Animation Control

Animating maps is an excellent way to track weather movements, such as the motion of a storm or of a frontal passage. Animate maps by using the Play and Frame selections under the Map menu. For animation to work, specify a loop in the Date dialog.

To play a paused data set:

Choose Map > Play

To pause an animating data set:

Choose Map > Pause

To move a data set to the end of the loop:

Choose Map > Last Frame

To move a data set one date step forward:

Choose Map > Next Frame

To move a data set one date step backward:

Choose Map > Previous Frame

To move a data set to the beginning of the loop:

Choose Map > First Frame

To open the Show Animator palette:

Choose Window > Show Animator

To close the Animator palette:

Click the Close (x) button at the top-right corner of the Animator

To have all the animation buttons accessible on the screen:

Choose Window > Show Animator
- Button definitions, from left to right:

Controlling the Speed of the Animation

Move the slider left to decrease the animation speed
Move the slider right to increase the animation speed

Note: Another way to play and pause in animation is to right-click with the mouse on date in the legend. A contextual menu will appear; choose Play or Pause.

Graphs can be stepped forward or backward through time.

To move a data set one day forward:

Choose Graph > Next Time

To move a data set one day backward:

Choose Graph > Previous Time