Position Animation

Position animation moves shapes along a path over time, following a straight line, a curve, or a list of points.

It works on any shape. When every selected shape is a text on a path, the same command creates a Path Crawl instead.

For moving a camera, see Camera Position Animation.

Creating it

1. Select the shapes on the board.
2. In Animation mode, choose Position Animation in the Actions panel.

The new block starts at the playhead, selected, with no movement and no duration yet, and its position indicator shows on the board. Drag its end handle, or set its values in the Attributes panel, to make the shapes move.

When multiple shapes are selected, one block moves all of them the same distance along parallel paths, so their spacing stays the same.

The position animation block in the Timeline panel

In the Timeline panel, standard position blocks appear in blue (). Position blocks with Auto-Rotate enabled appear in purple ().

1. Blocks that animate one shape use circular handles.
2. Blocks that animate several shapes use square handles.
3. Staggered blocks show a marker where each later shape starts.

The position indicator on the board

The position indicator shows the motion path and its handles on the board while the block is selected, or for the selected shapes when Show all animation indicators is on.

The path line is dashed and fills with a solid line as the animation progresses.

A motion path can take one of three forms:

• Linear: a straight line from start to end.
• Bezier: curved or straight segments, with tangent control handles on the curved ones.
• Points: a smoothed path through editable points. Two points form a straight line.

Motion paths are edited on the board much like vector paths: you can drag knots to reshape them, adjust curves with control handles, and double-click anywhere along the path line to add an intermediate knot or point. On the board you can also use:

• Start handle: where movement begins. When the shape has an earlier position block that ends before this one starts, this handle is linked to its end so the movement continues without jumps.
• End handle: where movement finishes, marked with an arrowhead showing the direction of movement. Drag it to set the final destination.
• Move the whole path: drag the path line itself to reposition the entire trajectory without changing its distance, direction, or curvature. This can also change where an earlier position block of the same shapes ends.

Attributes

The Position Animation section of the Attributes panel:

• Time: when movement starts and ends, in seconds. Each time is outlined while the playhead sits on it.
• Duration: the block's total length, including staggered shapes and block pauses.
• Speed: speed multiplier relative to the board's base position speed (150 board units per second by default).
• Delta X and Delta Y: net displacement from start to end in board units. Changing Delta X or Delta Y stretches the path to fit the new displacement while keeping its start anchored, preserving curves, intermediate points, and the editing mode. With Maintain speed enabled, the duration adjusts automatically to the new path length.
• Auto-Rotate: rotates the shapes to face the direction of the path as they move.
  • When active, the block appears in purple () on the timeline.
  • Offset: angular correction in degrees added to the path tangent direction. Use this when a graphic natively points in another direction (such as upward instead of rightward).
  • Align Time: how long (in seconds) the shape takes to turn from its initial orientation into alignment with the path, from the block's start. Set to 0 to align immediately.
  • With several shapes, each one turns around its own pivot.
  • Cameras don't rotate, even with Auto-Rotate on.
• Stagger shapes: when a block acts on multiple shapes, stagger offsets their start times sequentially. See Stagger shapes.
• Reordering panel: with Stagger shapes on, sets the order in which the shapes start. See Stagger shapes.
• Easing: controls acceleration along the path. Cubic in and out is the default. See Easing.

Exact coordinates

• With knots or handles selected, the Points section in the Attributes panel lets you type their X and Y coordinates.

Actions

The Actions panel has commands for the animation block and for its motion path. Start by selecting the block, then choose what you want to change:

• The whole block: delete it, reassign its shapes, or add a block pause.
• The whole path: choose Linear, Points, or Bezier, or copy a path from a shape.
• Individual knots or points: select them on the path to change their curves, remove them, or align them.
• Tangent control handles: select them on a Bezier path to adjust how the curves meet.

Block actions

Select the position animation block to use these options:

• Delete: removes the block. See Block actions.
• Cut, Copy, and Paste: move or copy the block to another time or sequence. See Cut, copy, and paste blocks.
• Reassign: changes which shapes the block moves. See Block actions.
• Create Block Pause: holds the movement for a moment inside the block. See Block pauses.

Convert to Linear or Points

Select the block to change its entire path to one of these types:

• Convert to Linear: replaces a Bezier or Points path with a single straight line between its start and end. Use this when you no longer need intermediate turns or curves.
• Convert to Points: converts a Linear or Bezier path into a smoothed path through editable points. You can then move the points to change the route.

Convert to Bezier

Select a block with a Linear or Points path to edit its curves with tangent handles:

• Convert to Bezier: converts the whole path into a Bezier path. Drag its knots to change the route and its tangent handles to bend the segments.

Taking the path from a shape

Get path from shape replaces the block's motion path with the outline of a path, polyline, line, or freehand shape.

1. Select the position animation block.
2. Choose Get path from shape.
3. Select the shape whose path you want to use.

• The new path depends on the source:
  • Paths: keep their curves and tangent handles.
  • Lines: a two-point line creates a Linear path.
  • Polylines: create a Bezier path with straight segments, keeping their corners.
  • Freehand shapes: create a Points path.
• The path starts at the source's first point. A block with multiple target shapes keeps their relative spacing.
• The source shape stays on the board.
• The block keeps its timing and easing. Its speed changes to match the new path length.

Convert knots to curves

Select knots with straight segments in a Bezier path to bend those segments:

• Convert to Curve: adds tangent control handles to the straight segments next to the selected knots. Drag those handles to shape the curves.

This changes the segments around the selected knots. To change the type of the whole path, use Convert to Bezier above.

Convert knots to corners

Select knots with curved segments in a Bezier path to make those segments straight:

• Convert to Hard: replaces the curves next to the selected knots with straight segments, forming corners where they meet.

Tangent control handles

Select tangent control handles in a Bezier path to choose how the curves meet at a knot:

• Keep knot angle: preserves the angle between the two handles while you drag one. With it on, smooth knots stay smooth and corners keep their angle. Turn it off to change the angle independently.
• Smooth Control Points: aligns the selected tangent handle with the opposite handle across the knot, keeping its distance from the knot. Use it to make the adjoining curves meet smoothly.

Remove handles

Select intermediate knots in a Bezier path or points in a Points path to simplify the route:

• Remove Handles: deletes the selected intermediate knots or points. The start and end handles are always retained.

Align handles

Select two or more path handles, then choose where to line them up. Each command uses the positions of the selected handles:

• Align Left: moves them to the X coordinate of the leftmost handle.
• Align Right: moves them to the X coordinate of the rightmost handle.
• Align Top: moves them to the height of the topmost handle.
• Align Bottom: moves them to the height of the bottommost handle.
• Center Horizontally: moves them to the X coordinate halfway between the leftmost and rightmost handles.
• Center Vertically: moves them to the height halfway between the topmost and bottommost handles.