TIMELINE Pro (Open Beta) 🚀

for Autodesk 3ds Max 2025+

Introduction

TimelinePro is an advanced, non-linear timeline editor for 3ds Max, designed to provide professional-grade control over animation. Inspired by video editing software, TimelinePro allows artists to work with animation clips as layers, making it easier to experiment, reuse animations, and build complex sequences.

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📜 View Changelog

🛣️ RoadMap

⚠️ Beta Disclaimer

Please note that TimelinePro is currently in a beta phase and is under active development. This means it may contain bugs, unexpected behavior, or missing features.

It is not recommended for use in critical, deadline-sensitive production environments. Please use it at your own risk and always back up your important scenes before using it.

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❤️ Feedback & Contributions

Your feedback is invaluable in making TimelinePro better! If you find a bug or have an idea for an improvement, please let us know.

• 🐛 Reporting Bugs: The best way to report a bug is by opening an Issue on this GitHub repository. Please be as detailed as possible: include steps to reproduce the issue, your version of 3ds Max, and any relevant screenshots. Alternatively, you can send a detailed report via Pull Request or email at [imanshirani @ gmail.com].

• 💡 Suggesting Features: Have an idea for a new feature? We'd love to hear it! Please open an Issue and describe your suggestion. You can also submit your ideas through a Pull Request or by emailing us.

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🚀 Key Features

• 🎬 Non-Linear Clip-Based Editing:

  • Capture Animation: Automatically captures an object's keyframes and converts them into a self-contained animation "clip".
  • Clip Editing: Move, trim, scale, and adjust the duration of animation clips directly on the timeline.
  • Hierarchy Support: Export and import clips that include the animation of an object and all its children, preserving the hierarchical relationship.

• 🥞 Layers & Motion Mixer:

  • Animation Layers: Organize clips into vertical tracks. Upper layers can override or blend with the layers below.
  • Import Clips: Import saved .clip files directly into the mixer to reuse animations across different scenes and objects.
  • Bake to Scene: Bake the final result of all mixer layers into standard keyframes on your selected object.

• 🌳 Advanced Track Editor:

  • Hierarchical View: Expand any object to see and edit all its animatable tracks (Position, Rotation, Modifiers, etc.) in a tree structure.
  • Direct Value Editing: Modify track values directly in the UI using interactive "scrubbers" for Point3, Quat, and Float values.
  • Assign Controllers: Right-click any track to assign a new controller type (e.g., from Bezier to Noise), filtered by compatibility.
  • Search & Filter Support: Quickly search for layers and hide unwanted tracks to keep the timeline clean and organized.

• 🔑 Keyframe Management:

  • Visual Editing: Select, move, and delete keyframes directly in the timeline area.
  • Marquee Selection: Use marquee (drag) selection to select and edit multiple keyframes at once.
  • Easing Support: Apply common easing functions (Ease In/Out for Sine, Quad, Cubic) to selected keyframes.

• 🎨 Intuitive User Interface:

  • Zoom & Scroll Timeline: Easily navigate your scene using a zoom slider and the mouse wheel.
  • Real-Time Sync: The timeline and time slider are automatically synchronized with your 3ds Max scene.
  • Settings Panel: Customize the appearance, layer colors, and editor behavior.

• 💾 Session Saving & Loading:

  • Persistence: The complete state of your TimelinePro (clips, tracks, etc.) is automatically saved in a .timeline file alongside your 3ds Max scene, loading back up the next time you open the file.

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📦 Installation

1. Download: Download the latest release from the repository.
2. Unpack: Unzip the contents to a safe location.
3. Run Timeline: Toolbar (Optional but Recommended):
   • Go to Script > Run Script.
   • Select launch_timeline.py File, click Open.
   • Now, you can see TimelinePro under the original Timeline

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📖 How to Use (Quick Start)

Here is a basic cookbook to get you started with TimelinePro.

1. Launch & Add Your First Clip

• Open TimelinePro by clicking its toolbar button or by running the launch_timeline.py script.
• Select an animated object in your 3ds Max scene.
• In the Track List view, click the + Add button. TimelinePro will capture its animation and create your first clip.

2. Basic Clip Editing

• Move: Click and drag the main body of the clip to move it left or right on the timeline.
• Trim: Hover over the start or end edge of the clip until the cursor changes, then click and drag to trim it.
• Scale: Hold the Alt key while dragging an edge to scale the entire clip, speeding up or slowing down the animation within.

3. Working with Tracks

• Click the small arrow next to your clip's name to expand it.
• You will see all the animatable properties of your object. You can expand these further (e.g., expand Transform to see Position, Rotation, and Scale).
• The values for each track at the current time are displayed in the Value column. You can click and drag horizontally on these values to "scrub" them.

4. Using the Motion Mixer

• Switch to the mixer by clicking the Motion Mixer button.
• Click + Import Clip to load a previously exported .clip file. This will create a new track and clip.
• You can import multiple clips and stack them vertically. The mixer processes layers from the bottom up.
• When you are happy with the result, select the root object in your scene that you want the animation applied to, and click Bake Mixer.

5. Exporting Animations

• In the Track List view, right-click on a top-level clip.
• Select Export Animation as .clip.
• This saves the entire animation hierarchy of that clip into a file that you can reuse later in the Motion Mixer.