Chapter 9: Main Menus

The Main Menus provide commands and options for the RAYZ interface and RAYZ project files. The Main Menu strip is located by default in the upper left corner of the RAYZ interface.

In This Chapter

File Menu

Edit Menu

Views Menu

Tools Menu

Layouts Menu

Render Menu

Help Menu

File Menu

The File menu provides commands to create, save, open, and close RAYZ project files, as well as to import and retime image sequences.

New (Ctrl-n)

This command creates a new, empty RAYZ project file called "untitled." You will be prompted to save the file currently open when you invoke the command, if the current file contains unsaved changes.

Open... (Ctrl-o)

This command brings up the RAYZ File dialog box, from which you can navigate the directory structure of your network to find the RAYZ project file to open.

Image showing the RAYZ file dialog box.

Fig. 9.1 Dialog box used to open RAYZ project files.

Open File Dialog Box

Use the Open File dialog box to navigate to the directory containing the file you want to open. Then double-click on a RAYZ file in the File list to open it.

Directory

The Directory field will default to the most recently used directory, however, you can select another recent directory from the pulldown menu associated with the Directory field, type a directory path into the field, or use the file navigation buttons to go to a directory.

Extension Menu

The Extension menu defaults to displaying only RAYZ files (files with the ".rayz" file extension). If you select All Files from the Extension menu, the File field will list all files in the directory.

File Manager Menu

The default is to use the file manager for your operating system, however, you can select the FTP file manager instead.

Import Footage... (Ctrl-i)

The Import Footage command is equivalent to pressing the Import button in the node menu strip in the Worksheet. It opens the Import Footage dialog box, which you use to navigate to the directory containing the image files you want to import.

When you select an image sequence and press the Import button in the dialog box, RAYZ creates an Image In node with that sequence specified in it and places it in the Worksheet. You can import as many different image sequences as you want before closing the dialog. See also Chapter 10: Importing Images, which covers the topic in general and describes the Import Footage dialog box components in detail.

Retime Footage...

The Retime Footage command is used to access the RAYZ utility for retiming imported image sequences, which uses Cineon's Cinespeed method or frame averaging, as you choose. It opens the Retime Footage panel, in which you specify the sequence to retime and the retiming parameters to use. See Using the Retime Footage Utility in chapter 12 for more information.

Save (Ctrl-s)

This command saves the changes you have made to the current file since the last save.

Save File Dialog Box

If the current file is being saved for the first time, the RAYZ Save File dialog box will appear, in which you can specify the name and directory in which it should be saved. This dialog uses the same structure as the Open File Dialog Box shown in Fig. 9.1.

Navigate to the directory in which you want to save the file. Then type a name into the File field and press the Enter key or click the OK button in the dialog box. The ".rayz" file extension will be appended to the filename automatically; there is no need to actually type it.

Save As...

This command is used to save the current file under a new name, using the same dialog box that is used for the Save command described above.

MRU File List

The File menu always lists the four Most Recently Used (MRU) project files for your convenience when reopening a current project.

The MRU list will appear in the menu between the Save As and Close Window commands.

Close Window (Ctrl-w)

This command is used to close the current window, when you have more than one RAYZ window open. If you select this command when only one RAYZ window is open, it works like the Quit command, described next.

Quit (Ctrl-q)

This command will quit the RAYZ application after prompting you to save any changes to the current file if necessary.

Edit Menu

The Edit menu includes the Undo (Ctrl-z) and Redo (Ctrl-r) commands, as well as providing access to the General Preferences and Project Settings panels, which are described in Chapter 13: Setting Preferences.

Tip:

 

The Ctrl-z and Ctrl-r hotkeys are very convenient shortcuts for Undo and Redo. You may want to access these commands from the Edit menu instead, however, when you need feedback about exactly what action will be undone or redone. The Edit menu display is dynamic; for example, it might read "Undo parameter change" or "Redo node delete" rather than just "Undo" or "Redo."

Levels of Undo and Redo

You can use the Undo command multiple times to step back through your actions in the order they were performed. There is no limit on the number; you can continue to undo your actions up to the last time you saved the file, unless memory constraints prohibit it. The same applies to redoing your actions.

What Gets Undone and Redone

You can undo (or redo) any change you make to a node parameter, whether in the node panel or in another view such as the Curve Editor. You can also undo and redo any change to the node network, including node creation, deletion, and connection.

The Undo and Redo commands are global, and cursor position is irrelevant when using the hotkeys for these commands. That is, if you change a parameter value in the Node Panel, add a node to the Worksheet, adjust a curve in the Curve Editor, and then change a node connection in the Worksheet, the Undo command will undo each action in order.

Changes to the Interface

You cannot use Undo and Redo for changes made to the interface. For example, if you split a view into two separate view panes, you cannot use Undo to change it back. The same is true if you change the display from RGB to alpha in an Image Viewer. In these cases you would simply use the standard interface controls to delete the extra view pane you created or to change the Viewer display from alpha back to RGB.

Views Menu

The Views menu is one way to add a view to the current layout. When you select one of the following options from the menu, a new view of that type is added to the bottom of the layout and the other view panes rearrange themselves accordingly:

Add Curve Editor
Add Image Viewer
Add Node Panel
Add Clip Editor
Add Worksheet
Add Render Control

For information about other ways to change the number and type of views in a layout, see Changing the Layout in chapter 4.

Add New Window...

You can also create a new floating window by selecting Add New Window... from the Views menu. By default, the layout of the new window only has one view, the Image Viewer, which fills the window, although you can modify the layout just as you can in any RAYZ window.

See also Creating a View in a Separate Window in chapter 4.

Tools Menu

The Tools menu is used to turn display of the Process strip, Status Bar, and Time Scooter on and off in the current layout.

These tools are described in the section on Other Tools in the Layout in chapter 4.

Layouts Menu

The Layouts menu enables you to save and recall specific interface configurations. See also Customizing Layouts in chapter 4.

 See accompanying caption for image description.

Fig. 9.2 Layouts Menu: The two items at the top are custom layouts created using the Save As command; the User Default item only appears in the menu after the Save As User Default option has been selected.

Factory Default (F10)

This command restores the default RAYZ layout configuration.

User Default

This item only appears in the menu if you elect to save a layout as the user default; select it to restore the saved user default layout.

Save As User Default

This command saves the current layout as the default layout that will be used for new files instead of the Factory Default. It does not replace the factory default, however; instead, a new item called User Default appears in the Layouts menu so that both layouts are available.

Save As...

This command is used to save the current layout to the Layouts menu as a custom layout.

 See accompanying caption for image description.

Fig. 9.3 Save As Custom Layout dialog box.

Just type the name you want to use for the layout in the dialog box that appears when you select this command.

The next time you pull down the Layouts menu, the new layout will appear at the top of the list.

Render Menu

The Render menu contains two commands: Render All and Open New Render Panel.

Render All

The Render All command will render image files to disk for all Image Out nodes in the file, using the current node settings for file format, location, etc. This command is equivalent to pressing the Render button in the Render Control view.

Open New Render Panel

This command opens a new window with a Render Control view in it. The Render Control view lists all Image Out nodes in the file, so you can use it to examine and modify the rendering parameters and specify which Image Out nodes to render before pressing the Render button.

See also Chapter 11: Rendering Images for detailed information about rendering images in RAYZ.

Help Menu

The Help menu is used to access RAYZ help options.

Help Tags

This command turns the Help Tag option on and off. Help Tags are contextual help text boxes that pop up when you mouse over elements of the interface. See also Help Tags in chapter 4.

About RAYZ...

This command displays the version number of RAYZ in a floating panel. It is a good idea to jot down the version number before contacting Silicon Grail support with a question or problem.

RAYZ Manual... (F1)

This command opens the HTML documentation for RAYZ in the browser you have specified in the Help Browser Setting preference. See also Settings in chapter 13.