Each object in a LeoCAD project can have a different position and orientation for each step or frame that it appears. This feature is called keyframing, and works differently if the program is in Instruction or Animation mode.
This is very useful when creating instructions because it allows you to have a door open in one step and closed later, or have the camera display the model from a different angle on a certain step to show details from another section of the model.
If you're in animation mode, LeoCAD automatically interpolates the value of the previous key with the value of the next key to calculate the position of the object at each frame. This makes the creation of animations a very simple thing because you only need to set the start and end positions and LeoCAD will take care of the other frames.
When the Key Button (
) from the
Animation Toolbar is depressed, a new key is added at the current step/frame each time you move or
rotate an object, if a key doesn't already exist. When the icon is not pressed, the changes are made to
the key immediately before the current step/frame.
LeoCAD can be used to create building instructions and animations, making it a very powerful editor.
When you start the program you're placed in Instruction mode by default, you can switch between
Animation and Instruction mode using the Mode Button
(
) from the Animation Toolbar.
Each program mode stores the position and orientation of all objects in separate places, so changing the position of an object on one mode does not change it on the other mode. To easily copy the position from the other mode, choose Copy Keys From ... from the Pieces Menu.
When you're in Instruction Mode, each time unit is called a Step and when you're in Animation Mode, each time unit is called a Frame. The most important difference between the 2 modes is how Keyframing works.