Toon Boom
Harmony22 Essentials

Reference 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 22 Essentials Reference 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 w hole or in part is strictly prohibited.
The content of this document is covered by a specific limited w arranty and exclusions and limit of liability
under the applicable License Agreement as supplemented by the special terms and conditions for
Adobe® Flash® File Format (SW F). For details, refer to the License Agreement and to those special terms andconditions.

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 ow ners.

Publication Date
09-23-2022
Copyright © 2022 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved.

1

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

2

Introduction

7

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

8

Add Column Dialog Box

10

Add Draw ing Layer Dialog Box

12

Add Frames Dialog Box

13

Create Function Step On Dialog Box

15

Create Palette Dialog Box

18

Export Images Dialog Box

19

Export to Animated GIF Dialog Box

25

Export to Easel JS Dialog Box

28

Export to Video Dialog Box

31

Export to Sprite Sheet Dialog Box

34

Extend Exposure Dialog Box

38

Import Images Dialog Box

39

Marker Dialog Box

41

Mini Playback Dialog Box

43

Movie Options Dialog Box (macOS)

44

QuickTime Movie Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

48

New Scene Dialog Box

51

Paste Preset Dialog Box

53

Paste Special Dialog Box

55

Pen Pressure Feel Dialog Box

58

Preferences Dialog Box

61

Recolour Draw ings Dialog Box

64

Remove Frames Dialog Box

66

Scene Settings Dialog Box

68

Scripts Manager Dialog Box

72

Select Colour Dialog Box74

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Set Ease for Multiple Parameters Dialog Box76

Set Ease on Keyframes Dialog Box

78

OpenQuickTime Sound Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)

80

QuickTime Sound Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

82

QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

85

Tint Offset/Blend Dialog Box

90

Toolbar Manager Dialog Box

91

Vectorization Parameters Dialog Box

92

OpenQuickTime Video Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)101

W indow s Media Video Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

104

Chapter 2: Menus

108

Main Menus

109

Animation Menu

110

Draw ing Menu

115

Edit Menu

120

File Menu

123

Help Menu

126

Insert Menu

127

Play Menu

129

Scene Menu

131

View Menu

133

W indow s Menu

138

View Menus

140

Colour View Menu

141

Function View Menu

144

Library View Menu

146

Script Editor View Menu

148

Chapter 3: Layers

152

Deformation Layers

153

Bone Layers

154

3

Table of Contents

Deformation Composite Layer

156

Game Bone Layer

157

Kinematic Output Layer

159

Effect Layers

160

Blur Layer

161

Colour-Scale Layer

163

Cutter Layer

165

Glow Layer

167

Shadow Layer

170

Transparency Layer

173

Image Layers

174

Colour-Card Layer

175

Draw ing Layer

177

Move Layers

182

Camera Layer

183

Peg Layer

184

Quadmap Layer

186

Sound Layer

189

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

190

Brush Tool Properties

192

Centerline Editor Tool Properties

201

Close Gap Tool Properties

203

Contour Editor Tool Properties

204

Cutter Tool Properties

208

Edit Gradient/Texture Tool Properties

211

Ellipse Tool Properties

212

Envelope Tool Properties

216

Eraser Tool Properties

219

Line Tool Properties

226

Paint Tool Properties

233

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Pencil Tool Properties

235

Perspective Tool Properties

240

Polyline Tool Properties

243

Rectangle Tool Properties

247

Reposition All Draw ings Tool Properties

251

Rigging Tool Properties

253

Select Tool Properties

254

Smooth Editor Tool Properties

263

Stamp Tool Properties

265

Stroke Tool Properties

273

Text Tool Properties

275

Transform Tool Properties

278

Zoom Tool Properties

282

Chapter 5: Toolbars

284

W orkspace Toolbars

285

Advanced Animation Toolbar

286

Deformation Toolbar

287

Edit Toolbar

290

File Toolbar

291

Game Toolbar

292

Mini Playback Toolbar

293

Pen Settings Toolbar

294

Playback Toolbar

297

Scripting Toolbar

300

Tools Toolbar

301

W orkspace Toolbar

307

View Toolbars

308

Script Editor Toolbar

309

Timeline View Toolbar

313

Xsheet View Toolbar

317

5

Table of Contents

Chapter 6: Views

318

Camera View

319

Colour View

328

Draw ing View

333

Draw ing Substitutions View

335

Function View

337

Guides View

340

Integrated Help View

344

Layer Properties View

345

Library View

347

Master Controller View

350

Message Log View

352

Metadata Editor View

353

Script Editor View

355

Side View

359

Timeline View

361

Tool Properties View

370

Top View

371

Xsheet View

373

6

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Introduction
Harmony has several commands, dialog boxes, and buttons. The Reference section lists all of them along w ith
the matching definition. To understand how to use these functions in a production context, read the User
guide.
In the Reference guide, you w ill learn about the various parameters available in dialog boxes, menus, nodes,
toolbars, view s, and w indow s.
The Preferences guide provides additional details about each individual preference.

7

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes
Dialog boxes contain controls such as options and lists through w hich you can carry out a particular commandor task. For example, in the Scene Settings dialog box, you must indicate the resolution and alignment. A
typical dialog box looks as follow s:

Add Column Dialog Box

10

Add Draw ing Layer Dialog Box

12

Add Frames Dialog Box

13

Create Function Step On Dialog Box

15

Create Palette Dialog Box

18

Export Images Dialog Box

19

Export to Animated GIF Dialog Box

25

Export to Easel JS Dialog Box

28

Export to Video Dialog Box

31

Export to Sprite Sheet Dialog Box

34

Extend Exposure Dialog Box

38

Import Images Dialog Box

39

Marker Dialog Box

41

Mini Playback Dialog Box

43

Movie Options Dialog Box (macOS)

44

8

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

QuickTime Movie Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

48

New Scene Dialog Box

51

Paste Preset Dialog Box

53

Paste Special Dialog Box

55

Pen Pressure Feel Dialog Box

58

Preferences Dialog Box

61

Recolour Draw ings Dialog Box

64

Remove Frames Dialog Box

66

Scene Settings Dialog Box

68

Scripts Manager Dialog Box

72

Select Colour Dialog Box

74

Set Ease for Multiple Parameters Dialog Box76

Set Ease on Keyframes Dialog Box

78

OpenQuickTime Sound Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)

80

QuickTime Sound Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

82

QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

85

Tint Offset/Blend Dialog Box

90

Toolbar Manager Dialog Box

91

Vectorization Parameters Dialog Box

92

OpenQuickTime Video Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)101

W indow s Media Video Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

104

9Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Add Column Dialog Box
The Add Column dialog box lets you add a column in the Xsheet view .
By default, w hen you create a new scene, there is one draw ing column in the Xsheet view and one
corresponding draw ing layer in the Timeline view .
You can add an element for each draw ing and it w ill appear as a column in the Xsheet view , a layer in theTimeline view .

How to access the Add Column dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Xsheet menu, right-click a column and select Add Columns.

lClick the Add Columns

lPress Shift + C.

button.

Parameter

Description

Name

Lets you give the new column a meaningful name.

Type

Lets you select a type of column to create. Choices include: Draw ing, Timing,
Sound, 3D Path, 3D Rotation, Bezier Curve, Ease Curve, Expression andAnnotation.

Draw ing Layer Options

Line Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing column in the Line Art layer.

Colour Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing column in the Colour Art layer.

Element

Create New Element

Creates an independent column w ith its ow n draw ing folder.

Vector

Select this option if you w ant the layer to contain vector draw ings. Deselect thisoption if you w ant the layer to contain bitmap images. Most of the time, theVector option w ill be enabled.

Bitmap Format

Lets you select the type of bitmap image to insert in the column. Select SCAN

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

from the list if you are planning to scan draw ings using the Toon Boom Harmony
Essentials Scan module.

Scan TypeIf you chose SCAN from the Bitmap Format list, select the kind of scanning you
w ant to achieve.

Field Chart

W hen importing traditional animation, lets you indicate the size of paper on w hichthe animation or background w as draw n. If you are not using perforated
animation paper, leave the 12 field default value as is.

Use Existing Element

Uses draw ings from an existing column in the new column. Both columns w ill be
attached to the same set of draw ings, but their timing w ill remain independent
from one another. If you modify one of the draw ings, it w ill be modified in bothcolumns. This is the same principle as the Clone column.

Name

Lets you select the column to w hich you w ant to link your new column.

Add and Close

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view and closes the dialog box. The names of the layers/columns
are automatically numbered incrementally.

Add

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view . The dialog box remains open for you to add as manylayers/columns as needed. The names of the layers/columns are automatically
numbered incrementally.

Close

Closes the dialog box.

11

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Add Drawing Layer Dialog Box
The Add Draw ing Layer dialog box lets you add a draw ing layer to your project.
By default, w hen you create a new scene, there is one draw ing column in the Xsheet view and one
corresponding draw ing layer in the Timeline view .
You can add an element for each draw ing and it w ill appear as a column in the Xsheet view , a layer in theTimeline view .

How to access the Add Drawing Layer dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Timeline view , click the Add Draw ing Layerl

From the top menu, select Insert > Drawing.

l

Press Ctrl + R (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + R (macOS).

button.

Parameter

Description

Name

Lets you give the new layer a meaningful name.

Extend Exposure for Scene
Duration

Automatically create and empty draw ing exposure on each layer and expose
them for the duration of the scene.

Add and Close

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view and closes the dialog box. The names of the layers/columns
are automatically numbered incrementally.

Add

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view . The dialog box remains open for you to add as manylayers/columns as needed. The names of the layers/columns are automatically
numbered incrementally.

Close

Closes the dialog box.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Add Frames Dialog Box
The Add Frames dialog box allow s you to add a given amount of frames at a specific point in your scene. The
new frames are added to every layer in your scene and w ill offset all the keyframes and draw ings after theinsertion point.

How to access the Add Frames dialog box
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view , select a frame or a range of frames.

2. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Scene > Frame > Add Frames at Start, Add Frames at End, Add
Frames Before Selection or Add Frames After Selection.

l

In the Xsheet view , right-click and select Frame > Add Frames at Start, Add Frames at End,
Add Frames Before Selection or Add Frames After Selection.

l

In the Xsheet toolbar, click the

Add Frames button to add frames after your selection.

lPress Ctrl + G (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + G (macOS) to add frames before the selection, orCtrl + H to add frames after the selection.

The Add Frames dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Number of frames to add

The amount of frames to add.

13

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

Ripple Scene Markers

If checked, scene markers after the insertion point w ill be offset forw ard to remain
synchronized w ith the keyframes and draw ings in your scene. If unchecked, scene
markers w ill remain in place w hile everything else after the insertion point isoffset.

If checked, draw ings that are exposed just before the insertion point w ill be
exposed throughout the added rames. If unchecked, no draw ing w ill be exposedin the added frames.
Extend Draw ing Exposure

NOTE
This option has no effect w hen adding frames at the start of the scene.

14Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Create Function Step On Dialog Box
The Create Function Step On dialog box lets you hold the same value over a selected number of frames for
multiple parameters (pos x, scale y, etc.). This w orks w ell w hen you are animating draw ings on 2s or 3s, forexample, and you w ant to hold the same value for a function over those tw o or three frames.

How to access the Create Function Step On dialog box
1. Add the Scripting toolbar to your interface:l

Go to the top menu and select W indows > Toolbars > Scripting.

lright-click on the empty space near the top of the interface and from the quick-access menu
selecting Scripting.

lright-click on the empty space near the top of a view and from the quick-access menu
selecting Scripting.

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the Manage Scripts

button to open the Scripts Manager

w indow .
3. In the Scripts Manager, in the Files section, select the file TB_CreateStepsOn.js.
The functions associated w ith that file appear in the Functions section.
4. In the Functions section, select TB_CreateStepsOn.
The Add script to toolbar

button becomes active.

15

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

5. Click on the Add script to toolbar
The TB_CreateStepsOn script

button.
button is added to the Scripting toolbar.

6. Click Apply.
7. Click OK.
8. In the Timeline view , select the layer w hose parameter values you w ould like to hold.
9. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the TB_CreateStepsOn script

button.

The Create Function Step On dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Settings

Every Number of Frames

Enter in the number of frames you w ould like to hold your functions.

16Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Selection

First Frame

Enter in the frame number of w here you w ould like the stepped holds tostart. The playhead location determines the low est value you can enterfor the first frame. You need to move the playhead to frame one if you
w ould like to set frame one as the low est possible starting value.

Last Frame

Enter in the frame number of w here you w ould like the stepped holds to
stop.

17

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Create Palette Dialog Box
The Create Palette dialog box allow s you to create a colour palette for your scene. Palettes created w ith this
dialog box are added to your scene's palette list, and stored in your scene's palette-library subdirectory.

How to access the Create Palette dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Colour View , click the New Palettebutton over the palette list.

lFrom the Colour view menu, select Palettes > New

Parameter

Description

New Palette Name

Allow s you to type in the name of the palette to create.

18Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Export Images Dialog Box
The Export Images dialog box allow s you to export your scene as a sequence of image files, w ith one image
for each frame.

How to access the Export Images dialog box
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > Images.

Parameter

Description

OutputPrefixThe prefix for the file name of each exported image file. Each file name w ill start w ith thevalue in this field, follow ed by the number of the frame.

The directory in w hich to export the rendered frames.
Path

You can click Browse... to open a dialog allow ing you to navigate your file system andselect a directory, or Default to set this to the frames sub-directory of your scene’s
directory.

FormatFile TypeThe image format in w hich the exported frames w ill be saved. The follow ing formats aresupported:

19

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

FormatDescription

Truevision TGA/TARGA (*.tga)

TGA

A standard image format w ith lossless compression and support fortransparency.
TGA files use more disk space than PNG files, but rendering in TGA isfaster.

Silicon Graphics Image (*.sgi)
SGI

A highly capable format w ith lossless compression as w ell as support for
double precision and transparency.

Photoshop Document (*.psd)
An Adobe Photoshop proprietary format used for image editing.
PSD files exported by Harmony contain a single background layer w ith
the rasterized image.
PSD

NOTE
PSD files exported from Harmony are tagged w ith their colour
space information in their metadata, except for PSD files
exported in greyscale.

Y'UV frame (*.yuv)
A legacy format optimized for NTSC television. The image information is
encoded in the Y'UV color space, w hich means Luma (Y') and
Chrominance (UV).
YUV

NOTE
YUV images must be exported in NTSC resolution (720 x 540), or
they w ill not be legible.

PAL frame (*.pal)
PAL
A legacy format optimized for PAL television.

20Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

FormatDescription

NOTE
PAL images must be exported in PAL resolution (768 x 576), or
they w ill not be legible.

Portable Network Graphics (*.png)
A highly portable image format w ith high lossless compression as w ell
as support for transparency and double-precision. PNG is typically used
for W eb applications, graphical user interfaces and image sharing.

PNG

Rendering in PNG takes more time than rendering in TGA or in
uncompressed image formats, but saves a lot of disk space.

NOTE
PNG files exported from Harmony are tagged w ith their colour
space information in their metadata.

Toon Boom Optimized image (*.opt)
OPT

A legacy Toon Boom proprietary format that stores bitmap image dataw ith lossless compression. It supports transparency.

Tagged Image File Format (*.tiff)

TIF

An image format w ith many compression and encoding settings. It is
often used for image exchange in visual arts and publishing.
TIFF images exported by Harmony are uncompressed, encoded on a perpixel (interleaved) basis in PC byte order.

Digital Picture Exchange (*.dpx)
DPX

A professional photo format that supports various different approaches
to storing colour information, w hich can be used for storing, exchanging
and editing raw information recorded by cameras. It is commonly used infilm production.

OpenEXR (*.exr)
EXR

A highly capable deep image format. Each pixel in an EXR file is exported
w ith its Z-depth information. Additionally, if a pixel is semi-transparent,
the color and depth information of pixels further back is stored along w ith

21Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

FormatDescription

it. If your scene has multiplane or 3D elements, this format can be used
for compositing your animation w ith other graphical elements in 3D
animation softw are.

NOTES
l

OpenEXR files exported from Harmony are tagged w ith thew hite point and primaries coordinates for their colour space.

l

OpenEXR files are alw ays exported by Harmony alw ays
have 1 line Zip compression if they contain a 3D image.

Portable Document File (*.pdf)
Typically, PDF files are used to store, archive, share and print documents.
How ever, Harmony uses the PDF format for its capability to store bitmap
images and vector graphics.

PDF

If the w rite node is connected to a vector draw ing layer or to a vector
composite, the exported PDF files w ill contain the image as a vector
graphic. It w ill ignore bitmap layers, effects and deformations. Otherw ise,
the PDF files w ill contain the rendered image as a bitmap.

Depending on the selected file type, you can select one of the follow ing colour modes:

ColourslColour: Exports images in three channels: red, green and blue.

lColour + Alpha: Exports images in four channels: red, green, blue and alpha.

l

Greyscale: Exports images in a single channel, grey.

NOTE
Only some file types support Colour + Alpha and Greyscale.

Depending on the selected file type, you can select one of the follow ing colour depth:

Depth

l

8- bits / channel: The standard colour depth. Each channel can have a value
ranging from 0 and 255. Displays typically only support this much precision.

l

16- bits /channel: Also know n as double-precision. Each channel can have a value
ranging from 0 to 65,536. Although displays typically can’t display at this
precision, this allow s compositing several images w ith effects and feathering
w ithout causing any dithering.

22Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

he colour space in w hich to render your frames. The rendered frames w ill be converted
from your scene’s w orking colour space to the selected colour space.
The follow ing colour spaces are supported in Harmony:l

Scene W orking Colour Space: The same colour space as the one selected in the
Colour Space tab of the Scene Settings dialog.

lLinear: The same primaries and w hite point as sRGB and Rec. 709, but w ith no
gamma transfer curve applied to the colour values. This colour space is useful forcompositing intermediary images that are meant to be rendered in sRGB or Rec.
709.

l

Display P3: A colour space commonly used for digital projection. It has the same
primaries as DCI-P3, the same w hite point as sRGB and the same gamma transfer
curve as sRGB.

l

Display P3 Linear: The same as Display P3, except w ith no gamma transfer curve.
This colour space is useful for compositing intermediary images that are meant tobe rendered in Display P3.

lRec. 709: The colour space used for HDTV. It has the same primaries and w hite
point as sRGB, but has a different gamma transfer curve.

lRec. 709 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 709 or sRGB, except w ith a gammatransfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists because someColour Space

editing systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of the standard gamma
curve for Rec. 709.
lRec. 2020: A colour space used for Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV). It has acomplex gamma transfer curve and primaries that cover more of the humanperceivable colour space than other colour spaces, especially in the area of
human-perceivable greens.

lRec. 2020 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith a simple gammatransfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists because someediting systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of the standard gamma
curve for Rec. 2020.

lRec. 2020 Linear: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith no gammatransfer curve. This colour space is useful for compositing intermediary images
that are meant to be rendered in Rec. 2020.

lsRGB: A colour space typically used for standard computer monitors. It has thesame primaries and w hite point as Rec. 709, but has a different gamma transfer
curve.

Range

23

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

All Frames

Exports all the frames in your scene.

Selected
FramesAllow s you to specify the frame range to export using the tw o input fields to the right.
The first input field is for specifying the first frame to export, and the second one is for
specifying the last frame to export. All the frames in-betw een, including the ones
specified, w ill be exported.

Preview

If checked, the rendered frames w ill be opened in the Play application.

OK

Renders the frames w ith the selected settings and closes the dialog box.

CancelCloses the dialog box w ithout rendering frames.

24Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Export to Animated GIF Dialog Box
Using the Export to Animated GIF dialog box, you can export your scene, or an excerpt of it, as an animated
GIF image.

Animated GIFs are a portable format commonly used for exchanging short animations and clips on the w eb.
They can be played in any w eb brow ser and in many image view ers.
Animated GIFs are a convenient sharing format, but they are not a publishing format. They are not as
optimized for fast dow nload and playback as movie files, cannot contain audio and, most importantly, can only
contain up to 256 different colours throughout the entire animation. Hence, if your animation contains texturesor gradients, it is likely to lose quality w hen exported as an animated GIF, as Harmony w ill have to limit theamount of different colours used in the exported image.

NOTE
For steps on how to use the Export to Animated GIF dialog box, see the User Guide.

How to access the Export to Animated GIF dialog box
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > Animated GIF.
The Export to Animated GIF dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Output25

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

Output

The full path and file name of the GIF file to export.

Brow seOpens a dialog allow ing you to brow se to the desired export directory and enter
the desired file name.

Export Range

All

Exports all the frames in your scene.

FramesAllow s you to specify a range of frames to render.

Resolution

Lets you specify a resolution to export in relative to your scene's actual resolution:

Resolution list

lSame as Scene Resolution: Exports a movie in the same resolution as
your scene's resolution.

l

3/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 75% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

1/2 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 50% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

1/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 25% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

Custom: Allow s you specify the preferred resolution of your exported
video file, in pixels, in the W idth and Height fields.

W idthIf you selected the Custom resolution, use this field to specify the w idth, in pixels,of the exported movie.

W idthIf you selected the Custom resolution, use this field to specify the height, in pixels,of the exported movie.

Options

Dithering

Options

Since GIF images can only have up to 256 colours, you have the option to add
dithering to the rendered image. Dithering blends pixels of different colours
w here the image contains gradients to simulate colours that do not exist in the
GIF image's colour palette.

26

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

DescriptionlNone: No dithering w ill be applied. Each pixel rendered is rendered w ith
the colour in the palette that is the closest to its actual colour.

lDiffusion: Blends pixels in irregular patterns to blend pixels and simulate
the colour as closely as possible.

lPattern: Blends pixels in regular checkered patterns to simulate thecolour w ithout created clusters of pixels.

If this option is checked, the exported GIF animation w ill loop w hen preview ed inLoopw eb brow sers and other image view ers that support animated GIFs. Otherw ise, it
w ill only play once and stop.

27

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Export to Easel JS Dialog Box
The Export to Easel JS w indow lets you flatten an image sequence of your animation. Even if you have a fully
rigged puppet or a single draw ing layer w ith your animation sequence, the outcome w ill still be a flattened
output of each frame, grouped together in your sprite sheet. This allow s for more flexibility and freedom ofw ork as you have access to any tools or effect modules you w ant to use. How ever, this can result in heavier
files depending on the length, complexity and export size of your animation.

How to access the Export to Easel JS window
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Game.

2. Click the Export to Easel JS

Parameter

button.

Description

Select Directory

28Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Save Path

The folder path w here you w ant to save your export.

Save Name

The folder name in w hich you w ill save your export. This w ill also be the name ofyour asset in Unity. Your scene file name w ill be used as the clip name.

Existing Clips in Folder

Displays the clips in the folder.

Scene Options

Display

Here, you must select the Display of your character. This is the one that w ill be
used to render out all of the information attached to that Display node. If the
Unconnected_Display option is selected, all of the visual information in yourscene w ill be rendered out.

Sprite Sheet Preferences

Max W idth
This is a value, in pixels, for the maximum w idth and height the exported sprite
sheet should be. By default, both values are set to 2048 pixels.
Max Height

Expand Sprite Sheet

Uses the minimum size necessary up until it reaches the maximum resolution.

Fixed Sprite Sheet

Creates a texture of the specified size (Max W idth and Max Height) even if it does
not fill it up completely by all the draw ings in your scene.

POT: Exports to sprite sheets w ith sizes that are a pow er of 2. For example: 1024
x 1024. This is optimized for many graphics cards, but consumes more memory.
Resolution Type
NPOT: Some game engines are optimized specifically to render to non pow ers of
tw o, so that it w ill avoid those numbers. Example: 1000 x 1000.

Reuse FramesThis option w orks in tandem w ith the Threshold option. The export w ill compare
the draw ings in your project to reuse a maximum of similar draw ings and reduce
the amount of information found in the sprite sheet, making it lighter. The export
w ill omit the creation of new draw ings if the difference is less than the thresholdpercentage.

ThresholdCalculates the differences betw een multiple draw ings. A 2% threshold w ill
prevent the creation of a new draw ing if the draw ing is too similar to an existingdraw ing. For instance, w ith a 2% threshold, and my draw ing is 100 pixels big,
only 2 of those pixels need to be different from my other draw ing in order to29

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

create a new one. The higher the threshold, the few er similar draw ings you w ill
have.

Sprite Resolutions

Size of the render of the individual sprite, w hen it exports each draw ing out.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Export to Video Dialog Box
The Export to Video dialog box lets you export your animation as a movie file.

How to access the Export to QuickTime Movie dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.

Parameter

Description

OutputAllow s you to choose one of the follow ing movie formats:Video FormatlQuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov): The Apple QuickTime format. Thisis the default export format and is recommended for its portability, andalso because it allow s you to choose among several video codecs.

31Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

NOTES

l

l

On W indow s, Apple QuickTime must be installed to allow
Harmony to export QuickTime movies. You can configure
the export of QuickTime movies to use any codec that iscompatible w ith QuickTime, including H.264, MPEG-4 andAnimation.

l

On macOS, Harmony uses Apple AVFoundation to export
QuickTime movies, w hich allow s you to export using codecs
such as H.264, Apple ProRes 422 and Apple ProRes 4444,
among others.

l

If you are looking to export a QuickTime movie w ith
transparency, be sure to choose a codec that supports
encoding w ith an alpha channel.

H.264/MPEG- 4 (*.mov) : A simple movie format that uses the H.264
codec, w hich is supported by most w eb brow sers.

NOTES

l

l

Using this format does not require additional softw are.
How ever, if this is the first time you export a movie in
H.264/MPEG-4 format, you w ill be prompted to dow nload
the OpenH264 library from Cisco. Simply click Yes w hen
prompted, and Harmony w ill automatically dow nload thelibrary, then export the movie.

lThere are no encoding options for this format.

lThis format supports resolutions of up to 4096×2304. Eachdimension must be a multiple of 16 pixels.

l

Audio exported in this format is encoded in PCM 16-bit
stereo, 22.05 kHz.

W indows Media Video (*.wmv): The native format for W indow s
Media Player.

NOTES
l

W indow s Media Video (.wmv) files can only be exported on
W indow s.

lVideo players and editors on non-W indow s systems cangenerally not open W indow s Media Video (.wmv) files.

Output file

The full path and file name of the movie file to export.

Brow seOpens a dialog allow ing you to brow se to the desired export directory andenter the desired filename.

32Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Export Range

All

Exports all the frames in your scene.

FramesAllow s you to specify the frame range to export using the tw o input fields to
the right. The first input field is for specifying the first frame to export, and thesecond one is for specifying the last frame to export. All the frames inbetw een, including the ones specified, w ill be exported.

Resolution

Allow s you to specify a resolution to export in, relative to your scene's actual
resolution:lSame as Scene Resolution: Exports a movie in the same resolution as
your scene's resolution.

l

3/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 75% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

1/2 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 50% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

1/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 25% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

Custom: Allow s you specify the preferred resolution of your exported
video file, in pixels, in the W idth and Height fields.

Resolution list

W idth / HeightLets you specify the w idth and height of video file you w ish to export, in pixels.
To preserve your scene's aspect ratio, changing the value of the W idth or
Height field w ill automatically update the other field w ith a proportional value.

Options

Opens the movie settings dialog box for your selected video format, in w hich
you can set the video and audio compression settings for your video file:lQuickTime Movie (*.mov) on W indow s: Movie Options Dialog Box(macOS),l

QuickTime Movie (*.mov) on macOS: QuickTime Movie Settings Dialog
Box (W indow s)l

W indow s Media Video (*.w mv): W indow s Media Video Settings Dialog
Box (W indow s)

Movie Options

33

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Export to Sprite Sheet Dialog Box
The Export to Sprite Sheets w indow export to multiple resolutions, generating multiple .xml files and one or
multiple sprites sheets depending how many sprite resolutions you defined.
This saves different animations of the same character into the same name. For example, if there's an idle, run,and jump animation, these should all share the same Save Name. You can think of it as the overall collection ofanimations. Inside are the different saved scene versions w hose draw ings you can reuse for all the animationsin that character set. Each scene version w ill be displayed as an item in the list.
W hen you export an animation, only the draw ings used in that scene are exported. All the draw ings areexported individually first and then atlased together into a sprite sheet.
If you saved multiple animations to the same Save Name (i.e. SpaceDuck: run, idle), then it w ill reatlas the
sprite sheet to include all the draw ings from all the animations in that folder, creating a new animation file, but
reusing the same skeleton.

34

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

How to access the Export to Sprite Sheets window
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Game.

2. Click the Export to Sprite Sheets

Parameter

button.

Description

Select Directory

Asset Path

The folder path w here you w ant to save your export.

Asset Name

The folder name in w hich you w ill save your export. This w ill also be the name ofyour asset in Unity. Your scene file name w ill be used as the clip name.

Existing Clips in Folder

Preview W indow

Displays a list of pre-existing clips in the same export folder location, most likely
exported there from a previous time.

Use Scene Markers to
Export Clips

Uses scene markers to define the export range, instead of exporting the entire
scene.

Project Settings

Unit Scale

Lets you change the scale w hen exporting to Unity to accommodate the size ofthe export w ithout it affecting the Harmony scene. This helps you resize assets
properly for Unity w ithout having to resize them in Harmony. The basic scale is
one Animation Field for one Unity unit.

PresetLets you select the unit conversion from Harmony to Unity, by selecting one of 4
presets. Note: a field is a unit of measure in traditional animation grid.

Sprite Sheet Preferences

35

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Max W idth

This is a value, in pixels, for the maximum w idth and height the exported sprite
sheet should be. By default, both values are set to 2048 pixels.

Max Height

Makes linear values for interpolation. This increases the amount of memory used
but frees up the calculation so it is not done on the fly.

Expand Sprite Sheet

Uses the minimum size necessary up until it reaches the maximum resolution.

Fixed Sprite Sheet

Creates a texture of the specified size (Max W idth and Max Height) even if it does
not fill it up completely by all the draw ings in your scene.

POT: Exports to sprite sheets w ith sizes that are a pow er of 2. For example: 1024
x 1024. This is optimized for many graphics cards, but consumes more memory.
Resolution Type
NPOT: Some game engines are optimized specifically to render to non pow ers of
tw o, so that it w ill avoid those numbers. Example: 1000 x 1000.

Reuse FramesThis option w orks in tandem w ith the Threshold option. The export w ill compare
the draw ings in your project to reuse a maximum of similar draw ings and reduce
the amount of information found in the sprite sheet, making it lighter. The export
w ill omit the creation of new draw ings if the difference is less than the thresholdpercentage.

ThresholdCalculates the differences betw een multiple draw ings. A 2% threshold w ill
prevent the creation of a new draw ing if the draw ing is too similar to an existingdraw ing. For instance, w ith a 2% threshold, and my draw ing is 100 pixels big,
only 2 of those pixels need to be different from my other draw ing in order tocreate a new one. The higher the threshold, the few er similar draw ings you w ill
have.

Sprite Resolutions

Size of the render of the individual sprite, w hen it exports each draw ing out.

Delete Existing Clips

Select this option to delete any pre-existing clips in the export location.

Bake Animation Curves

Makes linear values for interpolation. This increases the amount of memory used
but frees up the calculation so it is not done on the fly.

Clear Texture Folder

Removes any information from the texture folder w ithin the Harmony file. This
has no incidence tow ards the Unity export but contributes to a lighter Harmony
file.

Export Sprites Individually

Exports each draw ing separately instead of putting them inside a spritesheet.

36Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

This allow s the game engine to deal w ith sprite sheets or sprite atlases at theimport.

37

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Extend Exposure Dialog Box
The Extend Exposure dialog box lets you extend the exposure of a selected cell in the Timeline or Xsheet.

How to access the Extend Exposure dialog box
1. Select a cell and do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Extend Exposure.

lPress F5.

The Extend Exposure dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Lets you enter the frame up to w hich you w ant to extend the exposure. You can
Extend to Frame

expose the draw ing in the frames and replace the draw ings that w ere originally
there or move the subsequent frames forw ard in time.

Overw rite

Lets you expose the draw ing in the frames and replace the draw ings that w ere
orginally there.

InsertLets you expose the draw ing in the frames and move the subsequent frames
forw ard in the Timeline view .

38

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Import Images Dialog Box
T-HFND-007-011
The Import Images dialog box lets you import bitmap images and vectorize them, making the images editable.
Then you can use a variety of draw ing tools to edit the image. Or you can alw ays keep the original bitmap
image as is.
Also, you can choose to import bitmap images on bitmap or vector layers depending on your project.

How to open the Import Images dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select File > Import > Images.

l

In the File toolbar, click the Import Imagesl

In the Xsheet view , right-click anyw here in the frame area and select Import >button.

Images.
The Import Images dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Files

Brow seLets you find and select images on your computer.

Layer

39

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Create Layers(s)Create layers for imported images.

Create Single Layer
Named

Creates a new layer w ith the specified name and imports the images into it.

Create Layer(s)Based on Filenames

Creates a layer based on each unique filename prefix. For example, if you import
three files named a-1.tga, a-2.tga and b-1.tga, this w ill create tw o layers, one
named "a" and one named "b". Layer "a" w ill contain the tw o first images and "b"w ill contain the third one.

Add to Existing Layer

Imports the images into the specified layer. Note that you can only import intolayers that are compatible w ith your import options. For example, if you're
importing images as vector draw ings, you can only import them into vectordraw ing layers.

Vectorization

Vectorize Image

Imports a draw ing and converts it to a Toon Boom vector draw ing.

ColourImports bitmaps as vector objects w ith their image as a bitmap texture. The
resulting draw ing can be draw n or erased over, but not repainted or tw eaked.

Black and W hite

Vectorizes draw ings w ith a solid black line. This creates a 100% vector-based
draw ing and paints it w ith the Vectorized Line colour sw atch from your scene's
palette.

Threshold

Determines w hat values in the scanned image w ill be considered as part of thedraw ing, and w hat w ill be ignored and eliminated in the vectorized draw ing. The
low er the value, the darker the image and vice versa.

SmoothDetermines how smooth the lines w ill be. The low er the value, the more detailw ill be retained. The higher the value, the more polished and easy to edit the lines
w ill be.

40

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Marker Dialog Box
The Timeline Scene Marker dialog box lets you create and manage scene markers in the Timeline view .

Scene markers are visual indicators displayed at the top of the Timeline view in the frame counter area. You
can use it to denote anything relevant to your w ork. You can indicate the frames you w ant to clean up, achange in action, an impact, or w here you intend to apply an effect. You can also add a note to a scene marker.
If you hold the mouse cursor over a scene marker, its name, starting frame, duration and note w ill be displayedin the tool tip box.

How to access the Timeline Scene Marker dialog box
1. In the Timeline view , do one of the follow ing:l

If you w ant to create a scene marker at a single frame, select that frame on any layer.

l

If you w ant to create a scene marker that spans over several frames, select this range offrame on any layer.

2. Right-click on the ruler at the top of the Timeline view and, in the context menu, select Scene
Markers > Create Scene Marker.

41

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

NOTE
If your scene already contains scene markers, you can also open this dialog box by clicking ona scene marker to select it, then right-clicking anyw here on the timeline ruler and selecting
Scene Markers > Edit in the contextual menu.

Parameter

Description

Name

The name of the marker.

Time

The frame number at w hich the marker starts.

The amount of frames during w hich the marker spans.

Duration

TIP
You can set the duration to zero to make a marker that just points at thestarting frame.

ColourAllow s you to select a colour for the scene marker.

Note

Allow s you to type a description for the scene marker.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Mini Playback Dialog Box
The Mini Playback dialog box alllow s you to configure and start Mini Playback. Mini Playback allow s you toquickly preview a short span of animation starting a few frames before the current frame and ending a few
frames after the current frame, at a customizable frame rate.

How to access the Mini Playback dialog
1. Do one of the follow ing:

Icon

l

In the top menu, select Play > Mini Playback.

l

In the Mini Playback toolbar, click on the

Mini Playback Dialog button.

Parameter

Description

Frame Rate

The speed at w hich Mini Playback should play your animation. By default, it is
set to Same as Scene to play at the same pace as your scene's frame rate.
Otherw ise, you can choose among a set of commonly used frame rates.

Before

The amount of frames before the current frame at w hich to start Mini Playback.

Play

Starts Mini Playback. Playback w ill start at the amount of frames in the Before
field before the current frame, and end at the amount of frames in the After
field after the current frame, at the frame rate in the Frame Rate drop-dow n.

After

The amount of frames after the current frame at w hich to end Mini Playback.

43

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Movie Options Dialog Box (macOS)
The Movie Options dialog box allow s you to configure the video and audio settings w hen exporting a movie in
QuickTime Movie (.mov) format on macOS.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

How to access the Movie Settings dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

44Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

Parameter

Description

Video

Allow s you to select w hich algorithm to use to compress the video data. The follow ing
video codecs are supported:
Codec

l

H.264 Legacy: A very effective lossy compression algorithm that is commonly
supported by w eb brow sers and media players.

lH.265 Legacy: Same compression quality as H.264, but w ith a smaller compression

45

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

size. This is useful for videos intended for the w eb and mobile devices. Not
supported on all major brow sers or operating systems.
lApple ProRes 422 Legacy: A nearly lossless compression algorithm commonlyused for video editing on Apple systems. This codec is optimized for preserving
video quality, but not for publishing or streaming.

lApple ProRes 422 HQ Legacy: Preserves visual quality at the same high level asApple ProRes 4444 but for 4:2:2 image sources (cleaner footage for things likegreen screening). Heavier than Apple ProRes 422 for real-time editing performance.

lApple ProRes 422 LT Legacy: A more highly compressed codec than Apple ProRes
422, w ith roughly 70 percent of the data rate and 30 percent smaller file sizes. This
codec is perfect for environments w ith limited storage capacity and data rates.

lApple ProRes 422 Proxy Legacy: An even more highly compressed codec thanApple ProRes 422 LT, intended for use in offline w orkflow s that require low data
rates but full-resolution video.

lApple ProRes 4444 Legacy: A nearly lossless compression algorithm commonlyused for video editing on Apple systems. Compared to Apple ProRes 422, this codec
preserves more colour detail and supports transparency. How ever, it results inheavier file sizes.

Check this option if you w ant to export a video w ith transparency.

Alpha

NOTE
This option is only available w hen exporting w ith the Apple ProRes 4444 codec. Other
codecs do not support transparency.

Sound

Uncheck this checkbox if you w ant to export a movie w ithout an audio track.

Allow s you to select the sample rate, or frequency, in w hich to export the audio track for themovie.

Rate

NOTE
Harmony cannot export audio at a higher sample rate than 22.050 kHz. If you select ahigher sample rate, your project's audio w ill be upsampled, w hich means it w ill takemore disc space w ithout increasing in quality.

Use

Allow s you to select w hether to export the movie's audio track using the Mono or Stereo
channel mode.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

NOTE
Stereo sound has a separate track for the left and right speakers, w hereas mono soundonly has a single audio track for all speakers.

47

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

QuickTime Movie Settings Dialog Box (W indows)
The Movie Settings dialog box allow s you to configure the video and audio compression settings w hen
exporting a QuickTime Movie (.mov) file.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on W indow s and requires Apple QuickTime to be installed.

How to access the QuickTime Movie Settings dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

48

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

Parameter

Description

Video

Settings

Opens the Standard Video Compression Settings dialog box. This is w here you
can set the video compression settings for the movie you w ill export—see
QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings Dialog Box (W indow s) on page85.

49

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

FilterOpens the Choose Video Filter dialog box, w here you can select from a range offilters to apply to your video export.

Size

Opens the Export Size Settings dialog box. This dialog is available because of thew ay the Apple QuickTime interface is designed, but its settings are not taken inaccount by Harmony. The size of the exported video is determined by Harmony.

Settings

Opens the Sound Settings dialog box. This is w here you can you set the soundcompression settings for the movie you w ill export—see QuickTime Sound
Settings Dialog Box (W indow s) on page 82.

Sound

If this option is enabled, the video w ill be optimized to start playing w hile it is
dow nloading, as videos do in w eb brow sers and w eb-based streaming
applications.

Prepare for Internet
Streamingl

Fast Start: The video plays as soon as enough data required to start
playback has been dow nloaded.

lFast Start - Compressed Header: Same as Fast Start, except the header
is compressed for an even faster start. Requires QuickTime 3.0 or later.

lHinted Streaming: Allow s you to optimize the movie file for streaming
through QuickTime Server Softw are. Click on the Settings button toconfigure how hints are created in your movie file.

50

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

New Scene Dialog Box
The New Scene w indow lets you create a new scene.

How to access the New Scene window
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select File > New.

l

In the File toolbar, click the NewlPress Ctrl + N (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + N (macOS).

button.

The New Scene dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Name

Lets you type in a name for the new scene.

Location

Lists the locations you used most frequently for storing scenes.

Brow seOpens a brow ser in w hich you can specify a location for the new scene thatis not listed in the Location list.

51

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Camera Size

Opens a list of resolutions.

+ (Create Custom
Resolution)

Opens the New Resolution w indow in w hich you can create a custom
resolution that is added to the Camera Size list.

- (Delete Custom Resolution)

Lets you remove a custom resolution from the Camera Size list.

W idthIndicates the w idth of the resolution you chose from the Camera Size list.

Frame Rate

Indicates the frame rate of the resolution you chose from the Camera Size
list.

52

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Paste Preset Dialog Box
W hen pasting key frames and exposures, you can modify the existing presets to your liking. There are threepresets you can modify: the default presets for both key frames and exposures, key frames only and exposures
only.

Parameter

Description

Draw ings

Never create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, draw ing
files w ill not be created.

Add/Remove
Exposure

Only create drawing files when they do not exist: W hen adding exposures to adraw ing layer, new draw ings w ill be created only w hen draw ings w ith the same
name do not already exist in the destination.

Always create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, newdraw ings w ill alw ays be created. If draw ing files w ith the same name alreadyexist, Harmony w ill create a new name for the draw ing.

Enforce Key Exposure

If there are key exposures that exist on copied draw ings, they are preserved w hen
pasting. No key exposures are added. This is the default behavior w hen pasting.

Fill Gap w ith Previous
Draw ing

Fills selected area in the Xsheet or Timeline view w ith the previous draw ing.

Fill to Next Key
Exposure

Fills selected area till the next key exposure.

53

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Keyframes

Motion: Copies the properties of the selected motion keyframe to the new frame.

Velocity: Copies the properties of the selected velocity keyframe to the newframe.

Add/Remove

Rotation: Copies the properties of the selected rotation keyframe to the newframe.

Keyframes
Scale: Copies the properties of the selected scale keyframe to the new frame.

Skew: Copies the properties of the selected skew keyframe to the new frame.

Force Keyframes at Function's Beginning and End: Adds a keyframe to thebeginning and end of the pasted function, reproducing the source function.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Paste Special Dialog Box
The Paste Special dialog box lets you determine how templates and symbols are imported in the Timelineview .
W hen you import a template in the Timeline view , all layers are created as w ell as draw ings and keyframes.
You can choose to import only the keyframes w ithout the draw ings or import only the draw ings that are notalready in your layers. You can adjust the behaviour using the Paste Special dialog box.W hen you import asymbol in your scene, its full length is exposed by default. If you import a symbol in the Timeline view ’s left
side, all the frames w ill be exposed. How ever, if you import it into an existing layer, you can use the Paste
Special dialog box to adjust the import behaviour to fit your requirements.Once you set the parameters,
Harmony w ill reuse them each time you import a symbol in the Timeline view ’s right side until you set newparameters.

How to access the Paste Special dialog box
1. In the Library view , select the symbol or template to import.
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

W hile holding dow n the Alt key, click and drag on the template, then drop it on the Timelineview , over the layer and at the frame w here you w ant to paste it.

lPress Ctrl + C (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + C (macOS). Then, in the Timeline view , click on theframe w here you w ant to paste the template and press Ctrl + B (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + B(macOS)

The Paste Special dialog box opens.

55

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

Draw ings

Do Nothing

Does not create or overw rite draw ings.

Never create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, draw ing
files w ill not be created.

Only create drawing files when they do not exist: W hen adding exposures to adraw ing layer, new draw ings w ill be created only w hen draw ings w ith the same
name do not already exist in the destination.

Add/Remove
Exposure

Replace existing drawings. Create drawing files when they do not exist:
Replace draw ings w ith the same names to update a scene w ith new modified
draw ings and preserve the animation.
Tip: If you don't w ant to lose the existing animation w hen pastinga template, such as w hen placing new draw ings after the
animation, then delete the template's animation. It w ill still haveupdated the draw ings but not override the existing animation.

Always create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, newdraw ings w ill alw ays be created. If draw ing files w ith the same name alreadyexist, Harmony w ill create a new name for the draw ing.

Symbols

Copy symbols if they
do not exist

This is the default setting for this operation and w ill prevent Symbols in an Action
template from being copied.

Duplicate symbols

Creates a duplicate of the symbol instead of linking the Symbol instance to theoriginal one. The new Symbol is created in the Library.

Paste all Frames ofthe symbol (fullmovie)

W hen enabled, the Paste Special command exposes all the symbol's frames
instead of only the first one.

Add Remove/Keyframes

MotionCopies the properties of the selected motion keyframe to the new frame.

56Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Velocity

Copies the properties of the selected velocity keyframe to the new frame.

Rotation

Copies the properties of the selected rotation keyframe to the new frame.

Scale

Copies the properties of the selected scale keyframe to the new frame.

Skew

Copies the properties of the selected skew keyframe to the new frame.

Force Keyframes at
Function's Beginningand EndAdds a keyframe to the beginning and end of the pasted function, reproducing thesource function.

CyclesNormal (forward): Pastes your selection as is, starting w ith the first cell andending w ith the last.

Reverse: Pastes your selection in reverse, starting w ith the last cell and ending
w ith the first.
Cycle Type
Forward > Reverse: Pastes your selection as a yo- yo, starting with the firstcell, going to the last one and ending with the first cell.

Reverse > Forward: Pastes your selection as a reverse yo-yo, starting w ith thelast cell, going to the first one and ending w ith the last cell.

Number of Cycles

Lets you set the number of cycles.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Pen Pressure Feel Dialog Box
The Pen Pressure Feel dialog box allow s you to configure how Harmony processes the pressure you put on
your tablet pen to apply it to the size of your draw ing tool.

By default, Harmony applies the pressure you put on your pen to your tool in a linear fashion. That is, if you put
25% of the maximum pressure on your pen, your tool's size w ill be 25% of the w ay betw een its minimum andmaximum size. If you put 75% of the maximum pressure on your pen, your tool's size w ill be 75% of the w ay
betw een its minimum and maximum size.
How ever, you may find that it w ould feel more natural, or that it w ould make it easier to control the size ofyour draw ing strokes, if Harmony interpreted the pressure you put on your pen differently. For example, you
may w ant Harmony to make your brush strokes small unless you put a lot of pressure on your pen, or you may
w ant Harmony to make your brush strokes big unless you put very little pressure on your pen. This is w here
the Pen Pressure Feel dialog box comes in handy.

NOTE
For information on how to use the Pen Pressure Feel dialog, refer to the User Guide.

How to access the Pen Pressure Feel dialog
1. Add the Pen Settings toolbar to your w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Pen Settings.

lRight-click on any existing toolbar and, in the context menu, select Pen Settings.

2. In the Pen Settings toolbar, click on the

Pen Pressure Feel button.

The Pen Pressure Feel dialog appears.

58Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

The percentage of your pen's maximum pressure you must apply before Harmony registers
that you are draw ing. If you increase this setting, you can lightly brush your tablet w ith yourpen w ithout draw ing, and you must apply a certain amount of pressure on it to draw .
Min Pressure

For example, if you set this to 15%, you can apply up to 15% of your pen's maximum pressure
w ithout actually draw ing. If you apply exactly 15% of your pen's maximum pressure, Harmony
w ill draw a stroke in your tool's minimum size.
By default, this is set to 0%, w hich means that just brushing the tablet w ith your pen w ill draw
in your tool's minimum size. You can increase this setting up to 25%.

Curve Preset

Allow s you to instantly apply a curve preset to the pressure curve below .

The percentage of your pen's maximum pressure at w hich point your draw ing tool should draw
in its maximum size.
Max Pressure

For example, if you set this to 80%, your draw ing tool w ill draw in its maximum size if you
apply 80% of your tablet pen's maximum pressure.
By default, this is set to 100%, w hich means you have to press your tablet pen all the w ay todraw in your draw ing tool's maximum size. You can decrease this setting dow n to 75%.

This curve determines how to process the amount of pressure you apply to your tablet pen into
your draw ing tool's size.
By default, it is linear, meaning that the amount of pressure you put on your tablet pen is
directly applied to the size of your draw ing tool. By moving the tw o Bezier handles betw een
the extremities of the curve, you can change the curve's shape.
l

If you make an ease-in curve like the one below , the size of your draw ing strokes w illtend to be closer to the minimum size of your draw ing tool, unless you apply a lot ofpressure on your tablet pen.

l

If you make an ease-out curve like the one below , the size of your draw ing strokes w illtend to be closer to the maximum size of your draw ing tool, unless you apply very little
pressure on your tablet pen.

Pressure Curve

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Descriptionl

If you make an ease-in-ease-out curve like the one below , the size of your draw ing
strokes w ill tend to be closer to the minimum size of your draw ing tool w hen applying
light pressure, and to be closer to the maximum size of your draw ing tool w hen
applying more pressure, but it w ill rarely be the median betw een the minimum and the
maximum size.

l

If you make an ease-out-ease-in curve like the one below , the size of your draw ing
strokes w ill tend to be closer to median betw een the minimum and maximum size ofyour draw ing tool, unless you apply very little or a lot of pressure on your tablet pen.

60

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Preferences Dialog Box
The Preferences dialog box allow s you to adjust preferences to suit your w orkflow and your production's
needs.

NOTE
For a list of all the preferences as w ell as their functionality, refer to the Preferences guide.

How to open the Preferences dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:ll

W indows:l

In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U.

macOS:l

In the top menu, select Harmony Essentials > Preferences.

l

Press ⌘ + U.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

This drop-dow n allow s you to select among one of the available preference presets.
The different preference presets have a lot of settings in common. The follow ing table lists how eachpreset differs for specific preferences:

Preference Set
Tab /Location

Preferenc
e Set

GeneralPencilTool
Properties

Preference
BasicCompositing

CutoutAnimationPaperless
Animation

Rigging

Focus on
Mouse
Enter

Off

On

On

On

On

Default
Separate
Positionfor Pegs

Off

Off

On

Off

On

StopMotion
Keyframe
s

Off

Off

On

Off

On

Auto
Close Gap

On

On

On

On

Off

Save...

Allow s you to export your current preference settings as an XML file, w hich you can import later.

Load...

Allow s you to brow se for and import a preference file that w as exported w ith the Save... button.

W here you can brow se for and change preferences.
Preference TabsNOTE
For a list of all the preferences as w ell as their functionality, refer to the Preferences guide.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

RestoreAll
Defaults

Restores all your preferences to their default setting for the selected preference set.

OK

Commits your changes to the preferences and closes the dialog.

CancelUndoes your changes to the preferences and closes the dialog.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Recolour Drawings Dialog Box
The Recolour Draw ing dialog box allow s you to replace all instances of a colour or texture in draw ings w ith adifferent colour or texture sw atch in one of the scene's palettes. This replaces the colours or textures in thedraw ings w ithout requiring you to modify the palettes. You can use this dialog to perform colour replacementin the current draw ing, in all the draw ings in one or several layers or in all draw ings in your scene.
This dialog w ill replace the colour or texture that is currently selected in the Colour view w ith the colour or
texture that you select inside the dialog.

How to access the Recolour Drawings dialog
1. In the Colour view , select the colour or texture sw atch you w ant to replace by doing one of thefollow ing:lSelect the palette in w hich the colour or texture sw atch is located, then select the sw atch
you w ish to replace.

l

If the draw ing in the Camera or Draw ing view contains the colour or texture you w ant toreplace, select the Colour Eyedropper

tool in the Tools toolbar, then click on that colour

or texture in the draw ing. The Colour view w ill automatically select that colour or texture's
palette as w ell as that colour or texture's sw atch.

64Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

2. Do one of the follow ing:lRight-click on the sw atches list, then select Recolour Drawings.

lOpen the Colour view menu

Parameter, then select Colours > Recolour Drawings.

Description

Allow s you to select w hich draw ings w ill be affected by the colour replacement:lCurrent drawing: Replaces the selected colour in the currently selecteddraw ing only.

l

All drawings in the currently selected layers: Replaces the selectedcolour in all the draw ings in the layer that is currently selected in theTimelime or Xsheet view .

Replace Colour In

NOTEThis option can w ork w ith several draw ing layers selected.

lReplacement Colour

All drawings in the scene: Replaces the selected colour in every draw ing
in the current scene.

Allow s you to select the palette and colour or texture sw atch to replace theselected colour or texture w ith.

65

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Remove Frames Dialog Box
The Add Frames dialog box allow s you to remove a range of frames from your scene. All the keyframes andthe exposed draw ings in the removed range w ill be deleted, and the keyframes and exposed draw ings after
the removed range w ill be offset backw ards, so as to close the gap.

How to access the Remove Frames dialog box
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view , select a frame or a range of frames.

2. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Scene > Frame > Remove Selected Frames.

l

In the Xsheet view , right-click and select Frame > Remove Selected Frames.

The Add Frames dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Number of frames to remove

The amount of frames to remove. The range of frame that w ill be removed starts
from the selected frame—or the first selected frame, if a range of frames isselected—and ends after the selected number of frames.

66Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

By default, this is set to the amount of selected frames.

Ripple Scene Markers

If checked, scene markers after the removed frames w ill be offset backw ard toremain synchronized w ith the keyframes and draw ings in your scene. If
unchecked, scene markers w ill remain in place w hile everything else after theremoved frames is offset.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Scene Settings Dialog Box
The Scene Settings dialog box lets you select settings for the resolution of your scene.
You are already required to select resolution settings w hen creating a scene, but those settings can also be
modified later using the Scene Settings dialog box.

How to access the Scene Settings dialog box
1. In the top menu, select Scene > Scene Settings.
The Scene Settings dialog box opens.

Resolution Tab

The resolution tab allow s you to set the w idth and height of your scene in pixels as w ell as w hether the angleof the field of view .
Icon

Parameter

Description

You can select your project’s resolution (camera frame size) fromthis preset list.
Resolution Presetsl

HDTV_1080p24: The standard definition for high definition
television at 24 frames per second, mostly used in theAmericas and some Asian countries that used the NTSC
standard for analogue television.

68Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Icon

Parameter

Descriptionl

HDTV_1080p25: The standard definition for high definition
television at 25 frames per second, usually for broadcastingin European, African, Asian and Australian countries thatused the PAL or SECAM standard for analogue television.

l

HDTV_1080p23.976: The standard definition for highdefinition television at 23.976 frames per second. This isuseful if the remainder of your pipeline uses the 23.976
framerate for legacy reasons.

lHDTV_720p24: The former standard high definition
resolution at 24 frames per second.

lfilm- 2K: A standard HD format for film projectors w ith a low
aspect ratio.

lfilm- 1.33_H: The standard resolution for the academy film
format that conforms to the standard 4:3 aspect ratio.

lfilm- 1.66_H: The standard resolution for w idescreen film
format that conforms to the 16:9 aspect ratio.

lfilm- 1.66_V: The standard resolution for w idescreen film
format, but w ith a vertical field of view .

l

NTSC: The standard resolution and framerate for analogue
standard definition televisions in most of the Americas(except Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina), Japan,
Taiw an, South Korea, the Philippines and Myanmar.

l

PAL: The standard resolution and framerate for analogue
standard definition televisions in Europe, Africa, Australia,
most of Asia, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.

l720p- 240p: A series of standard w idescreen presets named
after their resolution heights.

llow: A resolution based on NTSC w ith half of its standard
dimensions.

l

W eb_Video: A legacy format for w eb streaming.

lGame_512: A preset for the gaming pipeline, w ith a squarecanvas.

l

HDTV: The standard definition for high definition television
at 24 frames per second, w ith a horizontal fit field of view .

l

HDTV_Vertical: The standard definition for high definition
television at 24 frames per second, w ith a vertical fit field ofview .

69

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Icon

Parameter

Description

Selected Resolution Preset

Displays the name of the selected resolution preset just below thepresets list. If you have made any changes to the resolution sinceselecting a preset, this w ill display "(custom)".

Save Resolution Setting

Allow s you to save the current resolution settings as a new preset. If
you have a resolution preset selected, this button is only available if
you have made changes to the resolution since selecting the preset.
You w ill be prompted to type in the name of the new resolution
preset.

Resolution

The resolution of the scene defines the w idth and height of thecanvas in pixels. By default, the scene w ill be rendered in thisresolution.

Scene W idth

The w idth of the resolution for the scene, in pixels.

Scene Height

The w idth of the resolution for the scene, in pixels.

Aspect Ratio

Displays the ratio betw een the horizontal and vertical dimensions of
the scene. For example, if the scene w idth and height are the samevalue, this ratio equals 1. The standard aspect ratio for w idescreen
televisions is 1.777. For legacy displays, it is 1.333.

The angle of the field of view , w hich determines the size of thecamera cone as w ell as the w ay the field grid used to position
elements is adjusted to fit the scene.
lHorizontal Fit: The field of view is automatically adjusted sothat the field grid and camera cone fit the horizontal lengthof the scene.

lVertical Fit: The field of view is automatically adjusted sothat the field grid and camera cone fits the vertical length of
the scene.

Field of View

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Icon

Parameter

Description

NOTE
Objects in Harmony are positioned in fields, based on a
traditional animation grid w hich extends to 12 fields from thecenter in each direction, and w hich has 4:3 proportions bydefault. In a scene w ith 4:3 proportions, this grid fits thecamera field perfectly. How ever, since most scenes have an
aspect ratio of 16:9, the grid does not fit the camera field
perfectly. If the field of view is Horizontal Fit, the grid's w idth
w ill match the scene's w idth, but w ill extend beyond its
vertical edges. If the field of view is Vertical Fit, the grid's
height w ill match the scene's height, w ill not extends to its
horizontal edges.

The amount of animation frames to play each second. Increasing the
FPS w ill make your animation play faster, and decreasing it w ill
make it play slow er.
lPreset: Allow s you to select a frame rate for your scene
among one of many commonly used preset frame rates.

l

FPS:Allow s you to type in the frame rate for your scene.

Frame RateNOTE
The standard framerate for film production is 24 frames per
second. How ever, televisions in some countries play at 25
frames per second. Some productions may use 23.976
frames per second to preserve compatibility w ith legacy
standard displays.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Scripts Manager Dialog Box
The Scripts Manager dialog allow s you to create buttons in the Scripting toolbar. Each button you create canrun a specific function in one of your scripts. You can also choose an icon and a tool tip for the button, if you
w ant.

NOTE
For tasks related to this dialog box, see the User Guide.

How to access the Scripts Manager Dialog Box
1. Add the Scripting toolbar to your w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Scripting.

l

Right-click on any existing toolbar and select Scripting.

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click on theManage Scripts button.

The Scripts Manager dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Files

A list of the available JavaScript files.

72Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Functions

A list of the available functions for the selected script.

In Toolbar

The list of script functions already added to the Scripting toolbar.

Runs the selected function.

ExecuteTIP
Press Esc to interrupt the execution of the script.

Customize Icon

Allow s you to select an icon for the toolbar button. Clicking on this button w ill
open an Open dialog prompting you to brow se for and select a .png, .jpg, .xpm
or .svg file.

Customize Tooltip

Allow s you to type in a custom tooltip for the toolbar button.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Select Colour Dialog Box
The Select Colour dialog box lets you set the colour of layers and columns. Using colours for layers andcolumns helps to differentiate them visually, making them easy to identify.
You can select a colour by choosing from a basic set of colours, using the colour w heel or by specifying theHSV or RGB values. Once you have selected a colour, you can adjust its intensity and save it as a custom
colour that you can reuse.

How to access the Select Colour dialog box in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view , click the Change Track Colour

button of the layer you w ant to modify.

The Select Colour dialog box opens.

How to access the Select Colour dialog box in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet view , select one or more columns to modify.
2. Right-click on the column’s header and select Colour > Change Columns Colour.
The Select Colour dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Basic colours

A basic set of colours to choose from.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Custom colours

Displays the custom colours you previously stored using the Add to Custom
Colours button.

Add to custom colours

Lets you add the selected colour to the Custom colours list above.

Colour w heel

Lets you select a colour by dragging the T-shaped pointer.

Value slider

Once you select a colour, you can drag the slider to change the intensity and see it
preview ed in the Colour Preview w indow below ..

Colour Preview

Displays the colour you are currently selecting. To apply the colour, click OK.

Hue, Saturation, Value

Lets you set the hue (colour), saturation (amount of colour) and brightness (value)of the colour.

Red, Green, Blue

Lets you set the red, green and blue values.

75Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Set Ease for Multiple Parameters Dialog Box
The Edit Set Ease for Multiple Parameters dialog box lets you apply ease to multiple functions and keyframes.
You can display the function curve and modify the Bezier or Ease curve.

How to access the Set Ease for Multiple Parameters dialog box
1. In the Timeline view , select a keyframe on one or more layers.

2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Timeline view , right-click and select Set Ease For Multiple Parameters.

l

In the Timeline toolbar, click the Set Ease For Multiple Parameters

button.

The Set Ease For Multiple Parameters dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Filters

MotionMotion: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Position X, Position Y,
Position Z and 3D Path functions.

Rotation: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Angle functions.

76Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

Scale: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Scale functions.

Skew: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Skew functions.

Morphing: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Morphing Velocity
functions. Note that it applies to the Morphing velocity function found in the Layer
Properties w indow , not the basic morphing ease in the Tool Properties view .

Other: Applies the easing parameters to all the other the selected functions, suchas all functions created to animate effect parameters.

Left and Right Time Ratio

Lets you type the percentage value corresponding to the length of time you w ant
the easing to last. Stay betw een 0% and 100%. If you go beyond 100%, yourmotion w ill overshoot.

Left and Right Value Ratio

Lets you type the percentage value of how strong you w ant the easing out to be.
Stay betw een 0% and 100%. If you go beyond 100%, your motion w ill overshoot.

Apply/Previous

Applies the easing parameters to the selected keyframes and then selects theprevious keyframe in the timeline.

Apply

Applies the easing parameters to the selected keyframes.

Apply/Next

Applies the easing parameters to the selected keyframes and then selects thenext keyframe in the timeline.

Close

Close the dialog box. If you did not apply the modifications, they w ill becancelled.

77Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Set Ease on Keyframes Dialog Box
The Set Ease on Keyframes dialog box allow s you to quickly change the percentage of ease before and after aselection of keyframes.

This dialog box is designed to quickly adjust the “time ratio” of the ease on your animations. To give you abetter idea of its effect, select a keyframe and open the Set Ease for Multiple Paramters dialog box. This dialog
box allow s you to adjust the ease of your animations using Bezier handles. Moving the Bezier handle laterally
changes the time ratio of the ease, and moving it vertically changes its value ratio—see Set Ease for Multiple
Parameters Dialog Box on page 76.

How to access the Set Ease on Keyframes dialog box
1. In the Timeline view , select one or several animation keyframes.
2. In the Timeline toolbar, click on the

Set Ease on Selected Keyframes button.

The Set Ease on Keyframes dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Allow s you to adjust the ease left of the selected keyframes.
Ease In (left)l

If the checkbox is unchecked, the ease left of the selected keyframes w ill be

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

unchanged.
l

If the checkbox is checked, the ease left of the selected keyframes w ill be set to thepercentage in the input-field right of the checkbox.

Allow s you to adjust the ease right of the selected keyframes.
lEase Out (right)

If the checkbox is unchecked, the ease right of the selected keyframes w ill beunchanged.

l

If the checkbox is checked, the ease right of the selected keyframes w ill be set to thepercentage in the input-field right of the checkbox.

OK

Applies the selected changes and closes the dialog box.

CancelCloses the dialog box w ithout making any changes.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

OpenQuickTime Sound Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)
The OpenQuickTime Sound Options dialog box (titled MediaSettings) allow s you to configure the audio
compression settings w hen exporting a QuickTime movie on Linux.

On GNU/Linux, Harmony uses the OpenQuickTime framew ork to export QuickTime movies. This framew ork
uses its ow n user interfaces to allow you to configure the video and audio compression settings for a movie.
Because OpenQuickTime only comes bundled w ith non-prorprietary codecs, its compression options arelimited.

NOTESlFor tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on GNU/Linux.

How to access the OpenQuickTime Sound Options dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

Parameter

Description

Lets you select a codec. By default, the follow ing codecs w ill be available:

codec

l

A- Law 2:1: This codec uses logarithms to compress audio data. The
resulting audio stream requires half the disk space of uncompressed audio
data, but is of noticeably low er quality.

l

IMA 4:1: This codec compresses audio data to require a quarter of the disk
space required for uncompressed audio data. It is not supported by a lot ofsoftw are.

l

Twos Complement - Little Endian PCM: A standard uncompressed audio
codec.

lTwos Complement - Big Endian PCM: A legacy standard uncompressedaudio codec. This codec may be compatible w ith older editing interfaces.

l(mu)- Law 2:1: Similarly to A-Law , this codec uses logarithms tocompress audio data. The resulting audio stream requires half the disk
space of uncompressed audio data, but is of noticeably low er quality.

NOTE
It is recommended to leave this option to its default value, Twos
Complement - Little Endian PCM, as it is commonly used for storing
uncompressed audio. Other encoding formats are likely to sacrifice audio
quality for negligible savings in disk space.

Sample rate

The sample rate at w hich to export your scene's audio. The only available option
is 22050 Hz, as it is the sample rate used internally by Harmony.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

QuickTime Sound Settings Dialog Box (W indows)
The Sound Settings dialog box allow s you to set the audio compression settings w hen you w ant to export a
QuickTime Movie (.mov) file.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on W indow s and requires Apple QuickTime to be installed.

How to access the QuickTime Sound Settings dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

82Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

Parameter

Description

Allow s you to select the compression algorithm to use the compress the movie'saudio track.
Compressor

NOTE
It is recommended to leave this setting to None, as other formats are likely
to sacrifice audio quality for negligible savings in disk space.

Allow s you to select the sample rate, or frequency, in w hich to export the audio
track for the movie.

Rate

NOTE
Harmony cannot export audio at a higher sample rate than 22.050 kHz. If
you select a higher sample rate, your project's audio w ill be upsampled,w hich means it w ill take more disc space w ithout increasing in quality.

Allow s you to select the bit depth in w hich to encode the audio track. This
determines the amount of precision to record each w avelength in the audio track.

Size

NOTE
The standard bit depth is 16- bit. If you choose 8- bit, the amount of disk
space the audio track of your movie file requires w ill be halved, but theaudio quality w ill be significantly low er.

Use

Allow s you to select w hether to export the movie's audio track using the Mono or
Stereo channel mode.

83

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

NOTE
Stereo sound has a separate track for the left and right speakers, w hereas
mono sound only has a single audio track for all speakers.

84Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings Dialog Box(W indows)
The Standard Video Compression Settings dialog box allow s you to configure the video compression settings
w hen exporting a QuickTime Movie (.mov) file.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on W indow s and requires Apple QuickTime to be installed.

How to access the QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

85Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

Parameter

Description

Allow s you to select the codec to use to compress the video stream of yourmovie. It is recommended to use one of the follow ing codecs, depending on yourusage scenario:
Compression Typel

H.264: A very effective lossy compression algorithm that is commonly
supported by w eb brow sers and most media players.

l

MPEG- 4 Video: A very effective lossy compression algorithm that iscommonly supported by media players, but less so by w eb brow sers.

86Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

DescriptionlAnimation: A high quality compression algorithm that is commonly used
for media interchange and video editing.

TIPSl

You can export a video w ith transparency by selecting the Animation
codec and setting the Depth setting to Millions of Colors+.

l

You can export a video w ith virtually lossless compression by selecting
the Animation codec and setting Quality setting to Best.

MotionFrame Rate

The amount of frames per second for the video stream. Leave this setting toCurrent to use your project's frame rate.

Some codecs compress the video by recording a limited amount of keyframes,
w hich are frames in w hich the entire picture is encoded, pixel by pixel and, inbetw een, recording deltas, w hich are frames that are only defined by theirdifference w ith the previous frame. This significantly reduces the size of the movie
file. How ever, the less keyframes a movie has, the more it is likely to encounter
decoding errors, and the harder it is for players to scrub or jump to a specific timein the video. This option allow s you to decide w hen keyframes are inserted in thevideo stream.
Automatic: Lets the encoder decide w hen keyframes should be inserted.
Key Frames

Every ... frames: Allow s you to set the exact interval, in frames, at w hichkeyframes should be inserted.
All: Encodes every frame as a keyframe. This option w ill significantly impact filesize, but w ill make it easier to scrub through the video w ithout causing any
rendering error.

NOTE
If you are using the H.264 codec, you must set the Key Frames option to All,or you w ill get an error message w hen you confirm the compression
settings.

Frame Reordering

Encodes frames in a different order than the one at w hich they are meant to be
displayed. This allow s for more efficient compression, but may not be compatible
w ith some players.

87Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

Compressor

Allow s you to set the colour depth for your video. A low er colour depth w ill
reduce the size of the video stream but w ill have significant impacts on picture
quality.
Depth

TIP
Set this to Millions of Colors+ if you w ant to export a video w ith
transparency.

Quality

Lets you choose a quality setting for the video compression. A higher quality
setting w ill increase the size of the movie file, but w ill look better. A low er quality
setting w ill reduce the size of the movie file, but w ill cause blurriness andcompression artifacts to appear in the picture.

Allow s you to choose betw een the follow ing scan modes:lInterlaced: Frames are encoded starting w ith their odd-numberedscanlines, then their even-numbered scanlines.

lProgressive: Frames are encoded w hole, from the highest scanline to thelow est scanline.

Scan Mode /Interlaced

NOTE
Some codecs w ill display a drop-dow n allow ing you to select Interlaced or
Progressive, w hile others w ill simply have an Interlaced checkbox.

Allow s you to select one of the follow ing aspect ratios:
Aspect Ratio

Filterl

4:3: For output on standard definition displays.

l

16:9: For output to w idescreen displays.

W hen exporting w ith the PNG compression type, this determines the algorithm
w ith w hich each pixel is encoded relative to other pixels. Leaving this option to
Best w ill export in the most space-efficient filter, w ithout compromising picture
quality. Picking a filter may increase rendering speed a bit, at the expense of somedisk space.

Data Rate

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Parameter

Automatic

Description

Lets the encoder use the optimal bit rate for your compression settings.

Allow s you to specify the encoding bit rate.

NOTE

Restrict To

This setting w ill override other compression settings, so that the specified
bit rate is respected.

Optimize the encoding to be responsive depending on the intended view ing
method:l

CD/DVD- ROM: Optimizes the bit rate for a video that w ill be played using
an optical disc player.

lDownload: Optimizes the bit rate for a file that is going to be
dow nloaded, then view ed from the user's hard drive.

lStreaming: Optimized the bit rate for a video that w ill be streamed fromthe w eb and played as the video is being dow nloaded.

Optimized For

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Tint Offset/Blend Dialog Box
You can offset, blend, or mix the colours in a colour palette using the sliders and increasing the Amount value.

How to access the Tint Offset/Blend dialog box
1. From the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Tint Panel or right-click and select Tint Panel.
The Blend/Offset Tint panel opens.

Parameter

Description

OffsetOffsets the selected colours by the adjustments made using the HSB and RGB
sliders. Use the Amount slider to adjust the degree of offset. Use the Alpha slider
to adjust the opacity of the selected colour.

Blend

Blends the selected colours w ith the colour sw atch in the top-right corner. Use
the Amount slider to adjust the degree of blend. A blend of 100% turns theselected colours into the same colour as the sw atch. Adjusting the HSB and RGB
sliders affect the sw atch colour, w hich in turn affects the selected colours on theleft. Use the Alpha slider to adjust the opacity of the sw atch.

Mixer

Select a Base and Tint colour to form a third colour sw atch. Use the slider justbeneath to mix the Base and Tint colours by different amounts. This w ill affectthe mixed sw atch w hether it is selected or not. Select either the Tint or Basesw atch and use the HSB and RGB sliders to adjust its colour. This w ill affect themixed sw atch colour, w hich in turn affects the selected colours on the left.

90Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Toolbar Manager Dialog Box
The Toolbar Manager dialog box lets you customize the toolbar in any of the view s. You can add your favourite
tools to a toolbar for an efficient w orkflow .

How to access the Toolbar Manager dialog box
1. Right-click on a toolbar in any view and select Customize. Note that the menu w ill not appear if
you right-click on a disabled icon.

Parameter

Description

Available Tools

Displays the complete list of tools available for customizing a toolbar.

Toolbar

Displays a list of the tools currently available on the toolbar.

Default

Restores the toolbar w ith its default items.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Vectorization Parameters Dialog Box
The Vectorization Parameters dialog box lets you vectorize pencil draw ings, along w ith any red, blue or green
pencil marks you may have used to indicate highlights and shadow s. The draw ing w ill be vectorized into pure
red, blue, green and black (RGB values), w hile creating colour art zones w herever lines connect. After painting
in your tones and highlights, change your pure RGB colours to transparent (0 Alpha) in the Colour Picker
w indow and w atch the indicator colour zone lines disappear.

How to open the Vectorization Parameters dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Import > From Scanner.
You can also open it from any other import option that allow s you to customize the vectorization
parameters (i.e. from the scanner).
2. In the Scan Draw ings w indow , do the follow ing:l

In the Layer section, decide on the layer options.

l

In the Import Options section, select the Convert to Toon Boom Vector Drawing
optionl

Click Preview.

3. In the Vectorization section, click the Vectorization Parameters

92

button.

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Options Tab
The Options tab contains the main vectorization settings. More settings are available in the Help tab.

Parameter

Description

Input

The input filters are applied to the bitmap image before it is vectorized.

One Pass

One threshold value is applied to both the Line and Colour Art. For draw ings w ith
distinct vector-style lines of mattes, you only need one pass.

Tw o Passes

Applies a different threshold value to each layer. For greyscale draw ings, you
may w ant to perform the vectorization process tw ice to apply different thresholdvalues to the Line and Colour Art layers.

Threshold

Determines w hich values in the scanned image are considered part of the Lineand Colour Art layer and w hat w ill be eliminated from the vectorized draw ing;
0% is w hite and 100% is black. The threshold is betw een these tw o values.

Expand Bitmap

Lets you enter a value to scale the bitmap to detect small variations in the line.
Use this option if you scanned a greyscale image and w ant to preserve small
variations in the texture to apply to the line art.

Jag Filter

Lets you enter a value to scale back the bitmap to remove some of the line’sroughness. This is useless w hen you have a draw ing that appears quite rough; theJag filter w ill eliminate excess strokes in the final draw ing.

Line Art Threshold(%)

Determines w hich values in the scanned image are considered part of the Line Art
layer and w hat w ill be eliminated from the vectorized draw ing; 0% is w hite and100% is black. The threshold is betw een these tw o values.

93Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Colour Art Threshold(%)

OutputDetermines w hich values in the scanned image are considered part of the Colour
Art layer and w hat w ill be eliminated from the vectorized draw ing; 0% is w hiteand 100% is black. The threshold is betw een these tw o values.

The output filters are applied during the vectorization process.

No Colour Art

No Texture

Does not generate filling zones in the Colour Art layer.

Does not generate texture in the Line Art layer in the final images. Select thisoption to create solid lines in the final line art.

Generate Matte in
Underlay Layer

Creates an opaque zone behind your draw ing’s lines to avoid seeing through thelayers.

Colour as Texture

Converts colour values into a texture layer.

Optical Registration

DPI

Peg Side

The optical registration options are used to automatically align draw ings basedon the position of the peg holes on the animation paper. The peg holes must
appear in the scanned draw ings for the optical registration to w ork.

Lets you enter the dots-per-inch value of your image. You must enter the samevalue as the DPI used to scan the image.

Lets you select the position of the peg holes on your draw ings. Identify w hether
they are on the top, bottom, left or right.

Determines how exact the location of the peg holes must be for the softw are torecognize them. There are tw o values to choose from:
Strictness

Strict: The peg holes must be in a tightly defined area to be recognized.
Loose: The peg holes can be recognized somew here in a larger area. This is therecommended setting.

Field Chart

Post Processing

Lets you indicate the size of the animation paper, 12 or 16.

The Post Processing filters are applied to the final vector images.

Remove Holes

Removes holes of a specified value that might make painting difficult.

Remove Dirt

Removes stray marks and dirt of a specified value. Try a value around 500.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Remove Hair Size

Removes small strokes that have no line art.

Remove Hair:
Number of Passes

The number of times the draw ing w ill be analyzed to identify hair marks.

Miscellaneous

Close Gaps

Closes gaps in the Colour Art so you can paint it.

Smooth Passes forLine Art Before
Breaking Triangles

The number of times the smoothing operation runs before creating the triangles
that break lines in the draw ing. If unnecessary triangles are appearing in thedraw ing, increase this value.

Smooth Passes forLine Art

The number of times the smoothing operation is performed after the triangles
have been created. This further smooths the line art.

Preview

Show Strokes

Show s the strokes in the Vectorized Image panel.

Stroke Thickness

Show s the size of the strokes.

Help Tab
The Help tab contains the most advanced vectorization settings w hich you type in the Advanced Option fields
at the bottom of the Vectorization Parameters dialog box.

File IO Options-file <filename (including extension)> [ options ]95

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes-infile <filename (including extension)>; same as -file-outfile <filename>; alternate output file-informat <format>; the input format. Used if reading from stdin-debug; turn on debug mode
-noforce; don't force output if image is inconsistent-version; print version information and quit
-output_version <version>; output files of this version. Valid versions can be: 0 or 604-force_unamed_palette_for_texture; w ill generate a texture in TVG's internal palette

Registration Options-register <dpi side strictness>; perform optical registration.
•

Side can be one of left, right, top, bottom or l, r, t, b.

•

Strictness can be either loose, strict or l, s.

-register_center_peg_holes; w ill use only round holes in 16 fields page-rcph; short form of register_center_peg_holes-registration_looseness_factor <factor>; registration looseness factor (default 2.000000)-rlf; short form of registration_looseness_factor-rdebug; output registration debug messages-pegpitch <inch (default 8.000000)>; distance betw een peg bars
-threshr < (default 0.500000)>; threshold for optical registration; range 0.0 to 1.0-rmargin <inch (default 1)>; region size w here to look for peg bars
-peg_distance_from_center <inch (default 5.25)>; peg distance from centre of the image-pdfc; short form of -peg_distance_from_center-out_peg_position <side (default same)>; w anted position of the peg on the draw ing.
•

Can be one of right, left, top, bottom (or r, l, t, b) or same.

•

A rotation w ill be performed if it is different from the side passed to -register.

-output_peg_matrix; output the peg transformation matrix on standard output.
- scanner_calibrate; < (default 1.0000 1.0000) > x and y scale factors to be applied to scanner image.

Filtering Options-pixel <pixel_shape (default '4x3')>; Valid values: 4x3

96Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide-gap <w orldUnits (default 10)>; close gaps up to this big-pencil; generate line art only
-keep_dirt; don't filter out dirt
-thresh <threshold (default 0.2)>; range 0.0 to 1.0-rmv_hairs <w orldUnits (default 1)> <passes (default 1)>•

remove hairs of size smaller than "size" in "passes" passes-rmv_holes <area (default 7)>; remove holes smaller than "area"-rmv_dirt <area (default 1)>; remove dirt smaller than "area"•

try values betw een 100 and 500 for rmv_holes and rmv_dirt. The area is in w orld units squared-rmv_triangles <w orldUnits (default 30.000000)>; remove triangles at "pixels"•

distance from each other. Use -no_break to remove all triangles-no_texture; don't generate textured strokes-color_as_texture; w ill vectorize the alpha channel and put the RGB colour in a textured colour-noclosegap; disable all gap closing algorithms-no_break; disable the breaking of line art-jag_filter <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap-expand_bitmap <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap-fit_errorc <error (default 1.000000>; fitting error for the colour art-fit_errorl <error (default 1.000000>; fitting error for the line art-smoothl <passes (default 1>; number of smooth passes for line art-smoothc <passes (default 1>; number of smooth passes for colour art-first_smooth <passes (default 0>; number of smooth passes for line art before breaking triangles-first_smoothl <passes (default 0>; number of smooth passes for line art before breaking triangles-first_smoothc <passes (default 0>; number of smooth passes for line art in colour art pass (needs -2pass)-2pass; specify tw o sets of parameters; one for line art "l", one for colour art "c"(-thresh, -rmv_holes and -rmv_dirt w ill be overridden by -threshl, threshc, -rmv_holesl,-rmv_holesc, -rmv_dirtl and -rmv_dirtc)-threshl <threshold for line art (default 0.5)>; range 0.0 to 1.0-threshc <threshold for color art (default 0.5)>; range 0.0 to 1.0-jag_filterl <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for line art

97Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes-jag_filterc <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for colour art-expand_bitmapl <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for line art-expand_bitmapc <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for colour art-rmv_holesl <area (default 7)>; remove line art holes smaller than "area"-rmv_holesc <area (default 7)>; remove colour art holes smaller than "area"-rmv_dirtl <area (default 1)>; remove line art dirt smaller than "area"-rmv_dirtc <area (default 1)>; remove colour art dirt smaller than "area"
try values betw een 100 and 500 for rmv_holesl, rmv_holesc, rmv_dirtl and rmv_dirtc. The values are in
w orld units squared-margins <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin around bitmap-top_margin <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin at top of bitmap-bottom_margin <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin at bottom of bitmap-left_margin <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin at left of bitmap-right_margin <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin at right of bitmap-remove_peg_bars; remove the peg bar holes-field_size <fields (default 12 or use value in scan file)>; set the draw ing to this field size
-fs; short hand for -field_size-peg_bar_size <inch (default 1)>; the size of the peg bar region-noframe; do not put a frame around the colour art-frame_fields <default -1.000000>; put a frame of the specified dimension around the colour art-downscale_input <default 1>; dow nscale the raw input by this integer factor-downscale_texture <default 1>; dow nscale the output texture by this integer factor-buildmatte; generate a matte on underlay for line test
-buildmatte_colourart; generate a matte on colour art for line test

NOTE
-buildmatte and -buildmatte_colourart are mutually exclusive- copystrokes; copy original strokes w hen building matte.

Options for bitmap that has no registration information-pixel_margins <inch (default 0)>; remove margin around bitmap

98Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide-top_pixel_margin <inch (default 0)>; remove margin at top of bitmap-bottom_pixel_margin <inch (default 0)>; remove margin at bottom of bitmap-left_pixel_margin <inch (default 0)>; remove margin at left of bitmap-right_pixel_margin <inch (default 0)>; remove margin at right of bitmap-dpi <(default -1)>; dpi information of input bitmap

RGB Keying Options-rgb; generate separate zones for red, green and blue lines-rgb_alpha <value (default 255)>; generate red, green and blue colour w ith alpha of this value-no_red; ignore red colour in vectorization-no_green; ignore green colour in vectorization-no_blue; ignore blue colour in vectorization-flatten; flatten the draw ing after generating colours-rmv_rgb_dirt <threshold area default 0.0>; remove red, green and blue regions smaller than area
-expand_bitmap_rgb <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for rgb-threshrgb <value> <threshold for rgb vectorization default 0.200000>;-threshsv <saturation threshold default 0.500000> <value threshold default 0.500000>; thresholds onsaturation and value to consider a pixel to be grey

Colour Vectorization Options-color_vectorize; perform a colour vectorization-file2 <colour art filename>; specify the colour art bitmap-penstyle <center alpha (0.0-20.0)> <edge alpha (0.0-20.0)> <gamma (0-10)><centre pressure effect (0.01.0)> <edge pressure effect (0.0-1.0)><texture bitmap dow nscaling (0.2-20)> <texture bitmap file (valid
filename or "" if no file)>; generate brush texture for the line art-pressure_variation <strategy (0, 1 or 2)> <min pressure (0.0-1.0)> <max pressure (0.0-1.0)> <max variation(0.0-1.0)>; specify a pressure strategy for the centre line.
-blur_radius <pixels (default 0)>; blur the penstyle texture generated-color_contour_smooth_passes <times (default 3)>; perform number of smooth passes on contour before
computing texture-ccsp <times (default 3)>; short for -color_contour_smooth_passes-color_rmv_holesl <w orld units (default 0.000000)>; remove holes of this size w hen computing texture-color_fill_holesl <w orld units (default 0.000000)>; fill holes of this size for colour line art

99

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Bubble Usage (implemented only for colour vectorization's line art)-create_bubbles; add bubbles into the LineArt. Implemented for colour vectorization only
-bubble_gap <value (default 3)>; max number of colour art points betw een 2 bubbles-bubble_length <value (default 10)>; max number of circles in a bubble-min_radius <value (default 1.5000)>; min radius of a circle in a bubble relative to the line thickness (must be>= 1.0)-max_radius <value (default 3.5000)>; max radius of a circle in a bubble relative to the line thickness (must be>= 1.0)-uniform_gap; the space betw een bubbles is constant

4 Colour Vectorization- 4colours [key:value] ... [key:value] ; The key value list can be empty. The list of keys is:
rgbdiff:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
dark:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
grey:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
white:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
dirt:value ; dirt area. 200 is a good value
rt:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
gt:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
bt:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]

NOTE
There must be no space betw een the colon and the key/value. For example: -4colours rgbdiff:20
dark:20 grey:120 w hite:250 dirt:200 rt:240 gt:240 bt:240

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

OpenQuickTime Video Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)
The OpenQuickTime Video Options dialog box (titled MediaSettings) allow s you to configure the video
compression settings w hen exporting a QuickTime movie on Linux.

On GNU/Linux, Harmony uses the OpenQuickTime framew ork to export QuickTime movies. This framew ork
uses its ow n user interfaces to allow you to configure the video and audio compression settings for a movie.
Because OpenQuickTime only comes bundled w ith non-prorprietary codecs, its compression options arelimited.

NOTESlFor tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on macOS.

How to access the OpenQuickTime Video Options dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

101Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

Parameter

Description

Allow s you to select a video compression algorithm. By default, the follow ing
codecs are available:lMotion- JPEG A: A very portable codec that performs lossy JPEG
compression and interlaces the frames. Motion-JPEG A compression isless efficient than Photo JPEG in terms of quality and file size, but may be
a more portable alternative for softw are that does not support Photo
JPEG.

l

Photo JPEG: Encodes the movie as a sequence of JPEG images. JPEG
images have lossy compression. This is the most efficient codec for file
size.

l

Portable Network Graphics (PNG): Encodes the movie as a sequence of
PNG images. PNG images have lossless compression.

l

Tag Image File Format (TIFF): Encodes the movie as a sequence of
uncompressed TIFF images. This codec is lossless.

l

Uncompressed (RGB): Encodes the movie as uncompressed bitmap data.
This codec is lossless.

codec

NOTE
Portable Network Graphics (PNG) and Photo JPEG are the only codecs inthis list that are natively supported by both Harmonyand GNOME's Totem
Video Player. Other codecs may require additional softw are to play on
GNU/Linux w orkstations.

102Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

quality

W hen using a JPEG-based codec, this allow s you to set the JPEG compression
quality. By default, this w ill be set to 85. Possible values range from 0 to 100. The
higher the quality, the more disk space the resulting video file w ill take.

fieldDominanceFor codecs w ith interlacing. This is set to 1 by default. If set to 1, the first field w ill
be encoded on odd frames, and the second field w ill be encoded on even frames.
If set to 2, the first field w ill be encoded on even frames, and the second field w ill
be encoded on odd frames.

compression

The amount of lossless compression to perform w hen exporting in PNG format.
PNG compression is lossless, but higher compression settings w ill take longer toencode and decode.

packbits

For movies encoded in TIFF. W hen enabled, this option adds extra losslesscompression to the encoding.

lendian

For movies encoded in TIFF. W hen enabled, the video data is encoded in little
endian byte order, instead of big endian.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

W indows Media Video Settings Dialog Box (W indows)
The W MV Settings dialog box allow s you to configure the video and audio settings w hen exporting a movie in
W indow s Media Video (.wmv) format.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on W indow s.

How to access the W MV Options dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

Parameter

Description

Video

Variable Bit Rate
Quality

Allow s you choose a quality setting ranging from 5 to 100 for the video stream.
The higher the quality of the export, the larger the resulting file.

Uncheck this checkbox if you w ant to export a movie w ithout an audio track.

NOTE

Sound

The Sound section of this dialog is not available if you are exporting an
EDL/AAF/XML sequence, as this type of export creates video files w ith noaudio track and export sound clips in separate sound files.

Allow s you to select one of the preset combinations of audio sample rates,
sample sizes and channel modes for the audio stream:l

Sample rate: Available sample rates are 8000 Hz, 16000 Hz, 22050 Hz
and 44100 Hz. The higher the sample rate, the better the audio quality.

NOTE

ProfileHarmony cannot export audio at a higher sample rate than 22.050
kHz. If you select a higher sample rate, your project's audio w ill be
upsampled, w hich means it w ill take more disc space w ithout
increasing in quality.

lSample size: Also know n as bit depth, this determines the amount of105

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

precision used to record each w avelength in the audio track. The standard
size is 16- bit. If you choose 8- bit, the amount of disk space the audio trackof your movie file requires is halved, but the audio quality w ill besignificantly low er.

NOTE
Exporting in 8-bit audio requires Apple QuickTime to be installed.

l

Channel mode: Available channel modes are Stereo and Mono. Stereo
sound has a separate audio track for the left and the right speakers,
w hereas mono sound uses a single track for all speakers.

106Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

107

Chapter 2: Menus

Chapter 2: Menus
The Menus section covers all the menu entries available in Harmony. There are several types of menus in
Harmony: main menus, quick-access menus and view menus. Menus contains most of the functions available.
They may also have a toolbar button or keyboard shortcut equivalent.
Main Menus

109

Animation Menu

110

Draw ing Menu

115

Edit Menu

120

File Menu

123

Help Menu

126

Insert Menu

127

Play Menu

129

Scene Menu

131

View Menu

133

W indow s Menu

138

View Menus

140

Colour View Menu

141

Function View Menu

144

Library View Menu

146

Script Editor View Menu

148

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Main Menus
The top menu contains most of the commands available in Harmony. Depending on the view you're w orking inand the selected element, some commands are available and others not. The top menu is alw ays located atthe very top of the interface.

On macOS, there is also a Harmony Essentials category that contains the follow ing commands: Preferences,
About, and Quit.
Animation Menu

110

Drawing Menu

115

Edit Menu

120

File Menu

123

Help Menu

126

Insert Menu

127

Play Menu

129

Scene Menu

131

View Menu

133

W indows Menu

138

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Chapter 2: Menus

Animation Menu
The Animation menu lets you access tools, adjust animation timing, set and parameters, lock or unlock layers,
and select elements in the Xsheet and Timeline view s.

How to access the Animation menulAt the top of the interface, select Animation.

Command

Description

AnimateW hen this option is selected, every time you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to manipulate an element
Animate Current Framein your scene, the position of the element w ill be stored in a keyframe
at the current frame. This allow s you to animate elements in yourscene w ithout creating keyframes manually.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to make transformations to an

Animate Onion Skin Range

element in your scene, the transformations w ill be stored as keyframes
at the beginning and at the end of the current Onion Skin range, as
w ell as on every existing keyframe in-betw een. This can be useful if
you w ant to reposition an element that you have already animated, but
only during a specific range of frames, w hich you can define byenabling Onion Skin and setting the Onion Skin range to cover that
range of frames.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to make transformation to an
Animate Off

element in your scene, the transformations w ill affect the element
throughout the w hole scene. This can be useful if you w ant toreposition an element after you have already animated it.

Stop-Motion Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to stop-motion keyframes. Betw een
a stop-motion keyframe and the next keyframe, Harmony does not
generate any animation and the element remains static until the next
keyframe.

Delete Keyframe

Deletes the selected keyframes.

110Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Tools

Transform

Allow s you to select draw ing layers and position, rotate, scale andskew them.

TranslateLets you move the selected element along the X and Y axes.

RotateTurns a selected element around its pivot point.

Scale

Increases or decreases the size of a selected element. You can scale an
object up to make it larger or dow n to make it smaller. Press Shift toscale the element w hile maintaining its proportions.

Skew

Slants the selected element.

Maintain Size

Keeps elements the same size aspect ratio in the Camera view as you
move them tow ards or aw ay from the camera.

Lets you reposition the visual trajectory w ithout offsetting or
modifying your animation. By default, the trajectory is located at 0,0,0
fields. If your elements w ere draw n in a different location than the
Spline Offset

centre of the draw ing area, it w ill look like the trajectory is not aligned
w ith your draw ing. Also, if you have several elements attached to one
trajectory, you might w ant your trajectory to be at a different location
to represent the group's motion better.

Cell

Increase Exposure

Adds one more exposure to a selected cell; repeating this action adds
an extra cell each time. This is an efficient w ay to extend a draw ing's
exposure and is alw ays set in Insert mode. Increasing an exposure
pushes the existing exposure forw ard.

Decrease Exposure

Decreases exposure of a selected cell by one; repeating this action
decreases one exposure adds an extra cell each time. This is anefficient w ay to shorten a draw ing's exposure. Decreasing an exposure
pulls in the existing exposure.

Set Exposure toLets you set the exposure to 1, 2, 3 or a custom exposure.

Extend Exposure

Lets you enter the frame up to w hich you w ant to extend the exposure.

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Chapter 2: Menus

You can expose the draw ing in the frames and replace the draw ings
that w ere originally there or move the subsequent frames forw ard intime.

Add Key Exposure

Adds a key exposure to the selected cell.

Remove Key Exposure

Removes key exposures from the selected cells.

W hen w orking w ith draw ings to adjust the timing of a mouth in alipsync, for example, and forcing the use of specific key exposures,
unnecessary key exposures w ill be created. You can delete these
duplicates w ithout affecting the rest of the draw ing. The first draw ingof the selection w ill be used for the range.
Remove Duplicate Key Exposure

NOTE
Duplicate key exposures may occur w hen pasting w ith the
Enforce Key Exposure option selected.

Fill Empty Cells

Fills the empty frames in the selection w ith the exposure just before.
For example, if you select a range of frame that starts w ith an exposeddraw ing and then ends w ith empty cells, all of the empty cells in theselection w ill be filled w ith the exposed draw ing just before the empty
cells.

Insert Blank Cell

Adds an empty cell betw een other cells.

Clear Exposure

Removes the exposure from the selected cell.

Clear Exposure and Pull

Replaces the exposure from the selected cell w ith exposures that
follow it.

Fill Selection

Lets you fill the same value over an entire selection. The selection canbe over one cell, a cell range in one column, a cell range over manycolumns, an entire column, or many columns. You can use numbers,
w ords, letters, or any alphanumeric value.

Sequence Fill

Lets you create a numbered sequence over a selection. The sequencecan be forw ard, backw ard, single, double or higher increment, as acycle, and so on. The selection can be over one cell or a cell range in
one column or more or an entire column or many entire columns.

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Lip-Sync

Auto Lip-Sync Detection

Generates a sound detection for lip-sync.

Map Lip-Sync

Automatically maps draw ings in an element to the mouth chart you
have generated for a sound. This can save time w hen you are lipsynching a voice track.

Flip Horizontal

Flips the selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the selection vertically.

Flip Scale X

Once your draw ing layer is rotated, the original horizontal and verticalaxes change. The Flip Scale X and Flip Scale Y w ill perform a flip on
your draw ing layer follow ing its original axis.Remembers the original
X-axis of the layer and flips the element follow ing it.

Flip Scale Y

Remembers the original Y-axis of the layer and flips the element
follow ing it.

Flip

Lock in Time

Indicates w hether the point is locked to a specific frame (keyframe) or
only locked to a specific position and the curve can flow through it
freely as other points are being added, moved, or adjusted (control
point).

Substitute Draw ing Previous

Replaces the draw ing or cell's symbol on the current frame by theprevious draw ing.

Substitute Draw ing Next

Replaces the draw ing or cell's symbol on the current frame by the next
draw ing.

Go to Previous Keyframe

Goes to the previous keyframe.

Go to Next Keyframe

Goes to the next keyframe.

Select Child

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg elementin the Timeline view .

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Select Children

Lets you select all elements parented to the selected peg element in
the Timeline view .

Lock

Lock

Locks one or a multiple selection of layers.

UnlockUnlocks one or a multiple selection of locked layers.

Lock All

Locks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Unlock All

Unlocks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Lock All Others

Locks every layer except the selected ones.

Reset

Returns the value of the selected element to the initial value of theactive tool. For example, if the Rotate tool is active, the transformation
angle w ill be reset to 0 and if the Transform tool is active, all thetransformation values w ill be reset.

Reset All

Resets all transformations on the current frame in a selected layer.
Your keyframe w ill remain, but all the values w ill return to the starting
value. All transformations are reset regardless of the tool you're using.

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Drawing Menu
The Draw ing menu lets you access many tools related to draw ing, painting, dirt removal, optimizing strokes,
and more.

How to access the Drawing menulAt the top of the interface, select Drawing.

Command

Description

Draw ing Tools

Allow s you to select one of the draw ing tools available in Harmony.

SelectAllow s you to select and reposition, scale, rotate and skew brush strokes, pencil
lines, shapes and other parts of your artw ork.

Contour Editor

Allow s you to edit the vector contours of brush strokes, pencil lines and shapes inyour artw ork. You can add, remove, tw eak and move vector points, move theBezier handles of the vector points as w ell as deform vector outlines.

Centerline Editor

Allow s you to tw eak and deform a brush stroke by manipulating the points at thecentre of its line rather than its contour.

CutterAllow s you to cut a part of your artw ork, then reposition, scale, rotate and skew
it.

Smooth Editor

Allow s you to optimize contours and lines by removing its extra points, making
them easier to edit.

Perspective

Allow s you to deform artw ork by applying a perspective effect on it.

Envelope

Allow s you to deform and w arp artw ork by moving points and tw eaking lines in a
grid.

Reposition All
Draw ings

Allow s you to reposition, scale, rotate and skew all draw ings in the current layer.

Draw ing Pivot

Allow s you to position the pivot on a draw ing layer by clicking w here you w ant
its location to be.

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Brush

A pressure-sensitive tool for creating a contour shape w ith a thick and thin line
effect, as if created w ith a paint brush.

PencilA pressure-sensitive tool for draw ing outlines. Pencil lines are made of central
vector lines, making them easier to tw eak and edit than brush strokes.

Text

Allow s you to add text and to format it.

EraserA pressure-sensitive tool for erasing parts of a draw ing.

Colour Eyedropper

Allow s you to select a colour by clicking on a colour in your artw ork.

Morphing

Allow s you to create and configure a morphing sequence, w hich w ill
automatically generate the in-betw eens betw een tw o draw ings in the current
layer.

Line

Draw s a straight line segment going from one point to the other.

Rectangle

Draw s a rectangle.

EllipseDraw s an ellipse.

Polyline

Allow s you to draw shapes, segmented lines or complex curved lines by clicking
to create each point in the sequence of line segments.

Paint

Allow s you to fill colour zones w ith a colour or texture.

Repaint Brush

Like the Brush tool, but only paints over existing brush strokes.

Close Gap

Allow s you to close open shapes so that they can be filled w ith the Paint tool. By
draw ing a stroke near a small gap in a shape, this tool w ill create a small invisible
stroke connecting the tw o closest points around the gap.

StrokeAllow s you to create invisible lines that can serve as colour zones that can be
filled, or close the gaps in existing colour zones.

Edit Gradient/Texture

Allow s you to adjust the position, angle and size of gradients and textures in acolour zone.

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Hand

Allow s you to pan the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Zoom

Allow s you zoom in and out of the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Rotate View

Lets you rotate the Camera and Draw ing view s just like w ith a real animation
disc.

ConvertPencil Lines to Brush
StrokesConverts the selected centreline pencil strokes into contour strokes brush lines.

Brush Strokes toPencil Lines

Converts selected contour strokes into centreline pencil strokes. The brush stroke
thickness w ill be lost.

Strokes to Pencil
Lines

Converts the selected invisible line to a pencil line.

Break Apart Text
LayersText is treated as a single draw ing object. This separates the text so eachcharacter becomes an individual draw ing object you can select and modify
independently.

Optimize

FlattenMerges draw ing objects and brush strokes into a single layer. If you draw newlines to fix a draw ing or line w ith many brush strokes, it can be useful to flatten
them all into a single shape. By default, lines are draw n one on top of each other.
If you intend to repaint the lines or modify their shape, it w ill be easier if they areflattened.

SmoothSmooths selected draw ing strokes and removes extra points.

Optimize

Reduces the number of layers, such as overlapping brush strokes, in the selecteddraw ing objects. Draw ing objects w ill only be flattened and optimized if theselected objects do not change the appearance of the final image w hen they are
merged.

Transform

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

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Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

Rotate 90 CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Rotate 180

Rotates the current selection 180 degrees.

Arrange

Bring to Front

Moves the selected art to the front (on top).

Bring Forw ard

Moves the selected art one level forw ard (closer to the front).

Send Backw ard

Moves the selected art one level low er (behind).

Send to Back

Moves the selected art behind everything (bottom / back).

Create Empty Draw ing

Creates a draw ing in the selected cell, replacing any draw ing that may already be
exposed in that cell and the follow ing ones until it meets another draw ing, key
exposure or a blank cell.

Creates a duplicate of the selected draw ing in the layer. The duplicate draw ing
w ill be exposed at the selected frame instead of the original draw ing. Hence, thiscommand allow s you to instantly start w orking on a duplicate of the current
draw ing and retain the original.
Duplicate Draw ings

NOTE
W hen duplicating a draw ing, the exposure at the selected cell is replaced
w ith the new draw ing, up until the next key exposure.

Delete Selected Draw ings

Permanently removes selected draw ings. Once you save your project, thesedraw ings cannot be recovered.

Rename Draw ing

Lets you give a selected draw ing a new name.

Select Strokes w ith Current
ColourLets you select draw ing elements and painted areas w ith the same colour as thecurrently selected colour in your colour palette.

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Previous Draw ing

W hen a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , displays the previous
draw ing.

Next Draw ing

W hen a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , displays the next draw ing.

Previous Layer

W hen a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , displays the previous
layer.

Once a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , you can navigate betw een
Next Layerthe draw ings, frames, and layers. Displays the previous draw ing, next draw ing,
previous layer or next layer.
W hen a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , displays the next layer.

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Edit Menu
The Edit menu lets you repeat and undo actions, cut/copy/paste selected objects, select and manipulate
objects, w ork w ith symbols, and access the Preferences dialog box.

How to access the Edit menulFrom the top menu, select Edit.

Command

Description

Undo

Removes the last change made to your project. Harmony supports
multiple undo, so you can undo changes you made in the order you
made them.

Redo

Redoes an operation you have undone. This command is active only
after you use the Undo command.

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its
properties to another object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in aview .

Paste in Place

Pastes the copied object in the same place as the original.

Opens the Paste Special dialog box w hich lets you determine howtemplates and symbols are imported in the Timeline view .
Paste Special
There are advanced paste options for draw ings, timings, keyframes,
layers, as w ell as palettes and symbols.

Paste Special Again

Pastes new draw ings w ith the previous Paste Special settings.

DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Select All

Selects all draw ing objects in the current draw ing w indow in the
Draw ing, Timeline and Camera view s. This helps you manage multiple
objects as one w hen moving them.

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Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Draw ing and Camera view s.

Invert Selection

Deselects the currently selected items and selects all other items thatw ere not selected. For example, if some lines are selected in adraw ing, this command w ill deselect them and select any other lines
in the draw ing that w ere not selected.

Create Symbol

Creates a symbol from selected draw ing elements in the Draw ing or
Camera view or a layer or cells in the Timeline view .

Extracts a symbol's contents and places it on the root timeline. Its
contents w ill be copied and inserted into the root timeline. The symbol
w ill not be removed from the Timeline view once it is expanded.
Expand Symbol

The symbol's layers w ill be parented to it in case you created motions
and transformations on the draw ing layer that contain the symbol.
Breaking the hierarchy could result in the loss of any scaling andanimation you may have created.

Duplicate Selected Symbol

Creates a duplicate of a selected symbol. If other symbols are nested
inside the new symbol, they are not duplicated. If you modify them, theoriginal and other instances w ill also be modified.

Clone: Draw ings Only

Creates a copy of the draw ings in the selected layer in the Timelineview or column in the Xsheet view . The timing it not copied.

Clone: Draw ings and Timing

Creates a copy of the draw ings and their timings in the selected layer
in the Timeline view or column in the Xsheet view .

Duplicate

Duplicates a layer to have a copy of the draw ings that are independent
from the original ones, as w ell as an independent timing (exposure).
W hen you need the draw ings to be modified independently, you w ill
w ant to duplicate the layer instead of cloning it.

Merge

Combines all draw ings. Unused columns and layers w ill be deleted,but the original draw ing files are still accessible.

Group

Group

Groups selected draw ing objects in the Camera or Draw ing view .

Ungroup

Ungroups a selected group of draw ing objects in the Camera or121

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Draw ing view .

Edit Draw ing Mode

W hen the Auto-Get Rights to Modify Draw ings option is selected in
the Preferences dialog box (General tab), the system automaticallygets the rights to modify draw ings w hen you select a draw ing.
Otherw ise, you must manually get the rights to modify draw ings.

W hen the Auto-Get Rights to Modify Palette option is selected in the
Preferences dialog box (General tab), the system automatically gets
Edit Palette List Mode

the rights to modify palettes and palette lists w hen you select a colour
from a palette. Otherw ise, you must manually get the rights to modify
a palette or palette list.

Get Rights to Modify Draw ing

Manually releases the rights to modify a selected draw ing.

Release Rights to Modify Draw ing

Manually releases rights to modify a selected draw ing.

Force Release Rights to Modify Draw ing

This option is alw ays available even if the Get Rights to Modify All
Scene Assets option is not selected in the Database Selector dialog
box.

Preferences

Opens the Preferences dialog box w here you can set your preferencesfor Harmony.

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File Menu
The File menu lets you open, close, save, scan, print, and import and export files.

How to access the File menulFrom the top menu, select File.

Command

Description

New

Creates a new scene w hile closing any scene already open. The New Scene dialog box
opens, asking for directory, name, and resolution information.

Open

Displays the Open Scene dialog box w here you can brow se for a scene file. You can
open a new scene from the current one and the previous scene w ill close.

Open Recent

Displays a list of the most recently opened scenes.

Clear

Clears the list of recently opened scenes.

Close

Closes the currently opened scene, but does not close the Harmony application.

Save

Saves all changes made to the opened scene, draw ings, palettes, and palette lists.

Lets you do the follow ing:lSave the scene as the current version.

lSave different versions representing different stages of the production of yourscene.

lSave different versions representing different scene setups.

lChoose specific assets that you w ant to save, such as draw ings or palettes.

Advanced Save

Rights to Modify Scene
VersionAllow s you to modify the selected version of the scene as w ell as to manage andoverw rite other versions. Other users w ill not be able to open a different version of thescene until you close the scene.

Rights to Modify Scene

Allow s you to modify the currently selected scene version only. Unless the Get rights
to modify the scene option is also checked, you w ill not be able to change otherversions of the scene. This allow s other users to modify different versions of the scene
w hile you are w orking on the selected version.

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Determines w hich draw ing files have been modified on disk since you loaded them. All
updated draw ings w ill be reloaded.
Read Changed
Draw ings

NOTE
Reloading a locked draw ing w ill discard unsaved changes.

Manage Versions

Allow s you to manage all the versions of the current scene.

Manage Local Cache

Opens the Manage Local Cache dialog, in w hich you can see all the Harmony Server
database scenes that w ere cached locally, delete unused caches and check if the data
in a scene's cache matches the data on the database server.

Saves the current file w ith a different name and at a different location.
Saves the current state of a scene as another scene. The Save As w indow prompts you
for a new name and a different location for this scene before saving it. This w ill create
a complete scene directory for the new scene.

Save AsNOTE
The scene name cannot exceed 23 characters.

Save as New Version

Saves the current scene as another version. The Save Version dialog box prompts you
to give a name for this new version. This w ill create a new .xstage file in your current
project directory.

AcquireFrom
TW AIN

Opens the Acquire from Scanner w indow from w hich you can set parameters before
scanning.

ImportImagesImports bitmap images w hich you can choose to vectorize.

Movie

Lets you convert a QuickTime movie to an image sequence and audio file.

Sound

Lets you import sound files into your project.

SW F, Illustrator

Lets you import SW F files into your project.

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Files to Library

ExportImagesExports a scene as a bitmap image sequence. If there is sound in your scene, it w ill not
be exported w ith the images.

Movie

Exports animation as a QuickTime movie.

Exports a Flash movie file.
SW F

Harmony supports exporting Flash movie files w ith a limited subset of vector andbitmap effects, the latter w hich can be preview ed in Render View

Quit

Closes the application.

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Help Menu
The Help menu lets you display the Harmony documentation, W elcome screen and end user license
agreement, as w ell as access the Toon Boom w ebsite, and identify the product name and version number.

How to access the Help menulAt the top of the interface, select Help.

Command

Description

Online Help

Opens the Harmony Help system, complete w ith instructions on how
to use the system. This requires an internet connection.

Getting Started

Opens the Harmony Getting Started Guide (in PDF format) in abrow ser w indow . Requires Acrobat Reader.

Toon Boom on the W eb

Opens the Toon Boom w ebsite, w hich features a Support andCommunity > Forum section.

The Customer Experience Improvement Program allow s Toon Boom

Customer Experience Improvement
Programto collect usage information. The data does not contain any personallyidentifiable information and cannot be used to identify you. The data
w ill consist of a basic hardw are description, a project summary andusage information. The information is used only for softw are
improvement purposes, as w ell as for sharing w ith third parties for thesame reason.
This program is enabled by default but is voluntary. If you prefer not toparticipate, you can opt out w hen you first launch the softw are, byusing a global preference, or by a command line argument.

About

Identifies the product name and version number.

Show W elcome Screen

Displays the Harmony W elcome screen.

Show End User License Agreement

Displays the End User License Agreement.

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Insert Menu
The Insert menu lets you create empty symbols in the Library view , different types of layers in the Timelineview , keyframes and control points.

How to access the Insert menulAt the top of the interface, select Insert.

Command

Description

Create Empty Symbol in Library

Creates an empty symbol in the Library view to w hich you can edit
(add content).

Bone

Adds a new Bone layer to the Timeline view .

CameraAdds a new Camera layer to the Timeline view .

Colour-Card

Adds a new Colour-Card layer to the Timeline view .

Draw ing

Adds a new Draw ing layer to the Timeline view and a column in the
Xsheet view .

Game Bone

Adds a new Game Bone layer to the Timeline view .

Kinematic Output

Adds dd a new Kinematic Output layer to the Timeline view .

Peg

Adds a new Peg layer to the Timeline view .

Quadmap

Adds a new Quadmap layer to the Timeline view .

Effects

Adds a new layer in the Timeline view w ith the effect you select: Blur,
Brightness-Contrast, Colour-Scale, Cutter, Glow , Shadow , orTransparency.

Keyframe

Adds a keyframe to the selected cell in the Timeline view .

Keyframe and Duplicate Draw ing

Adds a keyframe to the selected draw ing layer cell in the Timelineview and creates a duplicate of the draw ing, w hich sits on top of theoriginal draw ing.

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Control Point

Adds a control point to the trajectory of the selected element or peg in
the Camera view w hen the element or peg is in a 3D path. Note thatyou must have a 3D path in the peg portion in order to add a control
point.

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Play Menu
The Play menu lets you play back animation and sound. Use it to scrub the sound to create your lip-sync, loop
the playback, navigate through frames, and change the playback range and speed.

How to access the Play menulAt the top of the interface, select Play.

Command

Description

Play

Plays the scene in the Camera or Draw ing view .

Renders your scene's frames, then opens the rendered frames in Playfor playback.
Render and PlayThis allow s you to preview your scene's animation in real time, w ith
the effects rendered and w ith no risk of slow dow n.

Exports your scene as it appears in the Camera view into a movie file,then opens it in your w orkstation's default video player.

Record and PlayThis allow s you to preview your animation w ithout any risk ofslow dow n, but it does not preview the effects in your scene. How ever,
it is much faster than Render and Play.
This button automates the usage of the Export OpenGL Frames dialog
see

Test SW F Movie

Quickly exports your scene as a Flash Movie (.swf), then opens it inyour w orkstation's default w eb brow ser.

Stop

Stops playback.

Mini Playback

Open the Mini Playback dialog. This dialog allow s you to set theamount of frames before and after the current frame to playback w hen
using Mini Playback, to set the speed of Mini Playback and to start Mini
Playback.

Start Mini Playback

Begins Mini Playback using the last settings entered in the Mini
Playback dialog. By default, Mini Playback w ill play 5 frames before
and after the current frame, at the scene's frame rate.

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Playback Speed

Opens the Set New Frame Rate dialog box w here you can set theframe rate at w hich the playback plays.

Loop

If pressed, your scene w ill repeat indefinitely w hen playing.
Otherw ise, it w ill stop w hen the end is reached.

Enable Sound

Turns on sound during playback.

Enable Sound Scrubbing

Turns on sound scrubbing during playback.

Start Frame

Opens the Set Playback Start Frame dialog box , in w hich you canenter the frame number from w hich to start playback.

Stop Frame

Opens the Set Playback Stop Frame dialog box, in w hich you can set
the frame number at w hich to stop playback.

First Frame

Moves the red playhead to the first frame.

Previous Frame

Moves the red playhead to the previous frame.

Next Frame

Moves the red playhead to the next frame.

Last Frame

Moves the red playhead to the last frame.

Go to Frame

Opens the Go to Frame dialog box w here you can enter the frame
number on w hich the red playhead to be positioned in the Timelineview .

Enable Playback

Top View

Plays back your animation in the Top view .

Side View

Plays back your animation in the Side view .

Perspective View

Plays back your animation in the Perspective view .

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Scene Menu
The Scene menu lets you set the scene length, add frames to the scene, view different displays of the scene,
set render options, access the Scene Settings dialog box and Elements Manager w indow , and verify thedraw ing and palette files in your project.

How to access the Scene menulAt the top of the interface, select Scene.

Command

Description

Scene Length

Lets you set the length of the scene in frames.

Frame

Add Frames at Start

Adds the number of frames you specify to the beginning of the scene.

Add Frames at End

Adds the number of frames you specify to the end of the scene.

Add Frames Before Selection
Adds the number of frames you specify before or after your selection.
Add Frames After Selection

Remove Selected Frames

Deletes the selected frames from your scene.

CameraDefault Camera

Scene Settings

Lets you select a camera. If you only add one camera to your scene,
you w ill only see Default Camera in your list.

Opens the Scene Settings dialog box w here you can set the resolution,alignment, bitmap resolution and many other parameters.

RenderAuto Render

Automatically recalculates the preview image w henever you modify aparameter. If your scene is heavy and you do not w ant the preview
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preview update manually.Note that this w ill slow dow n Harmony as it
takes resources to update every frame.

Cancel Preview Render

Cancels a render that w as started.

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View Menu
The View menu lets you manipulate the view by zooming, panning, or rotating. You can also display the gridand change its size, use the onion skin feature to help w ith draw ing, and set the preview resolution.

How to access the View menulAt the top of the interface, select View.

Command

Description

Cycles through the follow ing display modes:

Toggle Full ScreenlNormal Full- Screen: The main application w indow becomesfull screen.

lView Full- Screen: The selected view becomes full screen andall other view s are collapsed.

l

Normal: The main application w indow is restored to its original
size and collapsed view s are expanded.

Zoom In

Zooms in the view .

Zoom Out

Zooms out the view .

Rotate View CW

Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees clockw ise, like an animationtable.

Rotate View CCW

Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees counter-clockw ise, like ananimation table.

Mirror View

Temporarily flips the Camera or Draw ing view horizontally, allow ing
you to view and edit your artw ork as if it w as being mirrored.

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Rotation

Resets the view ’s rotation to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

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GridShow Grid

Displays the grid.

Underlay

Displays the grid under the draw ing elements.

Overlay

Displays the grid over the draw ing elements.

Square Grid

Displays a standard square grid.

12 Field Grid

Displays a 12-field size grid.

16 Field Grid

Displays a 16-field size grid.

Onion Skin

Show Onion Skin

Lets you preview the previous and next draw ings. By default, theprevious draw ings appear in a shade of red and the next draw ings are
displayed w ith a shade of green. You can change these colours in the
Preferences dialog box.

Add to Onion Skin

Adds a series of selected elements to the onion skin preview .

Remove from Onion Skin

Removes a series of selected elements from the onion skin preview .

Remove Unselected from Onion
Skin

Removes all elements except the ones selected from the onion skinpreview .

Add All to Onion Skin

Adds all of the scene's elements to the onion skin preview .

Remove All from Onion Skin

Removes all of the scene's elements from the onion skin preview .

Onion Skinning by Frames

Selects the draw ings to display in the Onion Skin by their frame
number relative to the current frame. For example, if the Onion Skin is
set to include 2 draw ings before and after the current frame, it w ill
include the draw ings up to tw o frames before and up to tw o frames
after the current frame, even if those draw ings are the same as the one
in the current frame. This is more useful for cut-out animation as itallow s you to position a draw ing relative to its position in adjacentframes.

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NOTE
This option only w orks in the Camera view .

Selects the draw ings to display in the Onion Skin by the amount ofdifferent draw ings before and after the current frame. For example, if
the Onion Skin is set to include 2 draw ings before and after the current
frame, this w ill display the nearest tw o different draw ings before andafter the draw ing in the current frame in the Onion Skin, even if thoseOnion Skinning by Draw ings

draw ings are further than 2 frames aw ay from the current frame. Thisis more useful for frame-by-frame animation.

NOTE
W hen this option is enabled, the handles allow ing you to adjust
the extent of the Onion Skin in the Timeline view are notavailable.

Reduce One Previous Draw ing

Reduces the number of previous visible draw ings by one.

Add One Previous Draw ing

Adds one draw ing to the number of previous visible draw ings.

Reduce One Next Draw ing

Reduces the number of next visible draw ings by one.

Add One Next Draw ing

Adds one draw ing to the number of next visible draw ings.

Light Table

Turns on the light table so you can see the previous and subsequent
active layers in w ashed-out colours. It is useful for seeing the otherlayers w hen designing, animating or cleaning up your animation.

Show

Safe Area

Displays the TV safety zone and the centre of the camera frame. The
safe area adapts to the scene resolution, as w ell as the safety zone
and frame’s centre.

Camera Mask

Displays a black mask around the scene’s frame to avoid seeing theunnecessary artw ork. This option is handy w hen you're animating andsetting up the scene. It allow s you to see your scene’s composition
better.

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Control

Displays the controls of the selected element.

Current Draw ing on Top

Displays the selected draw ing on top of everything w hile you draw . By
enabling this option, each time you select a draw ing tool, the selecteddraw ing is displayed in front of everything in the Camera view . The
Timeline view ordering remain unchanged.You only need to enable
this option once, it is not necessary to do it each time you select adraw ing tool.

Show Strokes

Displays the strokes in your draw ings so that the invisible lines standout.

Hide All Controls

Hides the controls of the selected element.

Alignment Guides

Alignment Guides

W hen enabled, alignment guides w ill be visible in the Camera andDraw ing view s.
Show Alignment Guides

This is enabled by default. Disabling this option w ill hide and disablealignment guides, meaning that animation and draw ing tools w ill not
snap to them, even if theSnap to Alignment Guides option isenabled in the Tool Properties view .

It is possible to reposition alignment guides in the current panel bydragging them using theTransform tool. Enabling this option w ill

Lock Alignment Guides

lock the alignment guides in their current position, allow ing you tomanipulate layers and artw ork in your scene w ithout accidentally
moving alignment guides.

Clear Alignment Guides

Removes all the alignment guides from your scene.

Adds a horizontal alignment guide to the middle of the stage.

New Horizontal Alignment
Guide

TIP
You can move the alignment guide from its default position
using theNew Vertical Alignment Guide

Transforml tool or the

Select tool.

Adds a vertical alignment guide to the middle of the stage.

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TIP
You can move the alignment guide from its default position
using theTransforml tool or the

Select tool.

Preview Resolution

Same as Scene Resolution

3/4 of Scene Resolution

1/2 of Scene Resolution

Lets you choose a resolution for preview ing a scene.

1/3 of Scene Resolution

1/4 of Scene Resolution

CustomLets you select a resolution from a list of presets or enter X and Y
values for a custom preview resolution.

Let's you increase or decrease the preview quality of raw bitmap
images. By default, bitmap files imported in Harmony w ill display in a
low resolution in the Camera view to avoid hindering performance.

TIP

Bitmap File Quality

You can change the default resolution in w hich bitmap files are
displayed in the Camera view by changing the Small Bitmap
Resolution preference located in the Camera tab of thePreferences dialog.

NOTE
This only affects the w ay bitmap images display in the OpenGL
preview of the scene in the Camera view . The preview quality ofbitmap images does not affect the final render.

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W indows Menu
The W indow s menu lets you customize your w orkspace to suit your w orking style, save it as a new
w orkspace, and load it from the W orkspace toolbar. You can also show or hide the different toolbars andview s in Harmony.

How to access the W indows menulFrom the top menu, select W indows.

Command

Description

Restore Default W orkspace

Returns modified w orkspaces to their original default layout if you do
not like the current modifications or inadvertently closed somew indow s.

W orkspace

W orkspace Manager

Opens the W orkspace Manager w here you can modify, create, delete,rename and reorder your w orkspaces.

W orkspace

Lets you open w orkspaces designed specifically for animating,compositing, hand draw ing, scripting and the default w orkspace.

Allow s you to add or remove toolbars from your w orkspace.

Toolbars

NOTE
For information on the different toolbars in Harmony, see
Toolbars.

CameraShow s or hides the Camera view .

ColourShow s or hides the Colour view .

Draw ing

Show s or hides the Draw ing view .

FunctionShow s or hides the Function view .

Layer Properties

Show s or hides the Layer Properties view .

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LibraryShow s or hides the Library view .

Message Log

Show s or hides the Message Log view .

SideShow s or hides the Side view .

Timeline

Show s or hides the Timeline view .

Tool Properties

Show s or hides the Tool Properties view .

TopShow s or hides the Top view .

XsheetShow s or hides the Xsheet view .

Integrated Help

Show s or hides the Integrated Help view .

Metadata Editor

Show s or Hides the Metadata Editor view .

Script Editor

Show s or hides the Script Editor view .

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View Menus
A view menu contains commands specifically related to that view .

How to access a view menu
1. In the top-left corner of a view , click the Menu

button.

Colour View Menu

141

Function View Menu

144

Library View Menu

146

Script Editor View Menu

148

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Colour View Menu
The Colour View menu lets you access commands related to the Colour view such as creating new palettes,
adding new colour sw atches, and displaying the Tint panel.

How to access the Colour menul

In the upper-left corner of the Colour view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

Palettes

Creates a new colour palette.

New

By default, Toon Boom Harmony Essentials is set to the Basic mode. For simple
productions, it is recommended to use the Basic mode. This setting stores thepalettes automatically for you and saves them at the Scene level. W hen you use
the Advanced Palette Lists mode, you can decide at w hich level you w ant to store
your palettes: Environment, Job, Scene, or Element.

ImportImports a colour palette located on your hard drive.

RemoveRemoves the selected palette from the palette list.

Remove and Delete
on Disk

Removes the selected palette from the palette list and deletes the palette filefrom the disk.

RenameLets you five the selected colour palette a new name.

Duplicate

Creates a copy of the original palette, using the same names and colour values,
but has a different ID and is independent from the original palette. This ensuresthat both the duplicate and original palettes are completely independent.

Clone

Creates a copy of the master palette. The colours in each palette have the same
properties. The colours have the same identification number pointing to the same
colour zones, but they can have different names and RGBA values.

Move Up

Moves the selected colour palette up one level.

Move Dow n

Moves the selected colour palette dow n one level.

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Colour Editor

Opens the Colour Editor w here you can pick and edit colour sw atches.

Tint Panel

Opens the Tint panel w here you can modify a series of colours to blend a tint inthem or offset their RGBA values.

Current PaletteOverrides

W hen clone palettes are present in the palette list, by default, priority is given to
the palette that is the highest in the palette list to decide w hich colours to apply
to draw ings. W ith this option enabled, priority is given to the currently selected
palette. Selecting any of the clone palettes w ill make draw ings use colours fromthe selected palette instead.

Display Colour
Values

Display the colour values beside their colour sw atches in the palette list.

Colours

Cut

Cuts the selected colour sw atch from the palette.

Copy

Copies the selected colour sw atch w hich you can paste in a different palette.

Copy Colour ID

Copies a colour sw atch's colour ID so you can keep a reference file of colour IDs
or use them w ith custom plug-ins. Example of a colour ID: 075cf5b552401130.

Paste Colour Values

Pastes the colour value of the copied sw atch over an existing colour sw atch.

Paste As New
Colours

Creates a new colour sw atch from the colour value of the copied sw atch.

Paste As Clones

Pastes a copied colour to a new palette as a clone of the original one. Both colour
use the same colour ID. They have to be in different palettes.

New

Creates a new colour sw atch from the colour sw atch that w as last selected.

Edit

Opens the Colour Picker w indow in w hich you can edit the selected colour
sw atch.

DeleteDeletes the selected colour sw atch from the palette.

New Texture

Lets you add a bitmap colour sw atch to your palette. You can load photos andtextures and paint your draw ings w ith it. The bitmap image must be a .tga or .psd

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file format.

Edit Texture

Opens the brow ser to replace the texture used in a textured colour sw atch. Allzones using the sw atch w ill be updated w ith the new texture.

Scale Dow n Texture

Lets you set a new maximum texture size or scaling factor.

Protect Colour

Locks a selected colour, so if you ever paint over it accidentally, the w ork alreadydone w ill not be affected. You can also block the filling colours if you painted allof the animation in Line Art and plan to repaint the lines.

Sw atch Mode

Displays the colour sw atches w ith its corresponding name inside the sw atch.
W hen this option is not selected, the names of the colour sw atches are displayed
beside the sw atch.

Independent Bitmap
ColourBitmap colour selection is independent from the vector colour selection.

Bitmap Colour Sliders

RGB

Displays the colour picking sliders as RGB (red, green, blue).

HSV

Displays the colour picking sliders as HSV (hue, saturation, value).

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Function View Menu
The Functions View menu lets you do many things in the Camera view , including selecting and editing objects
in different view s, changing the display, setting morphing parameters, accessing tools and many more.

How to access the Function menul

In the upper-left corner of the Function view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

Edit

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its properties toanother object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in a view .

DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Select Next Keyframe

Selects the next keyframe.

Select Previous
Keyframe

Selects the previous keyframe.

Select Left Handle

Selects the left handle of the selected keyframe.

Select Right Handle

Selects the right handle of the selected keyframe.

Select All

Selects all objects in the Function view . This helps you manage multiple objects
as one.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Function view .

View

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference GuideShow Current Frame

Displays the current frame

Toggle Grid

Enables the display of the grid.

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

Function List

Auto Load Selection

Sets the Function view to automatically load the functions of layers w hen thenode is selected in the Node View .

Clear

W ill clear all functions in the Function view .

Load Selection

Loads the functions of the current node selection.

Add Selection

Adds the functions of the currently selected node.

Remove Selection

W ill remove the function of the currently selected node from the Function view .

Show Motion: Displays the function for Motion (the Pos_x and Pos_y).

Show Rotation: Displays the function for Rotation (Angle_z).
Show
Show Scale: Displays the function for Scaling (Scale_x and Scale_y).

Show Skew: Displays the function for Skew .

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Library View Menu
The Library View menu lets you access commands specific to the Library view , such as opening a Library or
getting the rights to modify a library folder.

How to access the Library menul

In the upper-left corner of the Library view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

View

List

Displays the contents of the selected folder as a list.

Thumbnails

Displays the contents of the selected folder as a thumbnails.

Details

Displays the details of the selected file.

Generate Thumbnails

Creates a thumbnail to display in the preview w indow .

Edit

Creates a new symbol from a draw ing or part of a draw ing in the Draw ing or
Camera view , or a layer in the Timeline view .

New Symbol

If your selection is in the Timeline , the new symbol appears in the Symbol folder.
The current selection is not replaced by the new symbol. The new symbol only
appears in the library. You must drag it into your scene to use it.
If your selection is in the Draw ing or Camera view , the new symbol appears in the
Symbol folder and in the Timeline view as a new layer.

Cut

Cuts the selected file in the Library view .

Copy

Copies the selected file in the Library view .

Paste

Pastes the selected file in the Library view .

DeleteDeletes the selected file in the Library view .

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Delete Thumbnails

Deletes any thumbnails that w ere generated for display in the preview w indow .

Places you inside the symbol w here you can edit it.
Edit Symbol

To return to the project's timeline, click the Top

button in the Camera view 's

top-left corner, press Ctrl + Shift + E (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift + E (macOS).

Remove Unused Files

Removes any files not in use in the selected template.

Rename Template

Lets you rename a selected template.

Import Files

Imports vector files such as AI, PDF, and SW F. You requires the right to modify
the library in w hich you w ant to import the files.

Folders

New Folder

Creates a new folder in the Library view . Before you can create a new folder, youmust have the right to modify the folder in w hich you are creating the new folder.

RefreshUpdates the view and its contents.

Open LibraryLets you open a library on your computer.

Close Library

Unlinks a library folder from your library list.

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Script Editor View Menu
The Script Editor view menu gives you access to all of the commands needed for editing and testing scripts in
the Script Editor view —see Script Editor View on page 355.

How to access the Script Editor view menu
1. Add the Script Editor view to your w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the top-right corner of an existing view , click on the

Add View button and select Script

Editor.
l

In the top menu, select W indows > Script Editor.

2. In the top-left corner of the Script Editor view , click on the

ButtonMenu button.

Description

File

Creates a new script. W hen you click on this button, you are first prompted to typein a name for the script. Then, you w ill be prompted to select w hich location tosave the script in:l

User: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory. You
w ill be able to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you arelogged in as the same user.

l

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill beable to edit and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lSystem Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable. This option is only
available if this environment variable is set.

New Script

NOTE
For more information on script locations, see Script list on page 355.

Allow s you to import a script from your machine into Harmony. W hen you click on
this button, you are prompted to brow se for and select a script on your file system.
Then, you are prompted to select w hich location to import the script in:Import Scriptl

User: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory. You
w ill be able to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you arelogged in as the same user.

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ButtonDescriptionl

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill beable to edit and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lSystem Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable. This option is only
available if this environment variable is set.

NOTES
l

W hen you import a script, any user interface (.ui) or icon (.png) file thatis in the same directory and has the same filename as the script w ill also
be imported.

l

For more information on script locations, see Script Editor View on page
355.

Deletes the selected script.

NOTES
l

You cannot delete a script if it is in the Application Resources location, as
those are scripts that are installed w ith Harmony.

l

If you delete a script that w as originally in Application Resources but
w hich you copied to another location so you could make changes to it, theoriginal version of the script in the Application Resources folder w ill be
restored to the list.

Delete Script

Refresh Script File
List

Refresh the list of scripts in the Script Editor. If there are new scripts in your user
preferences or your scene's scripts sub-folder, click on this button to be able toopen them in the Script Editor.

EditorAllow s you to type in the path and name for your preferred text editing softw are.

NOTES
Set External Editorl

On macOS, only typing the name of your preferred text editing softw areis enough if that application supports the AppleScript Open Document
protocol.

l

On W indow s, unless your text editor is in your system's PATH
environment variable, you w ill have to type in the full path to the editor.

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Chapter 2: Menus

ButtonDescription

External Editor

Opens the selected script in the chosen external text editing softw are.

Play/Debug

Prompts you to select w hich script and w hich function to use w ith the Run and
Debug commands.

NOTES
Set Targetl

You can set the entire script as the target by selecting the <Nothing>
function from the functions list.

l

You cannot link an entire script to a toolbar button. Only functions w ithin
scripts can be added as toolbar buttons. Therefore, running or debugging
an entire script rather than one of its functions should be done for testing
purposes only.

Runs the target script and function.

NOTES
l

If you have not set a target script and function, you w ill be prompted to
set one w hen you select this command.

l

You can set or change the target script and function by selecting Set
Target from this menu.

l

If you are editing <<<Sandbox>>>, this button w ill simply run w hat you
typed into the sandbox, regardless of w hether another target is set.

Run

Open the target script and function in the Qt Script Debugger, in w hich you can test
and debug the function.

NOTES
Debug

Stop

l

If you have not set a target script and function, you w ill be prompted to
set one w hen you select this command.

l

You can set or change the target script and function by selecting Set
Target from this menu.

l

If you are editing <<<Sandbox>>>, this button w ill simply debug w hat
you typed into the sandbox, regardless of w hether another target is set.

If a script is currently running, this interrupts its execution.

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ButtonDescription

Help

Opens the reference documentation for the Harmony scripting interface in a w eb
brow ser.
Scripting Interface
Documentation

NOTE
This documentation is installed w ith Harmony and does not require Internet
access.

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Chapter 3: Layers
In Harmony, everything that constitutes the different elements of a scene, including draw ing layers, soundeffects, visual effects and pegs is represented by a layer in the Timeline view .
At the core of the rendered picture is the draw ing layer, w hich is used to display draw ings. Those layers are
rendered from bottom to top, w ith the bottommost layer appearing in the background, and the topmost layer
appearing in the foreground.
Some layers, such as Peg, Bone or Quadmap layers, are made to offset draw ing layers. They must be createdas the parent of a draw ing layer, or of a hierarchy of draw ing layers, in order to transform the layers in therendered image.
Other layers, such as Blur and Transparency layers, are made to transform the picture output by draw ing
layers. They must be created as children of draw ing layers, or groups of draw ing layers, in order to transformthe draw ings.
Deformation Layers

153

Bone Layers

154

Deformation Composite Layer

156

Game Bone Layer

157

Kinematic Output Layer

159

Effect Layers

160

Blur Layer

161

Colour-Scale Layer

163

Cutter Layer

165

Glow Layer

167

Shadow Layer

170

Transparency Layer

173

Image Layers

174

Colour-Card Layer

175

Draw ing Layer

177

Move Layers

182

Camera Layer

183

Peg Layer

184

Quadmap Layer

186

Sound Layer

189

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Deformation Layers
Deformation layers are layers that make deformers. In Harmony, deformers are made of chains of deformation
layers laid out in a hierachy. Each deformation layer represents a point in the deformation chain.
Bone Layers

154

Deformation Composite Layer

156

Game Bone Layer

157

Kinematic Output Layer

159

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Chapter 3: Layers

Bone Layers
The Bone node is one of the main nodes used to build a deformation rig. Each Bone node consists of a bone
and an articulation. You can chain Bone nodes to create a skeleton chain for your character. The Rigging tool
can be used to create and connect those nodes automatically.

Properties

Parameter

Descriptions

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Side and Topview s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Resting Parameters Rest Offset(x) AxisThis is the bone x-axis (horizontal) coordinates for the resting position.

(y) AxisThis is the bone y-axis (vertical) coordinates for the resting position.

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Rest RadiusThis is the articulation's radius value (articulation size) for the resting position.

Rest Orientation

This is the bone's orientation angle for the resting position.

Rest Bias

This is the articulation's bias (roundness and smoothness) for the resting position.

Rest Length

This is the bone's length for the resting position.

Deform Parameters Offset

2D Path

W hen this option is enabled, the X and Y-axis parameters are controlled by thesame 2D path function.

Separate

W hen this option is enabled, the X and Y-axis parameters are individual one fromanother.

Path

W hen using a 2D Path, this field displays the name of the function.

(x) AxisThis is the bone X-axis (horizontal) coordinates for the animation position. Thisparameter can be linked to a function to be animated over time.

(y) AxisThis is the bone y-axis (vertical) coordinates for the animation position. Thisparameter can be linked to a function to be animated over time.

RadiusThis is the articulation's radius value (articulation size) for the animation position.
This parameter can be linked to a function to be animated over time.

Orientation

This is the bone's orientation angle for the animation position. This parameter canbe linked to a function to be animated over time.

Bias

This is the articulation's bias (roundness and smoothness) for the animation
position. This parameter can be linked to a function to be animated over time.

LengthThis is the bone's length for the animation position. This parameter can be linked
to a function to be animated over time.

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Deformation Composite Layer
The Deformation-Composite node is automatically added to a rig w hen creating a split deformation chain. It is
used to link the different nodes of a split deformation chain together before deforming the draw ing it is linked
to.

Properties
Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has
no visible effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the
Camera, Side and Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

Use this field to rename the node.

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Game Bone Layer
The Bone node is one of the main node used to build a deformation rig. Each Bone node consists of a bone andan articulation. Chaining Bone nodes w ill create a skeleton chain for your character. The Rigging tool can beused to create and connect those nodes automatically.

Parameter

Descriptions

Resting Parameters Rest Offset(x) AxisThis is the bone X-axis (horizontal) coordinates for the resting position.

(y) AxisThis is the bone Y-axis (vertical) coordinates for the resting position.

Rest RadiusThis is the articulation's radius value (articulation size) for the resting position.

Rest Orientation

This is the bone's orientation angle for the resting position.

Rest Length

This is the bone's length for the resting position.

Deform Parameters Offset

2D Path

W hen this option is enabled, the X and Y axis parameters are controlled by thesame 2D path function.

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Separate

W hen this option is enabled, the X and Y axis parameters are individual from eachother.

Path

W hen using a 2D Path, this field displays the name of the function curve.

(x) AxisThis is the bone X-axis (horizontal) coordinates for the animation position. Thisparameter can be linked to a function curve to be animated over time.

(y) AxisThis is the bone Y-axis (vertical) coordinates for the animation position. Thisparameter can be linked to a function curve to be animated over time.

RadiusThis is the articulation's radius value (articulation size) for the animation position.
This parameter can be linked to a function curve to be animated over time.

Orientation

This is the bone's orientation angle for the animation position. This parameter canbe linked to a function curve to be animated over time.

LengthThis is the bone's length for the animation position. This parameter can be linked
to a function curve to be animated over time.

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Kinematic Output Layer
The Kinematic Output node lets you hook a separate element that you w ant to be linked to the deformation
chain but not be part of the deformation, such as a hand to an arm or an arm to the body. These elements w illfollow the movement of the chain just like a regular cut-out character hierarchy piece w ithout being influenced
by the deformation of the arm. If you don't use the Kinematic Output, the piece's pivot w ill not follow the
deformation.
Connect a Kinematic Output node below the deformation node you w ant your draw ing to follow .

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Effect Layers
Effect layers can be connected under a layer or under a group to transform the image.
Should you need to apply the same effect to several layers combined, you must group them together so that
Harmony composes those layers into a single image before applying the effect.
Blur Layer

161

Colour- Scale Layer

163

Cutter Layer

165

Glow Layer

167

Shadow Layer

170

Transparency Layer

173

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Blur Layer
T-HFND-010-007
The Blur effect creates an effect that softens, fogs or obscures the image evenly in all directions. This effect isuseful w hen you w ant to make cloudy images not realistically seen in detail, such as a draw ing object that is
farther back or in the background of your scene, usually blurry due to the law s of atmospheric perspective.
Other uses include the general softening of objects such as snow , stars and shadow s that do not naturally
have a hard outline.

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties

Parameter

Description

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Truck Factor

Activated by default, this option readjusts the blur w hen the elements undergo achange of depth or scale. W hen this option is deselected, the effect's values
remain unchanged regardless of any depth or scale changes. This option should
be deselected w hen multiple draw ings are composited and attached to this161

Chapter 3: Layers

Parameter

Description

effect.

RadiusSize of the blur. The larger the value, the greater the strength or reach of the blur.
The blur radius is affected by the draw ing scale and camera position. Click the
Edit Curve button to change these values over time by adjusting the function
curve.

Quality

Select High for a slow and accurate operation or Low for a faster operation w ith amore raw look.

Matte

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the effect is applied tothe opaque areas of the matte draw ing. W hen this option is enabled, the effect isapplied to the transparent areas of the matte instead.

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Colour- Scale Layer
The Colour-Scale effect offsets an image's colours. This effect is useful in creating ambient transitions, such as
from daytime to nighttime.

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties

Parameter

Description

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Red

The factor by w hich to multiply red values in the image.

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Parameter

Description

Green

The factor by w hich to multiply green values in the image.

Blue

The factor by w hich to multiply blue values in the image.

Alpha

The factor by w hich to multiply alpha values in the image.

Hue

The colour or hue to offset the image.

Saturation

The amount of colour to offset the image.

Enter the value for the colour to offset the image. The actual colour values of theimage are not changed; instead, the channels are multiplied by a selectedamount. For example:l

A value of 1 does not change the colour values.

lA value greater than 1 brings the colour channel value closer to 255 (orw hite).

l

A value less than 1 brings the colour channel value closer to zero (0 orblack).

Value

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the effect is applied tothe opaque areas of the matte draw ing. W hen this option is enabled, the effect isapplied to the transparent areas of the matte instead.

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Cutter Layer
T-HFND-010-009
The Cutter effect cuts out a portion of an image. To do this, it needs to be connected to the draw ing it isintended to cut as w ell as to a matte layer. The cutter w ill take the shape of the draw ing in the matte layer andcut this shape out of the draw ing layer. This is especially useful if you w ant to make a character disappear
betw een a background element, or if you w ant to cut out a hole in the middle of a character.
Like all effects that use a matte, the Cutter's effect has an Inverted parameter, w hich is disabled by default.
W hen enabled, the Cutter w ill have the reverse effect: Instead of cutting the matte's shape out of the draw ing,
it w ill cut everything outside of the matte's shape out of the draw ing, leaving only the parts of the draw ing
that are covered by the matte. This can be useful if, for example, you w ant to draw shadow s or highlights for acharacter, but you don't w ant to have to w orry about them bleeding beyond your character's outline. You cansimply connect your shadow or highlight to an inverted cutter, and use a clone of your character as the matte,
and your effect w ill not display outside of your character's outlines.
The Cutter effect can be used w ith 2D-3D integration. Rendered 2D draw ings, integrated w ith 3D models,display soft, anti-aliased edges, even w here the Cutter effect is applied.

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties

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Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Side and Topview s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

NameAllow s you to enter a name for the node.

Inverted

W hen this option is enabled, the Cutter node w ill invert the matte shape to cut
the draw ing. Instead of cutting the image intersecting w ith the matte, it w ill cut
any artw ork outside of the matte shape.

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Glow Layer
T-HFND-010-009B
The Glow effect turns your image into a glow area w ith a bright soft-edged light or diffuse light region aroundan image. The Glow effect is useful for creating a shining rim around objects, such as the sun or stars. Clone
your layer to display the original image on top of the glow .

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties

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Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Side and Topview s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

Truck Factor

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Activated by default, this option readjusts the blur w hen the elements undergo achange of depth or scale. W hen disabled, the effect's values w ill remainunchanged regardless of depth or scale changes. It is recommended that thisoption be disabled w hen multiple draw ings are composited and attached thiseffect.

Allow s you to choose betw een the follow ing blur types for the effect:l

Radial: The edges of the matte are blurred evenly around points thatmake up the edge of the matte.

l

Directional: The matte is blurred in the direction configured w ith theBlur Type

Directional Angle and Directional Falloff Rate parameters.

RadiusEnter a value for the size of the blur. The larger the value, the greater the blureffect. The blur radius is affected by the draw ing scale and camera position.

If you set the Blur Type to Directional, this sets the angle of the blur. The value
goes from 0 to 360, w ith 0 meaning w est, and angles going counterclockw ise. For
example:l0: Blurs the image to the w est.

l

90: Blurs the image to the south.

l180: Blurs the image to the east.

l

270: Blurs the image to the north.

Directional Angle

The distance w here the blur fades from the edge of the image. Select a decimalvalue betw een 0 and 1. For example:
Directional Falloff Ratel0: Makes the blur fade out slow ly, distributing the blur evenly from theedge of the character to the farthest edge of the blur.

l

1: Makes the blur fade out quickly. The blur is heaviest closer to the edge

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Parameter

Descriptionof the image.

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the effect is applied toopaque areas of the draw ing. W hen this option is enabled, the effect is applied totransparent or empty areas of the draw ing.

Instead of using the colour in the Colour parameters, this uses the colours in thesource draw ing to generate the effect.
Use Source Colour

NOTE
The effect of this parameter is only visible in Render View

Multiplicativemode.

Multiplies the colours of the effect w ith the colours of the background. Thisintensifies the effect.

ColourRed

The amount of red to add to the colour in the background image.

Green

The amount of green to add to the colour in the background image.

Blue

The amount of blue to add to the colour in the background image.

Alpha

The alpha value of the effect.

Colour Sw atch

Opens the Colour Picker dialog, in w hich you can visually select a colour for theeffect.

Intensity

Allow s you to set the factor by w hich to multiply the intensity of the effect. Thisparameter can take a decimal value betw een 0 and 1. At 1, the effect is fully
applied. At 0, the effect is not visible.

169Chapter 3: Layers

Shadow Layer
W ith the Shadow effect, you can turn a draw ing into a shadow . It doesn't matter if the draw ing layer is a fully
coloured character. The Shadow effect w ill render it into a grey, semitransparent, slightly blurry silhouette.
You must clone your layer to see the original image displayed on top of the shadow .

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties
Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Side and Topview s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Truck Factor

Activated by default, this option readjusts the blur w hen the elements undergo achange of depth or scale. W hen disabled, the effect's values w ill remainunchanged regardless of depth or scale changes. It is recommended that thisoption be disabled w hen multiple draw ings are composited and attached thiseffect.

Blur Type

Allow s you to choose betw een the follow ing blur types for the effect:170

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Parameter

RadiusDescriptionlRadial: The edges of the matte are blurred evenly around points thatmake up the edge of the matte.

l

Directional: The matte is blurred in the direction configured w ith the
Directional Angle and Directional Falloff Rate parameters.

Enter a value for the size of the blur. The larger the value, the greater the blureffect. The blur radius is affected by the draw ing scale and camera position.

If you set the Blur Type to Directional, this sets the angle of the blur. The value
goes from 0 to 360, w ith 0 meaning w est, and angles going counterclockw ise. For
example:l0: Blurs the image to the w est.

l

90: Blurs the image to the south.

l180: Blurs the image to the east.

l

270: Blurs the image to the north.

Directional Angle

The distance w here the blur fades from the edge of the image. Select a decimalvalue betw een 0 and 1. For example:l0: Makes the blur fade out slow ly, distributing the blur evenly from theedge of the character to the farthest edge of the blur.

l

1: Makes the blur fade out quickly. The blur is heaviest closer to the edgeof the image.

Directional Falloff Rate

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the effect is applied toopaque areas of the draw ing. W hen this option is enabled, the effect is applied totransparent or empty areas of the draw ing.

Instead of using the colour in the Colour parameters, this uses the colours in thesource draw ing to generate the effect.
Use Source Colour

NOTE
The effect of this parameter is only visible in Render View

Multiplicativemode.

Multiplies the colours of the effect w ith the colours of the background. Thisintensifies the effect.

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Parameter

Description

ColourRed

The amount of red to subtract from the colour in the background image. To obtaina shadow effect, this value must be negative.

GreenThe amount of green to subtract from the colour in the background image. To
obtain a shadow effect, this value must be negative.

Blue

The amount of blue to subtract from the colour in the background image. To
obtain a shadow effect, this value must be negative.

Alpha

The alpha value of the effect.

Colour Sw atch

Opens the Colour Picker dialog, in w hich you can visually select a colour for theeffect.

Intensity

Allow s you to set the factor by w hich to multiply the intensity of the effect. Thisparameter can take a decimal value betw een 0 and 1. At 1, the effect is fully
applied. At 0, the effect is not visible.

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Transparency Layer
T-HFND-010-008
The Transparency effect is used to make an image partially transparent. The Transparency effect is usefulw hen fading images in and out, such as a phantom or to make something partially see-through, such as aw indow .

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

You can enter a value in the Transparency field or change the transparency value over time by linking it to afunction curve. Entering a value of 100 in the Transparency field w ill make the element 100% transparent, inother w ords, invisible. Entering a value of 0 w ill render the element completely opaque.

Properties

Parameter

Description

Name

Allow s you to enter a name for the node.

Transparency

Lets you set the opacity of an element. Values range from 0 to 100. A value of
100 w ill make the element 100% transparent and a value of 0 w ill render theelement completely opaque.

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Image Layers
Image layers generate an image that display in your scene's render. The draw ing layer, w hich is the main typeof layer used in Harmony, generates an image based on the draw ings in its element w hich are exposed at thecurrent frame. The Colour-Card simply fills the render area w ith a solid colour.
Colour- Card Layer

175

Drawing Layer

177

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Colour- Card Layer
T-ANIMPA-012-001
The Colour Card allow s you to fill the scene's background w ith a solid colour w hen there is no backgroundimage. If no draw ing or colour-card is present to cover the scene's background, the scene w ill be rendered on apitch black canvas.

NOTE
By default, the Colour Card has a Z ordering value of 12 Backward. This puts the Colour cardbehind all elements that have a value low er than 12 Backward. Most of the time, the Colour card
w ill appear automatically behind all the scene elements as they are all set to 0 Backward, unless
you have changed the Z ordering of the scene components. If so, the Colour Card w ill be in front of
the elements that are pushed back to more than 12 fields backw ard.

Connection
The Colour Card does not need to be connected to anything in your scene. It simply needs to be added to it
alongside your draw ing layers and groups.

Because a Colour Card has a default position on the z-axis of 12 Backw ard, it w ill appear behind all the layers
in your scene regardless of w hether or not it has layers underneath it.

175Chapter 3: Layers

Layer Properties

Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Side and Topview s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Depth

This parameter can be used to determine w hether the colour card displays behindor in front of elements w ith the same position on the z-axis.

Offset Z

The position of the Colour Card on the Z-axis. By default, this is set to 12 B toensure the Colour Card appears behind other elements in the scene. You can set
this to 0 F to make the Colour Card respect the order of the layers in the Timelineview .

ColourThe colour and transparency of the Colour Card. You can also attach theseparameters to function columns to change their values over time.
Click the colour sw atch to open the Colour Picker w indow and select a colour.

Colour Sw atch

Opens the Colour Picker w indow in w hich you can specify the colour.

Invert Matte

If an image is connected to the Colour Card's matte port, by default, the colour isonly applied on the opaque areas of the matte. If this parameter is enabled, thecolour is applied to the transparent areas of the matte instead.

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Drawing Layer
The Draw ing layer is at the core of a scene's structure. A draw ing layer is linked to an element, w hich contains
a series of draw ing, and its Xsheet column, w hich indicates w hen and for how long each draw ing is exposed.
The layer is w hat connects the element and its exposure to the rendered image. It indicates the position of thedraw ings relative to other elements and to the stage, as w ell as the draw ing's connections w ith pegs, groups
and effects, if any.
Although draw ing layers can be transformed and animated on their ow n, it is typical to connect them under aparent peg. This allow s you to keep the position and animation information of the element in the peg, making
it easier to manipulate the exposure and the transformations separately. This is especially useful in digital cutout animation w here manipulating and transforming layers is often the main method of simulating movement,
and changing draw ings is the secondary method.

You can also connect a draw ing layer as a child of another draw ing layer. Just like w ith pegs, anytransformation done to the parent layer, w hether on itself or through one of its parents, w ill also be applied tothe child layer.

Optionally, you can connect a matte draw ing to a draw ing layer. W hen a draw ing layer has a matte draw ing,
only the parts of the draw ings that intersect w ith the opaque areas of the matte draw ing w ill be rendered. This
allow s you to accomplish the same effect as connecting the draw ing layer to a cutter effect.

Layer Properties
The draw ing layer's properties are organized in the follow ing tabs:

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Chapter 3: LayerslTransformation TablDraw ing Tab

Transformation Tab
The Transformation tab contains parameters for adjusting the position, scale, rotation, skew and pivots of anelement.

Parameter

Description

3D Path: Use a 3D path to position the element. A 3D path uses a single function
to define the position on the X, Y and Z axes. This function is made of control
points linked by a curvilinear path, making the movement follow a natural curve.
The pace and ease of the movement is determined by a single velocity function.

Position

Separate: Positions the element using separate functions for the X, Y and Z axes.
This allow s to control the direction and pace of the movement across all threeaxes separately. Unless ease is applied to the axes, the trajectory of the element
w ill follow straight lines going betw een each keyframe.

Path: If the 3D Path option is selected, this field allow s you to create or select the
3D Path function used to position the element.

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Path (x) Axis: The position of the element on the East-W est axis, in fields.
Path (y) Axis: The position of the element on the South-North axis, in fields.
Path (z) Axis: The position of the element in the Back-Front axis, in fields.
Velocity: If the 3D Path option is selected, this function is used to control the paceat w hich the element moves tow ards each control point in the 3D Path function,on all three axes simultaneously.

Locked: Uses a single scale parameter to scale the element, preserving its
proportions.
Scale
Separate: Uses a separate parameter to scale the element on the X and Y axis,
allow ing to stretch or squash the element.

(x) Axis: The horizontal scale factor. The default value is 1.
(y) Axis: The vertical scale factor. The default value is 1.

RotationAngle z: The angle at w hich the element is rotated, based on the 360 degrees
scale. Values below 0 or above 360 degrees w ill cause the rotation to cycle.

Skew

Skew: The angle at w hich the element is skew ed. This value can range from -90
to 90 degrees.

(x) Axis: The horizontal position of the pivot point of the element relative to thepivot point of the draw ing, in fields.
(y) Axis: The vertical position of the pivot point of the element relative to the pivot
point of the draw ing, in fields.
Pivot

NOTE
These parameters can be changed visually by clicking and dragging thepivot point w hen using on of the tools in the Advanced Animation toolbar.

Drawing Tab

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Parameter

Description

Matte

Invert Matte:If a draw ing, group or effect is added to the draw ing's Matteattribute, the part of the draw ing that intersect w ith the matte's opaque areas w ill
be cut out by default. If this parameter is enabled, the part of the draw ing thatintersect w ith the matte's transparent areas w ill be cut out instead.

Colour Space: The colour space in w hich the element’s colours should beinterpreted. If the element’s colour space is different from the project colour
space, then the element’s colours w ill be converted from the element’s colour
space to the project’s colour space as they are processed, before being
composited together w ith the scene’s special effects.
lUndefined Colour Space: No colour space is defined for the draw ing. The
draw ing’s colours w ill be interpreted as if they w ere the same colour
space the one selected in the Colour Space tab of the Scene Settings
dialog.

lLinear: The same primaries and w hite point as sRGB and Rec. 709, but
w ith no gamma transfer curve applied to the colour values. This colour
space is useful for compositing intermediary images that are meant to berendered in sRGB or Rec. 709.

l

Display P3: A colour space commonly used for digital projection. It has
the same primaries as DCI-P3, the same w hite point as sRGB and thesame gamma transfer curve as sRGB.

l

Display P3 Linear: The same as Display P3, except w ith no gammatransfer curve. This colour space is useful for compositing intermediary
images that are meant to be rendered in Display P3.

lRec. 709: The colour space used for HDTV. It has the same primaries andw hite point as sRGB, but has a different gamma transfer curve.

lRec. 709 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 709 or sRGB, except w ith agamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists
because some editing systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 insteadof the standard gamma curve for Rec. 709.

lRec. 2020: A colour space used for Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV). It
has a complex gamma transfer curve and primaries that cover more of thehuman-perceivable colour space than other colour spaces, especially inthe area of human-perceivable greens.

lRec. 2020 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith a simple
gamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists
because some editing systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 insteadof the standard gamma curve for Rec. 2020.

lRec. 2020 Linear: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith no
gamma transfer curve. This colour space is useful for compositing

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intermediary images that are meant to be rendered in Rec. 2020.
lsRGB: A colour space typically used for standard computer monitors. It
has the same primaries and w hite point as Rec. 709, but has a different
gamma transfer curve.

NOTE
In theOpenGL View mode of the Camera view , the colour space ofdraw ing layers is ignored and only the colour space of original bitmap files
is taken in account. To test the colours of your draw ing in their selectedcolour space, you must activate

181

Render View mode.

Chapter 3: Layers

Move Layers
Move layers are used to animate layers as w ell as camera motions.
Camera Layer

183

Peg Layer

184

Quadmap Layer

186

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Camera Layer
You can setup the camera position by entering coordinates and values in the Layer Properties view .

Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Turns the camera layer on or off.

Change Track Colour

The Change Track Colour button lets you change the colour of the exposed
frames; this helps you to quickly locate a layer in the Timeline view . Click the
Change Track Colour button to open the Select Colour w indow and choose a newcolour. You can modify the colour for any type of layer, such as group, peg,
draw ing, and effects.

Name

Displays the current layer name. You can rename the layer by typing in a newlayer name.

Position

Displays the current position of the camera layer using X-axis (East/W est), Y-axis(North/South) and Z-axis (Forw ard/Backw ard) coordinates. To reposition yourcamera frame, type in the new values corresponding to the desired position
coordinates. You can also use the up and dow n arrow s to set the value of eachfield.

Angle

Displays the current rotation value. To set a new rotation position, type in a new
angle value. You can also use the up and dow n arrow s to set the new angle
value.

Pivot

Displays the current position of the rotation pivot of the camera layer. The camera
w ill perform a rotation taking the position of the pivot as its angle centre. Bydefault, the pivot is set at the centre of the camera frame. To reposition the pivot
point, enter new X and Y coordinates values in the appropriate field. To see thepivot's position, the Rotate tool must be selected.

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Peg Layer
Find below a description of all the Peg node parameters.

Transformation Tab
Parameter

Description

3D Path: Use a 3D path to position the element. A 3D path uses a single function
to define the position on the X, Y and Z axes. This function is made of control
points linked by a curvilinear path, making the movement follow a natural curve.
The pace and ease of the movement is determined by a single velocity function.
Separate: Positions the element using separate functions for the X, Y and Z axes.
This allow s to control the direction and pace of the movement across all threeaxes separately. Unless ease is applied to the axes, the trajectory of the element
w ill follow straight lines going betw een each keyframe.
Position

Path: If the 3D Path option is selected, this field allow s you to create or select the
3D Path function used to position the element.
Path (x) Axis: The position of the element on the East-W est axis, in fields.
Path (y) Axis: The position of the element on the South-North axis, in fields.
Path (z) Axis: The position of the element in the Back-Front axis, in fields.
Velocity: If the 3D Path option is selected, this function is used to control the paceat w hich the element moves tow ards each control point in the 3D Path function,on all three axes simultaneously.

Locked: Uses a single scale parameter to scale the element, preserving its
proportions.
Scale

Separate: Uses a separate parameter to scale the element on the X and Y axis,
allow ing to stretch or squash the element.
(x) Axis: The horizontal scale factor. The default value is 1.
(y) Axis: The vertical scale factor. The default value is 1.

RotationAngle z: Lets you type in a degree value for the rotation angle. Note that you canenter values greater than 360 and -360 degrees. If you enter 720, the object w illrotate tw ice.

Skew

Skew: Lets you type in a degree value betw een -90 to 90 for the skew angle.

Pivot(x) Axis: The horizontal position of the pivot point of the element relative to thepivot point of the draw ing, in fields.

184

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide(y) Axis: The vertical position of the pivot point of the element relative to the pivot
point of the draw ing, in fields.

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Chapter 3: Layers

Quadmap Layer
T-COMP2-010-001
The Quadmap transformation layer lets you deform the shape of an element. For example, you can use it tocreate a drop-shadow effect on an element.

You can edit the Quadmap visually in the Camera view .

How to edit the Quadmap in the Camera view
1. In the Timeline view , click the Add Layerbutton and select Quadmap.

2. Connect the draw ing you w ant to deformto the Quadmap.

3. In the Tools toolbar, disable the Animate mode to change the value for the Quadmap over theentire duration of the element.
4. In the Timeline view , click on the Quadmap layer to select it.
5. From the top menu, select View > Show > Control or pressShift + F11.
The quadmap handles appear around the element in the w indow . There is also a pivot point at thecentre of the quadmap frame that you can reposition.
6. In the Camera view w indow , use the Transform tool to move the points on the quadmap. Shift +click to select multiple points.

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TIP
The position of the points can be animated. To do this, open the Quadmap layer layer properties
and create functions for each of the coordinates.

Properties

Parameter

Description

Name

Allow s you to change the name given to the node.

2D PathChanges the X and Y values simultaneously and control the velocity of thechange.

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Separate

Changes the X and Y values separately. Each one can be attached to separate
function curves.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Sound Layer
W hen you select a sound layer in the Timeline view , the options related to that layer appear in the Layer
Properties view .

If you double-click on a sound layer in the Timeline view , or in a sound column in the Xsheet view , the Sound
Element Editor dialog w ill open. This dialog allow s you to fine-tune the sound track's lip sync, start time, stoptime and volume.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Chapter 4: Tools Properties
Harmony has a w ide variety of draw ing and manipulation tools and each one of them has a series of options
and modes available in the Tool Properties view . This section covers these options.

Brush Tool Properties

192

Centerline Editor Tool Properties

201

Close Gap Tool Properties

203

Contour Editor Tool Properties

204

Cutter Tool Properties

208

Edit Gradient/Texture Tool Properties

211

Ellipse Tool Properties

212

Envelope Tool Properties

216

Eraser Tool Properties

219

Line Tool Properties

226

Paint Tool Properties

233

Pencil Tool Properties

235

Perspective Tool Properties

240

Polyline Tool Properties

243

Rectangle Tool Properties

247

Reposition All Draw ings Tool Properties

251

Rigging Tool Properties

253

Select Tool Properties

254

Smooth Editor Tool Properties

263

Stamp Tool Properties

265

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Stroke Tool Properties

273

Text Tool Properties

275

Transform Tool Properties

278

Zoom Tool Properties

282

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Brush Tool Properties
The Brush tool allow s you to draw by creating shapes based on your draw ing strokes and filling them w ith
colour. W hen used w ith a tablet, it is pressure sensitive, just like a real life brush.

How to access the Brush tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brushtool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Brush Properties
The follow ing properties affect the brush's size, smoothing and other properties for the draw ing style of yourbrush. Those properties can be saved into brush presets for later use.
Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

Brush Properties Dialog

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Brush Properties dialog.

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Property

Description

W hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to a few of the brushproperties, a list of brush presets and other draw ing options, the Brush Properties
dialog gives you access to all the available options for your brush's tip and texture.
For more information on the Brush Properties dialog, see the Brush Properties Dialog
section below .

Defines the maximum w idth of brush strokes.
If the tool is used w ith a pressure sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w illvary betw een its maximum size and minimum size depending on the amount ofpressure used. If used w ith a mouse, the w idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its
maximum size.

Maximum Size

Brush Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage brush presets.
Icon

Property

Description

By default, Harmony has preloaded brush presets. You can also create
your ow n brush presets by configuring your brush, then saving its
properties into a new preset. It is also possible to export and importbrush presets.

Presets list

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Delete Brush

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:l

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into
an .xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small
thumbnails w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Brush Presets Menu

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your draw ing strokes are added to your artw ork.
Icon

Property

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

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W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically fill it w ith thecurrently selected colour.

Auto FillW hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill only repaint existing artw ork andw ill not add colour to empty areas. If you repaint semi-transparent
artw ork, your artw ork w ill not become more opaque than it already is.
Repaint BrushAuto-Flatten Mode

By default, w hen draw ing, each new stroke is created as a separate
draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently from other parts of
the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option automaticallymerges strokes into existing artw ork.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.

Snapping

If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping mode:lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

Brush Properties Dialog
Brushes have an extensive set of options and properties that are not displayed in the Tool Properties view , butrather, in a dialog you can access from it. To open the Brush Properties dialog, click on the arrow button rightof the stroke display area.

195Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Tip TabThe Tip tab allow s you to configure the shape, size, hardness and spacing of your brush tip.

NOTE
The "Size Proportional to Camera" option has been moved to the new Size Properties w indow .

Property

Description

Brush Tip LibraryThis is w here you select the shape of the brush tip. By default it is round.

Minimum and Maximum Size

The minimum and maximum sizes of your draw ing tool produce the thick andthin effect on your stroke. This w orks w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
l

Maximum Size: Defines the maximum w idth of the stroke.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guidel

Minimum Size: Defines the minimum w idth of the stroke in relation toand as a percentage of the maximum size.

You can control the size properties by clicking on the arrow button on right andthe dialog box w ill appear as show n below .

lPressure: Allow s you to apply more pressure and increases the size ofthe brush. You can check the box to invert this behaviour.

l

Tilt: Allow s you to tilt the pen closer to tablet for a bigger stroke. You cancheck the box to invert this behaviour.

l

Speed: Allow s you to reduce the size of the stroke by draw ing at a fast
speed. You can check the box to invert this behaviour.

l

Speed Sensitivity: A slider is used to control how fast must the stroke bedraw n to reach the minimum value.

lTaper: Allow s you to reduce the value of a property at the start or theend of each stroke. The value can be expressed using tw o options:Distance and Percentage. Distance is selected by default. For example:
A taper of 200 w ill be the same length as the w idth (diameter) of a strokethat has its size set at 200.

You can enable Start and End Tapering option individually.
lStart Taper: W hen distance is selected as a Taper value, the effect ofstart taper can be visualized as the stroke is draw n.

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Chapter 4: Tools Propertiesl

End Taper: W hen distance or percentage is selected as a Taper value,
the effect of end taper can be visualized once the stroke is complete andvectorized as the length is unknow n until the stroke is complete.

l

Fade Distance: Allow s you to fade the value of property over a given
distance. It uses the same units as the size and is applied as the stroke isdraw n.

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Size value to 100% eliminates the possibility ofcreating w idth variation on your stroke. In other w ords, you w ould be
forcing a uniform line w idth using the Maximum Size value.

The Roundness and Angle parameters allow you to change the shape andorientation of the tip.

Roundness and AnglelRoundness: The vertical scaling to apply to the tip. Reducing this setting
squashes the tip vertically, allow ing you to turn round or square tips into
flat tips.

lAngle: The angle at w hich to rotate the brush tip, counterclockw ise.

NOTE
The squashing is not relative to the angle—if the tip is rotated, thesquashing w ill still be done relative to the tip's original orientation.

If your pen and tablet support tilt sensitivity, this option allow s you to set
w hether your brush takes your pen's tilt angle into account, and how much.

Pen Tilt Sensitivity

W hen your pen is fully tilted, your brush tip w ill be stretched by the percentage
you set in this parameter, in the angle in w hich you tilt it. For example, if you set
the Pen Tilt Sensitivity to 50%, and you tilt your pen all the w ay up or dow n, yourbrush tip w ill be stretched vertically by 50%. W ith the same setting, if you tilt
your pen all the w ay left or right, your brush tip w ill be stretched horizontally by
50%.

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If enabled, your brush tip w ill rotate w ith the angle of your pen tip. You can selectone of the follow ing options:Angle FunctionlConstant: The static orientation of the brush tip expressed in degrees.

lHeading: The orientation of the brush tip is determined by the direction in
w hich the stroke is draw n. It changes dynamically as the stroke is draw n.

lAzimuth: W hen the pen is tilted, it uses the direction in w hich the pen
eraser is facing.

lTwist (if supported by pen): It uses the tw ist angle of the stylus and is
only available w ith W acom Art Pen.

Smoothing Tab
The Smoothing tab contains options to configure how Harmony should automatically smooth your brushstrokes as you paint.

Property

Description

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the central line of thebrush stroke. A higher setting w ill prevent your line from being shaky, but is liable toreduce draw ing precision and turn sharp angles into curves.

Contour Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the outer contour ofthe brush stroke. A higher setting w ill round sharp corners and reduce the amount ofcontrol points for the resulting vector shape.

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Centerline Editor Tool Properties
The Centerline Editor tool allow s you to edit brush strokes by their centreline rather than by their contour. This
makes it easier to tw eak the tips, curves and corners of brush strokes. The purpose of this tool is to make it aseasy to edit brush strokes as it is to edit pencil lines w ith the Contour Editor tool.

How to access the Centerline Editor tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Centerline Editor

tool.

2. The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple
elements:lLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing an irregular closed shape around them w ith
your mouse.

lMarquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements
by draw ing a rectangle around them. This is faster, as
you only need to drag your mouse from one corner ofthe rectangle to its opposite corner, but it may not be as
precise as you w ant.

Selection ModeTIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use
the other selection mode.

Show Centerline Editor Controls

W hen enabled, selecting several control points w ill make amanipulator bounding box appear. You can use thismanipulator to scale and rotate the selection of points.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

Centerline Smoothness

Allow s you to adjust the amount of control points on thecentreline that is generated from the selected stroke. A low ervalue w ill create a centreline w ith less points, w hich makes it
easier to manipulate large lengths of the stroke, and a higher
value w ill generate a centreline w ith more points, allow ing you
to tw eak details.

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Close Gap Tool Properties
The paint tool requires the area you attempt to fill to be closed in order to know exactly w hat area of yourartw ork must be filled. How ever, it is common for artists to accidentally leave small gaps in their artw ork.
The Close Gap tool allow s you to quickly close small gaps in a shape by creating an invisible stroke connecting
tw o extremities of the gap. You can then fill the area using the Paint tool, as this invisible stroke w ill be takenin account to determine the outline of the shape to fill.

TIP
You do not need to use the Close Gap tool w ith precision. If you draw a crude stroke near the gap
you w ant to close, the tool w ill automatically detect the tw o closest line extremities and w ill draw
an invisible straight line connecting them. closing the gap betw een them.

How to access the Close Gap tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Close Gap

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

The Close Gap tool creates an invisible draw ing stroke to close the shape.
Enabling this option w ill merge the stroke into the artw ork instead of adding thestroke on top of it.
Auto Flatten

NOTE
The area you close w ith the Close Gap tool w ill be fillable regardless ofw hether or not this option is enabled.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Contour Editor Tool Properties
The Contour Editor lets you reshape vector shapes, brush strokes and lines in your draw ings.
Artw ork in Harmony is made of vector shapes. Vector shapes are defined by points, the lines joining the points
together (contours) and the curve vectors, represented by Bezier handles, w hich make the curve of said lines.

The Contour Editor tool allow s you to select a contour or point, and change the position of points, add andremove points from the shape, rotate, lengthen and shorten curve handles to influence the curve of contours
betw een those points, or drag contours betw een points to change their curve directly.

How to access the Contour Editor tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Contour Editor

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Modes
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple
elements:l

Selection Mode

Lasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing an irregular closed shape around them w ith yourmouse.

lMarquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements by204

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

draw ing a rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only
need to drag your mouse from one corner of the rectangle toits opposite corner, but it may not be as precise as you w ant.

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use theother selection mode.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as toselect w hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You canalso click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable allsnapping modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable
the snapping modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hen enabled, moving the control point
in a contour near another contour w ill snap that control
point against that contour. This w ill lock the point and thecontour together, and moving the control point w ill deformthe contour.

Snapping

This option can be especially useful if you need to makes theedges of tw o shapes snap together, like so:

You can also use this option to make a control point snap
against another control point, allow ing you to join lines
together.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
W hen a control point is snapped against a contour
or another control point in your draw ing, the Contour
Editor w ill manipulate them together. How ever,even if you make a point in one draw ing stroke snap
against another draw ing stroke, they w ill remain
separate draw ing strokes unless they are flattened
together, and you w ill still be able to manipulatethem individually w ith the Select

tool.

l

Snap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection or
one of its control points, it w ill snap against nearbyalignment guides.

lSnap and Align: Snaps the selected anchor point to any
existing line w hile displaying temporary rulers as a guidethat you can also snap your anchor point to.

W hen enabled, selecting several control points w ill make amanipulator bounding box appear. You can use this manipulator toscale and rotate the selection of points.
Show Contour Editor
Controls

Operations
Icon

Property

Description

Smooth Selection

The Smooth operation lets you smooth out selected draw ing
strokes and remove extra points.

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Icon

Property

Description

TIP
You can also smooth the selection by selecting Drawing>
Optimize > Smooth from the top menu or by pressing Alt +Shift + S.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Cutter Tool Properties
The Cutter tool lets you cut out part of a draw ing so that you can transform it, copy it or delete it. It also allow s
you to trim overshot lines.

How to access the Cutter tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, click and hold on the Selectthe Cutter

tool to display the menu beneath and selecttool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple elements:lLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing anirregular closed shape around them w ith your mouse.

lSelection Mode

Marquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing a
rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only need to drag yourmouse from one corner of the rectangle to its opposite corner, but it
may not be as precise as you w ant.

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use the otherselection mode.

Easy Drag

W hen enabled, you can drag the selection by clicking anyw here inside its
bounding box. By default, you must click on the artw ork in the selection to beable to drag it.

208Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

W hen this option is enabled along w ith the Lasso

selection type, quickly

draw ing a line w ith the Cutter tool over a line segment in your artw ork w ill
instantly delete it. This can be useful if you w ant to use the Cutter tool toquickly clean up your artw ork.

Use Mouse
GestureIt allow s you to cut in tw o modes as follow s:lSingle Line Cutting Gesture: It deletes first line segment over w hicha straight gesture is draw n w ith the cutter.

lMultiple Lines Cutting Gesture: It deletes all line segments overw hich a straight gesture is draw n w ith the cutter.

NOTE
This option w ill only w ork w hen using the Cutter tool on separate
brush or pencil strokes. Hence, it is important not to flatten yourartw ork if you intend to use this option to clean up your draw ings. This
option has no effect on bitmap layers as the artw ork in bitmap layers is
alw ays flattened.

By default, the tool only w orks on the currently selected layer. W hen
enabled, the tool w ill w ork on all the visible layers in the Camera view .

Apply to Visible
Draw ing Layers

NOTES
l

W hen this option is disabled, you can select several layers to use
the tool on all the selected layers simultaneously.

lThis option only w orks in the Camera view .

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Operations
Icon

Property

Description

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

Rotate 90 Degrees
CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 Degrees
CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

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Edit Gradient/Texture Tool Properties
The Edit/Gradient Texture tool allow s you to move, rotate and scale a gradient or texture fill w ithin the shapeit fills, w ithout modifying the shape itself.

How to access the Edit Gradient/Texture tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Edit Gradient/Texture

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

By default, the tool only w orks on the currently selected layer. W hen
enabled, the tool w ill w ork on all the visible layers in the Camera view .

Apply to Visible
Draw ing Layers

NOTES
l

W hen this option is disabled, you can select several layers to use
the tool on all the selected layers simultaneously.

lThis option only w orks in the Camera view .

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Ellipse Tool Properties
The Ellipse tool allow s you to quickly draw an ellipse or a circle.

How to access the Ellipse tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Ellipse

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
Just like other shape tools, this tool creates pencil lines. Hence, its tool properties are similar to the ones of thePencil tool and it can be used w ith pencil presets.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

Size

Defines the w idth of the pencil line used to draw the shape.

Pencil Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage pencil presets.
Icon

Property

Description

Harmony provides a few pencil presets and also lets you create andsave your ow n. It is a good idea to create and save pencils w ith precise
sizes and parameters w hen you draw for efficiency and consistency.
Presets list
You can export the pencil presets that you have created and importthose that others have created. This is a good w ay for you and project
collaborators to keep a consistent look for the project.

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:l

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into an.xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails
w ith a preview of their tip.

Brush Presets Menu

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

DescriptionlLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your shape is added to your artw ork.
Icon

Property

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

W hen enabled, the shape you draw is automatically filled w ith theselected colour. By default, draw ing a shape only creates its outlines.

Auto Fill

Snapping

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also214Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, themouse cursor w ill snap to the nearby contours of the artw ork inyour draw ing.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, themouse cursor w ill automatically align to the rectangularbounding boxes of other strokes and shapes in your draw ing.

lSnap to Grid: W hile moving the selection, the mouse cursor w ill
snap against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Grid fromthe top menu or press Ctrl + '.

By default, w hen draw ing, each new stroke is created as a separate
draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently from other parts of
the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option automaticallymerges strokes into existing artw ork.

Auto Flatten Mode

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can use select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith theAuto-Flatten mode are essentially cut into segments by theoverlap and can be treated as individual lines.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Envelope Tool Properties
Selecting the Envelope tool displays its properties and options in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Increase the w idth and height values to add more columns and row s to thedeformation grids.

W idth andHeight

Sets the selection mode to Lasso, w hich allow s you to select multiple items bydraw ing a lasso around them.
Lasso

TIP
W hen this option is enabled, you can press and hold the Alt key totemporarily use Marquee mode.

Marquee

Sets the selection mode to Marquee, w hich allow s you to select multiple items
by draw ing a rectangle around them.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Icon

Tool Name

Description

TIP
W hen this option is enabled, you can press and hold the Alt key totemporarily use Lasso mode.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all other animationand draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to select w hich types ofsnapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up menu in
w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also click on thisbutton to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping modes, and click on it
again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping modes w hich w ere previously
enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:
SnappinglSnap to Contour: W hile moving the selection or one of its control
points, it w ill snap against the nearby points and contours of yourartw ork, allow ing you to snap parts of your artw ork together.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection or one of its
control points, it w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile moving a selection, therectangular bounding box of the selection w ill snap to the rectangularbounding box of any other draw ing stroke in the draw ing, allow ing you
to align draw ing strokes laterally.

To display more controls,you can click on the Show Advanced Controls button.

Show Advanced
Controls

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

Rotate 90
Degrees CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90
Degrees CCW

SmoothRotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

You can modify the central line smoothness of your line using this option. Thisparameter smooths the deformed lines. Increasing the value w ill result in asmoother line w ith few er control points. The more you increase the value, theless details and curves you w ill get. Use the left and right arrow s to increment
the value by one full unit. Use the Up - Dow n slider to quickly increment thevalue.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Eraser Tool Properties
The Eraser tool allow s you to erase artw ork by draw ing eraser strokes over it. W hen using the Eraser tool w ith
a tablet, it is pressure sensitive, like w ith the Brush tool.

How to access the Eraser tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Eraser Properties
The w ay the Eraser tool is configured is almost identical to the w ay the Brush tool is configured.
Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Stroke Preview Area

Eraser Properties
Dialog

The arrow button right of the display area opens the Eraser Properties dialog, w hichgives you access to all the parameters and options for your eraser. The Tool Properties
view only gives you access to a few of the eraser properties, a list of eraser presets andoptions for the Eraser tool that are not related to the eraser properties. For more219

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

information on the Eraser Properties dialog, see the Eraser Properties Dialog section
below .

Defines the maximum size of the eraser.
If the tool is used w ith a pressure sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w ill vary
betw een its maximum size and minimum size depending on the amount of pressureused. If used w ith a mouse, the w idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its maximum size.

Maximum Size

Eraser Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage eraser presets.
Icon

Property

Description

By default, Harmony has preloaded eraser presets. You can also
Presets list

create your ow n eraser presets by configuring your eraser, thensaving its properties into a new preset. It is also possible to export
and import eraser presets.

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Rename Brush

Allow s you to rename the currently selected preset.

Import Brushes

Allow s you to import brush presets exported from Harmony.

Export Brushes

Allow s you to export your brush presets into an .xml file.

Small Thumbnail

Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails w ith a preview of theirtip.

Large Thumbnail

Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails, w ith their name and apreview of their tip.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Stroke View

Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and a preview of a stroke
done w ith each preset.

Eraser Properties Dialog
Erasers have an extensive set of options and properties that are not displayed in the Tool Properties view , butrather, in a dialog you can access from it. To open the Eraser Properties dialog, click on the arrow button rightof the stroke display area.

The Eraser Properties dialog has tw o tabs. Below is detailed information about the options available in eachtab:l

Tip Tab on page 221lSmoothing Tab on page 224

Tip TabThe Tip tab allow s you to configure the shape, size, hardness and spacing of your eraser tip.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

Eraser Tip LibraryThis is w here you select the shape of the eraser tip. By default, it is round.

The minimum and maximum sizes of your draw ing tool produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This w orks w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
l

Maximum Size: Defines the maximum w idth of the stroke.

l

Minimum Size: Defines the minimum w idth of the stroke in relation to and as apercentage of the maximum size.

You can control the size properties by clicking on the arrow button on right and the
dialog box w ill appear as show n below .

Minimum andMaximum Sizel

Pressure: Allow s you to apply more pressure and increases the size of thebrush. You can check the box to invert this behaviour.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Property

DescriptionlTilt: Allow s you to tilt the pen closer to tablet for a bigger stroke. You can checkthe box to invert this behaviour.

l

Speed: Allow s you to reduce the size of the stroke by draw ing at a fast speed.
You can check the box to invert this behaviour.

l

Speed Sensitivity: A slider is used to control how fast must the stroke bedraw n to reach the minimum value.

lTaper: Allow s you to reduce the value of a property at the start or the end ofeach stroke. The value can be expressed using tw o options: Distance andPercentage. Distance is selected by default. For example: A taper of 200 w ill
be the same length as the w idth (diameter) of a stroke that has its size set at200.

You can enable Start and End Tapering option individually.
lStart Taper: W hen distance is selected as a Taper value, the effect of starttaper can be visualized as the stroke is draw n.

l

End Taper: W hen distance or percentage is selected as a Taper value, theeffect of end taper can be visualized once the stroke is complete and vectorized
as the length is unknow n until the stroke is complete.

l

Fade Distance: Allow s you to fade the value of property over a given distance.
It uses the same units as the size and is applied as the stroke is draw n.

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Size value to 100% eliminates the possibility of creating
w idth variation on your stroke. In other w ords, you w ould be forcing a uniform line
w idth using the Maximum Size value.

Proportional to Camera

If you check this option, the size of the eraser w ill be adjusted to the position of thecamera on the z-axis. This means that if the camera is zoomed in on the scene, theeraser w ill be proportionally smaller so that it appears the same size in the rendered
image. Likew ise, if the camera is zoomed out, the eraser w ill be proportionally bigger.

The Roundness and Angle parameters allow you to change the shape and orientationof the tip.
lRoundness: The vertical scaling to apply to the tip. Reducing this setting
squashes the tip vertically, allow ing you to turn round or square tips into flat
tips.

l

Angle: The angle at w hich to rotate the brush tip, counterclockw ise.

Roundness and Angle

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

NOTE
The squashing is not relative to the angle—if the tip is rotated, the squashing w ill
still be done relative to the tip's original orientation.

If your pen and tablet support tilt sensitivity, this option allow s you to set w hether youreraser takes your pen's tilt angle in account, and how much.
W hen your pen is fully tilted, your eraser tip w ill be stretched by the percentage you
set in this parameter, in the angle in w hich you tilt it. For example, if you set the Pen Tilt
Sensitivity to 50%, and you tilt your pen all the w ay up or dow n, your eraser tip w ill be
stretched vertically by 50%. W ith the same setting, if you tilt your pen all the w ay leftor right, your eraser tip w ill be stretched horizontally by 50%.
Pen Tilt Sensitivity

If enabled, and if your pen and tablet support tip rotation, your eraser tip w ill rotate
w ith the angle of your pen tip.

Use Pen Rotation

Smoothing Tab
The Smoothing tab contains options to configure how Harmony should automatically smooth your eraser
strokes as you paint.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Property

Description

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on your eraser stroke's
direction, curves and corners. A higher setting w ill prevent your line from being
shaky, but is liable to reduce draw ing precision and turn sharp angles into curves.

Contour Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on outer contour of theeraser stroke. A higher setting w ill round sharp corners and reduce the amount ofcontrol points for the resulting vector shape.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Line Tool Properties
The Line tool allow s you to quickly draw a line segment by dragging the mouse from its starting point to its
end point.

How to access the Line tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Linetool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
Just like other shape tools, this tool creates pencil lines. Hence, its tool properties are similar to the ones of thePencil tool and it can be used w ith pencil presets.

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Tool Name

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

Size

Defines the w idth of the pencil line used to draw the line.

Pencil Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage pencil presets.
Icon

Property

Description

Harmony provides a few pencil presets and also lets you create andsave your ow n. It is a good idea to create and save pencils w ith precise
sizes and parameters w hen you draw for efficiency and consistency.
Presets list
You can export the pencil presets that you have created and importthose that others have created. This is a good w ay for you and project
collaborators to keep a consistent look for the project.

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:l

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into an.xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails
w ith a preview of their tip.

Brush Presets Menu

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

DescriptionlLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your draw ing strokes are added to your artw ork.
Icon

Tool Name

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existing artw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as you draw it,
until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all other animationand draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to select w hich types ofsnapping are enabled.

Snapping

If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up menu in
w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also click on this button
to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping modes, and click on it again andtoggle it on to re-enable the snapping modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, the mouse
cursor w ill automatically snap to the nearby contours of existing artw ork,
allow ing you to draw shapes that connect w ith other parts of yourdraw ing.

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Icon

Tool Name

Description

NOTE
If you draw a line w ith the Line tool and make its tip snap to acontour or another control point in your artw ork, they w ill belocked together. You can then manipulate both simultaneously
using theContour Editor tool. You can also separate tw o

draw ing strokes that have been snapped together by selecting oneof them w ith theSelect tool and moving it aw ay.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool w ill snap
against nearby alignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, the mouse cursor
w ill automatically align w ith the edges of strokes and shapes in yourartw ork, allow ing you to draw shapes that align w ith parts of yourdraw ing.

l

W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, the mouse cursor w ill snap against
the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Grid from the top
menu or press Ctrl + '.

Auto-Flatten
Mode

By default, w hen draw ing, each new stroke is created as a separate draw ing
object, w hich can be edited independently from other parts of the artw ork. W hen
enabled, the Auto-Flatten option automatically merges strokes into existing229

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Tool Name

Description

artw ork.

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can use select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith the AutoFlatten mode are essentially cut into segments by the overlap and can betreated as individual lines.

W hen enabled, small gaps betw een the pencil lines you draw w ill be closed byan invisible stroke to make sure your shapes are closed and that they can be
filled w ith the Paint tool.
W hen draw ing contours w ith pencil lines, the centreline is used to determine
w hether or not the contour is closed, but the visible tips of the pencil line w ill

Auto-Close
Gap

extend a bit beyond the tips of its centreline, making it possible to have shapesthat appear closed, but are not really. This can prevent the shape from being
filled w ith the Paint tool. Enabling this option w hen draw ing w ith the Pencil orLine tool w ill prevent you from leaving invisible gaps in your contours.

Draw s a straight line.
Straight LineMode

In this mode, you can draw curved lines w ith the follow ing method:
1. Draw the line by clicking and dragging from the start point to the end
point of the line, but don’t release the mouse button or pen yet.

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Icon

Tool Name

Description

2. W hile holding the mouse button or pen dow n, press and hold the Ctrl
(W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS) and move the mouse or pen to define the line’s
curve.

3. Once the line’s curve looks right, release the mouse button or pen.

This mode allow s you to draw s a simple curved (quadratic Bezier) line in tw oclicks:1. Draw the line by clicking and dragging from the start point to the end
point of the line.

Curve Line
Mode
2. Move the mouse or pen to define the curve of the line and click.

S Curve Line
Mode

Draw s an S-shaped (cubic Bezier) line. This mode allow s you to draw lines w ith
finely tuned or even S-shaped curves w ith three clicks:
1. Draw the line by clicking and dragging from the start point to the end
point of the line.

231Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Tool Name

Description

2. Move the mouse or pen to define the Bezier position of the beginning of
the line and click.

3. Move the mouse or pen to define the Bezier position of the end of the line
and click.

Pencil Properties Dialog

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Paint Tool Properties
The Paint tool allow s you to fill closed areas of your draw ing w ith the selected colour.

How to access the Paint tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Paint, Paint Unpainted

or Unpainttool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Paint Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple elements:lLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing anirregular closed shape around them w ith your mouse.

lMarquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing a
rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only need to drag yourmouse from one corner of the rectangle to its opposite corner, but it may
not be as precise as you w ant.

Selection
Mode

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use the other selectionmode.

The Paint tool has three different modes:lPaint: Paints or repaints selected zones, w hether or not they are
already filled.

Paint ModelPaint Unpainted: Only paints empty zones, and does not repaintzones that are already filled w ith colour.

lUnpaint: Removes colour from the selected zone, replacing it w ith
transparency.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

This option allow s you to determine w hich draw ings in the current layer the tool
should affect. It can be toggled on or off. W hen toggled on, it has tw o different
modes. You can select a mode by clicking and holding on the button.
ll

Off: W hen this button is toggled off, the tool only w orks on the draw ing
in the current frame.
Apply to All Frames: The tool w ill w ork on every exposed draw ing inthe selected layer simultaneously.

lApply to Onion Skin Range: The tool w ill w ork on every draw ing
displayed in the Onion Skin. Onion Skin must be enabled for this option
to w ork.

Apply to All
FramesBy default, if you attempt to fill a shape that has a small gap in its contour, thePaint tool w ill not be able to fill the shape. This option allow s you to make the
Paint tool automatically add a stroke to close the shape w hen it detects a small
gap betw een tw o strokes in the shape.
The Close Gap setting can be set to a value betw een 0 and 10. This determines
the maximum size of a gap to close, in pixels. You can also use one of thefollow ing presets:
Close Gapll

No Close Gap: Sets the Close Gap setting to 0, disabling the feature.
Close Small Gap: Sets the Close Gap setting to 2, making the Paint
tool close gaps that are barely visible.

l

Close Medium Gap: Sets the Close Gap setting to 4, making the Paint
tool close gaps that are somew hat visible.

l

Close Large Gap: Sets the Close Gap setting to 8, making the Paint
tool close gaps that are easy to notice.

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Pencil Tool Properties
The Pencil tool allow s you to draw simple contour lines that are defined by their centerline and their thickness.
W hen you select the Pencil tool, the Tool Properties view displays the different Pencil modes that control how
the pencil line is draw n.

How to access the Pencil tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
The follow ing properties affect the pencil's w idth and smoothing. Those properties can be saved into pencil
presets for later use.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

Size

Defines the w idth of the pencil line.

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the number of control points added to the centre line. The few er the control
points the smoother (but less faithful) the line.

Pencil Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage pencil presets.
Icon

Property

Description

Harmony provides a few pencil presets and also lets you create andsave your ow n. It is a good idea to create and save pencils w ith precise
sizes and parameters w hen you draw for efficiency and consistency.
Presets list
You can export the pencil presets that you have created and importthose that others have created. This is a good w ay for you and project
collaborators to keep a consistent look for the project.

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:

Brush Presets Menul

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into an.xml file.

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Icon

Property

Descriptionl

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails
w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your draw ing strokes are added to your artw ork.
Icon

Property

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically fill it w ith thecurrently selected colour.

Auto Fill

Trim Extra Lines

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically remove theoutstanding lines.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

W hen the Trim Extra Lines option is enabled, enable this option to makethe point w here the beginning and end of the stroke meet into a smooth
curve rather than a hard corner.

Align Handles After
Trim

By default, w hen draw ing, each new stroke is created as a separate
draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently from other parts of
the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option automaticallymerges strokes into existing artw ork.

Auto Flatten

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith theAuto-Flatten mode are essentially cut into segments by theoverlap and can be treated as individual lines.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.
Snapping
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping238

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping mode:lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Perspective Tool Properties
The perspective tool allow s you to deform artw ork by creating a rectangular bounding box around it andallow ing you to manipulate any of the four corners. The selected artw ork w ill be deformed to fit the shape you
make by simulating a perspective effect.

How to access the Perspective tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Perspectivetool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Perspective Tool Options

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple elements:lLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing
an irregular closed shape around them w ith your mouse.

lSelection Mode

Marquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing a rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only
need to drag your mouse from one corner of the rectangle toits opposite corner, but it may not be as precise as you w ant.

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use the otherselection mode.

Snapping

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as toselect w hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also

240Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Icon

Tool Name

Description

click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hile moving the selection or one of its
control points, it w ill snap against the nearby points andcontours of your artw ork, allow ing you to snap parts of yourartw ork together.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection or oneof its control points, it w ill snap against nearby alignment
guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile moving a selection, therectangular bounding box of the selection w ill snap to therectangular bounding box of any other draw ing stroke in thedraw ing, allow ing you to align draw ing strokes laterally.

Allow s you to select betw een one of the tw o follow ing deformation
modes:l

Perspective: Deforms the selection by simulating aperspective effect.

l

Lattice: Deforms the selection by simply making theartw ork fit the bounding box, w ithout applying a perspective
effect.

Deformation Mode

The difference betw een both modes becomes easier to understand if
you apply a transformation to a draw ing of a grid to make it look likeit's laid dow n on a surface:

Flip Horizontal

Flips the selection horizontally.

Operations

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Flip Vertical

Flips the selection vertically.

Rotate 90 CW

Rotates the selection 90° clockw ise.

Rotate 90 CCW

Rotates the selection 90° counterclockw ise.

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Polyline Tool Properties
The Polyline tool allow s you to draw complex lines or shapes by defining each point and their Bezier handles
one by one.

How to access the Polyline tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Polyline

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
Just like other shape tools, this tool creates pencil lines. Hence, its tool properties are similar to the ones of thePencil tool and it can be used w ith pencil presets.
Icon

Property

Description

Preview Area

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool
w ill make.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Pencil Properties
dialog.

Pencil Properties
DialogW hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to the pencil size,
a list of pencil presets and other draw ing options, the Pencil Properties
dialog gives you access to all the available options for your pencil's
shape and texture. For more information on the Pencil Properties dialog,
see the Polyline Tool Properties section below .

SizeDefines the w idth of the pencil line used to draw the shape.

Pencil Presets
Icon

Property

Description

Presets list

Harmony provides a variety of presets and also lets you create and saveyour ow n. It is a good idea to create and save pencils w ith precise sizes
and parameters w hen you draw and design for efficiency andconsistency.
All tools using pencil lines share the same preset list. Therefore, thePolyline, Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, and Pencil tools share the same preset
list.

New Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Presets Menu

Gives access to more options for managing presets.

Rename Brush

Allow s you to rename the currently selected preset.

Import Brushes

Allow s you to import brush presets exported from Harmony.

244Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Export Brushes

Allow s you to export your brush presets into an .xml file.

Small Thumbnail

Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails w ith a preview of their tip.

Large Thumbnail

Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails, w ith their name and apreview of their tip.

Stroke View

Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and a preview of a stroke done
w ith each preset.

Drawing Options
Icon

Property

Description

W hen this option is enabled, clicking close to a contour in your draw ing
w ill add the point to that contour. The line you are building w ill be linked
to that contour.

Snap to Contour

If this option is disabled, attempting to click on existing contours w ill
alw ays create a point very close to that contour, but not exactly on it.
Therefore, it is necessary to enable this mode if you w ant to create linesthat branch from into existing contours in your draw ing.

NOTE
If you draw a line w ith the Line tool and make its tip snap to acontour or another control point in your artw ork, they w ill belocked together. You can then manipulate both simultaneously
using theContour Editor tool. You can also separate tw o

draw ing strokes that have been snapped together by selecting
one of them w ith theAuto Fill

Select tool and moving it aw ay.

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically fill it w ith thecurrently selected colour.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically remove theoutstanding lines.
Trim Extra Lines

W hen the Trim Extra Lines option is enabled, enable this option to makethe point w here the beginning and end of the stroke meet into a smooth
curve rather than a hard corner.
Align Handles After
Trim

By default, w hen draw ing, each new stroke is created as a separate
draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently from other parts of
the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option automaticallymerges strokes into existing artw ork.

Auto-Flatten Mode

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can use select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith theAuto-Flatten mode are essentially cut into segments by theoverlap and can be treated as individual lines.

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Rectangle Tool Properties
The Rectangle tool allow s you to quickly draw a rectangle or a square.

How to access the Rectangle tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Rectangle

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
Just like other shape tools, this tool creates pencil lines. Hence, its tool properties are similar to the ones of thePencil tool and it can be used w ith pencil presets.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

Size

Defines the w idth of the pencil line used to draw the shape.

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your shape is added to your artw ork.
Icon

Property

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

W hen enabled, the shape you draw is automatically filled w ith theselected colour. By default, draw ing a shape only creates its outlines.

Auto Fill

Snapping

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.

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Icon

Property

Description

If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, themouse cursor w ill snap to the nearby contours of the artw ork inyour draw ing.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, themouse cursor w ill automatically align to the rectangularbounding boxes of other strokes and shapes in your draw ing.

l

W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, the mouse cursor w ill snap
against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Grid fromthe top menu or press Ctrl + '.

By default, w hen draw ing, each new stroke is created as a separate
draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently from other parts of
the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option automaticallymerges strokes into existing artw ork.

Auto Flatten Mode

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can use select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith theAuto-Flatten mode are essentially cut into segments by theoverlap and can be treated as individual lines.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Pencil Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage pencil presets.
Icon

Property

Description

Harmony provides a few pencil presets and also lets you create andsave your ow n. It is a good idea to create and save pencils w ith precise
sizes and parameters w hen you draw for efficiency and consistency.
Presets list
You can export the pencil presets that you have created and importthose that others have created. This is a good w ay for you and project
collaborators to keep a consistent look for the project.

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:l

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into an.xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails
w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Brush Presets Menu

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Reposition All Drawings Tool Properties
W hen you use the Reposition All Draw ings tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

OptionDescription

Easy Drag

W hen enabled, you can drag the selection by clicking anyw here inside its
bounding box. By default, you must click on the artw ork in the selection to be able
to drag it.

Operations
Icon

OptionDescription

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

Rotate 90
Degrees CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90
Degrees CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Use the Offset X and Offset Y operation fields to enter specific values andprecisely reposition the selected shape.
Offset X and Y

1. X: Type a value in this field to reposition your selection along the X-

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

OptionDescriptionaxis.
2. Y: Type a value in this field to reposition your selection along the Yaxis.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s to modify the value in
the X or Y value field.

Use the W idth and Height operation fields to enter specific values to resize
the selected shape w ith precision.

W idth and Height
1. W idth: Type a value in this field to resize the w idth of your selection.
2. Height: Type a value in this field to resize the height of your selection.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s to modify the value in
the W idth or Height fields.
4. Lock icon: Click the lock icon to lock or unlock the ratio betw een the
W idth and Height values.

The Angle operation lets you to enter specific values and accurately rotate theselected shape.

Angle
1. Angle: Type a degree value in this field to rotate your selection.
2. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s to modify the value in
the Angle value field.

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Rigging Tool Properties
In the Tool Properties view , you can customize not only the behaviour of the tool but also the settings of thedeformers that you w ill create.

Mode
ButtonName

Description

Bone Mode

Sets the Rigging tool to create Bone deformations.

Game Bone Mode

Sets the Rigging tool to create Game Bone deformations.

Options
ButtonParameter

Description

Show All Manipulators

Lets you immediately see the resting position in red (Setup) and theanimated position in green.

Operations
ButtonName

Description

Reset Deform (Reset Current
Keyframe)

Copies the resting position of the deformation skeleton to thecurrent frame.

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Select Tool Properties
The Select tool lets you select strokes and apply basic transformations such as repositioning, rotating, scalingor skew ing, using the different handles of the bounding box.
If you have text or pencil lines selected w ith the Select tool, their properties w ill display in the Tool Properties
view , allow ing you to make changes to your selection.

How to access the Select tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Selecttool or the Select by Colour

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

NOTE
Selecting the Select by Colour

tool from the Tools toolbar activates the Select tool, w ith theSelect by Colour option enabled. Hence, this topic covers the tool properties for both the Selectand Select by Colour tools.

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple
elements:
Selection ModelLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing an irregular closed shape around them w ith yourmouse.

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Icon

Property

DescriptionlMarquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing a rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only
need to drag your mouse from one corner of the rectangle toits opposite corner, but it may not be as precise as you w ant.

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use theother selection mode.

Easy Drag

W hen enabled, you can drag the selection by clicking anyw here
inside its bounding box. By default, you must click on the artw ork inthe selection to be able to drag it.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as toselect w hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You canalso click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable allsnapping modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable
the snapping modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hile moving the selection or one of its
control points, it w ill snap against the nearby points andcontours of your artw ork, allow ing you to snap parts of yourartw ork together.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection or
one of its control points, it w ill snap against nearbyalignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hile moving the selection, the rectangularbounding box of the selection w ill align w ith the rectangularbounding boxes of other strokes and shapes in your artw ork.
If you move one of your selection's control points, it w ill alsoalign w ith the bounding boxes of other strokes and shapes inyour artw ork.

Snapping

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Icon

Property

DescriptionlSnap to Grid: W hile moving the selection, the mouse cursor
w ill snap against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Gridfrom the top menu or press Ctrl + '.

W hen enabled, the w idth of pencil lines w ill be adjusted w hen
scaling them w ith the Select tool.
Scale Pencil Line
Thickness

TIP
You can quickly enable this mode by selecting the Scale
Pencil Line Thickness

tool, in the Selecttool'sproperties dialog.

W hen enabled, clicking on a coloured zone in your artw ork w ill
instantly select all the zones that are filled w ith the same colour.
Select by Colour

Select by Colour

256

can also be accessed from the Tools toolbar.

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Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
Only the zones painted w ith the same colour swatch in yourpalette w ill be selected. If another zone is coloured w ith theexact same colour, but not the same colour sw atch, it w ill not
be selected.

By default, the tool only w orks on the currently selected layer.
W hen enabled, the tool w ill w ork on all the visible layers in the
Camera view .

Apply to Visible Draw ing
LayersNOTESl

W hen this option is disabled, you can select several
layers to use the tool on all the selected layers
simultaneously.

lThis option only w orks in the Camera view .

Operations
Icon

Property

Description

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

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Icon

Property

Description

Rotate 90 Degrees CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 Degrees CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Smooth out selected draw ing strokes and remove extra points.

SmoothMerges draw ing objects and brush strokes into a single layer. If you
draw new lines to fix a draw ing or line w ith many brush strokes, it
can be useful to flatten them all into a single shape. By default, lines
are draw n one on top of each other. If you intend to repaint the lines
or modify their shape, it w ill be easier if they are flattened.

FlattenCreate Colour Art fromLine Art

Lets you use the outline you traced on one of the four embedded
layers (line art, colour art, overlay, underlay) and create invisible
strokes to paint your draw ings on separate layers. This provides
more inking and painting flexibility.
You can also configure this option to create the invisible strokes on
any of the four embedded layers.

Distribute to Layers

The Distribute to Layers option is used to separate the selected art
strokes and send them to new draw ing layers. In the Camera view ,once you have draw n your artw ork, you can select the strokes you
w ant to distribute using the Select tool and click on the Distribute toLayers button; you can also select Drawing > Distribute to Layers. It
w ill automatically take every stroke from the draw ing selection made258

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Icon

Property

Description

in the Camera view and separate them into a different layer for each.
If an artw ork is composed of several strokes, you must group themusing Edit > Group > Group before using the Distribute to Layers
option. This option cannot be done from the Draw ing view .

Converts the selected centre line pencil strokes into contour strokes
brush lines.

Pencil to Brush

Offset X

Lets you enter a value to reposition the selection along the X-axis.

Offset Y

Lets you enter a value to reposition the selection along the Y-axis.

W idthLets you enter a value to resize the w idth of the selection.

HeightLets you enter a value to resize the height of the selection.

Lock

Locks or unlocks the ratio betw een the W idth and Height values.

Angle

Lets you enter specific values to rotate the selection. A positive value
rotates the selection counter clockw ise and a negative value rotates
the selection clockw ise.

Pencil Selection
If the selection contains pencil lines, the Pencil Selection section appears at the bottom of the Tool Properties
view , allow ing you to adjust the size of those pencil lines.

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Icon

Property

Description

Size

Adjusts the w idth of the selected pencil lines.

Text Selection
If your selection include text boxes created w ith the Text tool, a Text Selection section w ill appear at thebottom of the Tool Properties view , allow ing you to adjust the formatting of the w hole text box.

TIP
You can also adjust the formatting of parts of the text in the text box using the Text tool—see Text
Tool Properties on page 275.

Icon

Property

Description

Lets you select the font in w hich to display the text.

Font

Makes the selected text bold.
Bold

Makes the selected text italic.
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Icon

Property

Description

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the left.

Align Left

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the centre.

Align Center

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the right.

Align Right

Makes the text in the selected text box take all the horizontal space byadjusting the spacing betw een each w ord. Text that use a single line
and text in the last line of a paragraph is aligned to the left.

Justify

Allow s you to set the size of the selected text.
Size

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Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to increase or decrease the spacing betw een eachcharacter.

Kerning

Auto Kern

Sets the kerning automatically based on the font’s predefined
standard.

Allow s you to increase or decrease the indentation of the first line oftext in each paragraph.
IndentIncreases or decreases the space betw een each line of text.

Line Spacing

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Smooth Editor Tool Properties
W hen you select the Smooth Editor tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Description

The Smoothing Style options allow you to smooth aportion of your draw ing by tracing a smoothing strokeover the zone to optimize or by selecting an area ofthe draw ing w ith the Marquee or Lasso.
Note that by default, the Smooth Editor tool colour isyellow , it w as changed to orange for screen grab
clarity.

Smoothing Style

The Show Control Points option allow s you to showor hide the Bezier points around lines. W hen the
Bezier points are displayed, you can see the result ofyour smoothing and the number of points left on the
curve. W hen it is turned off, only the original artw ork
is displayed.

Show Control Points

This is w here you set the minimum and maximum
sizes of your draw ing tool w hich w ill produce the thickand thin effect on your stroke. This w orks w ith thepressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

Minimum Size andMaximum Size

This options is available w hile using the Brush
Smoothingl263

style.

Maximum and Minimum Size: Defines the
maximum and minimum w idth of the stroke.

Chapter 4: Tools Propertiesl

Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow narrow s to set the minimum and maximum sizevalue.

The Smoothness impacts the strength of thesmoothing result. The higher the value, the morepoints are removed and the smoother the curve. The
Smoothness range is from 0 to 100; the default value
is 20.

Smoothness

You can modify the colour of the control points
displayed on the artw ork w hile w orking w ith the
Smooth Editor tool by double-clicking on the colour
sw atch.

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Stamp Tool Properties
The Stamp tool allow s you to create and use stamps, w hich can contain one or several draw ings that can be
stamped individually or in sequence onto your artw ork.

How to access the Stamp tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamptool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Stamp Properties
The follow ing options allow you, among other things, to preview your stamp, to change the size of your stamp
as w ell as to flip it horizontally and vertically.
Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of w hat w ill appear if you draw a stroke w ith the
Stamp tool.
Preview Area

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Property

Description

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Stamp Properties dialog.

Stamp Properties
DialogW hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to a few of the stamp properties and alist of stamp presets, the Stamp Properties dialog gives you access to all the available options
for the w ay your stamp w ill be applied. For more information on the Stamp Properties dialog,
see the Stamp Properties Dialog on page 269 section below .

The tw o-ended arrow s to the left and over the Stamp thumbnail allow you to flip the stamp
horizontally or vertically.
Flip Horizontally/ Flip Vertically

The maximum scaling factor to apply to the stamp before stamping it onto the draw ing.
This setting is a percentage, w hich is relative to the size of the original draw ing that w as used
to create the stamp. This means that, at 100%, the draw ing w ill be stamped into your artw ork
in its original size.

Maximum Scale

NOTE
If the tool is used w ith a pressure sensitive tablet, the scale of the stamp can be made to
be relative to the amount of pressure you put on your pen. To do this, you must reducing
the Minimum Scale property of your stamp in the Stamp Properties dialog. If the
Minimum Scale setting is left at its default value, w hich is 100%, the size of the stamp
w ill not vary.

W hen using a multi-draw ing stamp, this is the number of the draw ing in the series that w ill
be stamped on the next time you use the Stamp tool. For example, if your stamp has 3
draw ings and this is set to 2, the next draw ing that w ill be stamped on is the second draw ing
in the series.
Stamp

If your stamp's Cycle setting is set to Hold, then you have to use this slider to select w hichdraw ing to stamp w ith the Stamp tool.
If your stamp's Reset Cycle for Each Stroke option is enabled, then you can use this slider toselect w hich draw ing to start each stroke w ith.
Otherw ise, w hen you draw a stroke w ith the Stamp tool, the Stamp slider w ill automatically266

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Property

Description

update to the next draw ing in the sequence.

TIP
You can also cycle through the draw ings in your stamp by using the Left Arrow and Right
Arrow keys.

NOTE
The Cycle and Reset Cycle for Each Strokee options are available in the Stamp
Properties dialog.

Stamp Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage stamp presets.
Contrary to the Brush and Pencil tools, creating a Stamp preset is required to use the Stamp tool, as thispreset w ill contain the draw ings to stamp onto your artw ork. A Stamp preset is created by selecting one orseveral layers, then adding a preset to the Stamp Presets list. If several layers are selected, the Stamp w ill
contain a series of draw ings, w hich it w ill stamp onto your artw ork in a sequence as you draw strokes w ith the
Stamp tool.
Icon

Property

Description

Presets list

The list of Stamp presets. Click on one of the presets to select it anduse it in your draw ing.

Creates a new Stamp preset based on the selected artw ork. The
artw ork can either be a selection made w ith the Selecttool, or by

selecting a layer.
New Brush Preset

If several layers are selected, this w ill create a multi-draw ing Stamp.
As you draw a stroke w ith the Stamp tool using a multi-draw ing
stamp, each draw ing in the stamp w ill be applied onto your artw ork,
one after the other.

Delete Brush

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Brush Presets Menu

Open a menu that contains all of the previous options, along w ith allof the follow ing options:267

Chapter 4: Tools Propertiesl

New Brush Preset: Creates a new stamp based on theselected artw ork.

lRename Preset:Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes:Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes:Allow s you to export your brush presets into
an .xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small
thumbnails w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your draw ing strokes are added to your artw ork
Icon

Property

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.
Snapping
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping

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modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping mode:lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

Stamp Properties Dialog
The Stamp Properties dialog allow s you to set more specific settings for your stamp, such as pressure
sensitivity, spacing, angle, randomness and, for multi-draw ing stamps, how to cycle through each draw ing inthe stamp. To open the Stamp Properties dialog, click on the arrow button right of the stroke display area.

Property

Description

The maximum scaling factor to apply to the stamp before stamping it onto the draw ing.
Maximum Scale

This setting is a percentage, w hich is relative to the size of the original draw ing that w as
used to create the stamp. This means that, at 100%, the draw ing w ill be stamped into yourartw ork in its original size.

Minimum Scale

The minimum scaling factor to apply to the stamp before stamping it onto your draw ing.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

W hen using the Stamp tool w ith a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, the size of the stamps
applied onto your artw ork w ill vary betw een its Minimum Scale and Maximum Scale
properties, relative to the amount of pressure you apply to the pen.
This setting is relative to the Maximum Scale property. This means that if the Maximum
Scale is set to 50% and the Minimum Scale is set to 50%, the actual scaling factor applied tothe stamp w ill vary betw een 25% and 50%.
This setting is also used w ith the Random Size setting.

The tw o-ended arrow s to the left and over the Stamp thumbnail allow you to flip the stamp
horizontally or vertically.
Flip Horizontally /Flip Vertically

The Roundness and Angle parameters allow you to change the shape and orientation of thestamp.
lRoundness: The vertical scaling to apply to the stamp. Reducing this setting
squashes the stamp vertically, allow ing you to turn round or square stamps into flatstamps.

lRoundness &Angle

Angle: The angle at w hich to rotate the brush tip, counterclockw ise.

NOTE
The squashing is not relative to the angle—if the stamp is rotated, the squashing w ill
still be done relative to the stamp's original orientation.

Spacing

Defines the amount of space betw een each stamp that is applied onto the artw ork. The
larger the value, the greater the space betw een each stamp.

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Property

Description

The percentage of randomness to apply to the size of the stamp. This makes the size of thestamp randomly vary betw een its Maximum Scale and Minimum Scale settings each time itis applied to your artw ork.

Random Size
The greater the value of the Random Size property, the closer to its Minimum Scale the sizeof each stamp can get. For example, if the Random Size setting is set to 50% and the
Minimum Scale is set to 50%, the size of the stamp w ill randomly vary betw een 75% and100% of its Maximum Scale.

The maximum value of randomness to apply to the angle of the stamp. This makes theRandom Angle

Random Spacing

angle of the stamp randomly vary w ithin the range of degrees in this setting, in either
direction, each time it is applied to your artw ork. For example, if the stamp's Angle is set to0°, and the Random Angle is set to 180°, each instance of the stamp w ill be at a random
angle varying betw een -90° and 90°.

The maximum amount of randomness to apply to the spacing of the stamp. Increasing thissetting makes the distance betw een each instance of the stamp vary randomly as you draw
a stroke. At 100%, this makes the distance betw een each stroke vary betw een 0% and200% of its Spacing property.

For multi-draw ing stamps, this decides the logic w ith w hich to cycle through the sequenceof draw ings in the stamp as you draw a stroke.
Cycle

l

Forward: Starts by applying the first draw ing in the sequence, then the next one,and so on until it reaches the last draw ing in the sequence, then cycles back to thefirst one.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

DescriptionlReverse: Starts by applying the last draw ing in the sequence, then the previous one,and so on until it reaches the first draw ing in the sequence, then cycles back to thelast one.

l

Forward- >Reverse: Starts by cycling forw ard through the sequence until it reaches
the last draw ing, then cycles backw ard to the first draw ing, and so on.

lReverse- >Forward: Starts by cycling backw ard through the sequence until itreaches the first draw ing, then cycles back to the last draw ing, and so on.

lRandom: Applies a random draw ing in the sequence each time the stamp is applied.

lHold: Applies a single one of the draw ings in the sequence over and over again.

TIP
W hen this option is set to Hold, you can select w hich one of the draw ings is stamped onby changing the Stamp setting in the Tool Properties view .

For multi-draw ing stamps. This makes it so each stroke you draw w ith the stamp too alw ays
starts w ith the first draw ing in the cycle, w hich is decided by the Stamp option in the Tool
Properties view .
Reset Cycle for
Each Stroke

W hen disabled, the Stamp tool keeps track of w hich draw ing it w as going to stamp next
w hen you finish draw ing a stroke by storing the number of that draw ing in the Stampsetting. W hen this option is enabled, it simply stops updating the Stamp setting. Hence,
your strokes alw ays start at the draw ing selected w ith that setting. Likew ise, you canmanually decide w hich draw ing to start your strokes w ith by adjusting the Stamp setting.

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Stroke Tool Properties
W hen you select the Stroke tool, its properties and options appears in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Draw Stroke as
Straight Lines

Enable the Draw Stroke as Straight Lines option if you w ant the newstrokes you draw to be a perfect straight line. Disable the option if you
w ant the stroke to follow the mouse gesture.

Connect Line Ends

Enable the Connect Line Ends option if you w ant the start or end point of
your new stroke to connect to your existing strokes to make sure no gaps
are left in your draw ing.

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically fill it w ith thecurrently selected colour.

Auto FillW hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically remove theoutstanding lines.

Trim Extra Lines

Align Handles AfterTrim

W hen the Trim Extra Lines option is enabled, enable this option to makethe point w here the beginning and end of the stroke meet into a smooth
curve rather than a hard corner.

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Auto-Flatten Mode

By default, w hen draw ing, each new stroke is created as a separate
draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently from other parts of theartw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option automatically merges
strokes into existing artw ork.

Smoothness

You can modify the central line smoothness of your line using this option.
This parameter smooths the initial movement of your line. Increasing thevalue w ill result in a smoother line w ith few er control points. Use the left
and right arrow s to increment the value by one full unit. Use the Up Dow n slider to quickly increment the value.

274Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Text Tool Properties
The Text tool lets you add text fields to your project, in w hich you can type text, then adjust its formatting
using various fonts and text attributes.
W ith the Text tool selected, you can select text w ithin text boxes you created and change the formatting of
the selection. You can also select and manipulate text boxes using the Select tool, and change the formattingof the entire text box in the Select tool properties.

How to access the Text tool propertiesl

In the Tools toolbar, select the Text

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Property

Description

Lets you select the font in w hich to display the text.

Font

Makes the selected text bold.
Bold

ItalicMakes the selected text italic.

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Icon

Property

Description

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the left.

Align Left

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the centre.

Align Center

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the right.

Align Right

Makes the text in the selected text box take all the horizontal space byadjusting the spacing betw een each w ord. Text that use a single line
and text in the last line of a paragraph is aligned to the left.

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Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to set the size of the selected text.
Size

Allow s you to increase or decrease the spacing betw een eachcharacter.

Kerning

Auto Kern

Sets the kerning automatically based on the font’s predefined
standard.

Allow s you to increase or decrease the indentation of the first line oftext in each paragraph.
IndentIncreases or decreases the space betw een each line of text.

Line Spacing277

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Transform Tool Properties
W hen selecting the Transform tool, several options are available in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Sets the selection mode to Lasso, w hich allow s you to selectmultiple items by draw ing a lasso around them.
Lasso

TIP
W hen this option is enabled, you can press and hold theAlt key to temporarily use Marquee mode.

Sets the selection mode to Marquee, w hich allow s you to selectmultiple items by draw ing a rectangle around them.
MarqueeTIP
W hen this option is enabled, you can press and hold theAlt key to temporarily use Lasso mode.

Easy Drag

Snapping

W hen enabled, you can drag the selection by clicking anyw here
inside its bounding box. By default, you must click on the artw ork
in the selection to be able to drag it.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and allother animation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as
w ell as to select w hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a popup menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

can also click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable allsnapping modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to reenable the snapping modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection
or one of its control points, it w ill snap against nearbyalignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hile moving the selection, therectangular bounding box of the selection w ill align w ith
the rectangular bounding boxes of other elements in yourscene. If you move one of your selection's control points,
it w ill also align w ith the bounding boxes of otherelements.

lSnap to Grid: W hile moving the selection, the mouse
cursor w ill snap against the intersecting points of the
grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show
Grid from the top menu or press Ctrl + '.

Peg Selection ModeIn the Camera view , the Peg Selection Mode limits the selection
to peg layers instead of draw ing layers. This mode is usefulw hen you have created a character rig using peg layers for eachdraw ing. That w ay, you do not accidentally select the draw ing
layer w hen you w ant to animate on the peg.
W hen disabled, the Transform tool selects the draw ing layers.

Mixed Manipulation Mode

Allow s the selection and manipulation of different types ofinterfaces, such as pegs and curves, together in the same
operation.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

W hen enabled, certain deformation controls and extra controls
w ill be able to be selected and manipulated w ith the Transform
Tool. This w ill extend the bounding box used by the tool toencompass the selected controls. These controls can then betransformed at the same time w ith other selected pegs,
draw ings and compatible controls.

Hide Manipulator Controls

The Hide Manipulator Controls button lets you hide thebounding box and manipulator controls from the Camera vieww hen an element is selected.

Flips the current selection horizontally.
Flip Horizontal

You can also select Animation > Flip > Flip Horizontal from the
top menu or press 4 or 5.

Flips the current selection vertically.
Flip Vertical

You can also select Animation > Flip > Flip Vertical from the top
menu or press 4 or 5.

Rotate 90 Degrees CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 Degrees CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Use the Offset X and Offset Y operation fields to enter specificvalues and precisely reposition the selected shape.

Offset X ad Y

1. X: Type a value in this field to reposition your selection
along the X-axis.
2. Y: Type a value in this field to reposition your selection
along the Y-axis.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s tomodify the value in the X or Y value field.

W idth and Height

Use the W idth and Height operation fields to enter specificvalues to resize the selected shape w ith precision.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

1. W idth: Type a value in this field to resize the w idth ofyour selection.
2. Height: Type a value in this field to resize the height ofyour selection.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s tomodify the value in the W idth or Height fields.
4. Lock icon: Click the lock icon to lock or unlock the ratio
betw een the W idth and Height values.

The Angle operation lets you to enter specific values andaccurately rotate the selected shape.

Angle
1. Angle: Type a degree value in this field to rotate yourselection.
2. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s tomodify the value in the Angle value field.

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Zoom Tool Properties
The Zoom tool lets you zoom in and out of the Camera, Draw ing, Side and Top view s. You can also use it toreset the zoom level.

How to access the Zoom tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Zoom

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Parameter

Description

Zoom In ModeUse the mouse cursor to zoom in to the Camera or Draw ing view .

Zoom Out ModeUse the mouse cursor to zoom out of the Camera or Draw ing view .

Operations
Icon

Parameter

Description

Zoom in the Camera or Draw ing view .
Perform Zoom In
The keyboard shortcut is 2.

Perform Zoom
Out

Zoom out the Camera or Draw ing view .

Reset Zoom

Restores the current zoom level to 100%.

Reset View

Restores the original display by resetting any pan, rotation or zoom actions.

The keyboard shortcut is 1.

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283

Chapter 5: Toolbars

Chapter 5: Toolbars
Harmony contains toolbars w hich, by default, are located at the top of the interface. Some view s also have a
toolbar w hich you can reposition to suit your w ork style. You can show or hide toolbars, as w ell as customize itw ith the tools you use most often and hide the ones you don't.
W orkspace Toolbars

285

Advanced Animation Toolbar

286

Deformation Toolbar

287

Edit Toolbar

290

File Toolbar

291

Game Toolbar

292

Mini Playback Toolbar

293

Pen Settings Toolbar

294

Playback Toolbar

297

Scripting Toolbar

300

Tools Toolbar

301

W orkspace Toolbar

307

View Toolbars

308

Script Editor Toolbar

309

Timeline View Toolbar

313

Xsheet View Toolbar

317

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W orkspace Toolbars
Harmony has a series of toolbars that are added by default at the top of the interface. These toolbars can be
moved on the sides of the interface as w ell as w ithin specific view s.
All top toolbars can be added by selecting W indows > Toolbars in the top menu.
Advanced Animation Toolbar

286

Deformation Toolbar

287

Edit Toolbar

290

File Toolbar

291

Game Toolbar

292

Mini Playback Toolbar

293

Pen Settings Toolbar

294

Playback Toolbar

297

Scripting Toolbar

300

Tools Toolbar

301

W orkspace Toolbar

307

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Advanced Animation Toolbar
The Advanced Animation toolbar contains tools to position and animate layers. The Scale, Translate andRotate tools can be used to reposition the permanent pivot position of a layer. Unlike the Transform tool, eachtool in the Advanced Animation toolbar performs a single operation, either rotate, scale, translate or scale inrelation to the camera distance.

How to access the Advance Animation toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Advanced Animation.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

TranslateLets you move the selected element along the X and Y
axes.

RotateTurns a selected element around its pivot point.

Increases or decreases the size of a selected element.
You can scale an object up to make it larger or dow n
to make it smaller. Press Shift to scale the element
w hile maintaining its proportions.

Scale

Skew

Slants the selected element.

Maintain Size

Keeps elements the same size aspect ratio in the
Camera view as you move them tow ards or aw ay
from the camera.

Spline Offset

Lets you reposition the visual trajectory w ithout
offsetting or modifying your animation. By default, thetrajectory is located at 0,0,0 fields. If your elements
w ere draw n in a different location than the centre of
the draw ing area, it w ill look like the trajectory is notaligned w ith your draw ing. Also, if you have several
elements attached to one trajectory, you might w ant
your trajectory to be at a different location torepresent the group's motion better.

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Deformation Toolbar
T-RIG-007-009
The Deformation toolbar contains the various tools and options used to create a deformation rig. This toolbar
is displayed in the default interface.
By default, the Deformation toolbar only contains the essential options. If you right-click on the toolbar andselect Customize, you can add additional buttons.

NOTE
The Customize option is only available if a toolbar is right-clicked in the space above the Camera
view . To move the toolbar to the space above the Camera view , either click and drag the toolbar
directly to the space above, or right-click in the space above and select the toolbar you w ish to
add.

Default Buttons
Icon

Tool Name

Description

The Rigging tool is used to create a Bone deformation
chain. You also use it to set up the resting position.
Rigging Tool
To learn more about the Rigging tool's properties, see
Rigging Tool Properties on page 253.

Show Selected
Deformation Chain and
Hide All Others

Displays the deformation controls for the selected
element and all of its children in the Camera view , andhides the deformation controls for any other element
in your scene.

Show Selected
Deformers

Displays the deformation controls for the selected
element and all of its children in the Camera view . If
deformation controls for other elements are currently
visible, they w ill remain visible as w ell.

Show Deformation Mesh

Overlay the deformation mesh as a w ireframe overthe draw ings.

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W hen several points from a curve or envelope
deformation chain are selected, this displays amanipulator bounding box around them. Using thismanipulator, you can move, rotate and scale theselected points together.

Show Manipulator

The Reset Current Keyframe copies the resting
position, the original setup of your skeleton before
undergoing any deformation, to your current frame.
Once you have created a deformation chain, you can
use the Rigging tool to adjust the position andappearance of the rig to fit the element. W hen the

Reset Current Keyframe

skeleton is in place, you can use the Reset Current
Keyframe button to reset the current frame position to
the resting position.

The Enable Deformations button allow s you todisplay your draw ings in their original state or w ith
deformations w hile creating additional draw ings.
Depending on the artw ork you need to create, you
might need to refer to the other images either
deformed or in their original position.
Enable Deformations

NOTE
Disabling deformations is only a display
mode. Although draw ings w ill not appear
deformed in the Camera view , even in RenderView mode, they w ill still be deformed in therendered images.

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Optional Buttons
Icon

Tool Name

Description

Remove All Keyframes

The Remove All Keyframes option removes all
keyframes on the selected deformation chain.

The Show All Controls button lets you visualize theresting position in red (Setup mode) and the active
position (Animation) in green at the same time

Show All Controls289

Chapter 5: Toolbars

Edit Toolbar
The Edit toolbar contains common operations such as Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy and Paste. These commands canalso be found in the Edit top menu.

How to access the Edit toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Edit.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Undo

Removes the last change made to your project.
Harmony supports multiple undo, so you can undochanges you made in the order you made them.

Redo

Redoes an operation you have undone. This commandis active only after you use the Undo command.

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste theobject or its properties to another object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location
you select in a view .

Create Symbol

Creates a symbol from selected draw ing elements inthe Draw ing or Camera view or a layer or cells in theTimeline view .

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File Toolbar
The File toolbar contains buttons for common file operations such as New , Save and Open. These commands
can also be found in the File top menu.

How to access the File toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > File.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

New (Harmony Stand
Alone)Creates a new scene w hile closing any scene already open. The New
Scene dialog box opens, asking for directory, name, and resolution
information.

Open

Displays the Open Scene dialog box w here you can brow se for ascene file. You can open a new scene from the current one and theprevious scene w ill close.

Save

Saves all changes made to the opened scene, draw ings, palettes, andpalette lists.

Saves the current file w ith a different name and at a different location.

Save As

Saves the current state of a scene as another scene. The Save As
w indow prompts you for a new name and a different location for thisscene before saving it. This w ill create a complete scene directory forthe new scene.

NOTE
The scene name cannot exceed 23 characters.

Import Images

Imports bitmap images w hich you can choose to vectorize.

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Game Toolbar
The Game toolbar contains tools for setting anchors and props, as w ell as exporting to sprite sheets and Easel
JS.

How to access the Game toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Game.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Toggle Anchor

Adds the Anchor parameter to the selected layer.

Toggle Prop

Adds the Prop parameter to the selected layer.

Export to Sprite Sheets

Opens the Export to Sprite Sheets w indow w here youcan export your animation as sprite sheets .

Export to Easel JS

Opens the Export to Easel JS w indow w here you canexport your animation as Easel JS.

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Mini Playback Toolbar
The Mini Playback toolbar allow s you to quickly preview a short span of animation starting a few frames
before the current frame and ending a few frames after the current frame, at a customizable frame rate.

How to add the Mini Playback toolbar to your workspace
1. Do one of the follow ing:

Icon

l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Mini Playback.

l

Right-click on any existing toolbar and select Mini Playback.

Tool Name

Description

Mini Playback
DialogOpen the Mini Playback dialog. This dialog allow s you to set the amount offrames before and after the current frame to playback w hen using Mini Playback,to set the speed of Mini Playback and to start Mini Playback.

Mini Playback

Begins Mini Playback using the last settings entered in the Mini Playback dialog.
By default, Mini Playback w ill play 5 frames before and after the current frame,at the scene's frame rate.

293Chapter 5: Toolbars

Pen Settings Toolbar
The Pen Settings toolbar provides options for enabling and configuring the Pen Stabilizer, w hich can help you
draw smooth lines w ith precision and minutia. It also allow s you to access the Pen Pressure Feel dialog, w hichallow s you to configure how the pressure you apply to your tablet pen is processed by Harmony to affect thesize of your draw ing strokes.

NOTE
For information on how to use the Pen Settings toolbar, refer to the User Guide.

Icon

Parameter

Description

Allow s you to select a method for Harmony to stabilize your draw ing strokes.
Stabilization is a process by w hich Harmony uses the general direction of yourdraw ing strokes to create smooth, stable curves and avoid jittering and sharp
corners.
Harmony accomplishes this by his by letting you draw a stroke of a certain
length w ithout generating artw ork right aw ay. After your stroke has reachedthat length, Harmony starts generating an draw ing stroke that keeps trailingbehind your mouse cursor or tablet pen as you draw . Harmony uses the buffer
betw een your mouse cursor or pen tablet and the actual draw ing stroke togenerate smooth curves and ignore jittering and small mistakes.
The w ay Harmony does this depends on the stabilization method you choose:Pen Stabilizer
ModelStabilizer Off: No stabilization is performed. W hen you draw a stroke,artw ork for it is generated immediately.

lAverage: Harmony calculates the average direction of all of your mouseor pen gestures betw een the end of the actual draw ing stroke and thecurrent position of your mouse cursor or pen tip, and extends the strokein this average direction, effectively evening out jitter and rounding
sharp turns.

lPulled String: W hen you start draw ing a stroke, Harmony positions thedraw ing tool w here your stroke starts. As you move the mouse or tablet
pen, the draw ing tool remains in that position, but a "string" appears,

294Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Icon

Parameter

Description

linking your draw ing tool to your mouse cursor or pen tip.

This string has a certain maximum length. Once that length is reached,
the string pulls the draw ing tool in the direction of your mouse cursor ortablet pen.

NOTE
The distance betw een your mouse cursor or tablet pen and thestroke can be adjusted. For the purpose of demonstration, theseimages w ere done using the largest supported distance.

This parameter determines how far your draw ing strokes trail behind yourmouse cursor or tablet pen as you draw .
In the case of the Average technique Harmony lets you draw an invisible stroke
Pen Stabilizer
Distanceof a certain length before it starts generating the artw ork based on the average
direction of that invisible stroke. This parameter determines the invisible
stroke's length.
In the case of the Pulling String, Harmony binds your draw ing tool to yourmouse cursor or tablet pen w ith a virtual string of a given length. Thisparameter sets the length of that string.

Allow s you to enable or disable the follow ing options:l

Pen Stabilizer
Settings

Catch Up: W hen using stabilization, your draw ing strokes trail behind
your mouse cursor or tablet pen. W ith this option enabled, w hen you
stop moving your pen and just leave it pressed against your tablet, thebrush stroke w ill progressively catch up to the position of your pen.

NOTES

l

l

This option only w orks if you are draw ing w ith a pen tablet.

lThis option only w orks w ith the Average stabilization
method.

Show String: W hen using the Pulled String method, the virtual string
binding your draw ing tool to your mouse cursor or tablet pen w ill be295

Chapter 5: Toolbars

Icon

Parameter

Description

displayed as you draw , allow ing you to visualize how the brush stroke
trails behind your mouse cursor or tablet pen.
lEraser: If enabled, strokes w ith theEraser tool w ill also bestabilized. By default, the stabilizer w orks w ith theandPen Pressure
Feel

Brush,

PencilStroke tools.

Opens the Pen Pressure Feel dialog, w hich allow s you to configure how
Harmony processes the pressure you put on your tablet pen before applying itto the thickness of your draw ing strokes—see Pen Pressure Feel Dialog Box.

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Playback Toolbar
The Playback toolbar allow s you to play your animation as w ell as to set some playback options such as
looping, audio playback, playback range and playback speed.

Name

ButtonDescription

Plays the scene in the Camera or Draw ing
view .
Play
You can also select Play > Play or Stop fromthe top menu.

Renders your scene's frames, then opens therendered frames in Play for playback.
This allow s you to preview your scene's
animation in real time, w ith the effects
rendered and w ith no risk of slow dow n.

Render and PlayYou can click and hold this button to sw itch its
mode to Record and Play or Test SW F Movie.

Exports your scene as it appears in the Camera
view into a movie file, then opens it in yourw orkstation's default video player.
Record and PlayThis allow s you to preview your animation
w ithout any risk of slow dow n, but it does notpreview the effects in your scene. How ever, it
is much faster than Render and Play.

Quickly exports your scene as a Flash Movie(.swf), then opens it in your w orkstation's
default w eb brow ser.

Test SW F Movie

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If pressed, your scene w ill repeat indefinitely
w hen playing. Otherw ise, it w ill stop w hen theend is reached.

Enable Loop

You can also select Play > Loop from the topmenu.

W hen pressed, your scene's soundtrack w illplay during playback.
Enable SoundYou can also select Play > Enable Sound fromthe top menu.

W hen pressed, you w ill hear a sample of yourscene's soundtrack at the current frame w hen
moving your scene's playhead in the Timelineview .
Enable Sound Scrubbing

This allow s you to easily situate w here theaction is relative to the sound track.
You can also select Play > Enable Sound
Scrubbing.

Allow s you to quickly play your scene forw ard
or backw ard to preview your animation.
Moving the handle tow ards the right w ill playyour scene forw ard, w hile moving it tow ards
the left w ill play your scene backw ard.
The closer to the edge you move the handle,
the faster the playback w ill be, allow ing you todose the speed at w hich your scene is played.
W hen the handle is at the edge, your scene
w ill play at its actual framerate.

Jog Frames

Once the head is released, it returns to the
middle and playback stops.

Frame

Lets you manually enter the current frame
number, setting the playhead's position.

Start

Let's you manually enter the number of thefirst frame to play during playback.

298Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

TIP
You can also click on Start (just leftof the input field) to quickly set theStart frame to the current frame.

Let's you manually enter the number of thefirst frame to play during playback.

TIP

Stop

You can also click on Stop (just left of
the input field) to quickly set the Stop
frame to the current frame.

Lets you set the amount of frames that shouldbe played during every second of playback,w hich is how the playback speed isdetermined.
FPS (Frames per second)

NOTE
This does not change the frames per
second setting in your scene's
resolution settings.

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Scripting Toolbar
The scripting toolbar allow s you to create buttons that run functions in your scripts. You can add one button
for each function you w ant to be able to run, and clicking on the button w ill instantly run the script function
your linked it to.

How to add the Scripting toolbar to your workspace
1. Do one of the follow ing:

Icon

l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Scripting.

l

Right-click on any existing toolbar and select Scripting.

Tool Name

Description

ManageScripts

Opens the Scripts Manager dialog box w here you can add scripts and functions
to your Scripting toolbar.

Stop Script

Stops the execution of a script launched from the Scripting toolbar.

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Tools Toolbar
The Tools toolbar contains the main tools you need to w ork in Harmony. In the default w orkspace, this toolbar
located on the left edge of the application w indow .

TIP
Many toolbar buttons have a keyboard shortcut associated to them. You can check w hich keyboard
shortcut is associated to a button by leaving your mouse cursor over the button for a second. If the
button has a keyboard shortcut, it w ill be indicated in the tooltip that appears.

By default, the Tools toolbar hides some of its tools inside pop-up menus. For example, to select thetool, you must double-click or long-click the

Select tool button, and select301

CutterCutter in the pop-up menu.

Chapter 5: Toolbars

How ever, it is possible to make the Tools toolbar display each tool as a separate button by enabling the Flat
Tools Toolbar preference. This makes the selection of tools quicker.

How to make every tool in the Tools toolbar display in buttons rather than pop- up
menus
1. Do one of the follow ing to open the Preferences dialog:ll

W indows:l

In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U.

macOS:l

In the top menu, select Harmony Essentials > Preferences.

l

Press ⌘ + U.

2. Select the General tab.
3. In the Options section, check the Flat Tool Toolbar option.
4. Click OK.
5. Close and relaunch Harmony.

NOTE
In Flat Tools Toolbar mode, some tools are hidden from the Tools toolbar by default. To
customize w hich tools are displayed in the Tools toolbar, and the order in w hich they aredisplayed, right-click on the Tools toolbar and select Customize.

How to customize which tools are displayed in the Tools toolbar when it is in Flat
mode
1. Right-click on the Tools toolbar and select Customize.
The Toolbar Manager dialog appears.

302Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

2. In the Available Tools list, select each tool that you w ant to add to the Tools toolbar, then click on
the Add the selected tool to the toolbar

button.

3. In the Toolbar list, select each tool that you w ant to remove from the Tools toolbar, then click on
the Remove the selected tool from the toolbar

Tool Name

Iconbutton.

Description

Allow s you to select and reposition, scale, rotate and skew brushstrokes, pencil lines, shapes and other parts of your artw ork.

SelectCutterAllow s you to cut a part of your artw ork, then reposition, scale,rotate and skew it.

Reposition All
Draw ings

Allow s you to reposition, scale, rotate and skew all draw ings in
the current layer.

Contour Editor

Allow s you to edit the vector contours of brush strokes, pencil
lines and shapes in your artw ork. You can add, remove, tw eak andmove vector points, move the Bezier handles of the vector points
as w ell as deform vector outlines.

Centerline Editor

Allow s you to tw eak and deform a brush stroke by manipulating
the points at the centre of its line rather than its contour.

Smooth Editor

Allow s you to optimize contours and lines by removing its extra
points, making them easier to edit.

Perspective

Allow s you to deform artw ork by applying a perspective effect on
it.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Envelope

Allow s you to deform and w arp artw ork by moving points andtw eaking lines in a grid.

Edit Gradient/Texture

Allow s you to adjust the position, angle and size of gradients andtextures in a colour zone.

Brush

A pressure-sensitive tool for creating a contour shape w ith a thickand thin line effect, as if created w ith a paint brush.

PencilA pressure-sensitive tool for draw ing outlines. Pencil lines are
made of central vector lines, making them easier to tw eak and edit
than brush strokes.

Text

Allow s you to add text and to format it.

EraserA pressure-sensitive tool for erasing parts of a draw ing.

Paint

Allow s you to fill colour zones w ith a colour or texture.

Paint Unpainted

Allow s you to quickly fill empty zones in your artw ork w ith acolour or texture, leaving filled zones unchanged.

Unpaint

Allow s you to empty filled colour zones of their colour andtexture.

StrokeAllow s you to create invisible lines that can serve as colour zones
that can be filled, or close the gaps in existing colour zones.

Close Gap

Allow s you to close open shapes so that they can be filled w ith
the Paint tool. By draw ing a stroke near a small gap in a shape,
this tool w ill create a small invisible stroke connecting the tw oclosest points around the gap.

Line

Draw s a straight line segment going from one point to the other.

Rectangle

Draw s a rectangle.

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

EllipseDraw s an ellipse.

Polyline

Allow s you to draw shapes, segmented lines or complex curvedlines by clicking to create each point in the sequence of line
segments.

Colour Eyedropper

Allow s you to select a colour by clicking on a colour in yourartw ork.

Hand

Allow s you to pan the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Zoom

Allow s you zoom in and out of the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Rotate View

Lets you rotate the Camera and Draw ing view s just like w ith a realanimation disc.

Shift and Trace

Allow s you to temporarily move draw ings so you can trace overthem in other draw ings using Onion Skin.

W hen this option is selected, every time you use theTransform or
Animate Current Frame

Advanced Animation tools tomanipulate an element in your scene, the position of the element
w ill be stored in a keyframe at the current frame. This allow s you
to animate elements in your scene w ithout creating keyframes
manually.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to make transformations

Animate Onion Skin
Range

Animate Off

to an element in your scene, the transformations w ill be stored as
keyframes at the beginning and at the end of the current Onion
Skin range, as w ell as on every existing keyframe in-betw een.
This can be useful if you w ant to reposition an element that you
have already animated, but only during a specific range of frames,
w hich you can define by enabling Onion Skin and setting theOnion Skin range to cover that range of frames.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to make transformation
to an element in your scene, the transformations w ill affect theelement throughout the w hole scene. This can be useful if you

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

w ant to reposition an element after you have already animated it.

Transform

Allow s you to select draw ing layers and position, rotate, scale andskew them.

Onion Skin

Displays the previous and next frames of an animation. Usefulw hen animating cut-out characters.

Advanced Onion Skin

Enables Advanced Onion Skin, a more flexible kind of Onion Skinthat can be easily configured using the Onion Skin view .

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W orkspace Toolbar
The W orkspace toolbar lets you load other w orkspaces. The first time you start Harmony, the default
w orkspace is loaded. Other w orkspaces are available such as the Hand-Draw n Animation and Compositing
w orkspaces; these display different view s and toolbars. You can access these w orkspaces and any you create,from the W indow s menu and the W orkspace toolbar.

How to access the W orkspace toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > W orkspace.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

W orkspace List

Allow s you to select an existing w orkspace.

Opens the W orkspace Manager w here you can
W orkspace Manager

organize, display, and remove w orkspace from yourlist.

W hen the Automatically Save W orkspace preferenceis disabled, the Save W orkspace button becomes
available. This allow s you to manually save your new
w orkspace configuration.

Save W orkspace307Chapter 5: Toolbars

View Toolbars
Harmony has a series of view specific toolbars that are only available in a given view . These toolbars can be
moved only w ithin their view .
All view toolbars can be added, as long as the view is visible, through the top menu W indows > Toolbars >desired toolbar.
Script Editor Toolbar

309

Timeline View Toolbar

313

Xsheet View Toolbar

317

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Script Editor Toolbar
The Script Editor toolbar gives you quick access to some commonly used commands for editing and testing
scripts in the Script Editor view —see Script Editor View on page 355.

How to access the Script Editor toolbar
1. Add the Script Editor view to your w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the top-right corner of an existing view , click on the

Add View button and select Script

Editor.
l

In the top menu, select W indows > Script Editor.

2. Click on the Script Editor view to set the focus on it.
3. In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Script Editor.

Icon

ButtonDescription

Creates a new script. W hen you click on this button, you are first prompted totype in a name for the script. Then, you w ill be prompted to select w hichlocation to save the script in:l

User: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory.
You w ill be able to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you
are logged in as the same user.

l

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill
be able to edit and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lSystem Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable. This option is only
available if this environment variable is set.

New Script

NOTE
For more information on script locations, see Script list on page 355.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Icon

ButtonDescription

Allow s you to import a script from your machine into Harmony. W hen you clickon this button, you are prompted to brow se for and select a script on your filesystem. Then, you are prompted to select w hich location to import the script in:l

User: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory.
You w ill be able to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you
are logged in as the same user.

l

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill
be able to edit and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lImport Script

System Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable. This option is only
available if this environment variable is set.

NOTES
l

W hen you import a script, any user interface (.ui) or icon (.png) filethat is in the same directory and has the same filename as the script
w ill also be imported.

l

For more information on script locations, see Script Editor View on
page 355.

Deletes the selected script.

NOTES
l

You cannot delete a script if it is in the Application Resources location,
as those are scripts that are installed w ith Harmony.

l

If you delete a script that w as originally in Application Resources but
w hich you copied to another location so you could make changes to it,
the original version of the script in the Application Resources folder
w ill be restored to the list.

Delete Script

Refresh Script
File List

Refresh the list of scripts in the Script Editor. If there are new scripts in your user
preferences or your scene's scripts sub-folder, click on this button to be able toopen them in the Script Editor.

Set External
EditorAllow s you to type in the path and name for your preferred text editing
softw are.

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Icon

ButtonDescription

NOTES

Open w ith
External Editorl

On macOS, only typing the name of your preferred text editing
softw are is enough if that application supports the AppleScript OpenDocument protocol.

l

On W indow s, unless your text editor is in your system's PATH
environment variable, you w ill have to type in the full path to theeditor.

Opens the selected script in the chosen external text editing softw are.

Prompts you to select w hich script and w hich function to use w ith the
and

Run

Debug buttons.

NOTES
Set Targetl

You can set the entire script as the target by selecting the <Nothing>
function from the functions list.

l

You cannot link an entire script to a toolbar button. Only functions
w ithin scripts can be added as toolbar buttons. Therefore, running or
debugging an entire script rather than one of its functions should bedone for testing purposes only.

Runs the target script and function.

NOTES
l

If you have not set a target script and function, you w ill be prompted
to set one w hen you click on this button.

l

You can set or change the target script and function by clicking on theRun

Set Target button.
l

Debug

If you are editing <<<Sandbox>>>, this button w ill simply run w hat
you typed into the sandbox, regardless of w hether another target is
set.

Open the target script and function in the Qt Script Debugger, in w hich you cantest and debug the function.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Icon

ButtonDescription

NOTES
l

If you have not set a target script and function, you w ill be prompted
to set one w hen click on this button.

l

You can set or change the target script and function by clicking on the
Set Target button.

l

Stop Execution

If you are editing <<<Sandbox>>>, this button w ill simply debug
w hat you typed into the sandbox, regardless of w hether anothertarget is set.

If a script is currently running, this interrupts its execution.

312Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Timeline View Toolbar
The 3D Graph toolbar w orks in conjunction w ith the elements in the 3D Graph view .

How to access the Timeline view toolbar
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Timeline View.

lRight-click on the space at the top of the Timeline view and, in the context menu, selectTimeline View.

Icon

Name

Description

Allow s you to quickly apply an ease to the selected animation keyframes in
the camera view .

Set Ease TypeTo set the ease of an animation, simply select the first keyframe in the
animation, then select the ease type in this drop-dow n. The ease-in w ill beapplied to the selected keyframe, and the ease-out w ill be applied to thenext keyframe in the timeline.
The follow ing presets are available:

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Icon

Name

Description

Icon

PresetEase- In
(Selected
Keyframe)

Ease- Out (Nextkeyframe)Linear0%0%Slow ease-in

25%

0%

Medium easein

50%

0%

Fast ease-in

75%

0Fast ease-in /ease-out

75%

75%

Medium easein / ease-out

50%

50%

Slow ease-in /ease-out

25%

25%

Slow ease-out

0%

25%

Medium easeout

0%

50%

Fast ease-out

0%

75%

Quick Ease

Sets the ease before and after the selected keyframe to 33%.

Quick Ease In

Sets the ease before the selected keyframe to 33%.

Quick Ease Out

Sets the ease after the selected keyframe to 33%.

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Icon

Name

Description

Set Ease on
Selected
Keyframes

Opens the Set Ease on Keyframes dialog. In this dialog, you can set the easein (before) and the ease-out (after) on the selected keyframes to a custom
percentage.

Set Ease forMultiple
Parameters

Opens the Set Ease for Multiple Parameters dialog. This dialog allow s you toadjust the Bezier handles on all the selected animation keyframes in theTimeline.

Create Empty
Draw ing

Creates a draw ing in the selected cell, replacing any draw ing that may
already be exposed in that cell and the follow ing ones until it meets anotherdraw ing, key exposure or a blank cell.

Fill Empty Cells

Fills the empty frames in the selection w ith the exposure just before. For
example, if you select a range of frame that starts w ith an exposed draw ing
and then ends w ith empty cells, all of the empty cells in the selection w ill befilled w ith the exposed draw ing just before the empty cells.

Creates a duplicate of the selected draw ing in the layer. The duplicate
draw ing w ill be exposed at the selected frame instead of the original
draw ing. Hence, this command allow s you to instantly start w orking on a
duplicate of the current draw ing and retain the original.
Duplicate Draw ing

NOTE
W hen duplicating a draw ing, the exposure at the selected cell isreplaced w ith the new draw ing, up until the next key exposure.

Insert Keyframe

Adds a keyframe on the selected cell in the Timeline view .

Delete Keyframes

Deletes the selected keyframes.

Set Motion
Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to motion keyframes. W ith motion
keyframes, Harmony generates the interpolation betw een the motion
keyframe and the next keyframe. This means that a value for each frame
betw een the keyframes is calculated by Harmony to progress from the valueof the previous keyframe to the value of the next keyframe.

Set Stop-Motion
Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to stop-motion keyframes. Betw een astop-motion keyframe and the next keyframe, Harmony does not generate

315Chapter 5: Toolbars

Icon

Name

Description

any animation and the element remains static until the next keyframe.

Go to Previous
Keyframe

Goes to the previous keyframe.

Go to Next
Keyframe

Goes to the next keyframe.

Add Key Exposure

Adds a key exposure to the selected cell.

Delete Key
Exposure

Removes key exposures from the selected cells.

Centre On
Selection

Scrolls the layers list to the currently selected layer. This is useful if you
w ant to select a layer in the Camera view , then manipulate its timing
Timeline view .

Opens the Paste Special dialog. This dialog allow s you to paste copied
Paste Special

frames or layers and select exactly w hat type of information is pasted andhow it is pasted into the target range.

Enable/Disable

Enables or disables the selected layers.

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Xsheet View Toolbar
The Xsheet toolbar contains the common timing operations such as Add Column, Delete Column, Clone
Column, and so on. These options can also be found in the top menu.

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Chapter 6: Views
The Harmony interface is composed of different view s, each one designed for a specific purpose. You can
modify the location of the view s by adding a new view as a tab or as a w indow . You can also sw ap the locationof a view .
W hen a view is active, a red rectangle appears around the view . Keyboard shortcuts and top menu options areassociated w ith the active view . If a menu option is greyed out, it means it does not apply to the layer, draw ing
or other type of selection or the option does not apply to the active view .
Camera View

319

Colour View

328

Draw ing View

333

Draw ing Substitutions View

335

Function View

337

Guides View

340

Integrated Help View

344

Layer Properties View

345

Library View

347

Master Controller View

350

Message Log View

352

Metadata Editor View

353

Script Editor View

355

Side View

359

Timeline View

361

Tool Properties View

370

Top View

371

Xsheet View

373

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Camera View
The Camera view is the centre of operations in Harmony. In this view , you can draw , paint, animate, set up yourscene, manipulate objects, open symbols and preview your animation.
The Camera view also has a top and bottom toolbar that you can use to navigate in the view , change thedisplay mode or go up your symbol hierarchy.

How to access the Camera view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Camera.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

319

button and select Camera.

Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

Editing Stack

The Editing Stack menu displays the names of the symbols and theirhierarchy w hen you are editing a symbol. You can click on the
different names to go back up to the different parent symbols or the
top/current project.

Camera View Toolbar

The Camera View toolbar contains all the tools and options you canuse in the Camera view to draw , animate or set up the scene. The
toolbar can be displayed or hidden by right-clicking on it andselecting or deselecting the Camera View toolbar.

W hen you have a draw ing layer or draw ing selected, the Light Table
button button allow s you to fade the colours of the other layers so
you can see the current artw ork better as you edit w ith a draw ing
tool. Note that the light table does not w ork w hen using a layer
editing tool, such as the Transform tool.

Light Table

W hen this button is enabled, the draw ing that you are currently
editing w ith a draw ing tool is temporarily displayed in front of all theother elements. The actual scene is not modified.

Current Draw ing on Top

Camera Mask

The Camera Mask button show s or hides Displays a black mask
around the scene’s frame to avoid seeing the unnecessary artw ork.
This option is handy w hen you're animating and setting up the scene.
It allow s you to see your scene’s composition better.

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Icon

SectionDescription

You can also access this from the top menu by selecting View >Show > Camera Mask.

The proportion grid is displayed in the camera view to help w ith
proportions and balancing the composition of an image. The gridfollow s the camera frame, similar to camera mask and safe area.
The number of divisions in the proportion grid can be defined by theuser in the Preferences > Camera > Proportion Grid > Horizontal
Divisions > Vertical Divisions.
Proportion Grid
The default is 3 division on each axis to create a rule of third grid.

TIP
You can access the Proportion Gridbutton in the Camera

View toolbar.

The Safe Area button show s or hides Displays the TV safety zone
and the centre of the camera frame. The safe area adapts to thescene resolution, as w ell as the safety zone and frame’s centre.
You can also access this feature from the top menu by selecting
View > Show > Safe Area.

Safe Area

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Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

W hen enabled, alignment guides w ill be visible in the Camera andDraw ing view s.
Show Alignment Guides

This is enabled by default. Disabling this option w ill hide and disablealignment guides, meaning that animation and draw ing tools w ill not
snap to them, even if theSnap to Alignment Guides option isenabled in the Tool Properties view .

Draw ings that are locked in the Timeline view (cannot be selected in
the Camera view ) are displayed as w ireframes.

Outline Locked Draw ings

Reset View

The Reset View button resets any panning, zooming or rotation donein the Camera view and returns the display to the initial settings. You
can also press Shift + M.

Saves the preview image of the Camera view in memory as asnapshot.

Take Snapshot

Harmony stores five snapshots and have a drop dow n list w ith fiveavailable slots. So if any snapshot w as in memory w hen taking asnapshot, it w ill be overw ritten by the new snapshot.

NOTES
l

Show Snapshot

Snapshots are not saved to the scene and are discarded
w hen the scene is closed.

Displays the snapshot currently in memory. To display the snapshot,
you must click and hold the button. Releasing it w ill restore theCamera view preview .

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Icon

SectionDescription

NOTE
The snapshot is displayed as it w as taken, regardless of thepreview mode of the Camera view . For example, if you took ascreenshot in Render View mode, and display it w hile in
OpenGL View mode, the snapshot w ill display as it w as taken
in Render View mode.

The Zoom menu lets you enlarge or reduce the Camera or Draw ing
view display.
To make the camera frame size alw ays match the size of your view ,select the Fit to View option. Click the drop-dow n arrow and select azoom level or press 1 and 2.

Zoom Menu

The OpenGL View Mode button sw itches the Camera view to fast
display, letting you see your animation play in real time. The OpenGL
display requires less memory. The final look of your effects is notshow n in the OpenGL View Mode. You must sw itch to the RenderView Mode to see your effects.

OpenGL View Mode

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Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

The Render View Mode button sw itches the Camera view to a fully
rendered display show ing the final image of the current frame. If a
modification is done to your current frame or if you move to adifferent frame, click the Update Preview button to update thedisplay if your preview does not update automatically.The RenderView Mode display lets you see the final look of your frames
including effects and antialiasing. You cannot play back your scene in
Render View Mode. To see your scene fully rendered and to play it
back, you must press the Render and Play button in the Playback
toolbar.
Render View Mode

The Matte View Mode button sw itches the Camera view to a mattedisplay show ing the alpha channel of the elements in your scene.
The transparency level ranges from 0 to 100 percent. Zero percent iscompletely transparent and represented by black and 100 percent iscompletely opaque and represented by w hite. Everything in betw een
these extremes has a transparency level somew here betw een 1 and99 percent and is represented in various shades of grey.
l

To access the Matte View mode, click on the Render View
button and select Matte View from the drop-dow n menu.

Matte View Mode

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Icon

SectionDescription

The Depth View mode displays images in a relative w hite to black
gradient scale. The object(s) closest to the camera are displayed in
w hite and the object(s) furthest from the camera are displayed inblack. If the position of the last object changes along the z-axis, that
object w ill still remain black, so long as it retains its position as theobject the farthest back. It does not matter w here that object is in 3D
space, it just matters w hat its position is relative to the other object inthe same space. The objects closest and farthest from the camera set
the range of the w hite to black scale. All the other objects fall
somew here in betw een.

Depth View Model

To access the Depth View mode, click on the Render View
button and select Depth View from the drop-dow n menu.

The colour space in w hich to display the preview image w hen in
Render Preview mode.
You can set this to any colour space supported by Harmony. It is
recommended to set this to the colour space intended for rendering
your frames, unless that colour space is not supported by yourmonitor. In the latter case, it’s recommended to set this to the closest
colour space available that your monitor can display.
The follow ing colour spaces are available:
Preview Colour SpacelLinear: The same primaries and w hite point as sRGB and Rec.
709, but w ith no gamma transfer curve applied to the colour
values. This colour space is useful for compositing
intermediary images that are meant to be rendered in sRGB
or Rec. 709.

l

Display P3: A colour space commonly used for digitalprojection. It has the same primaries as DCI-P3, the same
w hite point as sRGB and the same gamma transfer curve as
sRGB.

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Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescriptionlDisplay P3 Linear: The same as Display P3, except w ith no
gamma transfer curve. This colour space is useful forcompositing intermediary images that are meant to berendered in Display P3.

lRec. 709: The colour space used for HDTV. It has the same
primaries and w hite point as sRGB, but has a different
gamma transfer curve.

lRec. 709 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 709 or sRGB,
except w ith a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R
BT.1886). This colour space exists because some editing
systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of thestandard gamma curve for Rec. 709.

lRec. 2020: A colour space used for Ultra High Definition TV(UHDTV). It has a complex gamma transfer curve andprimaries that cover more of the human-perceivable colour
space than other colour spaces, especially in the area of
human-perceivable greens.

lRec. 2020 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except
w ith a simple gamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R
BT.1886). This colour space exists because some editing
systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of thestandard gamma curve for Rec. 2020.

lRec. 2020 Linear: The same colour space as Rec. 2020,
except w ith no gamma transfer curve. This colour space isuseful for compositing intermediary images that are meant tobe rendered in Rec. 2020.

lsRGB: A colour space typically used for standard computer
monitors. It has the same primaries and w hite point as Rec.
709, but has a different gamma transfer curve.

NOTE
You can only select the display colour space in
View mode. In

Render

OpenGL View mode, the preview image is

generated in the colour space selected in the Display Colour
Space drop-dow n in the Camera tab of the Preferences
dialog.

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Icon

SectionDescription

TIP
You can have multiple Camera view s in your w orkspace, each
set to their ow n colour space. Hence, you can preview yourscene on multiple monitors w ith different colour spaces by
having a Camera view on each monitor.

Draw ing NameThe Draw ing Name field displays the name of the selected draw ing,
as w ell as the layer containing it. If the cell does not contain any
draw ing, an Empty Cell text is show n in the field.

Preview Resolution

The Preview Resolution button sets the resolution of the renderpreview . A low er preview resolution w ill result in a faster loading
time w hen preview ing an effect.

Tool Name

The Tool Name field displays the name of the selected tool. If you
temporarily override a draw ing tool using a keyboard shortcut, thetool’s name w ill be highlighted in red. You can temporarily override atool by holding its keyboard shortcut w ithout the Alt key. For
example, the Select tool shortcut is Alt + S. If you hold dow n the S
key, you w ill sw itch to the Select tool. W hen you release the key, you
w ill return to the tool you w ere using.

Frame Number

The Frame Number field displays the number of the current frame.

Selected Colour

The colour sw atch displays the currently selected colour in the
Colour view .

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Chapter 6: View s

Colour View
The Colour view is w here you create colours and palettes and import existing palettes into your project. The
Colour view is also necessary for draw ing, painting and creating colour styling.

How to access the Colour view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Colour.

lFrom any of the other view s, click the Add View

button and select Colour.

Palette List Panel
Icon

OptionDescription

View Menu

The View menu contains all the commands and options that you canuse in the Colour view to manage colours and palettes.

Collapse/Expand Palette
List

Allow s you to show or hide your palette list and its options. By
default, the palette list is displayed, but you may w ant to hide it if you

328Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

are w orking w ith a single palette and w ant to allow more verticalspace for the colour sw atch list.

Add Palette

Allow s you to create a new palette.

Deletes the currently selected palette. If the colour sw atch is used inyour project, zones painted w ith colour sw atches w hich have been
deleted w ill turn red, easily identifying them so you can repaint themw ith another colour sw atch.

Remove Palette

Import Palette

Allow s you to import a palette from your machine into your scene's
palette list. The palette w ill be copied to your scene's folder.

Moves palettes further up or dow n the palette list.
Order Palette List

If a palette has been cloned, the highest palette among the original
palette and its clone(s) w ill be used by Harmony.

In Harmony Server, this icon appears w hen you have the modifying
rights on your scene's palette list. W hile several users can w ork on ascene at the same time, only one user may have the right to modify apalette list at any given time.
Edit Palette List Mode
Indicator

NOTE
In Harmony Stand Alone, you can alw ays modify your scene's
palette list. On Harmony Server, you must unlock your palette
list before making modifications to it.

Palette List
Icon

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Chapter 6: View s

In Harmony Server, this indicates that you have the rights to modify the palette.

Indicates that the palette is stored at the same level as its palette list. For example, a palette that isstored in the scene's palette library and w hich is listed in the scene's palette list, or a palette that isstored in an element's palette library and w hich is listed in that same element's palette list.

Indicates that the palette file is stored in an external location, such as a different scene, an element in
a different scene, a job other than the scene's job, or an environment other than the scene's
environment. This means the palette is liable to be missing if it is moved from its original location, or if
the scene is exported from the database into an offline scene or to a different database.

This indicates that the palette is stored at a higher level than its palette list, making it a shared
palette. For example, a palette in your scene's palette list that is stored in the palette library of thescene's job or environment, or a palette in an element's palette list that is stored in the palette libraryof the scene.

Indicates a potentially dangerous situation. For example, a palette file that is stored in one of thescene's element folders, but w hich is added to your scene's palette list. The w hole scene can use thepalette, but since it's stored inside an element, deleting that element w ill make your w hole scene lose
access to that palette.

Colour Swatch List Panel
Icon

OptionDescription

Add Colour

Adds a new colour sw atch to the bottom of your colour list.

Remove Colour

The Remove Colour button lets you delete the currently selectedcolour sw atches. If the colour sw atch is used in your project, andconfirmation dialog w ill appear prompting you to confirm that you
w ant to delete the colour. Zones painted w ith colour sw atches
w hich have been deleted w ill turn red, easily identifying them so
you can repaint them w ith another colour sw atch.

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Allow s you to import a bitmap image as a texture, w hich can be
painted w ith just like a colour. W hen used w ith the Brush or Paint
tools, bitmap textures are tiled inside the shape they fill. The
scaling and position of the texture inside their shape can be
tw eaked w ith the Edit Gradient/Texture tool. W hen used w ith thePencil tool or one of the Shape tools, a bitmap texture w ill follow
the pencil line's direction.

Add Texture

Each colour sw atch available in the Colour view can have its ow n
name, making it easy to identify w hich colour is used to paint w hat
part of your character or background.

Colour Sw atch NameNOTE
Tw o colours can have the same name. Harmony identifies
colours by an identification number.

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Chapter 6: View s

Also referred to as colour pots, the colour sw atch is the actual
colour information for a colour in your palette. It is represented bya rectangle displaying the colour in the list.
Colour Sw atch332

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Drawing View
In Harmony, you can draw in both the Draw ing or Camera view s. Although the tw o view s are similar, there aresome differences w hen it comes to draw ing.
Only the selected draw ing is displayed by default in the Draw ing view . You can use features, such as the lighttable to display the current draw ing of all the enabled layers of your scene in w ashed-out colours, or theOnion Skin to display the previous and next draw ings of the currently selected draw ing layer.

How to access the Drawing view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Drawing .

lFrom any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Drawing.

SectionDescription

Draw ing Area

This is the main space in the Draw ing view . It is w here
you draw and w here the draw ings are displayed.

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Chapter 6: View s

The Zoom menu lets you enlarge or reduce theCamera or Draw ing view display.
To make the camera frame size alw ays match the sizeof your view , select the Fit to View option. Click thedrop-dow n arrow and select a zoom level or press 1
and 2.

Zoom Menu

Draw ing NameThe Draw ing Name field displays the name of theselected draw ing, as w ell as the layer containing it. If
the cell does not contain any draw ing, an Empty
Cell text is show n in the field.

Tool Name

The Tool Name field displays the name of the selected
tool. If you temporarily override a draw ing tool using akeyboard shortcut, the tool’s name w ill be highlighted
in red. You can temporarily override a tool by holding
its keyboard shortcut w ithout the Alt key. For
example, the Select tool shortcut is Alt + S. If you holddow n the S key, you w ill sw itch to the Select tool.
W hen you release the key, you w ill return to the tool
you w ere using.

Frame NumberThis field displays the current frame of the animation
you are w orking on.

Cursor Coordinates

This indicates the position of the your pointer in thedraw ing area.

Colour Picker

The Colour Picker allow s you to select a colour fordraw ing.

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Drawing Substitutions View
T-H16NEW -002-001
The Draw ing Substitutions view allow s you to view all the draw ings in the selected layer in a list of
thumbnails, as w ell as to quickly select w hich draw ing should be exposed at the current frame.

How to access the Drawing Substitutions view
1. Do one of the follow inglFrom the top menu, select W indows > Drawing Substitutions.

l

In the top-right corner of any view , click on the

Add View button and select Drawing

Substitutions.

SectionDescription

Opens a menu w ith the Create Key Exposure option. This option can be enabled or disabled.
It determines w hat happens w hen you set the draw ing in the current frame to the samedraw ing as the draw ing in the previous frame.
View Menul

W hen enabled, the exposure of the draw ing at the current frame w ill be separated
from the draw ing in the previous frame w ith a key exposure.

l

W hen disabled, the exposure of the current frame w ill be merged w ith the exposure of
the previous frame.

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Chapter 6: View s

SectionDescription

Allow s you to select the draw ing to be exposed at the current frame. This w ill also replace thedraw ing for all subsequent frames during w hich the current draw ing is exposed.

Thumbnails

Current layer
name

The name of the currently selected layer. The draw ings in the thumbnails list are the draw ings
currently stored in this layer.

Zoom slider

Allow s you to change the size of the thumbnails.

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Function View
The Function view lets you edit function curves and parameters. It contains a visual graph for adding,removing, and editing keyframes, as w ell as adjusting the velocity. The Function view allow s you to display
multiple functions in the background as a reference.

How to access the Function view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Function.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

button and select Function.

How to display functions in the Function view
1. Open the Function view .
The Function view is blank until you select the layer containing the functions you w ant to display.

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Chapter 6: View s

2. To display a function in the Function view , click on the layer containing the functions to adjust in theTimeline view .
3. To select the functions you w ant to edit, select them in the Function list.

Parameter

Description

Function List

W hen selecting a layer in the Timeline view , all the corresponding functions are
displayed (if any). Select the functions you w ant to see and edit, and hide the ones
you don't.

Display Toolbar

Allow s you to modify how the editing area is displayed. You can hide the grid,disable the synchronization w ith the current frame, reset the zoom level andnormalize the function display by stacking them one over the other to comparethem regardless of their value range.

Current Frame

Displays the current scene frame.

Selected Keyframe Value

Displays the value of the selected keyframe.

Display Advanced Parameter
Values

Displays the Projection, Bias, Tension and Continuity parameters to adjust the
curve around the selected keyframe.

Keyframe, Velocity andInterpolation Options

This toolbar lets you add and delete keyframes, adjust the velocity curve, adjust
the segments to motion or stop-motion keyframes and set the velocity to create
steps instead of a constant progression.

Function Types

This toolbar lets you click on the different function types to enable or disable all
the listed functions of that type.

Value Scale

Displays the value range for the displayed editing area. It can be referenced toknow the value of a keyframe.

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Selected Keyframe

The selected keyframe is displayed in red. W hen selected, the keyframe values
are displayed in the corresponding fields.

Bezier Handles

The Bezier handles let you adjust the ease in and ease out of each keyframe. The
more the handle is pulled out horizontally, the slow er the animation w ill be. The
more the handle is pulled out vertically, the faster the animation w ill be.

Function Curve

The thin line going from keyframe to keyframe is the actual curve. The section of acurve located betw een tw o keyframes is called a segment.

Frame Scale

The Frame Scale displays the frame range for the displayed editing area. It can bereferenced to know the current frame of a keyframe.

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Chapter 6: View s

Guides View
The Guides view allow s you to add draw ing guides to the current scene, to select w hich guide to use, tomanage existing guides, to export and import guides and to enable or disable draw ing guides as w ell as theirvarious options.

NOTE
For more information on each type of guide and how to use them, refer to the User Guide.

Icon

Name

Description

Enable Guide

Enables or disables draw ing guides. W hen guides are disabled, they are
not visible and you cannot edit them or use them w ith draw ing tools.

Options

W hen enabled, w hen draw ing w ith theandAlign w ith Guide

Brush,

Pencil,StrokeLine tools tool, the cursor is automatically locked against the axisof the currently selected guide that most closely matches the angle of yourstroke, as if you w ere draw ing against a rule.
W hen disabled, the draw ing tools are not constrained by the axes of theguide, allow ing you to draw freely. The guide's axes act as a visual aids
only.

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Icon

Name

Description

Lock Guide

W hen enabled, you cannot do modifications on the currently selected
guide. This prevents making unw anted modifications to the guide w hen
draw ing.

Enable Guide w ith
EraserAllow s you to use the Eraser tool w ith draw ing guides.

W hen enabled, the guide's axes that go through the mouse cursor in thedraw ing space go throughout the entire draw ing space and display evenw hen you're draw ing.
Full Cursor Display
W hen disabled, the guide's axes that go through the mouse cursor only
display over a short distance from the mouse cursor. Also, the guide's axes
disappear w hen draw ing a stroke.

Show ReferenceLines

W hen enabled, semi-transparent reference lines for each of the currently
selected guide's axes appear all over your draw ing space.

Adjusts the amount of reference lines to display in your draw ing space.
Number of Lines

Guides List

Allow s you to add a guide to the scene's guides list. You can add a guideof one of the follow ing types:

New Guide

l

Ruler

l

Square Gridl

Isometric Perspectivel

1-Point Perspectivel2-Point Perspectivel3-Point Perspective (Bird’s-Eye View )l3-Point Perspective (W orm’s-Eye View )l3-Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan)l3-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan)l4-Point Continuous Perspective

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Chapter 6: View s

Icon

Name

Descriptionl4-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan)l5-Point Perspective (Fisheye)

NOTE
For more information on each type of guide and how to use them,refer to the User Guide.

Delete Guide

Deletes the selected draw ing guides from the scene's guides list.

Guides View Menu

Opens a menu w ith the follow ing commands:

RenameGuide

Renames the selected draw ing guide.

Cut

Cuts the selected draw ing guides from the list and adds them to the
clipboard.

Copy

Copies the selected draw ing guides to the clipboard.

Paste

Pastes draw ing guides from the clipboard to the current scene's guides
list. Pasted guides are inserted under the selected guide.

ImportGuidesImports draw ing guides that w ere previously exported to a file and inserts
them at the bottom of the scene's guides list. Duplicate guides are filteredout to avoid cluttering the list.

ExportSelected
GuidesExports the selected draw ing guides into a file.

Draw ing Guides List

Displays the scene's list of guides and allow s you to select w hich guide todisplay, edit and use.

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Icon

Name

Description

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Integrated Help View
Use the Integrated Help w hen you are unsure about w hat a certain menu item is or the function of a specificpreference in the Preferences panel.
If you keep the Integrated Help w indow open for the entire duration of your w ork session, then you can use theforw ard and backw ard arrow s to scroll through a history of the help information that you called up during yoursession.

How to access the Integrated Help view
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Integrated Help.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

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button and select Integrated Help.

Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Layer Properties View
The Layer Properties editor or view lets you adjust the properties of a layer in the Timeline view The Layer
Properties can be view ed as a floating w indow or as a view (docked).
Each layer has its ow n set of properties that can be modified, including effect and peg layers. Display the Layer
Properties editor or view if you w ant to modify some of the layer’s properties, such as the name or theantialiasing quality.

NOTE
To know more about the parameters displayed in the Layer Properties view , see Layers on page152.

How to access the Layer Properties view
Do one of the follow ing:

345

Chapter 6: View slFrom the top menu, select W indows > Layer Properties.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

button and select Layer Properties.

How to access the Layer Properties editorlDouble-click on a layer in the Timeline viewlRight-click on a layer in the Timeline view and select Layer Properties.

l

Select a layer in the Timeline view and press Shift + E.

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Library View
The Library view is used to store elements such as animation, draw ings, backgrounds and character models so
as to reuse in different scenes and projects. You can also use the Library view to create and store symbols, as
w ell as to store and import images and sound files.
To reuse elements from a scene in other scenes, you must create a template so that you can import it into
different scenes. Templates can contain anything from a single draw ing to a w hole scene structure. You cancreate a template by creating it in a scene, then copying the elements you w ant in your template into a library.
The resulting template is structured like a mini-scene that contains only the elements you copied into it. A
template does not have any dependencies on the scene it w as originally created in. Hence, it can safely be
imported in any other scene.
Additionally, the Library view 's Draw ing Substitutions panel allow s you to quickly change the current frame's
exposure to one of the existing draw ings in a layer. This is especially useful for animating a cut-out character's
mouths, hands, eyelids and other such body parts w hich typically contain several draw ings to choose from.

How to access the Library view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Library.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Library.

SectionDescription

View Menu

The Library menu lets you access commands related to the Libraryview , importing .sw f movies and Illustrator files, add a new folder, and347

Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

refresh the library’s content.

The Preview w indow lets you see the content of the currently selected
template or symbol in the Template/Symbol list.

Preview W indow

Preview Playback

The Preview Playback button lets you play back the content of theselected template or symbol if it contains more than one frame. Pressthe Play button to play back the preview .

The Library Folder List displays all the folders linked to the Libraryview .

There are tw o default folders:
Library Folder Listl

Symbols: This folder is the only folder containing symbols. You
can organize it by adding subfolders inside.

lHarmony Essentials Library: This is a default folder found on
the hard drive in your user documents. This folder can containtemplates, but no symbols.

You can link new library folders to the Library view and organize themw ith subfolders.

W hen w orking on a movie or series, you w ill probably end up w ith
many templates and symbols in your library. Using the Search tool,
you can quickly find the templates and symbols in your folders.
Library Search tool

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Icon

SectionDescription

Template/Symbol List

The Template/Symbol list displays the templates or symbols
contained in the selected library folder. You can display the templates
by right-clicking the symbols’ thumbnails and selecting View >Thumbnails.

A slider could be used to adjust the display size of thumbnails in the
Library view .

Slider349

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Master Controller View
T-RIG3-008-008
The Master Controller view allow s you to quickly find, select and display Master Controllers in the current
scene.

How to add the Master Controller view to your workspace
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top-right corner of an existing view , click on

Add View and select Master

Controller.
l

Icon

In the top menu, select W indows > Master Controller.

SectionDescription

Path

Allow s you to select a group in the current scene. W hen a group is selected,
only the Master Controllers w ithin that group w ill be listed in the Master
Controllers list. This can be useful if you have several characters and only
w ant the list of Master Controllers for a specific character.

Filter350

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Icon

SectionDescription

Name

Allow s you to filter the Master Controllers in the Master Controllers list by
their path or name. W hen you type something in this field, only the Master
Controllers that contain the text you typed in their full path including theirname w ill be listed in the Master Controllers list.

Master Controllers

Allow s you to select one of the Master Controllers in your scene. This list
displays the Master Controllers in your scene w ith their full path in the grouphierarchy. Groups in the hierarchy are separated by forw ard slashes (/).
MasterControllers

If a group is selected in the Path list, only the Master Controllers w ithin thisgroup w ill appear in the list. If anything is typed in the Name field, only Master
Controllers w ith this text in their full path including their name w ill appear in
the list. Otherw ise, all the Master Controllers in your scene are listed.

Refresh List

Refreshes the Path list if there are any changes in the name or hierarchy ofgroups in your scene, as w ell as the Master Controllers list if there are anychanges in the Master Controllers in your scene.

Locate and SelectMaster Controller

If a Master Controller is selected in the Master Controllers list, clicking on thisbutton w ill select the actual Master Controller node. It w ill also make theNode View navigate instantly to and focus on that Master Controller node.

Show Master
Controller

If a Master Controller is selected in the Master Controllers list, clicking on thisbutton w ill display its w idget in the Camera view .

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Message Log View
The Message log view displays information gathered during a render task, such as w hich frames and at w hattime they w ere each rendered. The view also contains a list of the colour recovery operations.

How to access the Message Log view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Message Log.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

352

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Metadata Editor View

The Metadata Editor view lets you access the information of the props and anchors to be exported to Unity.

NOTE
Because the Unity game engine does not support Unicode characters, it is recommended to avoid
using it in scenes intended for games.

How to access the Metadata Editor viewlIn the top-right corner of a view , click the Add Viewl

In the top menu, select W indows > Metadata Editor.

Parameter

button and select Metadata Editor.

Description

This is a list of optional parameters you can create in a scene project to beexported to Unity. It w ill not have any incentive tow ards your scene assets, but
can help developers know w hat to do w ith the assets contained in your Harmony
scene.
Scene Metadata

Once in Unity, scene Metadata w ill appear in Inspector view > Metadata w hen the
Asset is selected in the Hierarchy view .

Name: Name of the Scene entry. (e.g. game.Armor001)

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Chapter 6: View s

Value: This can be anything that describes the state of an object. You could, forexample, have three different stages of armour: new , damaged and destroyed.

Displays only the props and anchors held inside your selection. If nothing isselected, no information w ill display. Name and value appear in this box as w ell.
Name w ill show you the associated .tvg name and value w ill be set as either On
or Off, depending on w hether you w ant the connection to be set as active or not.
Once in Unity, scene Metadata w ill appear in the Hierarchy view .
Node Metadata
Name: Name of the selected anchor or prop. (e.g. game.isAnchor). Notice that it
differs from the draw ing layer name on the top-left corner of the Node Metadata
section.

Value: Can be set to be active (On) or inactive (Off).

NOTE
For any anchor or prop information created w ithin the Metadata Editor, the naming convention
must alw ays use the prefix "game.". The term "game." is recognized automatically by Unity as a
metadata information. For example: game.Armor001.

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Script Editor View
The Scripting view allow s you to edit scripts to run in Harmony directly from the application. It displays a list ofavailable scripts, from w hich you can select an existing script, edit it, test it and save it. The Script Editor w ill
highlight the syntax of your script for easy reading.

How to access the Script Editor view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Script Editor.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

button and select Script Editor.

Parameter

Description

Script Editor
menu

The menu for this view —see Script Editor View Menu on page 148.

Script Editor
toolbar

The toolbar for this view —see Script Editor Toolbar on page 309.

The list of script files available as w ell as their location and their read and w rite permissions.
Selecting a script in this list w ill open it in the editor.
Script list

NOTE
The << Sandbox >> item at the top of the list does not correspond to an actual script file. It
is a temporary container to type and test code, and its content cannot be saved.

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Chapter 6: View s

The file list has three columns: File, Location and Permissions.
l

The File column indicates the filename of each script.

NOTE
The << Sandbox >> item at the top of the list does not correspond to an actual
script file. It is a temporary container to type and test code, and its content cannot
be saved.

l

The Location of the script can be one of the follow ing:lApplication Folder: Scripts that are packaged and installed w ith Harmony. Bydefault, you cannot edit these scripts until you select them and click on Make
Editable, at w hich point you are prompted to copy the script to a location fromw hich you can edit them.
Scripts in the Application Resources folder are in the follow ing location:ll

W indows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Toon Boom
Animation\Toon Boom Harmony 22
Essentials\resources\scriptslmacOS: /Applications/Toon Boom Harmony 22
Essentials/Harmony
Essentials.app/Contents/tba/resources/scripts

User: Scripts that are saved in your user preferences. Those scripts can beedited and executed from any scene, provided that you are logged in as thesame user.
Scripts in the User folder are in the follow ing location:l

W indows: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Toon Boom
Animation\Toon Boom Harmony Essentials\2000-scriptslmacOS: /Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Toon Boom
Animation/Toon Boom Harmony Essentials/2000-scriptslScene: Scripts in the scripts sub-folder of the currently open scene. These
scripts can only be edited and executed w hen the current scene is open.

lSystem Variable: Scripts inside the directory set in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable, if this variable is set. These scripts
can be edited and executed by anyone on your w orkstation.

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NOTE
W hen tw o or more scripts w ith the same file name exist in different locations,Harmony w ill give priority to a single one of these scripts. The script given priority
w ill be the one listed in the Script Editor and the one executed if it is associated toa toolbar button.
W hich script is prioritized is determined by the order of priority of script locations.
From highest priority to low est priority, the order goes as follow s:User > Scene > System Variable > Application Resources
An exception to this rule is if you have a script w ith the same name in both thescene folder and your user preferences. In this case, both versions of the script w ill
be listed and you w ill be able to edit both.

l

The Permissions of the script can be one of the follow ing:lRead Only: You cannot edit the script in the Script Editor and save yourchanges.

NOTES

l

l

If the script's location is the Application Resources folder, it w ill
alw ays be Read Only to prevent you from making changes to scripts
packaged w ith Harmony. How ever, you can click on the Make
Editable button below the script editor to make a copy of the script inyour user preferences folder, after w hich you can make changes tothis copy.

l

If the script is in any other location and is Read Only, then it is likelythat a netw ork administrator made the script or the folder containing
the script read-only to prevent other users from making unw antedchanges to it.

Read/W rite: You can edit the script in the Script Editor and save your changes.

A text field in w hich you can edit the selected script.

EditorNOTE
If the selected script is in the Application Resources folder, you w ill not be able to edit it
until you click on the Make Editable button.

Search toolbar

Allow s you to type in a keyw ord and search for this keyw ord w ithin the script. You can use the
Next button to go to the next instance of the keyw ord and thePrevious button to go to
the previous instance.

CancelIf you have made any changes to your script that you have not yet saved, this discards thosechanges and reloads the saved version.

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Chapter 6: View s

If the selected script is a script that w as packaged w ith Harmony, and w hich you copied to yourUser folder or to the Scene folder to make changes to it, you can click on this button to delete
this copy of this script and resume using the original version of the script that is packaged w ith
Harmony instead.
Restore to
Default

IMPORTANTThis w ill permanently delete your version of the script and any changes you have made toit.

VerifyVerifies that the script has no syntax error.

If the currently selected script is in the Application Resources folder, you cannot edit it. By
clicking on this button, the script can be copied to a location w here you can edit it.
W hen you click on this button, you are prompted to choose w hether to copy in either of theselocations:lUser: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory. You w ill be able
to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you are logged in as the same user.

l

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill be able to edit
and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lSystem Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_

Make Editable

LOCATION environment variable. This option is only available if this environment
variable is set.

NOTE
This button w ill be greyed out if the script is in any location other than Application
Resources and is read only.

Saves the modifications you made to the script.
Save

This button replaces the Make Editable button after you have used the Make Editable button tocopy the script to a location from w hich you can edit it.

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Side View
T-HFND-008-015
The Side view is used mainly for multiplane scenes and to position elements in 3D space. It allow s you to see
a scene’s stage from the side. This lets the camera cone and spacing betw een the elements to be seen.

How to access the Side view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Side.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Side.

SectionDescription

Thumbnails

A thumbnail of each draw ing layer in the scene. The
order of the thumbnail images is based on eachelement’s FB position in the scene space. You can see
a representation of the FB position of each layer in thecamera cone.

Camera Cone

The camera cone represents the camera’s position and359

Chapter 6: View sfield-of-view (FOV).

Axis Reference Arrow s

The axis reference arrow s let you maintain yourorientation w hen navigating in the view .

Show /Hide Camera

Show s or hides camera frame in the Perspective view .

Reset View

Resets the pan, rotation, and zoom of the Perspective
view .

This field displays the current zoom level in the
Perspective view . You can use the Zoom level dropdow n menu to select a specific zoom level from thelist. Zoom levels from 2.5% to 6400% are available;
you can also select Fit To View to automatically use azoom level that lets you see all your scene layers andinformation in the Perspective view at once.

Zoom Menu

Layer Name

This field displays the currently selected layer anddraw ing name.

Tool Name

This field displays the currently selected tool.

Frame NumberThis field displays the currently selected frame of youranimation.

Colour Sw atchThis field displays the currently selected colour in thepalette.

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Timeline View
T-HFND-006-002
To set your animation timing, you w ill mostly w ork w ith the Timeline and Xsheet view s. It's extremely useful
to become familiar w ith the Timeline view , how it w orks, and its interface.
The Timeline view is the main view used w hen adjusting the timing of draw ings, adding keyframes andordering layers. The Timeline view displays layers, effects, sounds, keyframe values, scene length, layer
names, draw ings, keyframes, timing, and frames.

The Timeline view allow s you to read your timing from left to right. It represents the scene’s elements in theirsimplest form. You can also see the layers and their names, as w ell as the draw ing’s exposure. The draw ing
name is displayed w hen you place your pointer over the draw ing’s exposure.

How to access the Timeline view
Do one of the follow ing:

361

Chapter 6: View slFrom the top menu, select W indows > Timeline.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

Sectionbutton and select Timeline.

Description

The Enable/Disable All button lets you enable or disable layers. Disablinga layer makes the scene behave as if it didn't exist, including w hen
rendering the scene. For example:l

A disabled draw ing layer w ill be invisible.

l

A disabled sound layer w ill be mute.

l

A disabled peg layer w ill not affect the position of its child layers.

To disable a layer, click the layer's Enable/Disable button or press D.

To enable a layer, click the layer's Enable/Disable button or press A.
Enable/Disable Layer

NOTE
Next to sound layers, the Enable/Disable layer button w ill look like
this:

.

TIP
You can enable or disable all layers by clicking on the Enable ordisable all layers
button in the top row .

Enable/Disable Solo
Mode

Solo mode allow s you to only view specific layers in the Camera view andhide all others. W hen solo mode is enabled on one layer, only this layer
w ill be visible. If solo mode is enabled on several layers, and only theselayers w ill be visible. If solo mode is not enabled on any layer, all enabledlayers w ill be visible.
You can also use solo mode on sound tracks. If solo mode is enabled on
any sound tracks, only those sound tracks w ill play during playback.

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TIP
W hen some layers are in solo mode, you can disable or re-enablesolo mode on all layers that have it enabled by clicking on the
Toggle solo mode on or off
button in the top row .

For w hen the Onion Skin option is enabled, this allow s you to enable ordisable Onion Skin on specific layers.

Add to/Remove fromOnion Skin

TIP
To activate the general Onion Skin preview , in the Tools toolbar,
click the Onion Skin button

The Lock/Unlock Layer button lets you prevent the selection or editing ofa layer in the Camera view . To select some of the layers w ithout selecting
others, in the Timeline view , lock the layers you do not w ant to select.
W hen a layer is locked, its name is displayed in red.
Lock/Unlock Layer

In the top menu, there is a series of locking options. Select Animation >Lock > select one of the follow ing:

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Chapter 6: View slLock: Locks the currently selected element.

l

Unlock: Unlocks the currently selected element.

lLock All: Locks all the elements in the Camera view .

lUnlock All: Unlocks all the elements in the Camera view .

lLock All Others: Locks all the elements in the Camera view
except the currently selected one.

Each draw ing layer has a little colour sw atch that has tw o functionalities:lSingle- clicking a layer's colour sw atch toggles Outline mode on
or off. Outline mode makes the layer display as nothing but theoutlines of its vector shapes in the Camera view , allow ing you to
see the draw ing's shape w ithout it blocking the view of layers
behind it.

lDouble- clicking the layer's colour sw atch opens a colour picker

Toggle Outline Mode /Change Track Colour

dialog that allow s you to change the layer's track colour. The trackcolour displays in the layer's track in the Timeline view , allow ing
you to give special visibility to specific layers. It also determines
the colour of the layer's outlines if it's in outline mode.

Expands the layer to display a thumbnail of the draw ing in the current
frame, as w ell as for each draw ing in the timeline.

Show /Hide
Thumbnails

NOTE
By default, the timeline's zoom level does not allow enoughhorizontal space to fully display the thumbnails of draw ings
exposed for one or tw o frames only. To see the thumbnails fordraw ings w ith short exposure, you must increase the timeline's
zoom level—see Timeline Zoom on page 369.

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W hen a draw ing layer is in Show Thumbnails mode:lAn exposure indicator appears at the right of each exposeddraw ing in the timeline, indicating the amount of frames thedraw ing spans over.

l

An Opacity parameter appears to the left of the layer, allow ing
you to set the layer's opacity level.

TIP
You can show or hide thumbnails for all draw ing layers by clicking
on the Show /Hide All Thumbnails

button in the top row .

Allow s you to set the opacity level of the layer. Click and drag the value
left or right to decrease or increase the layer's opacity.
Opacity

NOTEThis parameter only displays for draw ing layers that are in Show
Thumbnails mode.

This icon appears next to the active draw ing layer, w hich is the layer you
draw on w hen using draw ing tools.

Active Draw ing Layer
Indicator

Add Layer

NOTE
The active draw ing layer is not alw ays the selected layer. For
example, if you select a draw ing layer, then a peg layer, the peg
layer w ill be the selected layer, but the active draw ing layer w ill
remain the last draw ing layer you selected, until you select anotherdraw ing layer.

The Add Layers button lets you add new layers to the Timeline view .
W hen you click the Add Layers button, a menu appears displaying the365Chapter 6: View s

available layer types.

DeleteThe Delete Layers button lets you delete the currently selected layers in
the Timeline view .

Add Draw ing Layer

The Add Draw ing Layer button lets you automatically add a new draw ing
layer to the Timeline view . By default, the layer is named Drawing.

The Add Peg button lets you add a peg layer to the timeline. If several
layers are selected, a peg is added and parented to each layer.
Add Peg

The Expand/Collapse button is used to display the children layers of aparent layer. Once a layer is parented to another layer, it is indented to
the right and the Collapse/Expand Children button appears on the parent
layer allow ing you to show or hide the child layer.
Expand/Collapse

The Show /Hide Functions button lets you display the functions
embedded in each layer. The functions are the different coordinates andvalues used to record a layer’s parameters at each frame. This informationis stored on the function curves using keyframes.

Show /Hide Functions

If the layer can be connected to another layer, for example to use adraw ing layer as a matte, expanding a layer's functions w ill also list its
possible connections. You can connect layers by dragging and dropping alayer onto another layer's connection.

Add/Remove
Keyframe

Adds a keyframe at the current frame of the selected function or removes
the keyframe at the current frame of the selected function, if there is one

366Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

already.

NOTE
This button only displays for function layers.

Moves the timeline cursor to the previous keyframe on the selectedfunction.
Previous Keyframe

NOTE
This button only displays for function layers.

Moves the timeline cursor to the next keyframe on the selected function.

Next Keyframe

NOTE
This button only displays for function layers.

Displays the Function menu, w hich allow s you to create a new function
for the function layer, or to link it to an existing shared function.
Function Menu

NOTE
This button only displays for functions layers, in the Parameterscolumn—see Show /Hide Parameters on page 368.

A frame w here the value for one or more of the layer's functions is preset.
The position of each layers in key poses for digital animation is recorded
in function keyframes. You can grab and move function keyframes as w ell
as copy, cut, paste and delete them.

TIP
Function Keyframe

If you have a keyframe and a draw ing selected simultaneously, andyou w ish to delete the keyframe w ithout deleting the draw ing's
exposure by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the Timeline toolbar, click on the Delete Keyframe
button.

l

Press F7.

l

From the top menu, select Animation > Delete Keyframe

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Chapter 6: View s

NOTE
If a collapsed layer has children that have function keyframes, you
w ill see a w hite squareinstead.

The Split button lets you split the Timeline view in tw o sections, allow ing
you to see tw o different portions of the Timeline view . This can be useful
if you need to often sw itch betw een tw o specific points of a lengthy
scene.

Split

Draw ing Exposure

In the Timeline view , w hen a draw ing is exposed, it is represented by agrey block that extends from the first frame it is exposed to the last frame
it is exposed.

Show s or hides the Parameters column, right of the Layers column. The
Parameters column displays information on the layer at the current frame,depending on the type of layer it is:l

If the layer is a draw ing, it displays the name of the draw ing at thecurrent frame.

l

If the layer is a function, it displays the value of the function at thecurrent frame.

l

If the layer is a sound track, it displays the sound track's volume.

Show /HideParameters

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Using the mouse, you can drag the parameter left and right to change its
value. This is especially useful for quickly changing a draw ing's exposure
at the current frame.

Show s or hides the Additional Links column. The Additional Links column
displays layers that are connected under the layer, but for other purposes
than being the parent of those layers. For example, if a layer is used as
the matte of an effect, the effect w ill be displayed in that layer's
Additional Links.
If more than one layers are in a layer's Additional Links, only the first ofthese layers w ill be displayed, follow ed by the amount of extra linked
layers there are.
By clicking on the Additional Links, you can open a menu listing the linked
layers, and click on one of these layers to navigate to it.
Show /Hide Additional
Links

Timeline Zoom

In the follow ing example, the BOOM_Animation layer is used as thematte of Cutter_1 and Cutter_2:

Reduces or increases the w idth of frames in the Timeline view . Move theslider right to increase the w idth or left to reduce it. You can also press 2
to zoom in and 1 to zoom out w hen the Timeline view is focused on.
If you w ant to reset the Timeline view 's zoom, click on the Timeline Zoon
icon left of the slider.

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Chapter 6: View s

Tool Properties View
T-HFND-004-002
The Tool Properties view contains the most common options and operations related to the currently selected
tool. W hen you select a tool from the Tools toolbar, the Tool Properties view updates.
For example, if you choose the Select tool, the Tool Properties view w ill display the options and operations
related to it, such as Snap to Contour, Apply to All Draw ings, Flip Horizontal, and Flatten.

NOTE
To learn more about the options appearing in the Tool Properties view , see Tools Properties on
page 190.

How to access the Tool Properties view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Tool Properties.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

370

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Harmony 22 Essentials Reference Guide

Top View
T-HFND-008-014
The Top view is used mainly for multiplane scenes and to position elements in 3D space. It allow s you to see
the scene’s stage from above. This lets the camera cone and the spacing betw een the elements be seen.

How to access the Top view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Top.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Top.

SectionDescription

Thumbnails

A thumbnail of each draw ing layer in the scene. The
order of the thumbnail images is based on eachelement’s FB position in the scene space. You can see
a representation of the FB position of each layer in thecamera cone.

Camera Cone

The camera cone represents the camera’s position andfield-of-view (FOV).

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Chapter 6: View s

Axis Reference Arrow s

The axis reference arrow s let you maintain yourorientation w hen navigating in the view .

Show /Hide Camera

Show s or hides camera frame in the Perspective view .

Reset View

Resets the pan, rotation, and zoom of the Perspective
view .

This field displays the current zoom level in the
Perspective view . You can use the Zoom level dropdow n menu to select a specific zoom level from thelist. Zoom levels from 2.5% to 6400% are available;
you can also select Fit To View to automatically use azoom level that lets you see all your scene layers andinformation in the Perspective view at once.

Zoom Menu

Layer Name

This field displays the currently selected layer anddraw ing name.

Tool Name

This field displays the currently selected tool.

Frame NumberThis field displays the currently selected frame of youranimation.

Colour Sw atchThis field displays the currently selected colour in thepalette.

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Xsheet View
T-HFND-006-003
The Xsheet view lets you read the timing vertically by displaying it in a grid, w ith each draw ing layer
represented by a column, each frame of your scene represented by a row , and each exposed draw ing
displayed by its name in the cells. It is meant to w ork like a traditional animation exposure sheet.
Using the functions panel, you can also view the functions and keyframes of the motion paths for the selectedcolumn, w ith the value of those functions for each frame listed in the cells.
Contrary to the Timeline view , the Xsheet view does not display pegs, effects or layer hierarchy. Hence, it is
optimized for traditional and paperless animation, w hereas the Timeline view is optimized for digital or cut-out
animation.

How to access the Xsheet view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Xsheet.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

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button and select Xsheet.

Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

View Toolbar

The view toolbar contains all the tools and options
you can use in the Xsheet view to manage columns
and timing.

The Xsheet view has three sections. By default, only
the main section is visible. It displays the draw ing
layers, also know n as draw ing columns.

W hen using advanced compositing and animation
techniques, unconnected functions (motion paths)
also appear in the main section. Unconnectedfunctions mean that some motion paths are notattached to any particular layer.

Xsheet Main Section

W hen you reconnect functions to a layer, they are stillvisible in the main section.

The Functions section is used for more advanced

Functions Section

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techniques. This section displays the functions (paths)
related to the selected layer in the Timeline view . By
default, the Functions section is hidden.
In the Xsheet view , click the Expand button located on
the right side of the main section. Click on the same
button to collapse it. You can also use the Show
Column List button in the Xsheet View toolbar. If you
select a draw ing column in the main section of the
Xsheet view , the function columns w ill not be
displayed. You must select the layer from the Timelineview .

The Column List section allow s you to show and hidecolumns in the Xsheet view . W hen you hide a layer inthe Xsheet view , it is also disabled in the Timelineview .

Column List Section
You can use the Column List to hide individualcolumns or hide an entire column type (draw ing orfunction) from the Xsheet view . By default, theFunctions section is hidden.
In the Xsheet view , click the Expand button on theright side of the main section to show the Functions
section. Click on the same button to collapse it. You
can also use the Show Column List
Xsheet toolbar.

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button in theChapter 6: View s

Go to the Xsheet view menu and select View > Show
Column List. Click the Expand button on the right sideof the Functions section to display the Column List
section.

Each column available in the Xsheet view has aheader displaying the column’s name. The column’sname is the same as the corresponding timeline layer.
If you rename one or the other, they w ill both berenamed.
A quick access menu is available w hen you right-click.
This menu contains the command affecting an entire
column such as renaming, changing the default
colour, or deleting a column.
The tooltip that appears w hen you hover at the top ofeach Xsheet column show s the folder path to thesource draw ings for that column.

Column Header

In Harmony, the column header show s the layer’s
name and the name of the draw ing folder to w hich it
is linked. If the name of the layer is the same as thedraw ing folder, the draw ing folder’s name w ill not be
displayed. To modify the name of the element folder
independently from the column and layer name, youmust select the Advanced Element Mode option
preference in the Advanced tab of the Preferences
dialog box.

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A draw ing selected in dark red indicates that thedraw ing is currently displayed in the Draw ing and
Camera view s. The current draw ing selection is not
linked to the draw ing displayed in the Camera view
since draw ings from each visible layer are displayed
at once.

Current Draw ing

The darker frame appearing in the Xsheet view
represents the current frame.
Current FrameIn the draw ing columns, you can see the draw ing
names and their exposure. You can use anyalphanumeric symbol to name your draw ing. W hen adraw ing is exposed over more than one cell, a vertical
black line is displayed to indicate the continuity of the
exposure. W hen there is no draw ing in a cell, the cellw ill be blank.

Draw ing Exposure

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On the left side of the Xsheet view , the frame
numbers are show n indicating w here you are. These
read vertically instead of being displayed horizontallyas they are in the Timeline view .
lTo go to a particular frame, click the frame
number.

l

To select an entire range of frames, click andFrame Numbers

drag a selection dow nw ards.

At the bottom-right of the Xsheet view , you can see
the current frame number, as w ell as the column
containing the draw ing currently displayed in the
Draw ing view .
Current Frame Display

The functions columns are displayed in the Functions
section of the Xsheet view . They represent the motion
and rotation you applied to a draw ing layer.
A function column can also be related to an effect.
Selecting the effect layer show s you thecorresponding function column in the Xsheet view .

Functions Column

The function columns display the position value or
effect value on each cell. If there is a keyframe on acell, a black square is displayed. Holding the samevalue for several frames displays a vertical black line.

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You can quickly increase or decrease the exposure of
the selected cell by clicking on the up and dow narrow s in the Increase/Decrease Exposure field.

Increase/Decrease
Exposure

The Overw rite/Insert button allow s you to decide thew ay the values are inserted into the Xsheet.

Overw rite/Insert Modes

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