique combination of name + associated type. 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. When they are both for objects, their associated type is the same, and thus they must have different names. In that case Blender will use the familiar approach and name them "Cube" and "Cube.001".
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.. note::
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.. note::
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@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ Blender's animation editors (such as the dopesheet, graph editor, etc.) have a *
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The :doc:`Dopesheet Editor's </editors/dope_sheet/introduction>` channel list, with the animated channels of various bones grouped under their bone names.
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The :doc:`Dopesheet Editor's </editors/dope_sheet/introduction>` channel list, with the animated channels of various bones grouped under their bone names.
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Channels also support a limited form of organization called "channel groups". For example, by default Blender creates a channel group for the channels of each bone. These groups are purely for your convenience and have no impact on how Blender interprets the channels.
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Channels also support a limited form of organization called "channel groups". For example, by default Blender creates a channel group for the channels of each bone. There are a few features in Blender that rely on the groups, but mostly they are just for your convenience.
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Sybren A. Stüvel
commented
😹 if only that were true. AFAIK there's still code that loops over the groups, and assumes that this is enough to get the list of animated bones. IMO that's just a bad implementation and if (well, when) this causes issues for people it's great to get a bug report about this so it can get fixed. > These groups are purely for your convenience and have no impact on how Blender interprets the channels.
😹 if only that were true. AFAIK there's still code that loops over the groups, and assumes that this is enough to get the list of animated bones. IMO that's just a bad implementation and if (well, when) this causes issues for people it's great to get a bug report about this so it can get fixed.
Nathan Vegdahl
commented
I'm unclear on what you want here: should I change this or leave it as-is? I was aware I was lying here (😆), but I felt like it was a "good" lie for the reasons you outlined. I'm unclear on what you want here: should I change this or leave it as-is? I was aware I was lying here (😆), but I felt like it was a "good" lie for the reasons you outlined.
Sybren A. Stüvel
commented
Yeah, just keep the lie, as at some point in the future it'll "automatically" become true. Yeah, just keep the lie, as at some point in the future it'll "automatically" become true.
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Working With Actions
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Working With Actions
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@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ When you first animate an object (or other data-block) in Blender, Blender tries
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Manually Assigning Actions and Slots
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Manually Assigning Actions and Slots
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In addition to letting Blender automatically choose an action and slot for a data-block, you can also manually assign them.
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In addition to letting Blender automatically choose an action and slot for a data-block, you can also manually assign them. This can be used to assign existing animation to a data-block by selecting both the action and slot. It can also be used to specify an action for a data-block's keys to go into, by assigning the action but leaving the slot blank, in which case a new slot will be created when the first key is set.
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Sybren A. Stüvel
commented
"Rather than" → "In addition to" "Rather than" → "In addition to"
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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.
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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.
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Sybren A. Stüvel
commented
This is not true. We've only added them to the Properties editor, which doesn't include every data-block type. > In the properties of each data-block
This is not true. We've only added them to the Properties editor, which doesn't include every data-block type.
Nathan Vegdahl
commented
That's what I was intending to get across, but clearly failed, ha ha. I'll try rephrasing to make that clearer, without getting too verbose. That's what I was intending to get across, but clearly failed, ha ha. I'll try rephrasing to make that clearer, without getting too verbose.
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nathanvegdahl marked this conversation as resolved
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Sybren A. Stüvel
commented
Add an explanation as to why you would do this. Also include that you can assign an action but keep the slot unassigned, and what you'd use that for. Add an explanation as to _why_ you would do this. Also include that you can assign an action but keep the slot unassigned, and what you'd use that for.
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@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ For the active object you can also assign its action and slot in the action Edit
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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.
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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.
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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.
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When you select an action to animate a data-block, for convenience Blender attempts 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. If Blender assigns a slot you didn't want, you can select another slot manually or simply clear the slot selection.
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nathanvegdahl marked this conversation as resolved
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Sybren A. Stüvel
commented
Add what to do in this case. Something like "You can then create a new slot yourself, or just start keying to let Blender create it for you". Add what to do in this case. Something like "You can then create a new slot yourself, or just start keying to let Blender create it for you".
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NLA
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NLA
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This is a bit ambiguous, as it can be read as (name) + (associated type within its action). Maybe it's better to elaborate a bit more, at the cost of some repetition (which in itself might be good, as this is a complex topic until it clicks). How's this?
"As described above, each slot has a name and an associated type. This combination of name + type has to be unique within its action."
It might help to clarify things when you describe the 'positive case' here. So instead of saying that it doesn't work when they are both for object, explain what it would look like if that were the case. Something like:
"When they are both for objects, their associated type is the same, and thus they have to have different names. Blender will use the familiar approach and name them
Cube
andCube.001
."Actually, I think you can keep the 'it doesn't work when they are both for object' text, and just add the above as well.
Ah! Good catch. I think it can be fixed by just rearranging the clauses: "Within an action, a slot must have a unique combination of name + associated type."