➰Loop Time Offset

Automatically loop objects and precomps

Apply the Loop Time Offset behavior to any Timeflow Object, Timeflow, or precomp to automatically loop its playback, including all nested children and animation.

As an example, consider the following precomp. Normally the animation plays through once and is not repeated unless the entire timeline is looped.

To repeat the precomp animation, apply Loop Time Offset.

Right-click on a track in the Timeflow view and select Tracks/Loop Time Offset.

Or from the main menu select Timeflow/Add Behavior/Loop Time Offset.

Note that Loop Time Offset applies to the whole object track, not to individual track sections.

Once applied, the object track will automatically reposition around the the current time. This maintains its relative starting offset, so that each loop is seamless.

Loop Time Offset is indicated by the loop icon on the track, as well as the ghosted tracks showing where looping is occurring throughout the timeline. The looping may also be toggled off by selecting it again in the menu, or toggling the stopwatch icon in the inspector.

Settings

Loop Time Offset is a component and additional settings may be set in the inspector.

Duration

By default Auto Duration is enabled which uses the length of the object's track. Or you may disable Auto Duration to specify a custom interval using a variety of timing methods.

When the duration is set, it also applies to the object track. In the example shown below, because the duration is shorter than the track it truncates the animation preventing the latter half from being played.

Start At / End At

This specifies the time at which the first loop begins and the last loop ends. By default it uses the Start and End of the full timeline. However, there are a variety of other ways to set the time.

Note that Object Start/End modes cannot be used with this feature, since it causes self-referential behavior.

As an example, the object can be looped between two markers, as shown below.