Timeline Architecture

The timeline is the command center of the FlashFX animation workflow. It provides a temporal view of the entire composition — every element, every animated property, every keyframe — organized across a horizontal time axis.

The timeline is divided into two vertical sections:

• -Track List (left): Lists all elements in the current sequence. Each element has a row. Rows can be expanded to show individual property tracks. The track list mirrors and stays synchronized with the Layer Panel.
• -Keyframe Area (right): The horizontal field where keyframe diamonds appear at their time positions. The playhead runs vertically through this area.

FlashFX has two temporal editing environments:

The Timeline operates within a single sequence. It shows and controls the keyframe animation of elements within that sequence — the micro-level, per-property, per-frame control layer.

The Sequence Compositor operates at the sequence-assembly level. It arranges multiple named sequences in order to form a longer production — the macro-level, scene-by-scene assembly layer.

The two environments are accessed in the same panel. Toggle between them via the tabs at the top of the panel: "Timeline" and "Compositor."

The timeline supports two display modes:

Summary View: Shows one row per element. Keyframe ranges are shown as color bars (indicating that some animation exists in that time range) rather than individual keyframe diamonds. Useful for seeing the high-level timing structure of many elements simultaneously.

Detailed View: Shows individual property tracks when an element is expanded. Shows each keyframe as a diamond. The default view for precision animation work.

Toggle with the collapse/expand all button in the timeline header.