Time Bar

The Time Bar is located directly below the main 3D visualization window and contains all information and controls related to the time referencing functionality. As shown in the figures below, the time bar is divided into three major areas: the display area, the control area, and the time options. Each area is explained in more details in the following sections.

Time Display and Manipulation Area

The Time Display Area that is located on the left side of the time bar provides both a display of the current time, as well as the ability to interactively manipulate the current time.

Time Control Area

To the right of the Time Display Area are a number of controls for adjusting both the rate and the current mode of the time system. The default rate is 1:1, which means that 1 second of real time equals one second of model time. This value can be changed manually, or it can be modified using the following buttons:

The mode controls are designed to emulate the controls on a DVD player and have the following operations:

Time Options

The Time drop down menu as illustrated below, provides a number of controls for working with the time system.

Loop - Instead of just playing to the current end of time, the system will continuously return to the beginning of time.

Include Date - This will add a date display in the time display area.

Set Begin/End Times - This option allows you to set the beginning and ending times for the current scene. There is also an option to rescale any existing keyframes to the new length of time. If the keyframes are not rescaled, they will remain at the exact same point in time as the original time frame.

Attach Camera to Main View - This command will attach the currently active camera to the main Fledermaus display area.

Attach Camera to New View - This command will attach the current active camera to the New View display area.

Auto Record Keyframes - When recording a movie, Fledermaus automatically records keyframes as the camera moves around the scene. Editing other objects in the scene is possible while the movie is being played and the Auto Keyframe Spacing will be used when recording the keyframes as well. For example if transparency is being animated, it is possible to drag the transparency slider during a movie and Fledermaus will automatically generate keyframes for the transparency using the Auto Keyframe Spacing.

Set Auto Keyframe Spacing - The Auto Keyframe Spacing indicates how often Fledermaus generates keyframes. Note that this value is in real-world seconds, not in the rate of the scene playback. The default Auto Keyframe Spacing is 1.0, meaning that a keyframe is generated every second. Smaller values will generate more keyframes and will be closer to the exact path traced by the camera. Longer values will generate fewer keyframes which often makes a smoother animation path and paths with fewer keyframes are easier to edit.

Clear Flightpath - To clear all keyframes for the currently active camera object, the Clear Flightpath command can be used.