Autodesk 663B1-05A111-1001 User Guide - Page 427

13 | Basics Windows and Editors Reference > Animation (Settings) preferences Stepped Plateau A stepped tangent type forces the animation curve to hold its value from the one key to the next key. A plateau tangent type eases animation curves in and out of their keyframes, flattens curve segments that occur between equal-valued keyframes, flattens keyframes at the points in their curves where hills and valleys occur, and flattens the first and last keyframes on their curves. Animation Blending The Animation Blending preferences let you specify the types of blends that can occur between object connections. For example, when you turn on the Always Blend with Existing Connections Animation Blend preference, you can then both animate and constrain a single object. Always blend with existing connections When this preference is on: • You can move or key objects that have existing connections such as animation and constraints. • When you key or constrain an object, Maya inserts a pairBlend node between the object's existing connections and the new keys or constraints. • The Lock Output attribute is off by default for all new constraints. Always Blend with Existing Connections is on by default. Blend with all except constraints When this preference is on: • You can only key objects that are not constrained. • When you key an object, Maya inserts pairBlend nodes between the object's existing connections and the new keys. • Objects with connections cannot be constrained. • The Lock Output attribute is on by default for all new constraints. Never blend with existing connectionsi When this preference is on: • You can only key objects that have no existing connections. • Maya does not insert pairBlend nodes to blend object connections. • The Lock Output attribute is on be default for all new constraints. Basics 427