Using the Contextual Menu

The Action Contextual menu (displayed with a right-click in the Action Schematic or in an Action View) gives you control over the Action schematic without ever leaving the context of the Action Views. The contextual menu also gives you can access to functions that would otherwise be accessible only through keyboard shortcuts.

Some available tasks:

• Add to Output: Add the selection to the current Output.
• Remove from Output: Remove the selection to the current Output.
• Selection Next/Selection Previous: Cycle through the current multi-selection.
• Show in Media List: Select and frame the media in the Media List.
• Assign to Media: Change the media assigned to an object.
• Blend Modes Next/Blend Modes Previous: Switch to the next or previous blend modes on objects supporting it (Surface, Geom, 3D Text, 3D Shape).
• Add nodes to an existing node using Lighting or Look At links.
• Clean Up the schematic
• Create Light at a camera's position
• Create Camera at a camera's position
• Enable or Disable Multi-selection manipulation mode

Some tasks are specific to the node or object selected when you display the contextual menu.

Examples of GMask-related actions:

• All nodes supporting the GMask link have menu allowing to create Freeform, Ellipse, Rectangle and Plane GMask-types directly on the object, creating the GMask node as well as the GMask link in one operation. Objects supporting this feature:
  • Surface
  • Geom
  • 3D Text
  • 3D Shape
  • Camera
• GMask Add/Delete Vertices: Add or delete existing vertices on GMask shape directly from the Result view.
• GMask Add/Delete Gradient Point: Add or delete existing gradient point on GMask shape directly from the Result view.
• GMask Break Tangent: Break tangent on existing GMask vertices directly from the Result view.

Customizing the Action Contextual Menu

You can customize the contextual menu to fit your needs by modifying the actionContextMenu.xml file available here: /opt/Autodesk/presets/<app_version>/action/contextmenu/

Using the configuration file you can:

• Specify the items contained in the contextual menu based on context.
• Add every Action node with the exception of Source Node, Import and Presets.
• Specify Matchbox/Lightbox folder path
• Specify Matchbox/Lightbox shader file
• Add folders
• Add separators

The contextual menu configuration file contains all the instructions required for its customization.

Also, the location for the Contextual menu configuration file is actually defined in Flame preferences (Preferences>Timeline FX/Batch/BatchFX). As this is saved with the User profile, each user can have a customized Action Contextual menu.