There are several different features and windows in the Unity Editor which use Curves to display and edit data. The methods you can use to view and manipulate curves is largely the same across all these areas, although there are some exceptions.
While these controls have subtle differences, the curves can be edited in exactly the same way in all of them. This page explains how to navigate and edit curves in those controls.
A key can be added to a curve by double-clicking on the curve at the point where the keyCan refer to an Input Key or an Animation Key
See in Glossary should be placed. It is also possible to add a key by right-clicking on a curve and select Add Key from the context menu.
Once placed, keys can be dragged around with the mouse:
It is also possible to select multiple keys at once:
Keys can be deleted by selecting them and pressing Delete, or by right-clicking on them and selecting Delete Key from the context menu.
Direct editing of key values in curve editors is a new feature in Unity 5.1. Use Enter/Return or context menu to start editing selected keys, Tab to switch between fields, Enter/Return to commit, and Escape to cancel editing.
When working with the Animation View you can easily zoom in on details of the curves you want to work with or zoom out to get the full picture.
You can always press F to frame-select the shown curves or selected keys in their entirely.
You can zoomA camera control that lets you scale the view on your screen. To zoom a camera in the Unity Editor, press Alt + right click and drag. More info
See in Glossary the Curve View using the scroll-wheel of your mouse, the zoom functionality of your trackpad, or by holding Alt while right-dragging with your mouse.
You can zoom on only the horizontal or vertical axis:
Furthermore, you can drag the end caps of the scrollbars to shrink or expand the area shown in the Curve View.
You can pan the Curve View by middle-dragging with your mouse or by holding Alt while left-dragging with your mouse.
A key has two tangentsOne of two handles that controls the shape of the animation curve before and after a key. Tangents appear when a key is selected in the Curves view, or when a key is selected in the Curve Editor.
See in Glossary - one on the left for the incoming slope and one on the right for the outgoing slope. The tangents control the shape of the curve between the keys. You can select from a number of different tangent types to control how your curve leaves one key and arrives at the next key. Right-click a key to select the tangent type for that key.
For animated values to change smoothly when passing a key, the left and right tangent must be co-linear. The following tangent types ensure smoothness:
Sometimes you might not want the curve to be smooth when passing through a key. To create sharp changes in the curve, choose one of the Broken tangent modes.
When using broken tangents, the left and right tangent can be set individually. Each of the left and right tangents can be set to one of the following types:
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