Add Visibility Track

Main toolbar > Open Track View > Select an object in the Track View Hierarchy. > Track View toolbar > Add Visibility Track

Graph Editors menu > Track View > Open Track View > Select an object in the Track View Hierarchy. > Track View toolbar > Add Visibility Track

Add Visibility Track controls when you can see an object. Visibility tracks can only be added to objects. You can create a visibility track by either animating the Visibility parameter in the Object Properties dialog or by selecting an object in the Track View Hierarchy and clicking Add Visibility Track in the Track View toolbar. In both cases a visibility track, using a Bezier float controller, is created in Track View. The visibility track displays as a child of the object in the Track View Hierarchy.

Note: Right-click over an object in the viewports and select Properties to display the Object Properties dialog.

On and Off Visibility

When you first assign a visibility track to an object, a Bezier float controller is automatically assigned, this allows gradual visibility. You can replace the Bezier float controller with an On/Off controller if you want an on and off effect rather than gradual visibility.

Variable opacity is supported in the shaded viewports. For ease of use, the object never completely disappears from the viewports.

Visibility Inheritance

An object can inherit the visibility of its parent (as determined by the parent's Visibility track in the Track View). Use the Object Properties/Inherit Visibility check box to determine the visibility inheritance of an object.

Groups and Visibility

All members of a Group inherit the visibility of the parent when a visibility controller is assigned to the parent. Transparent materials and hidden objects have no effect on this function.

Level of Detail Utility and Visibility

The Level of Detail utility lets you construct an object that alters its geometric complexity or level of detail based on its size. You create several versions of the same object each with different levels of detail; you group them as one, and then assign the Level of Detail utility. This automatically creates a special LOD controller as a Visibility track.

Procedures

To add a visibility track to objects:

  1. On the Track View toolbar, click Edit Keys.

  2. In the Track View Hierarchy, select one or more item labels for objects in your scene.

  3. On the Track View toolbar, click Add Visibility Track.

    A visibility track appears below the selected object(s). Add and Edit keys in the visibility track to control the objects visibility.

To add visibility keys:

  1. On the Track View toolbar, click Edit Keys.

  2. Click Add Keys.

  3. On the Track View Edit window, click in a visibility track to add a key at that time location.

To create and animate a visibility track using the Object Properties dialog:

  1. Create a box.

  2. Turn on Animate.

  3. Move the time slider to frame 10, where the box will disappear.

  4. Right-click over the object and select Properties in the Shortcut menu.

  5. In the General tab, set Visibility to 0, and then click OK.

  6. Scrub the time slider.

    The box fades. This creates a visibility track in Track View and adds a key with a value of 0 to the track.

Interface

Add Visibility Track: Adds a visibility track to a selected object(s). Assigns a Bezier float controller by default.