Introduction 

Opening the Animation Manager

1. From the Digital Twin dashboard, via the 'Edit Animations' button.
   
2. From the Interactive Flow Builder, via the 'Interactions' property while a node is selected.

Opening the Animation Builder

1. By clicking on the '+ New Animation' from within the Animation Manager.
   
2. By clicking on the three dots of an existing animation, and selecting 'Edit' from the drop down list.
3. By clicking on 'Animate' from the toolbar while in the Interactive Flow Viewer (this requires the viewer to be open in edit mode).
   

Only users with the Content Creator or Advanced Content Creator roles can interact with the Animation Builder.

Getting Started with Animation Builder

Once the view has been saved, it can be returned to at any time using the 'Show View' button.

If at any point the default camera position needs to be changed, 'Save View' can be re-selected to overwrite the current saved position.

Section 2 - Selecting Part(s)

To select parts to animate, use 'Ctrl + Left Click' on either the physical part in the Scene View, or on the part name in the Parts Catalog. Individual or multiple parts can be selected in this way.

Once selected, click 'Add Selected Parts' in the animation control panel. The parts will the appear in the left side menu to be animated.

Additional parts can be selected and added to the control panel even after an initial selection has been made.

2.1 - Part Controls

Each part listed is identified by name, will highlight if hovered over, and has four icons next to the name.

These icons represent:

1. Magnifying Glass: Focuses the scene view on the specified part.
2. Edit Pivot:  Allows the user to adjust the pivot point of the part.
3. Trash: Removes the part from the list of animated parts.
   
4. Further Options: Opens an additional menu to enable/disable breadcrumbs in AR, disable the activator highlight for interactive animations, or change the highlight colour.
   

2.2 - Editing Pivots 

In 3D modeling and animation, a pivot point is the point in space around which an object rotates, scales, or transforms. Think of it as the “handle” or “axis” that determines how the object moves in 3D space. 

To adjust a part's pivot:

1. Click the 'Edit Pivot' button next to the corresponding part name.
   
2. While 'Edit Pivot' is highlighted, the Gizmo in the Scene View will be referencing the part pivot point.
   
3. Move or rotate the pivot to the correct location, considering the intended movement of the part animation by either:
   
1. Using the Gizmo within the scene view, along with different view modes and camera angles to position the pivot.
   
2. In the Parts list, using the transform data that appears regarding the pivot position. This can be manually edited to adjust the pivot position.
4. Once finished, click 'Edit Pivot' again to deselect the pivot tool and save its current position.
   

Quick tip: hold Ctrl + V while dragging the pivot gizmo to snap it directly to vertices for a fast way to position the gizmo on the model before fine‑tuning.

A part's pivot cannot be edited if it has animations applied to it in a waypoint. Make sure the part pivot is correct before animating.

2.3 - Creating Groups 

When multiple parts are selected to animate that do not fall under the same parent object in the Parts Catalog hierarchy, it is possible to Group the parts.

This allows the Animation Builder to treat the grouped parts as a singular object, needing only one animation to move everything in unison.

To set a group, first ensure that all parts that need to be grouped have been added to list of animated parts, then select 'Create Group'.

A checkbox will appear next to every ungrouped part in the list, allowing users to select the individual parts wanted in the new group.

Alternatively, 'Select All' can be clicked to select every part in the list for quick and easy grouping.

Once selected, click on 'Set Group' to confirm the group creation.

Once parts have been grouped, they can no longer be animated separately, as they will function as a single entity.

Group Pivots: Parts within a group will share the same pivot point, and any animation you apply to the group will affect all its members simultaneously.

2.4 - Tools

In addition to the parts available from the Digital Twin, frontline,io offers a number of premade tools that can be used to help demonstrate the actions required during an animation.

Tools, once imported will be added to Parts list in the animation panel and be animatable in the same way.

To add a tool, select 'Open Tool Box' below the 'Add Selected Parts' button. A Media Library will appear containing all the available tools that can be imported into the scene.

Clicking on one will have it appear in both the Parts list as well as the 'Used Tools' menu within the media library.

Once selected, the tool will appear within the scene, where the tools default position and rotation can be adjusted.

If the tool is the incorrect scale, it can be adjusted using the transform controls within the waypoint editor in the next step.

Section 3 - Creating Animations

3.1 - Understanding Waypoints

Animations in the Animation Builder are set up using Waypoints, key points in time that define the position every component should be at that moment.

Each waypoint marks a key moment in the animation timeline, guiding objects from one position to the next and defining how they should move or behave.

To begin animating, click 'Add Waypoint'. This will generate two points in time to start working with: a Starting Point, and Waypoint 1.

By default, the Starting Point uses the current positions of the parts, but this can be edited in the same manner as all other waypoints.

The name of any waypoint can be changed by left-clicking on the current name, which will prompt a cursor to appear. Clicking off of the input box will save new name.

The waypoints overview for the animation consists of 5 key elements:

1. Duplicate Waypoint: Duplicates the current waypoint and positions of all parts assigned to it.
   
2. Time: Sets the length of time it takes for parts to transition from the previous to next waypoint.
   
3. Edit: Opens the waypoint editor, allowing users to edit the part transforms that should occur when this waypoint is reached.
   
4. Trash: Deletes the waypoint, removing it from the animation along with any part transforms assigned to it.
   
5. Add Waypoint: Creates a new waypoint duplicate to the last waypoint in the list.

  

3.2 - Editing Waypoints

Each waypoint can be edited by selecting the 'Edit' button next to it's name. This will then open the transform controls of the highest part in the animation editor.

Once the waypoint is open to editing, any parts or groups in the Parts list can be selected and controlled as a part of that waypoint animation.

Make sure the correct part has been selected in the Parts list before adjusting the transform.

Parts can be have their transform values manipulated in three ways:

1. By manipulating the Scene Gizmo, manoeuvring the part into the desired position.
   
1. This can be further controlled by choosing if the Gizmo aligns to the local rotation of the part or the global position using the Local/Global toggle.
   
2. By manually editing the transform values of the selected part in the waypoint editor. 
   
3. By copy/pasting transform values using the three dots below the duplicate waypoint icon.

When a part is selected, the transform will update to show that part’s current position and rotation values.

Alternatively, the selected part can be temporarily hidden until the next waypoint by using the checkbox 'Hide Part'.

If a tool is being transformed, the scale value will also be available to adjust as a part of the transform controls.

Should a custom camera view change be required mid-animation, additional views can be set to occur on each waypoint using the 'Camera' icon on the right hand side of the editor.

This will permanently update the camera view from this waypoint onwards, so be aware of the camera position for waypoints after this is set. It however will not override the default camera position, which can always be viewed by using 'Show View'.

Section 4 - Saving

1. 'Hide parts after animation' will hide all parts in the parts list once the animation is complete permanently until they are manually unhidden in another animation. An example of usage would be to remove components that are not the focus during a disassembly.
   
2. 'Highlight animated parts' will apply a blue edge glow around all parts in the animation Parts list to draw attention. This colour can be adjusted using the further options menu in the Part Controls.
   
1. This can be be further adjusted by selecting 'Flashing' once highlight is selected, to have the animated parts flash the highlight edge for additional attention.