Synchronize Animation

The Synchronize Window Animation dialog allows you to synchronize windows that contain animation results in different units and/or begin at different time steps. From the Tools menu, select Synchronize Animation to display the dialog, or you can also access this dialog by clicking on the Time Scales button on the Animation Controls panel or the Image Plane tab.

synchronize_window_animation

Synchronize Window Animation dialog

Each window in the current page is listed in the Synchronize Window Animation dialog.

Synchronization policy	Determines the time step each window will display during animation. Select one of the following options from the drop-down menu:
	Closest	Each window will display a time step that is closest to the current time for the entire page.
	Closest Backward	Each window will display a time step that is closest to and not exceeding the current time for the entire page.
Synchronization control	Determines the method that will be used to synchronize multiple animations. Select one of the following options from the drop-down menu:
	Using the slider bar	The slider bar represents the global time line for all windows. It reflects all window time frames regardless of whether they are active or inactive. Each time frame is a subset of the range represented on the slider bar. Current time displays the current slider bar setting. Synchronize Window Animation slider bar Use the slider bar to specify a time for all active Time A and Time B fields. When the desired value is displayed in a specific field, click the lock button to set the value. After all fields have been defined, click Apply to automatically calculate and synchronize the animations. When you click Apply, the scale factors for the time values for each window are automatically calculated. The scale factor is calculated by subtracting Time A from Time B for each window. The end result is all the frames specified for Time A will appear at the same time during the animation. Similarly, all frames for Time B will appear at the same time. All other frames will be scaled accordingly. In this mode, you cannot enter data in the Scaling and Offset fields. They are used for reference only.
	Editing scaling and offset	Scaling	Multiplies the total running time of the animation by the specified amount. The animation is then scaled to run within the new time boundaries. An animation file that runs from 0 to 10 seconds scaled by a factor of 2 runs from 0 to 20 seconds. Likewise, if the scale factor is 0.5, the animation is adjusted to run from 0 to 5 seconds.
		Offset	Specifies how long to wait before animating the corresponding window. When the page reaches the specified time value, animation starts in the delayed window.
		T1-T0	Allows you view the time scale before the scale factor is applied (for reference only).
		Scaled T1-T0	Allows you view the time scale after the scale factor is applied (for reference only).

The check boxes in the animate column allow you to select the animations to be included in the synchronization. You can select all or select none of the animations, as well as reverse the current selection.

Master Animation

One of the animations listed in the Synchronize Window Animation dialog can be selected as the master animation with which all other animations will be synchronized. The time scale assigned to the master frame skips steps that are not relevant. An activated radio button indicates which window contains the master time frame and the Master check box designates that the master window should be used to synchronize all the windows in the list.

How Do I....

1.	From the Tools menu, select Synchronize Animation.

From the Animation Controls panel click Time Scales.

The Synchronize Window Animation dialog is displayed.

2.	Select a Synchronize policy (Closest or Closest Backward).

3.	Select Using the slider bar as the Synchronization control method.

4.	If you want to designate a master animation, activate the Master check box, and then activate the radio button for the animation.

5.	Under the animate button , activate the check boxes for the windows that you want included in the animation. Click the down arrow to select all or none of the animations, or to reverse the current selections.

6.	Set a time step at a known event for one of the windows. This does not need to be the first time step.

-	Drag the slider bar until the animation is at a known time step for one of the windows. This is usually at the start of the analysis for that window. All unlocked time steps will reflect the same value.

-	Press the lock button next to that window’s Time A field to lock the first known time step for that window.

-	You can press the lock button again to unlock the field and drag the slider bar to update the value for that field, and then relock the field.

7.	Set the time step for the next window at the event concurrent to the first set window.

-	Press the lock button next to this window’s Time A field to specify that this animation frame is to begin at the same time step as animation frame in the previous window.

-	Drag the slider bar until the animation of this window is at a time step that corresponds with that of the previous window.

-	Press the lock button next to this window’s Time A field.

8.	Repeat step 6 for the remaining windows on the page.

9.	Set a time step at a second known event for one of the windows. This does not need to be the last time step.

-	Drag the slider bar until the animation is at a second known time step for one of the windows.

-	Press the lock button next to this window’s Time B field to lock the second known time step for that window.

10.	Set the concurrent time step for the next window.

-	Press the lock button next to this window’s Time B field to specify that this animation frame is to end at the same time as animation frame in the previous window.

-	Drag the slider bar until the animation of this window is at a time step that corresponds with that of the previous window.

-	Press the lock button next to this window’s Time B field.

11.	Repeat step 9 for the remaining windows on the page.

12.	Click Apply to accept the changes, Reset to return to the default settings, or Cancel to close the dialog without applying the new settings.

13.	After applying the settings, press the animate button on the toolbar to start the animation. All windows display their Time A settings at the same time and their Time B settings at the same time. All animation frames in between and after these steps are linearly interpolated.

1.	From the Tools menu, select Synchronize Animation.

-	From the Animation Controls panel click Time Scales.

The Synchronize Window Animation dialog is displayed.

2.	Select a Synchronize policy (Closest or Closest Backward).

3.	Select Editing scaling and offset as the the Synchronization control method.

4.	If you want to designate a master animation, activate the Master check box, and then activate the radio button for the animation.

5.	In the animate column , activate the check boxes for the windows that you want included in the animation. Click the down arrow to select all, select none, or reverse selections.

6.	For each activated animation, enter values in the Scaling and Offset fields.

7.	Press Apply to accept the changes, Reset to return to the default settings, or Cancel to close the dialog without applying the new settings.

8.	After applying the settings, press the animate button on the toolbar to start the animation.