Action Interface Overview

Action is divided into a number of menus and sections designed to help you quickly create your composites.

Accessing Action Menus

The left side of the Action menu houses a number of buttons that allow you to switch between the various Action sections and menus. Clicking any of these buttons opens the specific Action section, such as the Action Bin or Output menu.

Changing Views

You can change the orientation to view a scene from many angles. This can help you set up motion paths, light sources, and camera angles more easily.

From the View box (on the viewing/layout toolbar under the viewports), select an option to set the view in the image window. Most of the View box options have keyboard shortcuts displayed in the expanded list. Some of these keyboard shortcut options are also cycle options. For example, pressing F5 repeatedly cycles through the animation channels, tracks, and info views.

View	Comments
Schematic	You can toggle ` (on the Tilde key) to alternate between the Schematic view and the previous view.
Priority	Displays the Priority view; you can also display the full Priority Editor menu by clicking the Priority button. See Changing the Drawing Order with the Priority Editor.
Media List	Displays the Media List view; you can also display the full Media List menu by clicking the Media button. See Action Media.
Sources Perspective Analyzer Perspective	Perspective views are useful, in that they provide you with the ability to view your scene using a perspective camera, through which you can experiment without saving anything while preserving your camera setups. When in a Perspective view, a Reset View button appears at the bottom of the Action menu list so that you can reset any camera movements.
Object Views	An Action Object Solo view (F8 view) is available for a number of objects (such as Lights, Projectors, and GMasks). The Object Solo view allows you to see the scene through the point of view of the selected object, as if it was a camera. When in Object Solo view, you can use camera manipulation tools available from the Tools box, such as Dolly, Roll, Tilt, and Orbit. Note: You can even use the Object Solo view on a Camera node, allowing you to see the scene through the point of view of the Camera, without actually making the camera active. If you create a Group node, you can use the same F8 shortcut, or select Group Schematic, to display the nodes inside a Group. `Alt+F8` creates a dynamic view that updates as you select nodes in the schematic, no longer locked on one node. Tip: Enable Action Preferences > Display > Show Overlay to display in the Select Result View the matte applied by the selective.
Selective View	The Selective Viewing option (F9 view) automatically selects a Selective node in the scene and displays its Result view. The Selective view is dynamic, and automatically updates as you select different Selective nodes. Press `F9` multiple times to cycle between Selective Matte, Selective Input, and the Selective Result views. With the Selective view displayed, navigate between the different Selective nodes of the schematic using `Z` (previous) and `X` (next). `Alt-F9` replicates the workflow of the Selective Viewing mode, but for other types of objects. For example, to go through only GMask views, press Alt-F9 on a GMask selection: the view only updates if a GMask is the current selection, otherwise it keeps the last GMask result. Use `Alt-F9`Object view with objects that support the Object View: Axis, GMask, Light, Camera, Surface, and 3D Shape. Tip: Enable Action Preferences > Display > Show Overlay to display in the Select Result View the matte created in the selective.
Animation	Pressing the Animation keyboard shortcut repeatedly allows you to cycle through the animation Channels, Tracks, and Info views.
Manager	Displays the Manager view. This view provides you with a clear listing of all the objects found in the Action scene, organized in a hierarchy that mirrors the Action schematic. They are grouped in sections: Objects, Lights, Cameras, Projectors, and GMasks. See About the Manager.
3D Views	There are a number of options included in 3D Views: Perspective Default Camera Front Side Top
Sources	Use the keyboard shortcut to cycle through the Sources options of Result, Front, and Matte. See Action Source Nodes.
Analyzers	Use the keyboard shortcut to switch between the Analyzer 2D and Analyzer 3D views. See Action Analyzer.
Inputs	This grouping includes Media Front, Media Back, and Media Matte views.
Outputs	You can switch to any Render Layer output that you set up in the Output menu. If you have more that one output, you can use the keyboard shortcut to cycle between the Render Layers outputs. You can also cycle through selected Render Passes associated with a Render Layer (press `1` to navigate down the list, or press `2` to navigate up the list). See About Rendering Outputs from Action. See the next section for information about different viewing modes for outputs.

Use the following shortcuts to track, orbit, or dolly in Camera and Object Views.

Select:	To:	Mouse Shortcut:	Pen Shortcut:
Track Camera	Move the camera lens and look-at point.	`Alt + Middle Mouse button`	`Alt + Shift + Pen down`
Orbit	Rotate the camera lens around the look-at point.	`Alt + Left Mouse button`	`Alt + Pen down`
Dolly	Move the camera lens towards (zoom in) or away from (zoom out) the look-at point.	`Alt + Right Mouse button`	`Alt + Ctrl + Pen down`

As with other areas of Flame with viewports, you can use the UI items under the image window on the right side to zoom and fit viewports. You can also set defaults in Preferences > User Interface > Player & Viewports. Note that some Action views (such as the schematic and perspective view) have their own zoom and pan settings that are not altered by the views that use the common zoom and pan settings.

Framing Views

You can easily frame the schematic or 3D Views to zoom and center on a selected object, or frame the scene in its entirety.

Press Space+F to center the schematic or the 3D View on the selected object.
Press Space+A to frame the schematic or the 3D View so it displays every object or node in the scene.

Note: Enable the Action Setup > Preferences > Perspective button to automatically switch to the Perspective Camera when framing a view. Framing using the Perspective Camera prevents you from accidentally editing the rendering camera. Disabling this options ensures you are framing with the active camera.

Live Preview and 3D View

When viewing the output of your Action scene, you have the option of displaying a 3D View or a Live Preview. The current view is displayed at the bottom of the viewing panel, when in a result view. Click the view to switch it, or use the 3 keyboard shortcut to cycle between the two views.

3D View: This is the full viewport in screen resolution, and includes items outside of the render area. 3D View does not display hardware anti-aliasing or any post-processing effects, such as Camera FX, Lens Flares, Rays, Blooming, and Ambient Occlusion.
Tip: You'll see a warning icon displayed at the bottom right corner of the image window as a visual reminder that you are in 3D View.
Live Preview: This is the default view. Live Preview displays a WYSIWYG pixel-based view of the render area. Interactive performance may be better in Live Preview mode, especially when combined with proxy settings. The Adaptive Degradation section of the Action Setup menu also includes a number of options that may help interactive viewing in Live Preview mode (such as for Motion Blur and Anti-Aliasing).