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Keyframes cannot be created

Record Mode is the single most common answer here. With it active, every property change on a selected element becomes a keyframe at the playhead. With it inactive, the same change updates the element across the entire timeline and creates nothing.

Symptoms

If one or more of these match what you are seeing, you are on the right page.

  • •Changing a property moves the element but adds no keyframe
  • •The change applies across the whole timeline instead of at one moment
  • •The timeline shows no property tracks for the element
  • •Keyframes appear for some properties and not others

Causes and fixes

Ordered from most to least likely. Work down the list — each cause is paired with what to do about it.

  1. 1

    Record Mode is off.

    Click the red record button in the transport controls or press Ctrl+Alt+R. Record Mode is activated automatically when Animate mode opens, unless Auto-keyframe Mode has been set to Manual in Preferences.

  2. 2

    You are not in Animate mode.

    Press Ctrl+2 or click Animate in the mode switcher. Design mode has no timeline to record into.

  3. 3

    No element is selected.

    Select the element first. Record Mode captures changes to selected elements only.

  4. 4

    You want a keyframe without changing the value.

    Press K to create a hold keyframe at the current value on all animated properties, or click the diamond icon next to a single property in the Properties Panel to keyframe just that one.

  5. 5

    Auto-keyframe Mode is set to Manual.

    In Edit → Preferences under Animation Settings, set Auto-keyframe Mode to On by default so recording is active whenever Animate mode is open.

Still stuck?

If none of the causes above match, contact support with the steps to reproduce the problem, your browser and version, and any message from the browser console. You can reach us at support@flashfx.app.

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