Dope Sheet, Tracks, Playhead, FPS, and Looping

1. Top toolbar: playback, frame navigation, FPS, keyframe actions, and easing.
2. Left channel tree: bone, image, constraint, draw-order, event, and other tracks.
3. Right timeline: frame ruler, playhead, and each track's keyframes.

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1. 1

   Expand the intended channel

   Find a bone in the left channel tree and expand rotation, translation, scale, shear, or another property. Each property has its own track.

   Expected resultYou can identify the object, property, and frame for any diamond keyframe.

2. 2

   Zoom and pan the timeline

   Use the wheel to zoom, right-drag to pan, and right-double-click to restore the view. Avoid accidentally selecting keys in a crowded timeline.

   Expected resultThe tracks around the intended frame are easy to read.

1. 1

   Enter the target frame

   Enter a frame number and confirm. The value is clamped to the active animation's valid range.

   Expected resultThe playhead and canvas pose update together.

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2. 2

   Inspect key by key

   Use [ and ] to move between existing keys. At each one, inspect the bones and images rather than only counting tracks.

   Expected resultYou can quickly locate the poses where motion changes.

FPS is the number of frames played per second. For the same frame range, a higher FPS shortens the duration. GIF and MP4 exports also use the active animation's FPS, so check the runtime and sharing requirements before changing it.

1. 1

   Choose an FPS

   Select a value in the dope-sheet FPS menu and compare the same animation segment. Do not assume key positions changed merely because playback is faster.

   Expected resultYou understand that FPS changes playback and export timing, not the amount of motion detail.

2. 2

   Inspect loops and final poses

   Enable L for looping animations such as idle and walk. For one-shot actions such as death, focus on the final pose rather than forcing a return to frame 0.

   Expected resultLoops have no obvious jump and one-shot actions settle correctly.

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