Toon BoomPro 66
Storyboard Pro

Getting Started
Guide
Preferences
Guide

TOON BOOM ANIMATION INC.

+1 514 278 8666

4200 Saint-Laurent, Suite 1020
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 2R2

contact@toonboom.com
toonboom.com

Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

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

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

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

Trademarks
Toon Boom® is a registered trademark. 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
01-15-2020
Copyright © 2020 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved.

1

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

2

Preferences

4

Migrating Preferences

6

Preferences File Location

7

Shortcuts Preferences

8

General Preferences

10

Project Settings Preferences

14

Naming Preferences

16

Colours Preferences

20

Global UI Preferences

22

Camera Preferences

28

Tools Preferences

32

Import/Export Preferences

34

Pitch Mode Preferences

38

Advanced Preferences40

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

3

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

lCamera

l

Tools

l

Import/ExportlPitch ModelAdvanced

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 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 (macOS).

l

Press .

5

Migrating Preferences
When upgrading to a new version of Storyboard Pro, you can migrate your previously-set preferences from theolder version. This can be done upon initial launch of the new software version.
NOTE
Preferences can be migrated from Storyboard Pro version 5.0 and higher. This functionality does
not apply to earlier versions.

How to migrate preferences
1. Launch Storyboard Pro.
Upon initial launch of the upgraded software, the following prompt displays:

2. Click Yes.

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

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:l

C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Roaming\Toon Boom Animation\Toon Boom Storyboard
Pro \full-14200-preflmacOS: On macOS, the Library folder is a hidden folder. To display the display the folder, hold down the
Alt key when displaying Finder's Go menu.
l/Users/[user_name]/Library/Preferences/Toon Boom Animation/Toon Boom Storyboard
Pro/full-14200-pref7

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 > PreferenceslmacOS: Select Storyboard Pro> Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + U (macOS).

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

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

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.

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

Parameter

Description

GeneralStarts new acts and joins selected acts which are displayed in theTimeline view.
Enable Acts

In Storyboard Pro, you can organize panels in scenes and acts. By default,
acts are not available because they are not relevant to every script. If you
have a story divided into acts, select this option to display and manipulatethese sections.

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.

Warn when Deleting Audio Tracks

Display a confirmation prompt when attempting to delete an audio track.

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

Forbid Drawing on Panel Thumbnails

Preserve project length when adding
transitions

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.
By default, when adding a transition, the length of scenes is not adjusted.
Since the transition causes the next scene to start playing before thecurrent scene finishes playing, this results in the project becoming
shorter by the length of the transition.
With this option enabled, when a transition is added, both scenes thatare joined by the transition are extended by half the length of thetransition, resulting in the project remaining in the same length, and all
subsequent scenes starting at the same time as before.

Automatically Create New Sequence

By default, new storyboard projects are created without sequences.
Select this option so new projects are automatically created with asequence.
When any change is made to the workspace, such as adding, moving or
removing a view or a toolbar, the change is automatically saved to thecurrent workspace.

Automatically Save Workspace

NOTE
If you disable this option, you can save your workspace manuallyby selecting Windows > Workspace > Save Workspace fromthe top menu.

Automatically Generate Thumbnails
in LibraryLets you decide if thumbnails are automatically generated in the Libraryview or not. By default this option is enabled.

Automatically General Thumbnails
for Panels

Lets you decide if thumbnails are automatically generated for panels or
not.

Ignore Modifications to Captions
in Auto Tracking Mode

When Auto Tracking Mode is enabled, any change made to a panel will
activate tracking changes for that panel. With this option enabled,changes can be made to a panel's captions without automaticallyenabling tracking changes for that panel. Any other changes made to thepanel or its content will still cause the panel to be tracked for changes.

Terminology Style

Live Action

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

11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.

Track Scene Names in a Log File

Tracks scene/shot names 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.

None: Sets the default alignment used when creating a layer.

Default Layer Alignment

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 this option
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.

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

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.

13

Project Settings Preferences
The following settings are applied to new projects created with Storyboard Pro.
NOTE
If you make any changes to these settings, those changes will not apply to your current project.
They will only be applied to new projects you create in the future. To change your current project's
settings, select Storyboard > Properties from the top menu.

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.

Vector Layers

Pixel Density

Determines the amount of pixels to store in textured brush strokes for each pixelthat displays when the drawing is not zoomed in or scaled up. For example, at

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

100%, zooming in or scaling up textured brush strokes will make them lose
texture quality. If set to 200%, textured brush strokes can be zoomed in or scaled
up until they're twice their original size without losing picture quality.
Bitmap Layers

Width

The default width of the canvas when creating a bitmap drawing layer. The
percentage is relative to the width of the project. Its default value, 200%, makes
the width of the canvas twice the width of the stage.

Height

The default height of the canvas when creating a bitmap drawing layer. The
percentage is relative to the height of the project. Its default value, 200%, makes
the height of the canvas twice the height of the stage.

Pixel Density

Determines the amount of pixels to store in textured brush strokes for each pixelthat displays when the drawing is not zoomed in or scaled up. For example, at
100%, zooming in or scaling up textured brush strokes will make them lose
texture quality. If set to 200%, textured brush strokes can be zoomed in or scaled
up until they're twice their original size without losing picture quality.

3D Models

Scale Factor

The default scale factor to apply to a 3D model when it is imported into yourproject. You can enter a decimal value between 0 and 1 to make newly imported
3D models appear smaller than their original size, or a decimal value greater than
1 to make 3D models appear bigger than their original size.

15

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

Minimum Number ofCharacters

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.
Determines the minimum number of characters the scene names will containwhen using leading zeros.
Lets you set the suffix pattern to use when a suffix is added to a new scene when
the name is already in use.

Resolution Suffix

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

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

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.

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.

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.
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:

Resolution Suffix•

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.

17•

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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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

19

Colours Preferences

Parameter

Description
You can select the colours for a lot of coloured elements in the user interface ofStoryboard Pro.

NOTE
Colours

Some changes to colour preferences may not appear until Storyboard Pro
is restarted or until the affected view is closed and reopened.

Click a colour swatch to open the Select Colour dialog box from which you can
set a new colour.

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

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Global UI Preferences

Parameter

Description

Time Display Units
Allows you to select the way the time is displayed in the ruler at the top of theTimeline view:

Time Display Units inTimeline Ruler

l

l

l

Time Display Units inThumbnail Panels

Timecode: Displays the time in the HH:MM:SS:FF format, where HH means
hours, MM means minutes, SS means seconds and FF means frames.
Frames: Displays the time in frames only.
Feet + Frames: Displays the time in feet and frames. A foot corresponds toone vertical foot of animation exposure sheet, which amounts to 16
frames.

Allows you to select the way the length of each panel is displays above thethumbnails in the Thumbnail view:22Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

l

l

l

Timecode: Displays the time in the HH:MM:SS:FF format, where HH means
hours, MM means minutes, SS means seconds and FF means frames.
Frames: Displays the time in frames only.
Feet + Frames: Displays the time in feet and frames. A foot corresponds toone vertical foot of animation exposure sheet, which amounts to 16
frames.

Allows you to select the way the duration of panels and scenes is displayed inexported PDF documents:

Time Display Units
in Exported
PDF DocumentslllTimecode: Displays the time in the HH:MM:SS:FF format, where HH means
hours, MM means minutes, SS means seconds and FF means frames.
Frames: Displays the time in frames only.
Feet + Frames: Displays the time in feet and frames. A foot corresponds toone vertical foot of animation exposure sheet, which amounts to 16
frames.

When adjusting the in and out point of a panel, sound clip or video clip, or whenmoving a clip, the amount of time by which you're offsetting the selection isdisplayed temporarily until you release the mouse button. This option allows you
to select the way the time offset is displayed:
Time Display Unitsin Timeline View
OverlayslTimecode: Displays the time in the HH:MM:SS:FF format, where HH means
hours, MM means minutes, SS means seconds and FF means frames.

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l

l

Frames: Displays the time in frames only.
Feet + Frames: Displays the time in feet and frames. A foot corresponds toone vertical foot of animation exposure sheet, which amounts to 16
frames.

Defines the default starting time of new Storyboard Pro projects.
Default Time CodeStart TimeNOTE
You can change the starting time of the current project in the Project
Properties dialog.

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
When enabled, the Tools toolbar will display each tool in its own button, insteadof grouping certain tools together in pop-up menus. Storyboard Pro must be
relaunched to apply a change to this preference.

Flat Tools Toolbar

IMPORTANT
Because not all tools can be displayed simultaneously in a single column,
some tools will be hidden from the Tools toolbar by default. You cancustomize which tools appear in the Tools toolbar by right-clicking on it
and selecting Customize.

Focus on MouseEnter

In Storyboard Pro, some keyboard shortcuts, menus or toolbar buttons areintended for specific views in your workspace. To use keyboard shortcuts orother functionalities on a specific view, this view must be focused on. For
example, the Centre on Selection shortcut will find the selected element in theTimeline or Camera view, depending on which one is focused on. Storyboard Pro
draws a red rectangle around the currently focused on view.
By default, to set the focus on a view, you must click on its tab or on anythinginside the view itself. The Focus on Mouse Enter preference will make Harmony
automatically focus on the view the mouse cursor is over, making it switch the24Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

focus on a view and use keyboard shortcuts on it.

NOTE
Some items in the top menu also have functionalities that are specific to
the focused on view, but moving the mouse cursor to the top menu mightleave the wrong view focused on. To circumvent this problem, it might benecessary to become familiar with keyboard shortcuts, contextual (rightclick) menus and the view menus available via the menu

button at the

top-left corner of some views.

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
Enables manipulating views such as the Camera and Drawing views using thefollowing gestures:l

To pan the view, drag your two fingers in any direction, keeping both
fingers at the same distance from each other.

Support Gesturesl

To zoom in, drag your two fingers away from each other.

25

l

l

To zoom out, drag your two fingers closer to each other.

To rotate, drag your two fingers in a curve so that they revolve in the same
direction.

Invert Scroll Direction

When panning a view by dragging it with your fingers in one direction, thismakes the view pan in the opposite direction.

Touch Sensitivity

Control touch sensitivity. On macOS, higher numbers give a slower response topans. On Windows, higher numbers favour scale/rotates over pans.

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

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.

27

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
and the 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.

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

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 selectedone.

Drawing Grid

World Grid Size

Displays a reference grid that remains the same size when you scale objects. Thisis useful when you want a reference point when creating elements in yourdrawings.

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.
Point of Viewl

Project: One global point of view for the entire project.

l

Scene: One point of view per scene.

lPanel: One point of view per panel.

Lets you set the zoom behaviour in the Stage view.
lZoom Levell

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 the size of the Stage view on your screen.

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.
lReset View ModellReset 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 ofyour camera.

29

l

l

Reset View to Camera End: Resets the view to frame the out position ofyour camera.
Reset View to Current Panel Overview: Resets the view to include allcamera move information in the frame.

Safe Areas

Action Safe Area (%)

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

Action Safe Area
Mask Colour andOpacity (%)

When using the safe area mode in the Camera or Stage view, this option allows
you to define the colour used for the Action Safe Area mask and its opacity.

Title Safe Area (%)

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

Title Safe Area Mask
Colour and Opacity(%)

When using the safe area mode in the Camera or Stage view, this option allows
you to define the colour used for the Title Safe Area mask and its opacity.

Keyframes and Control Points

Default Tension

The default value set to control how sharply the path bends as it passes througha control 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
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

Hides some of the options that are usually available in the Camera tool properties

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

Camera Operations(Requires Relaunch)

Camera Scale
Displayed as Focal
Lengthview.
This option is enabled by default. Before you can select this option, you mustselect the Camera by Panel Compatibility Mode option.

Lets you manipulate the camera scale in term of camera focal length instead ofcamera field of view.

31

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 andBrush

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

A warning displays when drawings will be flattened in a project. Flattens all the32

Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

Drawings

brush 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.

33

Import/Export Preferences

Parameter

Description

Import Images

Auto Premultiply
Import Images by
Alpha Channel

Premultiplies the channels with the alpha value of the layer, resulting in an
opaque layer. This is helpful when creating layers used by other effects, or incertain compositing situations. Use this option if you are importing asemitransparent 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 the element
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
to remove the original element or keep it.

Display Vectorize
Option Dialog

Opens the Vectorize Options dialog box when importing bitmap images.

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

Parameter

Description

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.

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.
Places a colour rectangle behind the timecode. This can be useful when you have

Draw Box Behinda 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

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.

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Parameter

Description

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.

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

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

Parameter

Description

MemoryWhile working in Pitch Mode, you can turn off the auto-save feature to preventthe system from continuing to save.
Disable auto-save while in
Pitch Mode Workspace

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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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.

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Storyboard Pro 6.0 Preferences Guide

Delay Before
Updating Thumbnails(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.

OpenGL

Realistic Preview
While Drawing

Gives you a live preview of shapes in Draw Behind mode, which is for painting
behind 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

Support Desktop
Effects

Enables better compatibility with Windows 7, Windows Vista, and macOS
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.

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
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Asynchronous
Drawing Loading

Allows drawings to be loaded in the background while playing back a panel. Thisway, 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)

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
is a 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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