tbtools documentation

Here's a rundown of the animation hotkeys currently available in the toolkit. Once tbtools is installed, open up the hotkey editor and you should have a bunch of tbtool_something categories;

click the headings to expand

tbtools_cameras:

The tracking camera is a camera constrained to an object, but the transitions between it and the regular perspective camera should be seamless, as it matches the other camera to the current one before changing the current camera. Its useful for tracking some hard to see movement in isolation, eg fingers while and arm is moving a lot - set the wrist as the tracking target and then you can see the fingers in a much stabler frame!
  • tracking_camera_persp
    • swaps back to perspective, seamless transition from the tracking camera
  • tracking_camera_track
    • swaps to the tracking camera
  • tracking_camera_update
    • sets your currently selected object as the new target for the tracking camera, and switches to it.

tbtools_keyframing:


  • match_tangent_end_to_start
    • for looping animations - matches the tangents at the start of your current timerange to those at the end. 
  • match_tangent_start_to_end
    • same as above but matches the start to the end of your loop
  • smart_frame_curves
    • This is a replacement to your usual "f" key, the hotkey for framing your selection. It will frame both the timerange of your key selection and the value range! If you have no keys selected it will frame the visible keys. There is also a callback for auto framing curves when you change selection in the graph editors channel panel. It's really cool, give it a try!
  • smart_open_graphEditor
    • Same as above but it will open the graph editor as well

tbtools_manipulators:


  • cycle_object_selection_mask
    • Cycles between allowing selection of all object types or just control type objects. It's nothing fancy but it's much quicker than toggling layer modes or finding whatever button usually does this kind of thing.
  • cycle_set_keyframe_type
    • Cycles between a list of option keyframe types. Open up the options window and set your preferred keyframe types.Optional viewport message feedback.
  • cycle_translation
    • Cycles between the move modes set in the options window. Optional viewport message feedback.
  • cycle_rotation
    • Same as the cycle_translation, but with rotational modes (I don't like using the marking menu for this :P )
  • smooth_drag_timeline_on
    • This is an extension of the normal timedragger tool, but it disables the frame snapping, so you can see sub frame animation. There's a failsafe for when you accidentally press the a key that takes the focus away from maya which normally locks you into that tool.
  • smooth_drag_timeline_off
    • Set this to the same hotkey as the _on command, but set the command to "release"
  • step_drag_timeline_on
    • Another variation of the timedragger tool, this one will skip every n frames, optionally only stopping on odd numbered frames. With the key held down, click and drag horizontally in the viewport to scrub. Check out the options window to set frame numbers etc - work in progress
  • step_drag_timeline_off
    • Set this to the same hotkey as the _on command, but set the command to "release"

tbtools_selection:


  • select_character_set_objs
    • selects all the objects in the character sets connected to the current selection.
  • create_quick_select_set
    • Quick selection sets are like the selection bookmarks. This tool lets you save a selection and organises your outliner nicely.
  • select_quick_select_set_objs
    • This is the more magical part, it will look at all the quick selection sets you have. If your current selection is in a quick select set, then all the members of that set will get added to your selection. For instance, save all the fingers on one hand, then just select part of a finger and the tool will select all the fingers!
  • quick_select_load_window
    • This loads a ui for loading any saved quick selection sets. There's an option at the bottom for remapping the saved sets namespaces to match your scene!
  • save_quick_selects_to_file
    • Saves all the sets in your scene to a .qss file. The directory is set in the options window.

tbtools_view:


  • ViewMode_Objects_All
    • changes the object types currently shown in your active viewport to everything on
  • ViewMode_Objects_Joints
    • same as above but shows joints and shapes only
  • ViewMode_Objects_Meshes
    • same again but meshes and no controls. I set these to 1,2 and 3 so they are always on hand.
  • toggle_playback_tool
    • This is a smarter playback tool. If you have a portion of the timeline selected, it will only play back that part. On pausing again it will return your timeline to it's previous state. If not it will act as normal. 
  • flip_playback
    • This is the same as above but by default it will set the playback speed to every frame, good for seeing all your frames on a slow rig. It will only play 10 frames, like flipping on a lightbox. This default value will be added to the options window. If you have a highlighted section of the timeline, it will play that section, but playing every frame.
  • toggle_isolate_selection
    • This will toggle the isolate state of your viewport, and add your current selection. Great for concentrating on certain parts of a character.

Enjoy the super useful maya python animation shortcuts!

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