Frame Editor

Each movie that you create using Mimic can consist of multiple frames. When a movie is open in Mimic, the frames of the movie are listed in the Frames window pane. From there, you can select a specific frame of a movie. That frame is then displayed in this editor, and you can enhance it by using the many features available in Mimic.

How to Open This Editor

Do one of the following:

  • Either select File > Open or press CTRL+O on your keyboard. In the Open dialog, navigate to the MIMOV file and select it. Then click Open.
  • Select File > Recent Files > [Name of MIMOV file].
  • Open a collection. From the Collection Editor, click the Sections tab, select a movie, and click Open.
  • Open a collection. From the Movies window pane, double-click a movie.

What You Can Do in This Editor

  • Frames Each movie can be composed of one or many frames (or slides). Various modifications can be made at the frame level. See Frames.
  • Objects There are many different types of objects that you can add to frames, such as buttons, bubble callouts, cursors, shapes, lines, and typing boxes. See Objects.
  • Actions You can apply actions to various objects in order to make the movie react (e.g., go to next frame, pause, go to a specific frame) when the user performs a specific event on the object (e.g., clicking on a button). See Actions.
  • Text If you want to explain parts of a frame or provide instructions for end users, you can incorporate text into your movies. See Text and Fonts.
  • Variables When you have text that you plan to reuse throughout your movies, you can save time by creating and inserting variables. See Variables.
  • Keyframes You can add keyframes to an object that show transitions from one state to the next, including position keyframes (trajectories). See Keyframes.
  • Timing Sometimes it is necessary to speed up, slow down, or pause the timing of a frame or object. Timing refers to the number of seconds that a frame or object is displayed, as well as the specific moment when it comes into view. See Timing.
  • Transitions You can control the way that frames and objects appear and disappear in a movie (e.g., fade in, fade out). See Transitions.
  • Audio There are several ways to add audio to your movies, including recording your own narration. See Audio.

  • Appearance of Frames and Objects Modifying the look and feel of movies, frames, and objects can be accomplished using a variety of methods. See Appearance of Frames.

  • Palettes A palette is a handy, time-saving tool for storing objects for later reuse. You can create palettes locally or link to external palettes. See Palettes.
  • Conditions A condition tag is a way to mark movies, frames, or objects that you want to include in some outputs, but exclude from other outputs. They work in conjunction with targets, which are separate instances of an output type. See Conditions.
  • Effects You can enhance objects by applying different kinds of special effects to them. See Effects.
  • Grids A grid is simply a series of dots displayed a certain distance apart on a frame, with each dot representing a specific location on that frame. They help you more accurately place objects on a frame. See Working With Grids.
  • Previewing Much of the process of enhancing a movie involves previewing the movie as you make changes. You can do this at any time by pressing the play button on the preview bar at the bottom of the Frame Editor. See Previewing Movies.

Buttons and Sections

Indicates the actual size of the frames in the movie.

Displays the number of the current frame in the movie sequence. If you click the down arrow, you can select any frame in the movie to open it.

Opens a submenu which lets you create the following objects:

Rectangle

Converts the cursor to Rectangle mode, which lets you create a square or rectangle shape by clicking in the frame and dragging in any direction. When you release the cursor, the shape is created.

Polygon

Converts the cursor to Polygon mode, which lets you create a closed plane shape bounded by three or more line segments. After you select this button, you can click anywhere in the frame to identify the starting point for the shape. When you move the cursor, a straight line segment is drawn. If you click the left mouse button, it signifies the end of that line segment and the start of another line segment. When you move the cursor, another straight line segment is drawn. When you double-click, a final line segment joins your starting and ending points, thus closing off the shape.

Oval

Converts the cursor to Oval mode, which lets you create a circle or oval shape by clicking in the frame and dragging in any direction. When you release the cursor, the shape is created.

Polyline

Converts the cursor to Polyline mode, which lets you create a straight or angled line with an arrow at the end (which you can change or remove by using the Polyline section in the Object Properties window pane). After you select this button, you can click anywhere in the frame to identify the starting point for the line. When you move the cursor, a straight line segment is drawn. If you click the left mouse button, it signifies the end of that line segment and the start of another line segment. When you move the cursor, another straight line segment is drawn. You can identify the end of the line by double-clicking.

Graphics

  • Bubble Converts the cursor to Bubble mode, which lets you create a callout by clicking in the frame and dragging a rectangle area. When you release the cursor, a "bubble" shape is created, which consists of a rectangular or square area for holding text and a pointy area for pointing toward an area of the frame that you want to explain or emphasize. See Adding Callouts Manually.
  • Loop Converts the cursor to Loop mode, which lets you create a "loop" shape by clicking in the image and dragging a rectangle area. When you release the cursor, a loop shape is created. This is a useful shape for circling parts of an image that you want to emphasize.
  • Arrow Converts the cursor to Arrow mode, which lets you create a curvy arrow shape. After you select this button, you can click anywhere in the frame to identify the starting point for the arrow. When you move the cursor, a straight line shows where the arrow will be placed. When you release the cursor, an arrow is created.
  • Cursor Converts the cursor to Cursor mode, which lets you add a cursor bitmap to the frame by clicking in the frame and dragging in any direction. When you release the mouse button, a cursor bitmap is added within a shaded oval shape. You can change the cursor type and adjust the color and transparency of the oval background from the Cursor section in the Object Properties window pane. See Adding Cursors Manually.

Interactive

Interactive objects include the following object types:

  • Button Lets you create a button with text (e.g., "Click Here"). You can double-click the button to open the Object Properties window pane, which lets you assign an action to a button (e.g., go to next frame) that occurs when a user clicks the button in the final movie. You can also use the appropriate tabs in that dialog (Mouse Hover and Mouse Pressed) to change the look of the button when the mouse hovers over it or presses it. See Adding Buttons.
  • Typing Box Lets you create an animated typing box. When you record a movie, Mimic captures any typing actions that you perform on screen. This typing is therefore animated in the movie output. In other words, each letter of the content is typed as the user watches it. Not only are these animated text boxes added automatically when you record movies, but you can also add them manually when you edit the movie. See Adding Animated Typing Boxes.
  • Input Box Lets you create an input box. If you want the user to enter text at a certain frame in the movie, you can accomplish this by adding an input box. You can then enter the exact content that you want the user to type. You can also format the text, as well as specify captions and actions based on the user's input. See Adding Input Boxes.

Text Rectangle

Converts the cursor to Text Rectangle mode, which lets you create a square or rectangle shape with text by clicking in the image and dragging in any direction. When you release the cursor, default text is shown in a popup editor. You can replace the text with your own and click outside the area to see the finished shape. In addition, this mode adds a background to the box (as opposed to a transparent background), which makes it easier to see the text.

Opens a submenu which lets you apply effects. See Adding Effects.

Clip

Adds a clipping mask frame to the object, allowing you to hide the area inside of the clipping mask frame. You must have an object in order to use clip, but you don't have to center the clip on the object. You might use a clipping mask if you have an object that you want to slowly reveal to your users. You can apply clipping masks to any object.

Opacity

Adds an effect area frame to an image object, allowing you to add an opacity effect mask. This lets you see the frame background through the image object.

Gray Scale

Adds an effect area frame to an image object, allowing you to add a gray scale mask to the object. With this mask, you can apply gray scale to the parts of the image inside or outside of the effect area frame.

Blur 

Adds an effect area frame to an image object, allowing you to add a blur effect mask to the object. With this mask, you can blur the image inside or outside of the effect area frame.

Opens a submenu which lets you choose which master frames are visible in the Frame Editor. See Showing and Hiding Master Frames.

Increases or reduces the scale of the frame. Use the drop-down to select a scale between 12.5% and 1600%.

Reduces the scale of the frame each time you click the button.

Resets the scale of the frame to 100%.

Increases the scale of the frame each time you click the button.

Scales the frame so that its width fits in the Frame Editor.

Scales the frame so that its height fits in the Frame Editor.

Lets you work with grids in the frame, including showing/hiding the grid, snapping objects to the grid, and editing grids. See Working With Grids.