Tangents are non-weighted by default in Maya, which means they are locked and you can only change their angle, not their length. If you want to adjust tangent length by dragging them, you have to change tangent type to Weighted.
When tangents are non-weighted, and locked, the tangent handles appear as triangles in the
Graph Editor Graph View. When tangents are weighted, the handles appear as squares.
Non-weighted tangent: you can change angle but not length
Weighted tangent: you can change angle and length
Non-weighted tangent (triangle-shaped) handles adjust only the tangent angle, the tangent length is locked and non-adjustable, while weighted (square-shaped) tangent handles let you adjust both the length and angle. Changing the length of the tangent adjusts the ease in and out of the position.
To change the tangent weight
- In the Graph Editor, right click on the keyframe and select Weighted.
- Next, in the Tangents menu, select Free Tangent Length to ensure that the Tangents are unlocked (free).
Tip: You can set a default tangent weighting behavior for
all tangents with the
Default Tangent Weight options in the
Graph Editor
Curves menu.
