Sets keys on all the current IK handle’s keyable attributes and all the joints in its IK chain. When you use Set IK/FK Key, Maya performs additional operations to ensure a smooth transition between IK and FK.
You can use this menu item instead of Set Key Options when you want to key IK and FK animation on the same joint chain. We recommend that you use Set IK/FK keys when animating a joint chain with both forward and inverse kinematics.
Also, when you key attributes using Set IK/FK Key, the resulting animation curves display as solid or dotted lines. The animation curves appear as solid lines when the animation is fully driven by IK, and as dotted lines when the animation is fully driven by FK. For more information, see Graph Editor overview in the Keyframe Animation chapter of the Animation guide.
This menu item turns the current IK handle’s Solver Enable attribute on or off. The status of the Solver Enable attribute determines whether an IK handle’s solver is active or inactive.
When Solver Enable is on, you can only pose your joint chain using the IK handle. When Solver Enable is off, you can only pose your joint chain by directly manipulating its individual joints (FK).
You turn Enable IK Solver on and off to switch between inverse and forward kinematics when posing a joint chain using both animation methods. See Posing skeletons.
To display whether a selected IK handle’s Solver Enable attribute is on or off, turn on Display > Heads Up Display > Animation Details.
This menu item links the selected object to the current IK handle by adding the read-only attribute Ik Blend to the object. See Ik Blend.
Once the object is connected, you can select the object and use the Set IK/FK Key to set keys on the IK handle and all the joints in its joint chain.
You can also constrain or parent the IK handle to the object if you want to use the object to manipulate the IK handle. Objects that control and drive the transformations of IK handles are called control objects.
If you turn on Display > Heads Up Display > Animation Details when the object is selected, the Ik Blend value for the IK handle appears in the scene view.
This menu item moves the current IK handle to the last joint in its joint chain.
In a typical IK/FK rig, the IK handle does not move with the skeleton during FK manipulation and thus appears out of sync. This can cause confusion when there are many IK handles. When animating with IK and FK, you can use Move IK to FK to synchronize the IK handle’s position with the end effector’s position.
For example, before switching from FK to IK in your animation, you need to move the IK handle to the FK bone’s position so that the animation does not jump when the FK switches to IK.