Apple Motion 4 - Manual (Page 434)

Saving and Sharing Custom Behaviors
You can save any object in Motion to the Library, including cameras, lights, customized
filters and behaviors, groups, and layers (customized particle systems, replicators, shapes,
and text). Objects animated with behaviors or keyframes can also be saved to the Library
and retain their animation when applied to another project.
Customized behaviors can be saved in an existing folder in the Library, such as the
Favorites category, or you can create a new folder within an existing category. Once a
behavior is placed into the Library, it can be added to a project like any other object in
the Library. Behaviors saved in the Library appear with a custom icon.
Note: Items that are saved to the Library appear in the Finder with a .molo extension
(“Motion Library object“). These items cannot be opened from the Finder.
You can save multiple objects to the Library as one file or multiple files. For example, if
you create an animation that uses multiple behaviors and you want to save the cumulative
effect of those behaviors, you can save all of the behaviors as one item in the Library.
Although you can save custom behaviors into the Behaviors category, it is generally
recommended that you save items that you use frequently in the Favorites category;
some Motion Library categories contain so many items that utilizing the Favorites or
Favorites Menu category may save you search time. Within the Favorites category, you
can create additional folders to assist you in better arranging your custom items.
Behaviors that are saved to the Favorites Menu category can be quickly applied to objects
using the Favorites menu.
You can also create new folders in existing categories. You can create a new folder in the
Favorites or Behaviors category. Folders created in the Behaviors category appear in the
Library sidebar. Folders created in the subcategories, such as the Basic Motion subcategory,
appear in the Library stack and not the sidebar.
To save a behavior to the Library
1 Open the Library and select the Favorites, Favorites Menu, or Behaviors category.
2 Drag the customized behavior you want to save from the Layers tab, Timeline, or Inspector
into the stack at the bottom of the Library.
When you save a customized behavior, it is saved in the
/Users/username/Library/Application Support/Final Cut Studio/Motion/Library/ folder.
Note: If a custom behavior is dragged to another subcategory, such as the Glow (Filters)
subcategory, it is automatically placed in the Behaviors category and the Behaviors
category becomes active.
To save multiple behaviors to the Library
1 Open the Library and select the Favorites, Favorites Menu, or Behaviors category.
434 Chapter 9 Using Behaviors