Timeline

The Timeline window is the composition's workspace. In it, effects are arranged in time and across layers, and playback is controlled from here as well. Everything you see on the Mapping field and in the 3D View window is the state of the timeline at the moment where the time cursor currently stands.

This article describes the window itself: what is located where, what its buttons are responsible for, and how to navigate the time scale. For how to move and trim effects, see Расстановка эффектов по времени; for how to animate their parameters, see Ключевые кадры и параметры эффектов.

Opening the Window

By default, the Timeline occupies the bottom part of the program window, across its full width. If the window has been hidden, enable it via the Window → Timeline menu — a checkmarked item. Like any other program window, the timeline can be dragged by its title bar to another location, made floating, or resized; window layout is saved in the workspace (see Workspace).

The timeline always shows a single composition — the one opened by double-clicking it in the Compositions window. Until a composition is opened, the window is empty.

Window Layout

The window is divided vertically into two parts, separated by a movable border: drag it with the mouse to widen the list or, conversely, give more space to the time scale.

On the left, from top to bottom:

• a button panel — opens the Effects window and imports files;
• the name of the open composition and a button for its settings;
• a list of layouts and the effects within them, below that — the composition's projections, and at the very bottom — the Audio section.

On the right, from top to bottom:

• the playback panel — play button, current time, composition duration;
• the time ruler and tracks: each row in the list on the left has its own track on the right;
• the view bar — a narrow strip at the very bottom that sets the visible time range.

The rows on the left and the tracks on the right always align exactly with each other: collapse a layout, and its rows disappear along with their tracks; scroll the list, and the tracks scroll along with it.

Button Panel

Button	What it does
Effects	Opens and closes the Effects window — the library from which effects are added to the composition. The button stays pressed while the window is open. See Библиотека эффектов
Import Image	Adds an image to the composition — it becomes a regular effect on the timeline
Import Video	Adds a video file or a sequence (a folder with numbered frames). For a video file, an import window with parameters opens; a sequence is added immediately
Import Audio	Adds an audio track. It is placed in the Audio section at the bottom of the list, and is drawn on the scale as a waveform — convenient for arranging effects to music

An image and video go into the selected layout, or, if nothing is selected, into the topmost one, and are placed as the first row, above the other effects.

Imported files are not embedded into the project — only the path to them is saved. If the project needs to be moved to another computer, collect it with the File → Collect Project command.

Composition Name and Its Settings

The name of the open composition is shown below the button panel — this makes it easier not to confuse which one you are currently working in.

The button to the right of the name opens Composition Settings: the composition's parameters appear in the Properties window — duration, frame rate, looping, infinity, comment, and color filtering. For more, see Настройки композиций.

List of Layouts and Effects

The list is structured as a tree. The top level consists of the composition's layouts, and beneath them, if the project has projections, groups of projections; inside each are its effects.

• The triangle to the left of the name expands and collapses the row. For a layout, its effects are shown below it; for an effect, only those parameters that have keyframe mode enabled — as a flat list, without groups. While there are no such parameters, the triangle next to the effect is inactive. The program remembers the collapsed state of layouts separately for each composition and saves it in the project.
• The checkbox to the left of the name enables and disables the element. An unchecked checkbox on an effect means the effect does not play and is not included in export; unchecked on a layout means the entire layout is silent.
• Name. Clicking a row selects the element and shows its parameters in the Properties window. Renaming — the F2 key or a double-click on the name; entry is confirmed with Enter.
• To the right of the effect's name are the blend mode list (see Режимы смешивания), three opacity keyframe buttons, and the Opacity field — the effect's opacity. The Set Channels effect has none of these elements: it works not with an image but directly with fixture channels.
• Order. Rows are rearranged by dragging. The order sets the overlay: whichever is higher is drawn on top of those below. Dragging is also used to move an effect to another layout — see Перемещение эффектов между лейаутами.
• Right-clicking an effect row opens a menu: Clone — a submenu with a list of the project's compositions; a copy of the effect will go to the chosen one; Duplicate — a copy next to the original in the same layout; Rename; Delete. Right-clicking a layout or projection — Rename and Delete.
• Delete removes the selected effects. An accidental deletion can be undone with Ctrl+Z.

Clicking an empty area of the list clears the selection. The list scrolls with the mouse wheel and its own scrollbar; the tracks on the right scroll along with it.

For an expanded effect, each parameter row carries its name, three buttons — ◀ to the previous key, ◆ to set or remove a key, ▶ to the next — a value field, and a trash-can button that removes all keys of the parameter at once. The keyframe mode toggle itself (the stopwatch icon) is located in the Properties window: as soon as you enable it for a parameter, the effect on the timeline expands and the parameter appears in the list. For details, see Ключевые кадры и параметры эффектов.

Playback Panel

Button	What it does
Home	Places the time cursor at the start of the composition and rewinds the scale to the same point. The Home key does the same
Play / Pause	Starts and pauses the composition. The Spacebar key. When paused, the cursor stays in place
Stop	Stops playback and returns the cursor to the start
Step Back and Step Forward	Move the cursor by exactly one frame. Useful for checking whether an effect starts exactly where intended
Current Time	Time in the format hours:minutes:seconds:frames. You can type a time into this field manually — the cursor will move to the specified point. Below it is the current frame number
Loop	When it reaches the end, the composition starts over. Unavailable when infinity is enabled
Duration	The underlined duration value of the composition. Clicking it opens the Set Duration window, where hours, minutes, seconds, frames, and frame rate are set
Infinity	The composition plays with no time limit; duration is not used in this case and shows zeros

Some buttons can be removed so they don't take up space. Right-click the playback panel — the menu lets you toggle Show "Stop" Button, Show "Home" Button, Show Step Buttons, Show Opacity Master, and Show Fixture Highlight Button. The setting is shared across the program and is remembered between launches.

Opacity Master and Fixture Highlighting

Two more tools are located on the right side of the playback panel.

The Opacity Master is an overall brightness slider for everything sent to the fixtures, with values from 0 to 255. It is set to maximum by default. It acts on top of all compositions and effects at once, so it's convenient for dimming the entire venue without touching the project. This slider has no relation to composition settings: color filtering is set separately in each composition (see Настройки композиций).

Highlight Fixtures and DMX Data is a toggle button: while it is pressed, the selected fixtures are highlighted both in the program and on the real venue, so you can tell which fixture in the project corresponds to which luminaire on site. The small arrow button next to it opens the highlighting settings.

Time Ruler and Time Cursor

The top strip of the right part is the time ruler. Its labels change with the zoom level: at high zoom these are frames (12f), at normal zoom — seconds (5s), for long compositions — minutes (10m) and hours (1h).

The vertical orange line is the time cursor. It shows the moment of the composition that is currently drawn on the Mapping field and in the 3D View.

• Click the ruler — the cursor will move to that point.
• Without releasing the button, drag the mouse along the ruler — the composition will "scrub" manually.
• The cursor always lands exactly on a frame: it is impossible to land between frames.
• Ctrl + → and Ctrl + ← move the cursor by one frame, Ctrl + Shift + → and Ctrl + Shift + ← — by ten frames at once.

Tracks

To the right of the list, on the time scale, each effect occupies its own strip: its left edge is the effect's start, its right edge the end. Inside the strip you can see a small live preview of what the effect is drawing at that moment, and over it the opacity curve with its keyframes. The strip under the mouse cursor lightens slightly; a selected one is noticeably lighter than the rest. If the effect's file is lost or damaged, the strip is outlined with a red border, and the effect's name in the list turns red.

• Clicking a strip selects the effect and opens its parameters in the Properties window.
• Ctrl + click (or Shift + click) adds the effect to the selection, clicking an empty area clears the selection.
• Right-clicking a strip opens a menu: Set time — precise entry of start, end, duration, and fade, Copy — copies the selected effects, Delete — deletes them.
• Ctrl+C copies the selected effects, Ctrl+V pastes them starting at the time cursor.
• By dragging, the strip is moved in time, and by its edges it is stretched and shortened. For details, see Расстановка эффектов по времени.

For an expanded effect, parameter tracks run below its strip — this is where keyframes live, see Ключевые кадры и параметры эффектов.

Zoom and Navigating the Scale

Action	How to do it
Zoom time in and out	Mouse wheel over the scale. The zoom changes relative to the pointer, so aim it at the area you need
Scroll the scale	Drag with the wheel held down (or the right button): horizontally scrolls time, vertically scrolls the list
Show the needed segment	The view bar at the bottom of the window: the side handles set which part of the composition is visible on the scale, the middle one moves that segment as a whole
Return to start / end	The Home and End keys — the cursor and scale rewind to the start or end of the composition

The scale's zoom level is only a view setting: it affects neither the effects nor the export.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Keys
Play / pause	Spacebar
Cursor to start / end of composition	Home / End
Step one frame forward / back	Ctrl + → / Ctrl + ←
Step 10 frames forward / back	Ctrl + Shift + → / Ctrl + Shift + ←
Snapping while dragging effects	hold Shift
Copy / paste effects	Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V
Rename the selected list item	F2
Delete selected effects	Delete or Backspace
Undo / redo action	Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z

The full list of shortcuts is available in the program itself: Help → Keyboard Shortcuts.

If Something Can't Be Found

• The window is empty. No composition is open: go to the Compositions window and double-click the card you need.
• The layout's effects are not visible. Its row is collapsed — expand it with the triangle to the left of the name.
• The effect's parameter list won't expand. None of its parameters have keyframe mode enabled: turn on the stopwatch for the needed parameter in the Properties window.
• The strip you need isn't visible. It's most likely outside the visible time range: zoom out with the mouse wheel or stretch the view bar's handles.
• The playback panel or its buttons disappeared. The Stop, Home, and step buttons, the opacity master, and fixture highlighting are enabled by right-clicking the playback panel.
• The timeline window was hidden. The Window → Timeline menu.

See Also

• Compositions
• Настройки композиций
• Расстановка эффектов по времени
• Ключевые кадры и параметры эффектов
• Режимы смешивания
• Создание и изменение лейаутов
• Перемещение эффектов между лейаутами
• Терминология