This topic will provide an in-depth overview of the Animation Creator UI. The most important elements of the animation creator are labeled in the following image:
Note that in the preceding image, the toolbar is slightly truncated. See Toolbar for an explanation of the full toolbar accompanied by complete images.
Each element will be described in more detail in the following sections.
Preview Windows
Located in the upper portion of the animation creator, the preview windows allow you to see how your objects will appear visually during the animation. There are four different panes in this window that allow you to see the animation from various angles.
You'll be able to see the object's animation in action when you run an animation using the animation control bar. You can also scrub the timeline (which means to put the cursor at a particular place in the animation timeline) to see how the object will look at specific points in the animation.
If you add any components to the animation, you can also use the preview windows to manually resize, reposition, or rotate the component object. You can also zoom in and out or change the angle the same way you would in the 3D model.
In the top right corner of each preview pane, you can click the maximize button 
to hide the other 3D windows and expand the selected 3D window to take up the entire preview window. Click the button a second time to return to the default view.
If you right-click anywhere inside a blank spot of the preview window, a menu will pop up with one option: Flip Axis. This option flips the axis of the view. For example, if you flip the axis that is currently displaying the top view, it will display the bottom view. This option is only available in the side, front, and top 3D views.
Components
Components are 3D shapes that comprise an object. These shapes can be combined together and be positioned in such a way that looks like movement during a simulation run. Any object can possibly have one or more components or you can add a component to a standard FlexSim object.
The following image shows a custom component that has been added to the Operator's Walk Loaded animation:
Best practices when editing components
When making changes to components, it is usually wise to start from the outside (parent components), and work your way through all of the child components. If you ever make a mistake, click the Base Postions button to retrn the animation to its default position.
Library
When the animation creator is open, the Library will change to display some basic objects that can be added as components in the animation.
Animation Control Panel
Located in the lower portion of the animation creator, the animation control panel is the primary workspace you'll use while working inside the animation creator, as shown in the following image:
Note that in the preceding image, the toolbar is slightly truncated. See Toolbar for an explanation of the full toolbar accompanied by complete images.
The following sections will explain the different elements of the animation control panel.
Timeline
The timeline is a chronological display of the animation over time. You can also scrub the timeline (which means to put the cursor at a particular place in the animation timeline) to see how the object will look at specific points in the animation.
You can also drag keyframes along the timeline to make them longer. As the space increases between keyframes on the timeline, the tweening animation will take longer.
If you want to zoom in or out of the timeline, you can use either one of the following methods:
- Click the Zoom button
on the toolbar to zoom in or out on the timeline to make all the keyframes fit on the screen. - Position the mouse above the timeline and press the Ctrl key while scrolling the mouse wheel.
- Click the right end of the scroll bar underneath the timeline and drag it to zoom in and out, as shown in the following image:
Timeline List
The timeline list is kind of like a header for the timeline, showing you each element in the animation in the timeline. The timeline list displays any animation clips, triggers, and/or components that have been added to this object's animation.
If you clck on the arrow next to a component, you can expand the list to show the component's individual properties on the timeline, as shown in the following image:
Once the component properties have been expanded, you can add component keyframes to the timeline in order to change the way a particular component property will behave at various points in the animation.
Keyframes
A keyframe is a drawing of an object that defines the starting and ending point of an animation segment. In the user interface, keyframes look like a small black diamond that turns red when it is selected. A component keyframe consists of a set of values that define the component's properties such as its position, size, rotation, shape, color, etc. In other words, keyframes are the saved values for different properties of a given set of components.
You will put keyframes on a timeline to define the beginning and end of an animation segment. Although keyframes typically define the beginning and end of an animation, you should also put keyframes any place that marks a major movement. See Keyframes and Tweening for more information.
Toolbar
The toolbar contains all the tools you'll need to create and edit custom animations:
Component tools
Used to add or reorder new components. (See Components for more information.) All components will be listed in the timeline list. You can also add a component by dragging an object directly from the Library into the preview window. It will also show up in the timeline list after it has been added.
The following table describes each button:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Adds a new component. To remove a component, select a component from the list and hit the Delete key. |
  |
Moves the selected component up or down in the list. |
  |
Moves the selected component left or right in the list. This creates parent/child relationships with the components. When a parent component's position or rotation is moved, all of its child components will alsohave their position/rotation moved with respect to their parent. |
Animation tools
Used to select, add, copy, or delete new animations. To edit a specific animation, make sure that you select it from the Animation menu first. The selected animation will be loaded into the timeline.
The following table describes each button:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
|
Adds a new animation to the object. |
 |
Duplicates the current animation. |
 |
Removes the current animation from the object. |
Keyframe and Timeline tools
Used to control playback of the animation preview and to add or edit keyframes on the timeline. The following table describes each button:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Moves the current time cursor to the beginning of the animation (time 0). |
 |
Plays and pauses the animation. When you press the Play button, it will turn into the stop button  , which can be used to pause the animation. Animations will automatically loop playback. |
 |
Adds a new keyframe to the animation for all components. |
 |
Adds a new keyframe to the animation for the selected component only. |
 |
Opens the clip editor tool. See Creating Animation Clips for more information. |
|
Removes the selected keyframe(s). |
 |
Moves the time cursor to the previous or next keyframe. |
|
Zooms the timeline in or out to make all keyframes fit on the screen. |
 |
sync the 3D Views. When you click this button, the 3D views will update the object to display the current values of all its components as you move the time cursor in the timeline. |
Base Position tools
Used to save the base position of the components. You can also return to the base position at any time using these tools. The following table describes each button:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Saves the current values of all the object's components as the base position. This is how the object will be displayed in the model when the model is reset. |
 |
Updates the 3D views to display the object in its currently saved base positions. Clicking this button does not affect the timeline. |
|
Removes the saved base positions. |
Quick Properties
You can use the settings in Quick Properties to change the basic functionality of the animation, such as its repeat type and time base. You can also use Quick Properties to create new animation variables.
The following image shows the available animation settings:
The following sections will explain each setting.
Animation Variables
An animation variable is basically a reference point to an animation-related object, component, or keyframe. See Animation Variables for more in-depth information.
Select a variable you want to edit from the Animation Variable menu. Click the Add button next to the Animation Variable to add a new variable and the Delete button to remove the selected variable.
Use the Sampler button 
to select the object, keyframe, or timeline position the variable should point to. Animation variables can point to:
- Components
- Surrogates
- Keyframe times
- Time gaps
- Component keyframes (such as the component's position, size, rotation, color, or shape frame)
After you've selected an object, it will be listed in the box below the Animation Variable menu.
Repeat Type
Animations can be repeated using the following types:
- Do Not Repeat - The animation will stop as soon as it is complete.
- Repeat Indefinitely - Causes the animation to loop back to the beginning forever until the animation is stopped in the model.
- Repeat Set Number - Causes the animation to loop back to the beginning based on the number of times listed in the Repeat Value box.
- Repeat After Time -This will cause the animation to loop back to the beginning after the amount of time (or distance) listed in the Repeat Value box regardless of whether or not the animation has completely. For example, an animation that is 10 seconds long that has a repeat time of 5 seconds will only play half of its animation.
- Time After Animation End - Once the animation has ended, the animation will wait the amount of time (or distance) listed in the Repeat Value box before starting again from the beginning.
Repeat Value
By default, the Repeat Value box is not available for use. It will become available when you select an option from the Repeat Type menu that requires a repeat value. It allows you to enter in a value for how frequently the animation should be repeated.
Time Basis
Use the Time Basis menu to determine how the speed of the animation will be calculated. This menu lists the following options:
- Time Based - When an animation is set as Time Based, the animation will play based on the simulation run speed. The numbers displayed on the timeline are in model time units (as defined in your Model Settings window).
- Travel-Distance Based - When an animation is set as Travel-Distance Based, the animation will play as the object moves in 3D space. The numbers displayed on the timeline are model length units (as defined in your Model Settings window), rather than time. An example of a Travel-Distance Based animation is the Operator's Walk animation.
Component Properties
When you add a component to an animation and select that component in the preview windows, a variety of settings will become available in Quick Properties. Some general properties will appear that will allow you to adjust the component's size, rotation, color, shape, etc. Additionally, the Component Properties propertie group will appear, which is shown in the following image:
This group has the following settings:
- Draw Surrogate - This menu can change the currently selected component into a surrogate. A surrogate is a special kind of component that will be replaced visually by another object (such as a flowitem) when an animation is running in the simulation model. It acts like a placeholder for another object in an animation, usually a flowitem. (See Surrogates for more information.) If you select None from this menu, the component will not act as a surrogate. The rest of the menu lists different flowitem shapes that you can select to replace the surrogate during the animation. When the animation runs, the surrogate object will be replaced by the shape you selected.
- Rotational Centroid - Sets the surrogate's rotation.
- Scale X with - Determines the coordinates on the main object that will correlate to the surrogate's X coordinates.
- Scale Y with - Determines the coordinates on the main object that will correlate to the surrogate's Y coordinates.
- Scale Z with - Determines the coordinates on the main object that will correlate to the surrogate's Z coordinates.
Surrogates require animation variables
When you create a surrogate, you will be prompted to create an animation variable that points to that surrogate. This animation variable can be set to an object in the model that will be drawn in place of this component.
