Change attribute values in the Attribute Editor or Channel Box

Attribute values with an purple background in the Channel Box or Attribute Editor are controlled by a connection to another attribute. You cannot edit them manually.

To... Do this

Enter a value for an attribute

Click in the text box and type a new value and press Enter.

For boolean (on/off) values, type 1 or on, or 0 or off.

Note that you cannot set rotation and translation limits in the Channel Box. You must use the Attribute Editor instead. To set the limits of many objects at once, use the All tab in the Attribute Spread Sheet (Windows > General Editors > Attribute Spread Sheet).

Change a value and return the keyboard focus to the view windows so you can use hotkeys.

Type the value and press the Enter or Return key.

Change a value and leave the keyboard focus in the edit box.

Type the value and press Enter on the numeric keypad.

Note: After pressing Enter on the numeric keypad, values are highlighted, making it easier to enter new values and see results.

Enter the same value in multiple attributes at once.

Shift-click, Ctrl-click, or drag across multiple text boxes to select them. Then type a new value and press Enter.

Change the sensitivity of sliders in the Channel Box.

  • Click the slider speed icon to switch between slow, medium, and fast sliders.
  • Click the hyperbolic icon to switch to a hyperbolic scale. This causes the value to change very fast. Use this for values that need large adjustments.

Adjust the value of a numeric attribute with the mouse.

  • Click the attribute and use the mouse to middle-drag left or right.
  • Use the icons in the Channel Box toolbar to control the mapping between mouse move distance and numeric change.
    • Note: These settings also affect the speed of invisible sliders in In-View Editors.

Enter a value relative to the current one.

  • Type +=n to add n to the current value.
  • Type -=n to subtract n from the current value.
  • Type *=n to multiply n by the current value.
  • Type /=n to divide the current value by n.
  • % as a suffix Indicates a percentage-based operation (For example, +=10% adds 10% of the current value to each selected value).

Quickly link the attribute to another value. (Attribute Editor only)

You can type =time or =frame in the text box to use the reserved keywords time or frame and link the value of the attribute to the current time or the current frame. You can also include simple operators; for example, =frame/2, =time*3.5.

Create a complex expression

Right-click the text box and select Create New Expression (Attribute Editor) or Expressions (Channel Box).

Tip:
When typing values in the Channel Box:
  • Press the Enter key on the numeric keypad to enter a value and keep the focus in the Channel Box.
  • Press the Enter key on the keyboard to enter the value and return focus to the view windows (so you can use hotkeys).

Related topics

Parent topic: View and edit attributes