Release Date: July 02, 2012

New Features

The following are new features and feature enhancements, listed by functional area.

Timeline and keyframes

• Better looking, more usable Timeline with a compact design to show more animation tracks in the same screen real estate.
• Keyframes can be dragged and snap to neighboring keyframes automatically.
• Timeline automatically scrolls if a keyframe is dragged beyond the boundaries of currently visible segment.
• When adding a keyframe in between an existing pair of keyframes, Animator automatically interpolates the values of properties to give the new keyframe.
• Multiple keyframes can be selected with Shift-Click or with a marquee selection. They can then be moved, scaled proportionally, copied, and pasted.
• Clock just below Object Tree precisely displays the playhead’s position.
• Keyframes can be added individually in an empty animation track. You no longer need to add keyframes by couples when starting to create a new animation.
• More visible keyframe and timeline selection states.
• Timeline can be navigated with the keyboard.
• Shift-click in the time header selects all keyframes from current time to new time.
• New keyframes inherit from base state when possible instead of using default values.
• With Recording mode on, create keyframes at the playhead position by manipulating object in the Stage

Object Tree and objects

• Object Tree can be scrolled with the mouse.
• Multiple objects in the Object Tree can be nested at the same time via drag and drop.
• The base state of an object is now more accessible and easier to edit using the Base State/Keyframe State toggle or the Base Object diamond icon to the right of an object name in the Object Tree.
• CSS ID base state object property has been changed to ID.
• Can assign CSS Class property to objects.

Export and preview

• New export to iBooks widget format.
• Multiple animations can be exported to run on the same page (sandboxing).
• “Go to previous scene” added to the Animator JavaScript API that controls animations.
• Can jump to individual scenes by name in the Animator JavaScript API.
• Can preview individual scenes in the browser.
• Embedding without using iframe is easier.
• Hidden objects stay hidden in preview.
• Can add JavaScript interactivity before the start of a scene, at the end of a scene, or during an iteration. -setTimeout is used in exported animations to create more precise starting point.
• Various improvements to CSS export.

Stage, code editor, scenes, and Library Panel

• Can attach an image to a scene’s background and set its repeat property.
• Select library items individually to export them, or select none to export all library items.
• In Stage, scale and resize controls are available at the same time.
• Android-safe mode has been added that removes all features that don’t work correctly on Android devices.
• New Assets are in Library Panel shows all assets used in the current project and lets you replace or update them individually.
• Code editor has autocompletion for Animator specific functions and MRAID/ORMMA APIs. Can also add custom autocomplete libraries for custom APIs.
• Can edit ’s content in the integrated code editor.
• Can copy an object’s animation to CSS directly, which is useful for interaction design.
• Can insert iframe to projects.
• Can control perspective-origin for scenes.
• Add images to a project without saving.

Application

• General UI fit and finish improvements, improved UX.
• Check for application updates without quitting and relaunching.
• Close and open property group disclosure triangles by placing cursor over property group header (such as General, Actions, Dimensions) and using Alt-click key combination.
• Remembers window size and location from last session.
• Automatic restart after an update is complete.
• New Open Recent item in Edit menu.
• Save As/Export copies all assets in the Asset folder
• In custom JavaScript actions data can be stored on this object and is available in all custom JavaScript calls.
• Reauthorize or login with different account.

Bug Fixes

The following bugs have been fixed.

• Export no longer slows down when exporting multiple times.
• Keyframes select correctly in Timeline.
• Auto update works if user is not logged in.
• Error message no longer appears when hidden objects are reordered.
• Clicking on scrollbar no longer jumps to a different time.
• Code editor does not show error when return statement is used.
• Add keyframe at playhead works with object layer selection.
• Removing/re-adding keyframes by undo/redo no longer causes animation to show up at time 0.
• Adding object from pasteboard by drag/drop does considers drop position.
• Deleted objects that have been readded with Undo can be deleted.
• Changing scenes if scene ends after last keyframe now works in Firefox.
• Deleting last keyframe does not leave it selected.
• Deleting second-level (or higher) object no longer puts application in a potentially unstable state.
• Images now display if there is a question mark in URL.
• Radial gradient on object no longer enables scene gradient on start.
• Radial gradient in certain configurations does not cause a crash.
• Adding objects to pasteboard in object layer mode does not cause unexpected results.
• Double clicking to drill down into objects no longer goes straight to base state when in layer mode.
• Object pasteboard considers children dimension when previewing.
• Deleting object quickly while entering in name edit mode does not cause an error.
• Operations on hidden objects do not put Animator in an unstable state.
• Stage does not scroll unexpectedly when blurring some config fields.
• When toggling the active states of the borders using the combined property, can now undo state changes to all four borders at the same time