timeline disappears when using frame by frame

[jonathan.reaux]

Hello, I am currently unable to use a frame by frame layer, because when I create one, the timeline shrinks, and when I try to click and drag to expand it, it just completely disappears and will not come back.
Maybe it is some type of crash happening with the 3rd party plugins I have installed that are shelved on the left with the tools. But I don't see a way to undock shelves to make more room.
Check the video to see what I mean.

https://www.loom.com/share/834aae298c25 ... a2bee73676

[jonathan.reaux]

Just as a heads up, it does seem to be due to the plugins on the tool shelf. I uninstalled them, and the frame by frame works.
So the question is, how to get the frame by frame to work with the plugins installed. Is there no way to customize the shelves?

[Greenlaw]

Hi!

I would figure it out through process of elimination.

1. Go to File>Open Custom Content Folder to open your Custom Content Folder, then open the Scripts folder. (Assuming all third party scripts have been installed here where they should be.)
2. Open the Tool folder and create a new folder here. You can name this folder whatever you like but for now let's call it disabled. When you drag a script in there, Moho will ignore it on launch.

3. Open disabled to a new window and make another folder inside the disabled folder and call it compatible.
4. Drag half your scripts to disabled.
5. Launch Moho.

If the problem goes away, you know this active batch is good so drag them into compatible.

If the problem didn't go away, then you know at least one script in the active batch is incompatible. Make some some additional folders so you can half this batch and repeat the test until you've isolated the problem script(s).

When you're finished, drag all the scripts from the compatible folder back into the Scripts folder.

Bonus tip: To test the scripts in Moho, instead of quitting and relaunching Moho after making each change to the Scripts folder, a quicker way is to press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+L after making the change. This will reload the scripts from the Scripts folder without quitting Moho (ignoring any scripts inside any child folders, like our disabled folder.)

Hope this helps.

[Víctor Paredes]

This is happening because you have many tools installed. I recommend you to check if you really need all of them there.
Now, this is what is happening:
Moho hides tools that are not useful at the moment. For instance, if you have a bone layer selected, Moho doesn't show you the drawing tools, because you can't do anything with them at that moment.
Now, when you create a frame by frame layer, many of the tools that weren't available before are visible now, so the Tools window becomes bigger and that reduces the room for the timeline.
Undocking the Tools window should fix the problem, that way the Tools window won't be sharing the room with the Timeline. Just go to Tools -> Docking -> Tools

[Greenlaw]

Ah, thanks for the insight Victor! That having too many scripts caused this problem never occured to me.

@jonathon, I think I never saw this issue myself because...

1. I always keep my Tools window undocked. For me, it's easier to work in Moho when I can move this window closer to where I'm working on the screen.

2. I limit the number of scripts in my Tools window. Basically, if I never use the script, it's out.

3. I have scripts that I need only very rarely and I keep these scripts in the disabled folder until I need them. As a matter of fact, inside my disabled folder, I keep several folders to organize my disabled scripts by author or category.

Hope this helps.

@Victor and Mike, in the future, it could be cool to get a Tools window with a list that can be used to load different user-defined script sets. These sets can be based on different tasks or whatever categories the user finds helpful. (i.e., character animation, motion graphics, rigging, etc.) If not that, alternatively it would make sense to add this capability to the Tool Layout tab in the Preferences window.

[jonathan.reaux]

Victor and Greenlaw, thank you very much for the answers. That solved my problem.

[hayasidist]

@Victor and Mike, in the future, it could be cool to get a Tools window with a list that can be used to load different user-defined script sets. These sets can be based on different tasks or whatever categories the user finds helpful. (i.e., character animation, motion graphics, rigging, etc.) If not that, alternatively it would make sense to add this capability to the Tool Layout tab in the Preferences window.

If you recall the discussion elsewhere about my "enable / disable scripts" script -- this "choose an active set" is on the to do list for that... But YES YES YES it would be SO much neater to have as a core feature!!