Keyframe any property
Three ways to animate a value over time — pick the one that fits how you work.
Three ways to animate any property — pick whichever fits how you like to work.
Method A: the "Animate a value" panel (simplest)
Select an object and open the Anim tab. The panel sits at the top.
- What — pick the property you want to change.
- From — filled in for you. It reads the object's value at the playhead, so there's nothing to set up.
- To — type where the value should end up, and how many seconds it should take.
- Press the Animate button. It spells out the change, so you know what you'll get before you click.
The animation appears on the timeline straight away. Drag it to move it in time, or drag its edges to change how long it lasts.
This panel offers properties that are a single number — opacity, rotation, radius, width, height, stroke width. Properties made of two numbers (position, scale) or a colour (fill, stroke) aren't listed; use one of the methods below for those.
Method B: record mode
- Click ● in the timeline transport bar to start recording. There's also a Record button in the Anim tab, under "Or record as you work".
- Move the playhead to where you want the change to land.
- Edit the property — drag a field, type a new value, or drag the object on the canvas.
The animation is created for you, running from the property's previous keyframe (or the start of the scene) up to the playhead. If the playhead already sits inside an existing animation, your edit changes where that one ends instead of stacking a new one — so nudging a value while scrubbing inside a clip just adjusts its destination.
Nothing is recorded in the first moment of the scene — there's no meaningful "before" to animate from that close to the start.
Method C: the ◆ diamond
- Click the ◆ diamond next to the field. It marks a start point — the field's current value at the playhead — and the diamond lights up.
- Move the playhead.
- Change the value.
- Click ◆ again. The two points become one animation, ramping from the first value to the second.
Clicking the lit diamond again without moving the playhead cancels it instead of finishing it. Esc also cancels it.
Which to use
| Animate a value | Record mode | ◆ diamond | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | one number, quickly | several properties at once, or freeform dragging | one property, deliberately |
| Works on | single numbers only | any animatable property | any animatable property |
| Start value | read at the playhead | last keyframe's end (or scene start) | whatever you mark |
| Cancel a mistake | undo the edit | undo the edit | Esc cancels before it's created |
See Animation reference for what each object type can animate, and How keyframes and time work for the idea underneath all three.