Smart Magnet Rig panel (SMR)

Top row:

• Tools to create and modify Nodes and add SMR info to Symbol instances.
• Drop-down which allows users to switch between the currently loaded SM Rig representations.
• Menu with some additional features and rig repair tools.

Real-time feedback checkbox which activates a red border around the main area of the panel. Switches on or off the interactive mode of the panel where it actively checks a few times a second the status of the rig on Stage and the content of the individual elements; then reflects its findings by visualizing the presence or absence of MTs or any other status changes. This is resource intensive and has to only be on while rigging or trouble-shooting rig problems.

Main panel area:
A node-based representation of a Smart Magnet Rig can be created (New rig representation button) or loaded, using the Load rig representation(s) button. The representation can then be modified, renamed or deleted (by dragging individual nodes or the whole structure to the bin in the bottom right corner of the area).

Buttons at the bottom:

• Load rig representation(s) – scans the current frame in the current timeline for existing Smart Magnet Rigs and loads their representations in the main panel area
• Remove SMR info from selected symbols – removes the SMR info (metadata) from the selected elements on Stage. After that they are no longer a part of the rig.

Functionality

Redefines the parent-child hierarchy in a Smart Magnet Rig by re-assigning Master Parent status to the currently selected Symbol instance and inverting some hierarchical chains when necessary. The symbols which need inverse registration are duplicated while the originals are preserved intact. The Rig info is also duplicated so that the new structure (rig) is completely independent and non-destructive to the original SMR.

Suggested use

In situations when the typical structure of a SMR is not functionally optimal.
For example: Normally a monkey would have its torso as Master Parent. However, in a situation where he needs to swing holding a vine with one of his hands, it will be easier and more logical to make the hand the Master Parent. Change Master Parent works in the current frame only and effectively creates a separate rig.

Where does it work?

Stage, one selected Symbol instance, which is already part of a Smart Magnet Rig

Notes

If at some point in animation you need to go back to the original structure, the best approach would be to either copy the frames that carry that Rig info or use Roll Over Rig Info.

Functionality

Checks the currently loaded rig for potential problems and displays a log of found inconsistencies in the Output panel for review

Suggested use

If a Smart Magnet Rig is not behaving as intended. For example, elements not snapping to their parental symbols or snapping to the wrong magnet targets.

Where does it work?

Smart Magnet Rig panel, current rig

Notes

A Smart Magnet Rig representation has to be loaded for analysis. A Smart Magnet Rig has to be present at current frame. The information is loaded into the panel by pressing the Load rig representation(s) button at the bottom left of SMR panel.

Functionality

Allows the users to inspect and manually change the metadata of individual Magnet Targets (MT)

Suggested use

If for some reason during rigging or later edits MTs have acquired inconsistent metadata across frames.

Example: Arm snaps correctly to shoulder MT at frame 1 (front view of torso), but does not snap to shoulder MT at frame 2 of torso (which is 3/4).
By selecting the MT at frame 1 and running Edit Magnet Targets you can view the metadata that works, compare to the metadata of the same MT at frame 2 and if different, unify them by using the available fields (copy > paste > apply).
When MT metadata is unified for the selected joint the elements should snap correctly.

If this 'inner' repair operation does not solve all functionality issues, you can move onto the next option – Rolling Over the Rig Information on the 'outside' – at character timeline level.

Where does it work?

Selected Magnet Target (MT) inside an element that belongs to a Smart Magnet Rig

Functionality

Roll Over Rig Info (RORI) allows the transfer (roll over) of Smart Magnet Rig info (SMR info, metadata ID) from symbol instances on the timeline to other symbol instances on the same layer.
The users can specify direction (to the left or to the right) or frame range(s) and also can roll over Rig info layer by layer or in larger chunks.

The command can be invoked by pressing its dedicated button in SMR Helpers or by choosing its menu entry from the hamburger menu in the top-right corner of Smart Magnet Rig panel.

The full help article is available here.

Functionality

SMR Break Apart only works, one at a time, with Symbols containing Smart Magnet Rig elements inside.
The command is a feature-rich replacement of the default Break Apart and also circumvents a bug in Animate CC, allowing users to break apart containers of Smart Magnet Rigs and retain all functionality.

Upon execution SMR Break Apart 'punches' temporarily the timeline of the container at 'Current frame' and then releases the outer wrapper to produce an exact replication of this 'Current frame' on the outer timeline.

It also provides options to remove hidden (guided) elements and non-SMR elements.

Suggested use

Character animation. For example when a walk cycle is nested inside a container and we would like to animate out of the cycle into a couple of smaller half-steps, overshoot and stop. A suitable frame to get out of the cycle is chosen, then the outer wrapper is released using SMR Break Apart. The result is that all symbols appear on one layer. These are then distributed to layers and can be animated on the current (outer for the walk cycle) Timeline.

Where does it work?

Stage or Timeline key selection; One symbol at a time

Notes

Important! Animate CC users who use Smart Magnet Rigs must use SMR Break Apart to retain metadata. Due to a bug in Animate CC, its native Break Apart function wipes out metadata during operation. 
Flash CS users can still use default Break Apart without losing SMR functionality.

edit: 5 April 2019. The issue described above was finally fixed in Adobe Animate CC 2019.2, released on 3 April 2019. If you have Animate CC 2019.2 or newer you should be able to use the default Convert to keyframes, Break Apart and drag in the Timeline to create keys without losing SMR functionality.