CE Tool Bar - Copy and Paste

Owned by
thomas (Unlicensed)
29 Jan, 2014
3 min read

Both buttons provide submenus for advanced copy and paste actions and curve mixing.

The “Copy” Submenu

 

 

Copy Selected Keys

The "Curve Editor" allows multiple selections of keys and they can be copied with this function – in the following step you will be able to paste them, preserving their positions.

Copy Curve

If you want to grab and copy the entire curve, use this function. The convenient thing is that you do not have to select individual keys first.

The “Paste” Submenu

 

 

Paste Combined

In this case you are not simply replacing an existing curve, but mixing keys from the clipboard with keys from the desired curve. The new keys will be placed at exactly the same position they had before.

Paste Combined After Timeline

Here you can specify the frame from which the copied keys will be mixed with the curve. You can create an offsets by placing the timeline indicator at a particular position. Keys will be inserted to the right of the indicator without deleting existing keys. 

 

Selected keys are copied and then pasted to the right of the timeline indicator (grey line). Please click on the image to open a larger version.

 

Paste Combined on Current Frame

As you surely have noticed, the timeline and the “Graph” window of the “Curve Editor” are linked. This means that you can navigate to a certain frame by simply dragging the timeline slider to the desired position. This position is used to paste and combine the previously copied control points/curves with the active curve.

Paste and Replace

This is a convenient tool to transfer complete curves from one node or property to another. First, a curve has to be copied to the clipboard. You should use “Copy Curve” to really get all keys captured – even if the current view does not show them completely.

Paste and Replace After Timeline

This mode can use a timeline-based frame offset to paste the keys and replace the curve. An example: You have curve A and copy the last three keys – the first key’s frame value is 16. Now you want to transfer these keys to curve B, but not by simply replacing it from the start. In this case you go to frame 67 and use the “Paste and Replace After Timeline” method. The first key from the clipboard is inserted at frame 83 ( = frame 16 + frame 67) and the eventually following keys of B are replaced by the copied/pasted keys from A.

Paste and Replace on Current Frame

The last feature again uses the current position of the timeline slider: the first key of the copied curve will be inserted directly at this specific position overwriting all previously existing control points.