Toon Boom
Harmony 20
Paint Application
Preferences Guide

TOON BOOM ANIMATION INC.

+1 514 278 8666

4200 St.Laurent Blvd, Suite 1020
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 2R2

contact@toonboom.com
toonboom.com

Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

Legal Notices
Toon Boom Animation Inc.
4200 Saint-Laurent, Suite 1020
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 2R2
Tel: +1 514 278 8666
Fax: +1 514 278 2666
toonboom.com

Disclaimer
The content of this document is the property of Toon Boom Animation Inc. and is copyrighted. Any
reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
The content of this document is covered by a specific limited warranty and exclusions and limit of liability under

the applicable License Agreement as supplemented by the special terms and conditions for Adobe®Flash ® File
Format (SWF). For details, refer to the License Agreement and to those special terms and conditions.

Trademarks
Toon Boom® is a registered trademark. Harmony™ and the Toon Boom logo are trademarks of Toon Boom
Animation Inc. All other trademarks of the property of their respective owners.

Publication Date
03-11-2021
Copyright © 2021 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved.

1

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

2

About Harmony Preferences

4

Accessing the Preferences Dialog

6

Switching Between Preference Sets

8

Exporting Preferences

12

Importing Preferences

14

Resetting Preferences

16

Preferences File Location

18

Preferences Dialog Reference

20

General Preferences

21

Drawing Mode Preferences

23

OpenGL Preferences25

2Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

3

About Harmony Preferences

About Harmony Preferences
The Preferences dialog box allows you to adjust preferences to suit your workflow and your production's needs.

4Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

5

Accessing the Preferences Dialog

Accessing the Preferences Dialog
You can access the Preferences dialog from the Edit menu on Windows and GNU/Linux, or from the Harmony[Edition] menu on macOS.

How to open the Preferences dialog box
1. Do one of the following:llWindows or GNU/Linux:l

In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U.

macOS:l

In the top menu, select Harmony [Edition] > Preferences.

l

Press ⌘ + U.

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Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

7

Switching Between Preference Sets

Switching Between Preference Sets
Harmony comes preloaded with five different preference presets (referred to as preference sets), each tailored
for a different kind of task. By default, the Basic preference set is used. You can choose which preference set touse in Preferences dialog.
A large part of the default settings in the different preference sets are the same. The following table describes
which option is different depending in each preference set, and how:
Preference Set
Tab /Location

GeneralPreference
Basic

Compositing

CutoutAnimation

Paperless
Animation

Rigging

Focus on Mouse
Enter

Off

On

On

On

On

Default Separate
Position for
Pegs

Off

Off

On

Off

On

Off

Off

On

Off

On

ReduceIndentation

Off

On

On

Off

On

Drawing
Substitution:
Create Key
Exposure

On

Off

Off

Off

On

Support Overlay
and Underlay
Arts

Off

On

On

Off

On

Advanced
Palette List

Off

On

On

On

On

Advanced
Element Mode

Off

On

Off

Off

Off

Stop-Motion
Keyframes

Timeline

Advanced8Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

Preference Set
Tab /Location

Preference

PencilTool
Properties

Basic

Compositing

CutoutAnimation

Paperless
Animation

RiggingElement Node
Animate Using
Animation Tools

On

On

Off

On

Off

Auto Close Gap

On

On

On

On

Off

NOTES
l

When you customize a preference manually, it is not saved to the current preference set. It issaved as an override for all preference sets.

l

Switching between preference sets only affects preferences that you have not manuallycustomized yourself. This means, for example, that if you manually enable the Focus on MouseEnter preference, this preference will no longer be affected when you switch to a different
preference set.

l

To make all your preferences affected by the preference set you select again, you must reset
your preferences—see Resetting Preferences on page 16.

How to switch between preference presets
1. Do one of the following to open the Preferences dialog:llWindows or GNU/Linux:l

In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U.

macOS:l

In the top menu, select Harmony [Edition] > Preferences.

l

Press ⌘ + U.

2. In the top-left corner of the Preferences dialog, open the Preference Set drop-down and select thepreset you want to use.

9

Switching Between Preference Sets

Preferences will be updated according to the table above, except for those that you manually set.
3. Click on OK.

10Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

11

Exporting Preferences

Exporting Preferences
You can export your current preferences to an XML file. You can reimport this file later to restore yourpreferences, or share it with project collaborators so that you all use the same preferences.
NOTE
When you export your preferences, only the preferences for the currently selected preference set
are exported.

How to export your preferences configuration
1. Do one of the following to open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog:llWindows or GNU/Linux:l

In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U.

macOS:l

In the top menu, select Harmony [Edition] > Preferences.

l

Press ⌘ + U.

2. Near the top of the dialog, right of the Preference Set: drop-down, click on the Save... button.
A save dialog appears.
3. Browse to the location where you want to save your preference file.
4. Type in the desired name for your preference file.
5. Click on Save.
Your current preference settings have been exported as an XML file, in the selected location withthe file name you gave it.

12Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

13

Importing Preferences

Importing Preferences
You can import a preference file exported from Harmony.
NOTESl

To export preferences into a file, see Exporting Preferences on page 12.

l

When you import a preference file, it will override all your preferences for the currently selected
preference set.

How to import a keyboard shortcut configuration file
1. Do one of the following to open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog:llWindows or GNU/Linux:l

In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U.

macOS:l

In the top menu, select Harmony [Edition] > Preferences.

l

Press ⌘ + U.

2. At the right of the Preference Set: drop-down, click on the Load... button.
An open dialog appears.
3. Browse to the directory where your preference file is located.
4. Select the preference file you want to import.
5. Click on Open.
The settings in the selected preference file are loaded into the Preferences dialog, overwriting yourcurrent preferences.

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Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

15

Resetting Preferences

Resetting Preferences
You can reset the preferences in Harmony to their default settings.
IMPORTANTThis will permanently undo all the changes you made to your Harmony preferences.

How to reset your keyboard shortcuts configuration
1. Do one of the following to open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog:lWindows or GNU/Linux: In the top menu, select Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.

lmacOS: In the top menu, select Harmony [Edition] > Keyboard Shortcuts.

2. In the bottom-left corner of the Preferences dialog, click on Restore All Defaults.
A confirmation prompt appears.
3. If you are sure you want to restore the default preferences for Harmony, click on Yes.
All the preferences in the Preferences dialog are now set to their default setting.

16Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

17

Preferences File Location

Preferences File Location
T-HFND-002-002
After the first time you have launched Harmony, your preferences, along with numerous other options andswitches in the user interface, are stored in a hidden directory on your computer. If you are using Harmony
Server, they are stored in a directory for your user on the database server.
Depending on your operating system, and whether or not you are using Harmony Stand Alone or Harmony
Server, you can find your preference files in the following location:lWindows: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Toon Boom Animation\Toon Boom Harmony[Edition]\full-2000-pref
NOTE
On Windows, the AppData folder is hidden. To display it in Explorer, in the top menu, open
the View pane and check the Hidden Items checkbox.

lmacOS: /Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Toon Boom Animation/Toon Boom Harmony[Edition]/full-2000-pref
NOTE
On macOS, the Library folder is hidden. To display it in Finder, hold down the Alt key.

l

GNU/Linux: /home/[username]/Toon Boom Animation/Toon Boom Harmony [Edition]/full-2000-pref/

When using Harmony Server, preferences are stored in your Harmony Server account's user space on the
database server, in the following path:l/USA_DB/users/[user_name]/Harmony/full-2000-pref18

Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

19

Preferences Dialog Reference

Preferences Dialog Reference
The following section contains a an article for each tab in the Preferences dialog. Each article contains a list of
all the preferences in its tab, as well as a description of the preference. Refer to this section if you want to know
more about what a specific preference does or if you want to get familiarized with all of the preferences in
Harmony.
General Preferences

21

Drawing Mode Preferences

23

OpenGL Preferences

25

20

Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

General Preferences

To customize your interface, you will use some of the preferences located in the General tab as well as the
Camera tab.
Parameter

Description
Save Palette Lists: Saves all palette lists you have modified when the Savecommand is activated. When this option is deselected, the Save command
will not save the palette lists and you must use the Save command to save
them.

Save

Save Palettes: Saves palettes you modified when the Save command isactivated. When this option is deselected, the Save command will not savethe modified palettes and you must use the Save command to save them.
Save Drawings: Saves all drawings you have modified when the Savecommand is activated. When this option is deselected, the Save command
will not save the modified drawings and you must use the Save command tosave them.

Colours

Current View Border: Sets the colour of the frame around the workspaceview you are currently using, also known as focus. By default, the colour isred. Click on the red colour swatch to select a new colour in the Colour
Picker window.
Edit Colours: The Edit Colours button opens the Colours dialog, whichallows you to set the colour for dozens of visual elements in the userinterface.
Edit Palette Mode: Default value for Edit Palette Mode.

Options/Settings

Edit Palette List Mode: Default value for Edit Palette List Mode.
Cycle Exposure: Make navigation in the Xsheet View wrap-around from the21Preferences Dialog Reference

last frame or the last column to the first.
HTML Browser for Unix: This option is used to view the online help on
Linux machines. Enter the command to launch the browser, including thepath if necessary.
Levels of Undo: Determines the number of actions retained by the Undo list.
By default, 50 actions are stored in the list. You can alter the number if you
want to.
Interactive Colour Recovery: If a colour palette required to display a drawing
is not found because it was moved or deleted from its location, you will be
asked if you wish to recover the missing colours into a new temporary
palette. If this option is disabled, the colour recovery will happen
automatically without your confirmation.

Colour Management

Colour Recovery: By default, if a colour palette required to display a drawing
is missing because it has been moved or deleted, Harmony recovers themissing colours into a new temporary palette. If this option is disabled,
Harmony will skip this step and display the zones painted with missing
colours with the Replacement Colour, which is solid red by default.
Advanced Palette List: When enabled, palettes can be linked to specificelements instead of to the scene, and can be stored in an directory specificto an element, the scene, the scene's job or the scene's environment.
Replacement Colour: If certain colours are no longer available, Harmony will
display the replacement colour in the zones painted with missing colours.

22Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

Drawing Mode Preferences

Parameter

Description
Render Style:Onion Skin•

Original Colours: Drawings displayed in the Onion Skin are renderedusing their real colours.

•

Coloured:Drawings displayed in the Onion Skin are displayed in solid red
if they are before the current frame, or in solid green if they are after thecurrent frame.

•

Coloured Outlines: Drawings displayed in the Onion Skin are displayed in
red outlines if they are before the current frame and in green outlines ifthey are after the current frame.

Maximum Wash Value (0,0-1,0): The maximum washed-out value for onion
skinned drawings.
Minimum Wash Value (0,0-1,0): The minimum washed-out value for onion
skinned drawings.
Grid On By Default: When opening the Drawing view, the grid displays
automatically.

Options

Default Multiwheel Colour Picker: Displays the Multiwheel Colour Picker window
instead of the regular Colour Picker.
Brush Size Cursor: When this option is enabled, the brush tool displays thebrush size as a circle around the cursor.
Sticky Eye Dropper: Keeps the Colour Picker’s Dropper tool active until it isreleased by clicking the Dropper icon again.

Settings

Auto Gap Closing: The values for automatic gap closing while painting drawings
are: 0 = Disabled, 1=Small, 2=Medium, 3=Big

23

Preferences Dialog Reference

Light Table: Enable Shade: When enabled, the drawings appearing in the Light
Table are displayed in washed out colours in the Drawing view. When this option
is disabled, the drawings appearing in the Light Table are displayed using normal
colours. This option is for the Drawing view only.

24Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guide

OpenGL Preferences

Parameter

Description
Conservative Texture Management: Turns on and off conservative memory
management for bitmap texture files. Performance will improve when this isenabled. If disabled, you will have a better on-screen rendering of bitmap files atthe expense of slower performance.
Smooth Textures: Smooths out the pixels of bitmap images when zooming in;this improves bitmap image quality.

Settings

Alternate Gradient and Cutter: This is an alternative way to disable write in the
OpenGL Backbuffer, required for some video cards (i.e. GeForce FX5200). Do notenable this option unless you are experiencing problems with gradients andcutters in OpenGL.
Maximum Texture Size: The size that the bitmap file will be reduced to whenusing the Conservative Texture Management.
Texture Memory: The amount of temporary memory used to store bitmap texture
files.
The following options allow you to configure the way drawings are previewed inHarmony.

Full Scene Antialiasing

Enable : By default, drawings displayed in Harmony have no antialiasing anddisplay hard pixels at the edge of strokes and lines. If this preference is enabled,
antialiasing will be done through the graphic card to enhance the quality ofdrawings and make a preview that resemble the final render more closely. This
may impact application performance negatively.
Number of samples: The amount of times the OpenGL preview is scaled up before
processing it for antialiasing. The higher this value is, the better the antialiasing

25

Preferences Dialog Reference

quality will be but the heavier it will be on the machine's resources.

NOTES
l

l

It may be necessary to restart the application to see the effects
after changing either of these settings.
These settings may be overriden by the 3D antialiasing settingsof the driver for your graphics card. If changing these settings
and restarting the application seems to have no effect, make sure
your graphics card supports antialiasing, that antialiasing isenabled and that it is configured to let applications control theirantialiasing.

lPlayback Images

These settings only affect the way drawings are previewed in
OpenGL. They have no effect on the final rendered image, or on
the way the image looks when setting the Camera view in
Render Preview mode.

Enable Playback Caching: Enable the caching of OpenGL previews for quick
playback.
Playback Cache Size (in Mb): The maximum size of the cache used to store
cached playback images.
Enable Textures in Pencil Lines: Controls whether textures applied on pencil lines
are rendered for the OpenGL preview.

Drawings

Enable Variable Line Thickness: Controls whether lines with a variable width are
rendered with their variable width or with a constant width in the OpenGL
preview.
Enable Tone and Highlight: Controls whether Tone and Highlight effects are
rendered in the OpenGL preview.

Effects

Enable Cutter: Controls whether Cutter effects are processed for the OpenGL
preview.
Enable Colour Override: Controls whether Colour-Override effects are rendered in
the OpenGL preview.

Rendering Caching

Enable Rendering Caching of Composite Nodes: Controls whether nonpassthrough Composite nodes cache their composited image when Harmony
generates an OpenGL preview. This is useful when the image generated by acomposite is used several times in a scene, for example because a composite's
output port is connected to several other nodes. If this preference is disabled, thecomposite will regenerate the preview for its node system for each of its outgoingconnections. When enabled, the composite will generate the preview for its node26

Harmony 20 Paint Preferences Guidesystem once, cache it, and output the cached image to its other outgoingconnections.
Composite Cache Capacity (MB): The maximum amount of cache available tostore images cached by Composite nodes. This cache is stored in the graphic
card's video memory. If your machine has a lot of video memory, increasing thissetting could enhance the performance of Harmony when working with heavy
scenes.
Enable Interactive Camera View Cache (Beta): When enabled, Harmony keeps acache of the current preview image in the Camera view. This cache is used toregenerate parts of the preview image when moving the mouse cursor around orwhen manipulating drawing and animation controls in the Camera view.
Otherwise, Harmony will regenerate these parts of the preview image, which may
impact performance when working on a complex scene.
Enable Rendering Caching of CacheLock Nodes: Controls whether OpenGL
Cache Lock nodes are used to generate the OpenGL preview. Disabling thispreference has the same effect as disabling all OpenGL Cache Lock nodes in thescene.
CacheLock Cache Capacity (MB): The maximum amount of cache available tostore preview images cached by OpenGL Cache Lock nodes. This cache is stored
in the graphic card's video memory. If your machine has a lot of video memory,increasing this setting could enhance the performance of Harmony when working
with heavy scenes.

27