Timeline Addon

83 votes
Version: 
2.0.8-42
Date Updated: 
02/12/2010
Author Name: 
Andreas Meißner

Timeline Addon 2.0.8-42

Adds more functionality to the 3ds Max timeline. You can:

  • adjust timeline start, end, slider and length
  • navigate through frames and keys
  • move, select, align, reverse keys
  • set timeline bookmarks
  • show info about ram and cpu usage
Additional Info: 
Version Requirement: 
3ds Max 9 SP2 or higher (I think there will be no Max 8 version, because there are not enough requests)
Video URL: 

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real08121985's picture

@Ankebut: thats not possible

@Ankebut: thats not possible via scripting, but of course you can expand the command panel.

currently I got my hands on a custom updater for TLA that checks, downloads, extracts and installs the latest version of TLA.

Ankebut's picture

That looks very good! Liked

That looks very good! Liked the new Icons etc...
I hope you give us a ETA for the final release of your new build.

thanks for your efforts.

Best Regards.

EDIT: Looking at the screenshot, I see that the compressed TLA bar also takes space in the right side although there is nothing...can you make it so that there would be a free space for other bars? Big Thx.

real08121985's picture

bookmarks group R.I.P. ... I

bookmarks group R.I.P.
...
I compressed the interface as I said and implemented the bookmarks within the timeline group. I think because bookmarks now are more accessable and user-friendly, artists will use them more than in the previous version.

wait a sec .. did I hear "sneak preview"?
http://andreasmeissner.net/timelineaddon/preview/

as you can see 3700 lines of code, and still not finished :D

real08121985's picture

well .. I could name the

well .. I could name the next version "Timeline Addon 3" because its really .. a complete recoding. and I got a lot of work to do, so it will take a while :\

but its really cool to see that TLA has found its way to someones everyday-tools, I think this will speed up my work ;)

Ankebut's picture

Thanks for your reply. I

Thanks for your reply.

I also work wirth HD resolution but I just thought that smaller Icons would be more decent...the UI Ideas you posted seems to be good...hope they are done in the upcoming next version.

My Max does needs 1-2 seconds to load the entire TLA script...after starting max, the silhoutte of the TLA Addon is visible for 1-2 seconds above the Max TImeline, after these 2 seconds, it transforms to the right place...but if the speed is correct, than there is no problem...maybe I just need a complete reformat of my system (Quad Core 4x4ghz, 8gb Ram)

When will the new version with tuned UI elements + recoding come?

Thank you very much.

real08121985's picture

hey there, big thanks for

hey there, big thanks for the feedback.

compressing the UI

currently the iconbuttons are 20x20 px, personally I think this is a good size and the user can hit the icons precisely and fast. also because on some icons you can either hit the upper or lower part of the icon (so you only got 10x20 px to hit) to trigger a different action.

I'm working on a 1920x1080 screen and got no problems with the size, but I checked the script on a 1280x1024 and think thats a resolution where it could be quite hard to work with TLA (to much scrolling around?).

so I will try to do my best to compress the UI and keep the userbility. here are a few things I can do:
- set icon button size to 14x18 px
- decrease size of some controls like the spinnerfields
- it would be cool if the UI got multiple rows .. lets see what I can do

faster startup

the script starts on my 2.4 GHz PC (maxscript is native only singlecored) within 1200 ms at maxstartup and within 200 ms if max already open. I don't think i can speedup this a lot. how long does it takes on your pc, with what hardware?

Ankebut's picture

Hey Andreas, nice script but

Hey Andreas,

nice script but could you please make following, urgent needed changes?:

- smaller Icons (actual icons are wasting space)...maybe you could compress the whole TLA UI.

- faster startup time of the script if 3ds Max is starting.

Thanks in advance...hope you make these changes for the upcoming next release.

real08121985's picture

coded on the keyprocessing

coded on the keyprocessing for bipeds today. next version will definitely have some cool performance upgrades ^^ and much recoding ... veeeeeeeeery very .... oh so much recoding..

a little biped processing speedtest:

bipedanimation: with 100 keys (frame 0-100)
action: move bipedkeys keys 10 frames right

TLA 2.0.6-42
1 biped = 1093 ms every time
5 bipeds = 16391 ms every time

TLA latest build (61)
1 biped = 562 ms at the first time, if selection remains unchanged 469 ms
5 bipeds = 2407 ms at the first time, if selection remains unchanged 2188 ms

real08121985's picture

2.0.6-42 - 2.0.5-43 hotfix

2.0.6-42 - 2.0.5-43 hotfix

real08121985's picture

2.0.5-43 - fixed bug in go

2.0.5-43 - fixed bug in go through keys function

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