Configuring a Point Animation

Point animation changes the X and Y coordinate values of one or more selected points on a graphic or graphic element. During run time, the X and the Y coordinates of a selected point are set to an expression or reference that evaluates to a calculated real floating point value.

Point animation supports negative floating point values, which may cause the animation to go out of scope of the visualization window. In the case when a point’s expression evaluates to a null value or causes an exception, animation stops and the point retains its original value.

The X and Y coordinates of a point can be configured as a pair or individually. If only the X coordinate of a point is configured, then the Y coordinate value is kept constant. The animation shows the point of the graphic element traversing the X axis. Likewise, if only the Y coordinate of a point is configured, then the animation shows the point traversing the Y axis with the point’s X axis value held constant.

After selecting point animation, a list of configurable points is retrieved from the graphic element based on the following conditions.

• If the graphic element is a multi-point graphic type (Line, HV/Line, Polyline, Curve, Polygon, Closed curve), animation control points appear on the graphic element in preview mode.

• If the graphic element is not a supported multi-point graphic, then the top left X and Y coordinate of the graphic element is selected as the animation point.

  In the case of an element group consisting of several graphic elements, the animation point is the top left corner of the rectangle around all grouped elements.

To configure point animation

1. Open the graphic in Industrial Graphic Editor.

2. Select a graphic element.

3. On the Special menu, click Edit Animations.

   The Edit Animations dialog box appears.

4. Click the Add Animation button to show a list of Visualization and Interaction animations.

5. Select Point from the Visualization animation list.

   The Point dialog box appears with a list of points and a preview of the points on the graphic. The list shows each point as a pair of X and Y fields to enter an expression or a reference that evaluates to a floating point value.

6. Select a point from the list of points.

   The selected point changes to orange in the preview of the graphic.

7. Enter an expression, constant, or reference in the Point field.

8. Repeat steps 6-7 to animate other points in the graphic.

9. Save your changes.

Related Topics

Configuring Common Types of Animations