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Toon Boom Animation Inc.
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Tel: +1 514 278 8666
Fax: +1 514 278 2666
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Disclaimer
The content of this guide is covered by a specific limited warranty and exclusions and limit of liability under theapplicable License Agreement as supplemented by the special terms and conditions for Adobe®Flash® File
Format (SWF). For details, refer to the License Agreement and to those special terms and conditions.
The content of this guide is the property of Toon Boom Animation Inc. and is copyrighted.
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Trademarks
Toon Boom® is a registered trademark and Storyboard Pro™ and the Toon Boom logo are trademarks of Toon
Boom Animation Inc. All other trademarks of the property of their respective owners.
Publication Date
1/6/2020
Copyright © 2016 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Contents
Contents

3

Chapter 1: Preferences

4

Preferences File Location

6

Shortcuts Preferences

7

General Preferences

9

Project Settings Preferences

11

Naming Preferences

13

Colours Preferences

15

Global UI Preferences

17

3D Schematic UI Preferences

19

Camera Preferences

21

Tools Preferences

25

Import/Export Preferences

27

Pitch Mode Preferences

29

Advanced Preferences

31

3Chapter 1: Preferences

Chapter 1: Preferences
The Preferences dialog box lets you adjust preferences to suit your work style, allowing you to work more
efficiently.

The Preferences dialog box is divided into the following tabs:lShortcutslGenerallProject SettingslNaminglColoursl

Global UI

l3D Schematic UIlCamera

l

Tools

l

Import/ExportlPitch ModelAdvanced4

Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

NOTE: Some preferences require you to exit and restart the application, or close a view and reopen it.

How to access the Preferences dialog box
Do one of the following:lSelect Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Storyboard Pro > Preferences (Mac OS X).

lPress Ctrl+U (Windows) or ⌘ + , (Mac OS X).

5

Chapter 1: Preferences

Preferences File Location

Preferences File Location
T-SBADV-003-001
When you change any of the options in the Preferences dialog box, they are stored in a folder called Toon Boom
Storyboard Pro. You can copy this folder if you want to use the same preferences on a different computer.
lWindows:ll

Mac OS X: On Mac OS X, the Library folder is a hidden folder. To display the display the folder, told down
the Alt key when displaying Finder's Go menu.
ll

C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Roaming\Toon Boom Animation\Toon Boom Storyboard
Pro \full-1200-pref/Users/[user_name]/Library/Preferences/Toon Boom Animation/Toon Boom Storyboard
Pro/full-1200-prefLinux:l/home/[user_name]/Toon Boom Animation/Toon Boom Storyboard Pro /full-1200-pref/6

Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Shortcuts Preferences

To speed up your work, all of the keyboard shortcuts can be customized. You can even choose to use theStoryboard Pro keyboard shortcut set if you are familiar with Harmony.
Some tools or commands do not have default keyboard shortcuts assigned to them. You can add them if you find it
helpful. If you want to customize an existing keyboard shortcut, you can perform a search by name or its shortcut.
How to switch keyboard shortcut sets
1. Do one of the following:lWindows: Select Edit > Preferencesl

Mac OS X: Select Storyboard Pro> Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + U (Mac OS X).

2. In the Preferences dialog box, select the Shortcuts tab.
3. From the Shortcut Set list, select the desired set.

7

Shortcuts Preferences

How to search for a keyboard shortcut
1. In the Preferences dialog box, select the Shortcuts tab.
2. In the keyboard shortcut search section, select an option:‣

Name to search for a keyboard shortcut by its name.

‣

Shortcut to search for a keyboard shortcut by its actual keys that activate the shortcut.

3. In the Search field, enter the name of a keyboard shortcut or its shortcut keys.
The keyboard shortcut is highlighted in the left pane. Its shortcuts is displayed on the right pane.

4. If desired, set a different keyboard shortcut.
5. Click OK.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

General Preferences
The preferences related to script and panels editing are principally grouped on the General tab.

Parameter

Description

GeneralAutomatically General Thumbnails forPanelsLets you decide if thumbnails are automatically generated for panels or
not.

Show Rename Dialog Automatically

When you move scenes around, the Rename Scene dialog box opens
prompting you to rename the scenes. This option is enabled by default.
When you deselect this option, existing scenes keep their original nameand new scenes are automatically named without the Rename Scene
dialog box opening—seeAbout the Storyboard Structure on page 1

Forbid Drawing on Panel Thumbnails

By default, this preference is enabled, preventing you from drawings on
the panels in the Thumbnails view. Turn off this option if you want to use
all the Drawing tools directly in the Thumbnails view.

Automatically Create New Sequence

By default, new storyboard projects are created without sequences.
Select this option so new projects are automatically created with asequence—see About the Storyboard Structure on page 1.

Automatically Generate Thumbnails in Lets you decide if thumbnails are automatically generated in the Library
Library
view or not. By default this option is enabled.
Enable Acts

Starts new acts and joins selected acts which are displayed in theTimeline view.
In Storyboard Pro, you can organize panels in scenes and acts. By
default, acts are not available because they are not relevant to every

9General Preferences

script. If you have a story divided into acts, select this option to display
and manipulate these sections—see About the Storyboard Structure on
page 1
Terminology Style
Live Action

Lets you use live action terminology in Storyboard Pro that includes act,
scene, shot and panel.

Animation

Lets you use animation use terminology in Storyboard Pro that includes,act, sequence, scene, and panel.

ScenesBreak Scene when performing "Split
Current Scene" command

By default this option is disabled, this means that when using theStoryboard > Split Current Scene command, the current scene will be
split in two before the selected panel. When enabled, the scene will be
broken in three, isolating the selected panel in the middle. If you selectmultiple panels and use the Split Current Scene command, each selected
panel will break into a separate scene—About the Storyboard Structure on
page 1

Track Scene Names in a Log File

Tracks scene/shot name in a log file.

LayersEnable Global Layer Navigation

Maintains the layer selection while navigating between panels.

Enable Brush Preset Layer Selection
Lock

Keeps layer selection to layer specified in selected brush preset.

Default Layer Alignment

None: Sets the default alignment used when creating a layer.
Faces Camera: The layer is oriented to face the camera, so it rotatesaround its pivot point to always face the camera, but does not move withthe camera. Use this option when you plan to position a 2D layer in 3D
space, where that layer belongs in the scene.
Pinned to Camera: The layer is oriented to the camera's perspective.
The layer always moves with the camera. The advantage of using thisoption is you can simply draw on top of everything in the scene.

Optimize Project
Maximum Texture Resolution

The resolution at which textures will be reduced when using the Reduce
Texture option in the Optimize Project dialog box. Value is in dots per field(dpf).

Remove Unused Elements on Close

Remove unused elements in a project when closing it.

3D Features
Enable 3D Functionalities (Requires
Relaunch)

By default, newly created scenes are set to the 2D mode, so your project
is not encumbered with unnecessary features if you plan to work in 2D for
more than a few scenes. You can convert a scene to 3D, so you canmove and rotate 2D and 3D layers in 3D space. This means that even if
you do not have any 3D objects in your scene, you can still move 2D
objects along the Z-axis to create a multiplane effect. A 3D scene will also
allow a camera to be moved in 3D space using the Camera tool.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Project Settings Preferences

Parameter

Description

GeneralDefault Panel Length

The default length of a newly created panel (in seconds).

Disable Project Name
Length Limitation

For compatibility with Storyboard Pro, the project name length is limited to 23
characters. Selecting this option removes this limitation.

Save New Project inSingle File Format(packed file)

Saves new projects in single file format with the following file name extension:.sbpz. The project is saved in a zip file.

Default Field Chart

Sets the field standard for the project.

Bitmap Layers
Default Resolution

Lets you define the default resolution at which bitmap layers are created. The
resolution is based on the number of pixels that fit in the camera frame when thecamera is at the default position.

Default Canvas Width

Default Canvas Height

NOTE: You can adjust the dimensions of a bitmap drawing layer individually. If
you have a camera zoom, for example, then you may want that drawing to be at ahigher resolution, so you do not see pixellation when you zoom in. You canadjust this by right-clicking on the layer and selecting Change Bitmap Layer
Resolution.

3D Models
Scale Factor

Sets the scale factor when using 3D models in a project.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Naming Preferences

Parameter

Description

Scene/Sequence Name
Automatically Add Leading
Zeros

Automatically adds a zero before the scene or sequence name.

Increment Name By

Lets you define the increment number. By default, when adding a new sequence,
the increment is 1.

Incremental Naming on Copy

By default, when copying a sequence, the copy retains the same numbering as
the original but with an added suffix. For example, the copy of sequence 2 would
be named 2_A.
When this option is selected, the copy of the sequence will be named using thenext available sequence number following the established increment rule. For
example, the copy of sequence 2, would be called sequence 3.

Minimum Number ofCharacters

Determines the minimum number of characters the scene names will containwhen using leading zeros.

Resolution Suffix

Lets you set the suffix pattern to use when a suffix is added to a new scene when
the name is already in use.
You can choose the punctuation mark preceding the suffix from the first dropdown menu:•

None: Suffix appears immediately following the name of the scene. For
example: 12A.

•_: Suffix appears after an underscore. For example: 12_A.

•.: Suffix appears after a period. For example: 12.A.

You can choose which type of suffix to use:•

Auto: Uses an upper case alphabetical suffix. Once the suffix reaches Z,

13

Naming Preferences

it will start again at A, preceeded by a number. Example: 12_A, 12_B, (...),
12_1A, 12_1B, and so on.
•

Numerical: Uses a numerical suffix. For example: 12_1, 12_2, and so on.

•

Uppercase: Uses an upper case alphabetical suffix. For example: 12_A,
12_B, and so on.

•

Lowercase: Uses a lower case alphabetical suffix. For example: 12_a,
12_b, and so on.

PanelAllow Custom Panel Names

By default, it is not possible to rename panels in Storyboard Pro, but you canchange this behaviour if needed. Once you select this option, the Storyboard >Rename Panel command, as well as the Panel name field in the Panel view
become active—see Renaming Panels on page 1

Display Total Numbers ofPanels in Panel Name

Displays a counter at the end of the Panel field which indicates the total numberof panels in the selected panel’s scene.

Panel Auto-increment Rule

By default, panel names are named numerically. This option lets you select fromthree other alphabetical increment rules. The difference between each of them isthe behaviour once you reach panel Z.

Resolution Suffix

Lets you set the suffix pattern to use when a suffix is added to a new scene when
the name is already in use.
You can choose the punctuation mark preceding the suffix from the first dropdown menu:•

None: Suffix appears immediately following the name of the scene. For
example: 12A.

•_: Suffix appears after an underscore. For example: 12_A.

•.: Suffix appears after a period. For example: 12.A.

You can choose which type of suffix to use:•

Auto: Uses an upper case alphabetical suffix. Once the suffix reaches Z,
it will start again at A, preceeded by a number. Example: 12_A, 12_B, (...),
12_1A, 12_1B, and so on.

•

Numerical: Uses a numerical suffix. For example: 12_1, 12_2, and so on.

•

Uppercase: Uses an upper case alphabetical suffix. For example: 12_A,
12_B, and so on.

•

Lowercase: Uses a lower case alphabetical suffix. For example: 12_a,
12_b, and so on.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Colours Preferences

Parameter

Description

Colours

Lets you modify the colours of the different elements in the interface. For
example, you can change the background colour of the Camera view from grey towhite.
Altering the colours requires you to restart the application or close a view andreopen it.
Click a colour swatch to open the Select Colour dialog box from which you can
set a new colour.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Global UI Preferences

Parameter

Description

Display Duration in Time Code Format
Show Time Code inTimeline Ruler

Displays the duration in time code format in the Timeline ruler. When this option isdeselected, the duration is displayed as a frame.

Show Time Code in
Thumbnail Panels inDrawing and Overview
Layouts

Displays the duration in time code format in the Thumbnail Panel Headers. When
this option is deselected, the duration is displayed as a frame.

Default Time CodeStart TimeDefines the default start time code for the project.

Show Time Code inExport Document(PDF, etc.)

Prints the duration of the selected storyboard panels in time code format in the
document. When this option is deselected, the duration is printed as a frame.

Show Time Code inOverlay While
Changing Duration inTimeline View

Displays the duration in time code format when adjusting a panel in the Timeline
view. When this option is deselected, the duration is displayed as a frame.

Thumbnail View
Keep Current Panel
Centered

Keeps the current panel centered in the Thumbnail view.

Display Next andPrevious Buttons

Displays the Previous and Next buttons in the Thumbnail view.

UI Style
Flat Tools Toolbar

Lets you expand the toolbar so there are no nested toolsets in the toolbar. You will17

Global UI Preferences

need to close Storyboard Pro and relaunch it for the new interface to be displayed.
A default set of tools will appear in the toolbar. However, you can customize
which tool icons appear in the toolbar to fit your own work pattern.
Once you have enabled the Flat Tool Toolbar preference, you can customize thetools that appear in the toolbar. This means you can change the default set oftools and replace the tools which you use less frequently with ones which areused more often. This customizing is done through the Toolbar Manager.
Focus on Mouse Enter

Disabled by default. In Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, for the operations or keyboard
shortcuts to work in the view in which you are working, the focus must be in thatview. When the focus is on a particular view, a red rectangle appears around its
frame. You must click in the view or on the view’s header for the focus to be done.
If you enable the Focus on Mouse Enter preference, you will not need to click inthe view to get the focus. It will be done as soon as your mouse enters the view.

NOTE: If you enable the Focus On Mouse Enter preference, certain operations
from the top menu may not be available since the view focus may change as you
make your way to the top menu. In this case use keyboard shortcuts and quick
access menus (right-click menus).

Compact Information
Style

Shortens the information in the Panel, Thumbnail and Storyboard views.

Use Dark Stylesheet(Requires relaunch)

Application loads a dark skin for the User Interface.

Touch Interface
Support Gestures

Enable the gestural touch interface for the OpenGL views. On Mac OS X,
this determines whether a two-finger drag gesture is interpreted as a zoom
or a pan.

Invert Scroll Direction

Inverts the scroll direction.

Touch Sensitivity

Control touch sensitivity. On Windows, higher numbers favour scale/rotates overpans. On Mac OS X, higher numbers give a slower response to pans.

Tablet Support
Use Qt Wintab Tablet
Support (Requires
relaunch)If you are using a tablet other than Wacom, deselect this option (and relaunch) if
you are having issues with offset or pressure sensitivity.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

3D Schematic UI Preferences

Parameter

Description

Colours

Lets you modify the colours of the different elements in the interface. For
example, you can change the background colour of the Camera view from grey towhite.
Altering the colours requires you to restart the application or close a view andreopen it.

Label Text
Font

Lets you set the font for the 3D Schematic view.

Navigator
Show Navigator

Shows or hides the display of the Navigator in the 3D Schematic view whenstarting Toon Boom Storyboard Pro.

Navigator Starting
CornerIndicates which corner is the default Navigator position.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Camera Preferences

Parameter

Description

Options
Show Status Bar

Display status bar in Camera view.

Show Zoom Slider

Display zoom slider in status bar.

Onion Skin and Light Table
Enable ShadeThe previous onion skinned drawings are displayed in washed out red shades andthe next onion skinned drawings are displayed in washed out green shades.

Enable Across Shot
(Shot) Boundary

Enable the display of onion skin layers from panels outside the current shot orscene.

Apply Camera Motion

Enables camera motion on the onion skin layers.

Maximum Number ofPrevious Panels

This value corresponds to the number of previous panels displayed in the Onion
Skin preview. The default value is 3.

Maximum Number of
Next Panels

This value corresponds to the number of next panels displayed in the Onion Skin
preview. The default value is 3.

Light Table Opacity (%) While using the light table in the Stage view, this value corresponds to thepercentage of transparency applied to all other layers except the currently
selected one.
Drawing Grid
World Grid Size

Displays a reference grid that remains the same size when you scale objects.

21Camera Preferences

This is useful when you want a reference point when creating elements in yourdrawings.
Point of View
Point of View

Lets you determine at which level the current position of the Stage view (zoom,
pan and rotation) is remembered when you are flipping through panels.
Project: One global point of view for the entire project.
Scene: One point of view per scene.
Panel: One point of view per panel.

Zoom Level

Lets you set the zoom behaviour in the Stage view.
Relative to Project Resolution: Makes the zoom information and settings
dependent on the project resolution.
Relative to View: Makes the zoom information and settings adjust relative to thesize of the Stage view on your screen.

Reset View Mode

Choose the behaviour of Storyboard Pro when you use the Reset View commandin the Stage view. These options only affect your project if you are working inPanel Point of View mode.
Reset View to Drawing area: Resets the view to include the original drawing
area.
Reset View to Camera Overview: Resets the view to include an overview of
the camera movement in the panel.
Reset View to Camera Start: Resets the view to frame the in position of yourcamera.
Reset View to Camera End: Resets the view to frame the out position of yourcamera.
Reset View to Current Panel Overview: Resets the view to include all camera
move information in the frame.

Safe Areas
Action Safe Area (%)

When using the safe area mode in the Stage view, this value corresponds to thepercentage of the screen defined as the Action Safe Area.

Title Safe Area (%)

When using the safe area mode in the Stage view, this value corresponds to thepercentage of the screen defined as Title Safe Area.

Keyframes and Control Points
Default Tension

The default value set to control how sharply the path bends as it passes through acontrol point or keyframe. A Tension of -1 increases the curves on both sides of
the keyframe. A Tension of +1 sharpens the curve on both sides of the keyframe.

Default Continuity

The default value set to control the smoothness of a transition between thesegments joined by a point. A Contuinity of -1 sharpens the transition on bothsides of the keyframe. A Contuinity of +1 rounds the transition creating two gentle
curves on both sides of the keyframe.

Default Bias

The default value set to control the slope of the path so that it flows towards one

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

side of the motion point or the other. A Bias of -1 favours the left side of the
keyframe. A Bias of +1 favours the right side of the keyframe.
Camera by Panel
Compatibility Mode
(Requires Relaunch)

Creates camera keyframes at the beginning and the end of new panels. Lets you
work with Storyboard Pro 1.6 keyframes settings.

Allow Advanced
Camera Operations(Requires Relaunch)

Hides some of the options that are usually available in the Camera tool properties
view.
This option is enabled by default. Before you can select this option, you mustselect the Camera by Panel Compatibility Mode option.
See Allow Advanced Camera Operations Option on page 1.

Camera Scale
Displayed as Focal
LengthLets you manipulate the camera scale in term of camera focal length instead ofcamera field of view.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Tools Preferences

Parameter

Description

GeneralUse Rotation Lever withTransformation Tools

Displays a handle for use with the Select, Cutter and Transform tools. The handle
lets you easily manipulate a stroke.

Drawing
Use Lasso Selection as
Default

When this option is enabled, the Select tool behaves as a lasso selector. When
this option is disabled, the Select tool behaves as a rectangle selector.

Synchronize Eraser and Brush Syncs the brush and eraser, so they are the same size. Be default, this option isdeselected.
Select Tool Bounding Box isMovableLets you move the contents of a bounding box without having to position the
cursor over a specific stroke. This applies to the following tools: Select, Select by
Colour, and Cutter.

Brush Size Cursor

When this option is enabled, the brush tool displays the brush size as a circle
around the cursor.

Stroke Texture Quality

Specifies a texture quality value between very low and very high for the brushstroke, or accepts the default value of low.

Warn When Flattening
Drawings

A warning displays when drawings will be flattened in a project. Flattens all thebrush or pencil line strokes of all the vector drawings in your project. This meansthat all overlapping strokes will no longer be editable as single strokes, but only as
whole, drawn objects.

Transform
Transform Tool Uses Drawing
Pivot (Requires Relaunch)

Places the Layer Transformation tool’s pivot at the centre of the selected layer’s
frame. When deselected, the Last Frame Transformation and First Frame Transformation tools’ pivot is at the centre of the selected layer’s bounding box.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Import/Export Preferences

Parameter

Description

Import Images
Auto Premultiply Import Premultiplies the channels with the alpha value of the layer, resulting in an opaque
Images by Alphalayer. This is helpful when creating layers used by other effects, or in certain
Channelcompositing situations. Use this option if you are importing a semitransparent
image. Deselect this option if you are importing a PSD image.
Ask Before Creating
Panels When Using
Automatic Insertion

When using the Storyboard > Import Images as Scenes command, if theelement you will create upon import does not already exist in your project, you areprompted to create the element.

Ask Before Removing
Existing Layer when
Using Automatic
Insertion

When using the Storyboard > Import Images as Scenes command, if the element
you will create upon import does already exist in your project, you are prompted toremove the original element or keep it.

Display Vectorize
Option Dialog

Opens the Vectorize Options dialog box when importing bitmap images.

Import SoundUse Default Sound
Import Settings and Do
Not Show Dialog

Prevents or allows the opening of the import sound file settings dialog box whenimporting a sound file. When selected, the settings dialog will not open, anddefault settings will be used. When deselected, the settings dialog box will open
every time, and allow you to adjust settings every time.

27

Import/Export Preferences

Burn-In
Font

Lets you select the font in which you want the timecode to print when using theExport > Movie command. This menu lists all the fonts available on your system.

Position

Sets the position rule of the timecode of your animatic: Top Left, Top Centre, Top
Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Centre, Bottom Right.

ColourBy default the timecode will print in black on your animatic. Click the colour
swatch to open the Select Colour dialog box and select the colour of your choice.

Draw Box Behind

Places a colour rectangle behind the timecode. This can be useful when you havea colourful or high-contrast animatic and you cannot easily find a font colour thatstands out against the images.

Height (%)

Sets the height (in percentage) of the timecode font size.

Print Value

Opens the Vectorize Options dialog box when importing bitmap images.

Background Colour

Click the colour swatch and choose a colour from the Select Colour dialog box
that opens. This is the colour of the box that appears behind the timecode when
the Draw Box Behind Time Code option is selected.

Default Panel Time
Code Start TimeDefines the default starting timecode for each panel when selecting the Print
Panel Time Code option in the Export Movie dialog box.

Export to Bitmap
Limit Size Allowed for
Bitmap Export

Imposes a size limit when exporting bitmaps. When this option is selected, you
can define the size limit in the two fields below.

Maximum Width

When the Limit Size Allowed for Bitmap Export option is selected, use this field to
set the maximum width (in pixels) the exported image can have.

Maximum Height

When the Limit Size Allowed for Bitmap Export option is selected, use this field to
set the maximum height (in pixels) the exported image can have.

Export to Toon BoomZ Values on Camera
Peg Only

Exports the camera with a Z depth value of 0; Z depth values are on the peg. This
makes it easier to see the camera field value in the Xsheet. It is recommended toenable this preference if you will be editing camera moves from the Xsheet.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Pitch Mode Preferences
While working in Pitch Mode, there are some preferences that can optimize the display.

Parameter

Description

MemoryDisable auto-save while in
Pitch Mode Workspace

While working in Pitch Mode, you can turn off the auto-save feature to prevent thesystem from continuing to save.

NOTE: This preference is only available when the Auto-save preference isenabled in the Advanced tab.

Control Panel
Display Playback Tools

Displays the Playback toolbar in the Control Panel view.

Display View Tools

Displays the View toolbar in the Control Panel view.

Display Sound Tools

Displays the Voice Annotation tools in the Control Panel view.

Display Drawing Tools

Displays the Drawing and Comments tools in the Control Panel view.

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Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide30

Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 5.1 Preferences Guide

Advanced Preferences

Parameter

Description

MemoryLevels of Undo
(Requires Relaunch)

Determines the number of actions retained by the Undo list. By default, 50
actions are stored in the list. You can alter the number if you want to.

Panels in Cache

When you work with Storyboard Pro, the OpenGL drawings are loaded in thecache to optimize the display and playback. You can increase or decrease thenumber of drawings loaded in your cache. The default value is 20.

Auto-save (minutes)

By default the Auto-save preference is disabled, so it will never auto-save yourwork. You can enable the Auto-save preference by using the slider to select theinterval of time (in minutes) at which your work will be automatically saved.

Drawing
Delay Before Drawing
Vectorized Strokes(ms)

When you draw in Storyboard Pro, the strokes are vectorized as you go. Whenyou release the drawing tool, the lines are vectorized. When you quickly sketch anumerous series of lines, it may happen that the vectorization process interfereswith your drawing action. To avoid this, you can delay the vectorization process
by increasing the delay value.

Delay Before UpdatingThumbnails (ms)When you modify a drawing, the thumbnail displayed in the Thumbnails andTimeline views are updated. By default, the update process is delayed so it does
not slow down the application while you draw. The lower the number ofmilliseconds, the faster the updates and vice versa.

31Advanced Preferences

OpenGL
Realistic Preview While Gives you a live preview of shapes in Draw Behind mode, which is for painting
Drawingbehind existing art. When using this mode, strokes appear instantly under yourwork while drawing with the Draw Behind mode.
Enable Mipmapping on
Bitmap Layers

Generates antialiased mipmap textures. Deselect this option to increase
performance when working on bitmap layers with non-standard graphics cards.
Mipmapping can cause some issues with lower-end video cards.

Smooth Textures on
Vector Layers

Improves the appearance of vector brush strokes that use bitmaps for the colour
or opacity, such as a vector drawing layer, vector brush with texture applied.

Premultiply alpha inBitmap Layers

Opens the Vectorize Options dialog box when importing bitmap images.

Support Desktop
Effects

Enables better compatibility with Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X
effects. This prevents graphics compositing problems from occurring when the
Full Scene Antialiasing option is selected

Full Scene Antialiasing
Enable (Requires
Relaunch)

Lets you see smooth lines as you draw, as well as an antialiased drawing area.
You can change this value to fit the current level used in the Stage view. By
default, this option is deselected—see Viewing the Final Lines as you Draw on
page 1.

Number of Samples(Requires Relaunch)

Lets you enter the number of samples used for the antialiasing process. The
number of samples is equivalent to the number of times a pixel will be enlarged to
calculate the antialiasing. This is called supersampling. The higher the number ofsamples, the better the antialiasing quality, but the longer it will take to calculate.
The default value is 4.

Optimized Playback
Use Optimized
Desktop

Opens the Vectorize Options dialog box when importing bitmap images.

Asynchronous Drawing Allows drawings to be loaded in the background while playing back a panel. This
Loading
way, playback is continuous. You can specify the number of concurrent drawings
loaded at the same time. This should be set according to a machine’s number ofcores.
Preload Drawings

Defines the number of drawings or panels to load during playback.

Number of Threads(Requires Relaunch)

Opens the Vectorize Options dialog box when importing bitmap images.

Number of Frames toPreload

Storyboard Pro looks ahead for the number of frames, and checks to see how
many drawings are used. Each layer on each panel is a drawing. If you have
many short panels, then you will have more drawings than if you had one long
panel.

Number of Panels to
Preload

Storyboard Pro looks ahead for the specified number of panels to determine thenumber of drawings in those panels. Keep in mind that each layer on each panel isa drawing. If you have long panels, then it will want to look ahead several panels,
instead of the specified number of frames.

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