The Graph Editor — Advanced

The graph editor has two modes, toggled with the buttons at the top of the panel:

Value Graph: Shows the property value over time. The Y axis is the actual value (pixels, degrees, opacity percentage). The bezier curve handles control the shape of the value change. This is the standard mode.

Speed Graph: Shows the rate of change (velocity) over time. The Y axis is how fast the value is changing at each moment. A peak in the speed graph means the animation is moving quickly; a valley means it is moving slowly or stopped.

Use the Speed Graph when working on smooth, physically accurate motion — it is easier to ensure velocity starts at zero (smooth takeoff), peaks cleanly, and returns to zero (smooth landing) by looking directly at the velocity profile rather than inferring it from the value curve.

When multiple property tracks are selected, all their curves appear in the graph editor simultaneously. Each track is drawn in its assigned color.

• -Editing all curves simultaneously: Select handles across all curves by marquee-selecting in the graph area.
• -Editing a single curve: Click the color swatch of the desired track in the track list to isolate it in the graph.
• -Normalize curves: When value ranges differ significantly (e.g., Position X has values 0 to 1920, Opacity has values 0 to 1), the normalize button scales all curves to the same 0 to 1 display range for visual comparison.

• -Snap to whole values: Hold Ctrl while dragging a graph handle to snap the value to whole numbers.
• -Snap to other keyframe values: A yellow indicator line appears when a handle aligns with another keyframe's value, making it easy to create "match cut" animations where an element reaches the exact same state as another.
• -Snap to zero velocity: A specific snap target for the Speed Graph — handles snap to the horizontal axis, ensuring zero velocity at that moment. Critical for achieving convincingly smooth physics-based animation.

Toggle View -> Show Graph Overlay on Canvas to display a small, transparent version of the graph editor directly on the canvas while in Animate mode. The overlay follows the selected element and shows its motion graphs without needing to look away from the canvas. Useful for adjusting easing while observing the visual result simultaneously.