C++ API Reference
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MAnimCurveClipboard Class Reference
OpenMayaAnim - API module for animation

Control over the animation clipboard. More...

#include <MAnimCurveClipboard.h>

Public Member Functions

 MAnimCurveClipboard ()
 Default Constructor.
 
 ~MAnimCurveClipboard ()
 Class Destructor.
 
MStatus set (const MAnimCurveClipboard &cb)
 Replaces the contents of the clipboard. More...
 
MStatus set (const MAnimCurveClipboardItemArray &clipboardItemArray)
 Sets the contents of the clipboard. More...
 
MStatus set (const MAnimCurveClipboardItemArray &clipboardItemArray, const MTime &startTime, const MTime &endTime, const float &startUnitlessInput, const float &endUnitlessInput, bool strictValidation=true)
 Sets the contents of the clipboard. More...
 
MStatus clear ()
 This method empties the clipboard. More...
 
bool isEmpty (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Determines if the clipboard is empty. More...
 
const MAnimCurveClipboardItemArray clipboardItems (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the contents of the clipboard. More...
 
MTime startTime (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the start time of the clipboard. More...
 
MTime endTime (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the end time of the clipboard. More...
 
float startUnitlessInput (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the start unitless input of the clipboard. More...
 
float endUnitlessInput (MStatus *ReturnStatus=NULL) const
 Returns the end unitless input of the clipboard. More...
 

Static Public Member Functions

static MAnimCurveClipboard & theAPIClipboard ()
 Returns the static API clipboard.
 

Detailed Description

Control over the animation clipboard.

The clipboard is a list of MAnimCurveClipboardItems (i.e. an MAnimCurveClipboardItemArray). All of the data stored on a clipboard remains static; that is, it will persist as long as the application remains running.

The items on the clipboard must be ordered. In the case where the clipboard info represents animation of a hierarchy, the order in which items appear in the clipboard is reliant on a depth-first-iteration from the root or the hierarchy. This ordering, is essential to properly match up hierarchies of objects

As an example, consider that animation from the following hierarchy is placed into the clipboard. Slanted Dag Objects are animated.

animHier.gif

In this example, the object labelled "C" has translate{X,Y,Z} animated, while all the others only have one animated attribute (excluding objects B and F, which have no animated attributes).

Using notation where A(r,c,a) represents the animCurve driving object "A", which is at row "r" in its subhierarchy, has "c" children, and "a" animated attributes these items would appear in the clipboard in this order (i.e. depth-first with each object's attributes explicitly indexed before continuing down the hierarchy):

A(0,3,0) , B(1,1,0) , C(2,1,0) , C(2,1,1) , C(2,1,2) , D(3,0,0) ,
E(1,0,0) , F(1,2,0) , G(2,0,0) , H(2,0,0)

For example C(2,1,2) would mean that the object C resides on the second level of the subhierarchy and has one child. The last "2" is simply used as an index to count the number of animated attributes on this object.

Multiple objects can be represented on the clipboard in this manner. In the example above, if we had a separate second object with no children, "J", it would appear at the end of the array as J(0,0,0).

Note that although B and F contain no animation data themselves, they must still be placed on the clipboard as placeholders to preserve the hierarchy information. A placeholder object is defined by a NULL value for the MAnimCurveClipboardItem's animCurve.

There is a special clipboard that remains static. It can be accessed by MAnimCurveClipboard::theAPIClipboard().

Examples:
animImportExport/animFileUtils.cpp, animImportExport/animFileUtils.h, atomImportExport/atomFileUtils.cpp, and atomImportExport/atomFileUtils.h.

Member Function Documentation

MStatus set ( const MAnimCurveClipboard &  cb)

Replaces the contents of the clipboard.

Parameters
[in]cbthe clipboard to copy
Returns
  • MS::kSuccess if the clipboard contents were set successfully
  • MS::kFailure if the clipboard contents were not set successfully
Examples:
animImportExport/animFileUtils.cpp.
MStatus set ( const MAnimCurveClipboardItemArray &  clipboardItemArray)

Sets the contents of the clipboard.

The leading offset information is not preserved if this method is used. For example, if the keys on the animCurve you wish to cut fall within the range of 10 to 20 frames, and a startTime of 3 is specified, the leading offset of 7 frames is not preserved.

Parameters
[in]clipboardItemArraythe array of clipboard items to load on to the current clipboard
Returns
  • MS::kSuccess if the clipboard contents were set successfully
  • MS::kFailure if the clipboard contents were not set successfully
MStatus set ( const MAnimCurveClipboardItemArray &  clipboardItemArray,
const MTime &  startTime,
const MTime &  endTime,
const float &  startUnitlessInput,
const float &  endUnitlessInput,
bool  strictValidation = true 
)

Sets the contents of the clipboard.

The start and end arguments are used to preserve offset information. For example, if the keys on the animCurve you wish to cut fall within the range of 10 to 20 frames, and a startTime of 3 is specified, the offset of 7 frames is preserved.

The arguments startTime and endTime are used to specify the range for animCurves of type kAnimCurveT*, while startUnitlessInput and endUnitlessInput are used to specify the range for animCurves of type kAnimCurveU*.

If the values of the MTime and float arguments are reversed (i.e. startTime > endTime or startUnitlessInput > endUnitlessInput ) then the range to be placed on the clipboard will be determined by the first and last key on the animCurves (i.e. leading offset information will not be preserved).

The start and end values must also bound the animation (i.e. the first and last key respectively), otherwise this method will fail. If there is no animation on any of the items being placed on the clipboard, the range is ignored.

The strictValidation argument exists to provide backwards compatibility with former workflows where certain clipboard hierarchy orders were strictly enforced, preventing setting of the clipboard contents unless the selection and hierarchy order met the validation criteria, such as the first element must have a depth of zero. When true, the validation is done and the clipboard will not be set unless the hierarchy restrictions are met. When false, pasting by name can work even if the hierarchy/selection order is different during the paste.

Parameters
[in]clipboardItemArraythe array of clipboard items to load on to the current clipboard
[in]startTimethe start time for the clipboard
[in]endTimethe end time for the clipboard
[in]startUnitlessInputthe start unitless input for the clipboard
[in]endUnitlessInputthe end unitless input for the clipboard
[in]strictValidationif true, do the validation check, if false, then don't do the check.
Returns
  • MS::kSuccess if the clipboard contents were set successfully
  • MS::kFailure if the clipboard contents were not set successfully
MStatus clear ( )

This method empties the clipboard.

Returns
Status flag
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess The clipboard was successfully cleared.
  • MS::kFailure Error clearing the clipboard.
Examples:
animImportExport/animImportExport.cpp, and atomImportExport/atomAnimLayers.cpp.
bool isEmpty ( MStatus *  ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Determines if the clipboard is empty.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusStatus Code (see below)
Returns
  • true the current clipboard is empty
  • false the current clipboard is not empty
Status Code
  • MS::kSuccess the query was successful
  • MS::kFailure the query was not successful
Examples:
animImportExport/animFileUtils.cpp, animImportExport/animImportExport.cpp, and atomImportExport/atomFileUtils.cpp.
const MAnimCurveClipboardItemArray clipboardItems ( MStatus *  ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns the contents of the clipboard.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusStatus Code (see below)
Returns
The item array currently on this clipboard.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess if the contents could be retrieved
  • MS::kFailure if the contents could not be retrieved
Examples:
animImportExport/animFileUtils.cpp, and atomImportExport/atomFileUtils.cpp.
MTime startTime ( MStatus *  ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns the start time of the clipboard.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusStatus Code (see below)
Returns
The start time of the clipboard.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess if the start time could be retrieved
  • MS::kFailure if the start time could not be retrieved
Examples:
animImportExport/animFileUtils.cpp, and atomImportExport/atomFileUtils.cpp.
MTime endTime ( MStatus *  ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns the end time of the clipboard.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusStatus Code (see below)
Returns
The end time of the clipboard.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess if the end time could be retrieved
  • MS::kFailure if the end time could not be retrieved
Examples:
animImportExport/animFileUtils.cpp, and atomImportExport/atomFileUtils.cpp.
float startUnitlessInput ( MStatus *  ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns the start unitless input of the clipboard.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusStatus Code (see below)
Returns
The start unitless input of the clipboard.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess if the start unitless input could be retrieved
  • MS::kFailure if the start unitless input could not be retrieved
Examples:
animImportExport/animFileUtils.cpp, and atomImportExport/atomFileUtils.cpp.
float endUnitlessInput ( MStatus *  ReturnStatus = NULL) const

Returns the end unitless input of the clipboard.

Parameters
[out]ReturnStatusStatus Code (see below)
Returns
The end unitless input of the clipboard.
Status Codes:
  • MS::kSuccess if the end unitless input be retrieved
  • MS::kFailure if the end unitless input not be retrieved
Examples:
animImportExport/animFileUtils.cpp, and atomImportExport/atomFileUtils.cpp.
The documentation for this class was generated from the following files: