Frame Labels

Now that we know about the Properties panel, we can go back and cover one more topic about the timeline: frame labels. One additional thing you can do to a frame is give it a name . That's really kind of silly at this point, but in the future, we're going to use those frame labels ( names ) to do some neat stuff with the playhead. At this point, I just want to get us to the point where we can name frames .

Add a new layer called labels. Select the first frame in its timeline, and look at the Properties panel. Notice the blank field with <Frame Label> in it, as shown in Figure 1.16.

Figure 1.16: When a frame is selected, the Properties panel has a field used to name it.

Note  

Remember that when you create a new layer, the first frame will always be a keyframe. You can only add frame labels at keyframes; therefore, if you want to label a frame other than the first frame in a layer, you must add keyframes where you want the labels to go.

If you type a name into this blank field, the frame is named. Try typing a name into that field now. When you have labeled a frame, a small red flag appears in the frame you labeled, as shown in Figure 1.17.

Figure 1.17: A labeled frame contains a red flag to let you know it has a name.

Note  

You are not required to put frame labels in their own layer, but doing so makes your movie more organized. I always make a Labels layer, and it's always the top-most layer in my timeline.

The name also appears in the frame, but only if there are enough blank frames following the labeled frame to give adequate room to display it. Add blank frames after the frame you labeled if you cannot read the name. After the blank frames have been added, you should be able to see the label, as in Figure 1.18.

Figure 1.18: If blank frames follow a labeled frame, the name is displayed in the timeline.

Tip  

You don't need to be able to see the frame label for it to work. If you move the mouse pointer over a frame with a label that is obscured, a ToolTip will appear that tells you the name of that frame.

Note  

You can only label keyframes. If you try to label a normal frame, the label is applied to the previous keyframe in the timeline. Frame 1 always contains a keyframe.