Creating an animation often requires iterative updates and improvements. You can edit an animation by adding, updating, or removing keyframes in the animation. Common editing commands are found on the Animation tab. Use the Animation Timeline pane 
to select one or more keyframes to delete, update, filter properties, or adjust the transition type between two keyframes. Complete access to the individual properties for keyframes and overlay elements are found on the Animation Properties pane 
.
Animation edit actions include the following:
- Updating an existing keyframe
- Deleting a keyframe
- Reordering keyframes
- Changing the timing of a keyframe
- Changing the overall duration of an animation
- Inserting a keyframe in between two keyframes
- Changing a keyframe transition type
- Interactive edits to keyframes and path
- Setting the camera to maintain a look-at point
- Adding overlay elements
- Editing overlay elements
- Advanced edits to keyframe properties
Common workflows
Iteratively authoring and improving an animation can require many steps. Options for updating keyframes to finish your animation include the following controls and capabilities:
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
Delete unnecessary keyframes to shorten an animation path, or replace with more effective ones. | |
The Keyframe List drop-down menu provides access to the duration timing for all keyframes in the animation. It is useful for adjusting how fast the animation moves between keyframes. | |
Multiple animations allow you to tell multiple stories from a single map, or split a complicated animation into discrete sections. | |
Before exporting an animation to a video file, which may take a significant amount of time, you can preview a specific frame image and check for issues with the displayed level-of-detail and aspect ratio. This can also be useful for maps and scenes with complex animated content, such as layer transparency and time. | |
Export to a video file with the required resolution, aspect ratio, and frame rate for its destination. | |
Overlay elements allow you to include additional information in the exported video, such as a title that introduces the topic, arrows that highlight key locations, and dynamic text that shows properties as they change, such as the current map time or camera location. |
The following advanced animation workflows include adding, updating, or removing multiple keyframes:
| Workflow | Description |
|---|---|
Moving the camera through a map or a scene is the most common element and use case for animations. To achieve this, you can create new keyframes, reorder keyframes, automatically create keyframes using imported bookmarked camera locations, and create predefined animation paths using other import methods. | |
Camera movement in an animation must be well placed to show map content without being disoriented. Improvements to an existing camera path include updating existing keyframes, changing keyframe timing, and inserting a new keyframe between existing ones. | |
The Edit Current Keyframe tool | |
Use an adjustable transition path with configurable control points | An adjustable transition type uses a Bezier curve and is defined by control points. As a result, it is more configurable than the other transition path options. The adjustable transition allows you to design a shape, or feel, to the camera playback experience that can take some getting used to but can create a smoother result in the end. |
To ensure that your animation properly communicates its purpose and message, you may need to speed up or slow down the appropriate amount of time needed for each map element. This includes adjustments to individual keyframe timing or the total duration of the animation. | |
Animating geographic information that changes through time requires time-aware data and capturing the state of the time slider in keyframes. To achieve this, you may need to add new keyframes, update keyframe properties, and adjust keyframe timing. | |
Animating geographic information that changes through a range requires range-aware data and capturing the state of the range slider in keyframes. To achieve this, you may need to add new keyframes, update keyframe properties, and adjust keyframe timing. | |
Surfaces, such as the ground, can be exaggerated vertically in an animation. The data sources that define them can also be enabled and disabled to show different surface shapes. To achieve this, you may need to add new keyframes, and update keyframe properties. |
allows you to focus your animation editing directly within the map or scene. Get direct visual feedback using an on-screen moveable control to interact with the keyframes and the path, as well as context menu commands to perform additional updates.