The Viewer controls are used to navigate in the timeline, select channels, adjust the zoom scale factor, toggle proxy mode, adjust gamma and gain of the display, choose camera, create wipes, and set the Viewer process methods. Some of the Viewer controls are discussed next:
Channel Sets, Channel List, and Channel Display Style
The options in the Channel Sets drop-down are used to define a set of color channels to be displayed in the Viewer panel. By default, rgba is selected in this drop-down, refer to Figure 1. The options in the Channel List drop-down are used to define the channel that will be displayed when the A key is pressed. By default, NukeX displays the alpha channel (rgba.alpha) when the A key is pressed. However, you can select any available channel from the Channel List drop-down. The options in the Channel Display Style drop-down, located next to the Channel List drop-down, are used to set the style of the selected channel of the node.
The alpha channel can be displayed as the red overlay at the top of the RGB channels. To do so, Select Matte overlay from the Channel Display Style drop-down. Alternatively, hover the cursor over the Viewer1 panel and then press M; the alpha channel will be displayed as a red overlay on the top of the RGB channels.
By default, RGB is selected in the Channel Display Style drop-down. You can select the R, G, B or A option from this drop-down to display the red, green, blue, or alpha channel, respectively. To display a single channel, click on the Channel Display Style drop-down and select channels to be displayed. Alternatively, you can hover the cursor on the Viewer panel and then press R, G, B, or A to display the red, green, blue, or alpha channels, respectively in the Viewer panel.
downrez
Every Viewer panel has a downrez drop-down. The options in the downrez drop-down are used to reduce the resolution of the Viewer panel. This helps in switching between various lower display resolutions for faster display calculations. Reducing display resolution of the Viewer panel results in faster display of high resolution sequences, without affecting the actual rendered output.
gamma and gain
The gamma and gain sliders are used to adjust the gamma and gain of the displayed image in the Viewer panel, refer to Figure 2. You can alter the display data stream without affecting the rendered output by changing values on these sliders. Generally, these controls are used to fill holes in mattes. The gain toggle and gamma toggle buttons are used to switch between the default values of the sliders (1) and the last adjustment made.
The Zebra-Stripe button located on the top right corner of the Viewer panel is used to apply stripes to all the pixels having beyond the 0 to 1 range, as shown in Figure 3.
Pause
The Pause button is used to stop the Viewer panel from updating each time the changes are made to a NukeX script. If this button is active, the Viewer panel displays the last rendered frame. To activate the auto updating, choose this button again. Alternatively, press P to toggle automatic updates on and off. The button which is located on immediate left of the Pause button is used to force NukeX to recalculate the image. Alternatively, you can press U to recalculate the image.
Timeline
Timeline controls are used to play back image sequences, set frame range, set playback speed, jump to a specific frame, and generate flipbook previews, refer to Figure 4. The timeline also displays the keyframes that are created during animation. The Viewer panel shows the frame range defined in the Project Settings panel. If no frame range is defined, NukeX sets the frame range of the first image sequence that it reads.
Navigating in the Timeline
You can also pan and zoom in the timeline just as in the Viewer# panel. To do so, hold ALT+LMB and then drag the timeline; the option in the Timeline range drop-down will change to Custom, refer to Figure 5. To change the zoom scale of the timeline, hold ALT+MMB and then drag the cursor to the left or the right. Alternatively, you can use the mouse wheel to change the zoom scale of the timeline.
Adjusting the Playback Range
You can adjust the playback range of the Viewer panel. To do so, press CTRL and then drag the orange playback range markers on the timeline to define the first and last frames of the footage. The frame_range_lock button located on the extreme right of the timeline is used to toggle between the new playback range and the visible timeline range, refer to Figure 6.
The fps field displays the playback speed as specified in the project settings. NukeX attempts to maintain this speed, however, it might vary depending on the resolution of the footage and hardware configuration.
Jumping to a Specific Frame
You can also jump to a specific frame. To do so, choose File > Goto Frame from the menu bar; the Goto Frame dialog box will be displayed. Alternatively, press ALT+G to invoke the Goto Frame dialog box. Next, enter the desired frame number in the Frame field and then choose the OK button.
Setting the Playback Mode
You can set the playback mode by using the End of playback range behavior button located next to the Playback rate field. It is a toggle button which is used to switch between the three modes: Loop, Stop, and Bounce. These modes define the behavior of the playback when the time marker reaches the end of the timeline.
Loop: By default, this button is active. As a result, the sequence is looped continuously.
Stop: This button is used to play the sequence to the head or tail of the playback range.
Bounce: This button is used to play the sequence repeatedly back and forth.
Synchronizing Viewport Playback
The Lock/Unlock button is used to toggle the synchronized playback of the Viewer# panel. By default, all Viewer panels are locked. Therefore, if you change the current frame in a Viewer panel, all other Viewer panels will display the changed current frame number.
Creating Flipbook Previews
The Flipbook this viewer button is used to generate the flipbook preview of the selected time range. On choosing this button; the Flipbook dialog box will be displayed. Next, specify the values as required in this dialog box and then choose the OK button; the Progress dialog box will be displayed. This dialog box will disappear once the progress percentage reaches 100 and then the FrameCycler window will be displayed. Next, preview the sequence in the FrameCycler window.
Playback performance
The Playback performance button is used to stop redrawing GUI every frame during the Viewer playback. As a result, frames playback rate is optimized when playing from the RAM cache. It stops redrawing of all knobs, postage stamps, autolabels, Curve Editor, and Dope Sheet. On choosing this button again, NukeX updates the GUI to the current frame.
You can also toggle this button by selecting the optimize Viewer during playback check box from the Viewer tab of the Viewer# node properties panel. You can view the Viewer# node properties panel by hovering the cursor over the Viewer# panel and then pressing S. You can make this feature default for all the Viewer panels. To do so, choose Edit > Preferences from the menu bar; the Preferences dialog box will be displayed. In this dialog box, select the optimize Viewer during playback check box from the Viewers tab.
Displaying Image Pixels Information
The pixel value indicator is located at the bottom of the Viewer panel, as shown in Figure 7. It displays information about the pixel underneath the cursor. You can follow the methods given next to sample a single pixel or a range of pixels:
Channel Sets, Channel List, and Channel Display Style
The options in the Channel Sets drop-down are used to define a set of color channels to be displayed in the Viewer panel. By default, rgba is selected in this drop-down, refer to Figure 1. The options in the Channel List drop-down are used to define the channel that will be displayed when the A key is pressed. By default, NukeX displays the alpha channel (rgba.alpha) when the A key is pressed. However, you can select any available channel from the Channel List drop-down. The options in the Channel Display Style drop-down, located next to the Channel List drop-down, are used to set the style of the selected channel of the node.
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| Figure 1 The Channel Sets, Channel List, and Channel Display Style drop-downs |
By default, RGB is selected in the Channel Display Style drop-down. You can select the R, G, B or A option from this drop-down to display the red, green, blue, or alpha channel, respectively. To display a single channel, click on the Channel Display Style drop-down and select channels to be displayed. Alternatively, you can hover the cursor on the Viewer panel and then press R, G, B, or A to display the red, green, blue, or alpha channels, respectively in the Viewer panel.
downrez
Every Viewer panel has a downrez drop-down. The options in the downrez drop-down are used to reduce the resolution of the Viewer panel. This helps in switching between various lower display resolutions for faster display calculations. Reducing display resolution of the Viewer panel results in faster display of high resolution sequences, without affecting the actual rendered output.
gamma and gain
The gamma and gain sliders are used to adjust the gamma and gain of the displayed image in the Viewer panel, refer to Figure 2. You can alter the display data stream without affecting the rendered output by changing values on these sliders. Generally, these controls are used to fill holes in mattes. The gain toggle and gamma toggle buttons are used to switch between the default values of the sliders (1) and the last adjustment made.
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| Figure 2 The gamma and gain sliders |
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| Figure 3 The out of range pixels displayed as zebra stripes |
The Pause button is used to stop the Viewer panel from updating each time the changes are made to a NukeX script. If this button is active, the Viewer panel displays the last rendered frame. To activate the auto updating, choose this button again. Alternatively, press P to toggle automatic updates on and off. The button which is located on immediate left of the Pause button is used to force NukeX to recalculate the image. Alternatively, you can press U to recalculate the image.
Timeline
Timeline controls are used to play back image sequences, set frame range, set playback speed, jump to a specific frame, and generate flipbook previews, refer to Figure 4. The timeline also displays the keyframes that are created during animation. The Viewer panel shows the frame range defined in the Project Settings panel. If no frame range is defined, NukeX sets the frame range of the first image sequence that it reads.
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| Figure 4 The timeline controls |
You can also pan and zoom in the timeline just as in the Viewer# panel. To do so, hold ALT+LMB and then drag the timeline; the option in the Timeline range drop-down will change to Custom, refer to Figure 5. To change the zoom scale of the timeline, hold ALT+MMB and then drag the cursor to the left or the right. Alternatively, you can use the mouse wheel to change the zoom scale of the timeline.
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| Figure 5 The scaled timeline |
You can adjust the playback range of the Viewer panel. To do so, press CTRL and then drag the orange playback range markers on the timeline to define the first and last frames of the footage. The frame_range_lock button located on the extreme right of the timeline is used to toggle between the new playback range and the visible timeline range, refer to Figure 6.
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| Figure 6 The playback range |
Jumping to a Specific Frame
You can also jump to a specific frame. To do so, choose File > Goto Frame from the menu bar; the Goto Frame dialog box will be displayed. Alternatively, press ALT+G to invoke the Goto Frame dialog box. Next, enter the desired frame number in the Frame field and then choose the OK button.
Setting the Playback Mode
You can set the playback mode by using the End of playback range behavior button located next to the Playback rate field. It is a toggle button which is used to switch between the three modes: Loop, Stop, and Bounce. These modes define the behavior of the playback when the time marker reaches the end of the timeline.
Loop: By default, this button is active. As a result, the sequence is looped continuously.
Stop: This button is used to play the sequence to the head or tail of the playback range.
Bounce: This button is used to play the sequence repeatedly back and forth.
Synchronizing Viewport Playback
The Lock/Unlock button is used to toggle the synchronized playback of the Viewer# panel. By default, all Viewer panels are locked. Therefore, if you change the current frame in a Viewer panel, all other Viewer panels will display the changed current frame number.
Creating Flipbook Previews
The Flipbook this viewer button is used to generate the flipbook preview of the selected time range. On choosing this button; the Flipbook dialog box will be displayed. Next, specify the values as required in this dialog box and then choose the OK button; the Progress dialog box will be displayed. This dialog box will disappear once the progress percentage reaches 100 and then the FrameCycler window will be displayed. Next, preview the sequence in the FrameCycler window.
Playback performance
The Playback performance button is used to stop redrawing GUI every frame during the Viewer playback. As a result, frames playback rate is optimized when playing from the RAM cache. It stops redrawing of all knobs, postage stamps, autolabels, Curve Editor, and Dope Sheet. On choosing this button again, NukeX updates the GUI to the current frame.
You can also toggle this button by selecting the optimize Viewer during playback check box from the Viewer tab of the Viewer# node properties panel. You can view the Viewer# node properties panel by hovering the cursor over the Viewer# panel and then pressing S. You can make this feature default for all the Viewer panels. To do so, choose Edit > Preferences from the menu bar; the Preferences dialog box will be displayed. In this dialog box, select the optimize Viewer during playback check box from the Viewers tab.
Displaying Image Pixels Information
The pixel value indicator is located at the bottom of the Viewer panel, as shown in Figure 7. It displays information about the pixel underneath the cursor. You can follow the methods given next to sample a single pixel or a range of pixels:
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| Figure 7 The pixel value indicator |
- Press and hold CTRL and click on the Viewer panel to sample a single pixel from the Viewer panel.
- Press and hold CTRL+SHIFT and then drag the cursor to the Viewer panel to sample a region; a red rectangle will be drawn on the Viewer panel and pixels will be sampled within that region.
- Press and hold CTRL+ALT and then click on the Viewer panel to sample a single pixel from the node’s input.
- Press and hold CTRL+ALT+SHIFT and then drag on the Viewer panel to sample a region from the node’s input.
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