KineBody Pro Operating Instructions
Saving Poses
As you construct a pose using KineBody (Basic or Pro), you can quickly access previous poses by using the Undo & Redo buttons to navigate through your history of operations. The operation history is deleted, however, whenever you close your KineBody session. Also, you can't remove poses from the history, so as to focus on a set of key poses while removing unimportant intermediate steps. Plus, it can be useful to add names to your poses, but this isn't possible using the pose history/ operations functions.
To bypass these limitations, KineBody Pro makes it possible to save poses, multiple ways:
- Auto-save a pose, & restore it at the beginning of a new session.
- Save a named pose, & restore it at any time.
- Save a collection of poses (a 'Repository') to a file, and later reload it into KineBody.
When you save a pose in KineBody Pro, you’re saving the values for all the body positions and joint angles, so that you can later reload them into KineBody and use all of the KineBody capabilities: to view the skeleton in 3D, move the body or joints, identify and hide bones, etc. This is much more powerful than saving an image of a pose, which is just a file containing a 2D array of colored dots: an image of a pose can't be further manipulated in the same way that a restored pose can.
Also: Some of the settings and changes you make using KineBody Pro are NOT retained when you save a pose; these include: current joint, hidden bones, 'Show' options (axes, transparent background, background image, etc.), and the 'Unlimited ROM' on/off state.
Save and Restore a Pose using Auto-Save
Instructions
To: | Do this: |
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Save a pose using Auto-save | You don’t have to do anything – the new pose is automatically saved after each change in body or joint position. |
Restore an auto-saved pose | Again, you don't have to do anything: when you restart KineBody, the initial pose shown is the same as the last pose from your previous session. |
Details
Each time you change the body or joint position in KineBody Pro, the new pose is automatically saved in your browser. If you close the app and then reopen it, the most recent pose you created will be shown automatically. This can be important if your app session ends accidentally, but it's also useful even if you closed the app intentionally - as a simple way to continue your work between sessions. The key benefit of saving a pose this way is that it's automatic: you don’t have to remember to save your last pose & you don’t have to assign a name to identify it.
Note that when a pose from a previous session is restored this way, it's also saved in your 'Undo' history - as the second pose. The first pose in that history is always the 'anatomical position': standing upright, facing forward, arms down & slightly abducted, and palms forward.
Note that the restored pose may not look the same as it did previously, if you changed the size of the browser window - e.g., a smaller window could cause portions of the saved pose to appear truncated. That's because the auto-saved pose is restored without rescaling; instead, it's restored to the same body distance as when it was saved (and the KineBody viewing area is calibrated to show distance in a realistic (consistent) manner). In such a case, you can see the correct full pose just by enlarging the window.
Save, Restore, or Delete a Named Pose
(Click here to skip ahead to Instructions)
You can save poses using names you choose, and then quickly restore any named pose at any time, by selecting it from a menu. Once restored, you can further modify the pose: spin it around, move the joints, hide bones, etc, just as for any other pose!
Named poses are saved ‘in your browser’, as part of your browser storage data. For convenience, we call this part of browser storage ‘The KineBody Repository’. Poses saved in the Repository will be available whenever you use KineBody Pro – they’re not discarded when you exit the application or close your browser. Thus, you can begin to create an intricate pose (or series of poses) during one KineBody session, and if necessary, continue with your task at a later time.
The KineBody Repository can potentially hold hundreds of poses. The actual number depends on your browser, which limits the storage used by any particular website. The number of poses in the Repository also depends on the complexity of the poses: each degree of freedom with a non-zero angle increases the ‘size’ of the pose, thereby using more of the browser-defined storage capacity, and reducing the overall number of poses you can store.
For convenience, you can re-use the same pose name multiple times: KineBody Pro adds a unique numeric suffix to all pose names. This can be handy when you're saving a group of related poses.
You can remove one or more named pose(s) from the Repository, at any time. This involves selecting the pose(s) by name from a menu, then pressing a button to perform the removal. For more information, see the Instructions below.
Note about privacy: Poses saved in the KineBody Repository are stored on your local disk; they are not sent or accessed by the KineBody website server. The only way they can be accessed by anyone else is if you choose to share them, by distributing them as a repository file, or, by allowing others access to your browsin data (for example, by syncing browser accounts). If you’re accessing KineBody from a public computer, and you don’t want to leave any KineBody info on it, you should use your browser’s private (or incognito) browsing mode. Then, your locally saved info will then be discarded when you close your browser.
To: | Do this: | ||
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Save a Named Pose | Decide whether to use the ‘current’ pose name, or to change it.
The current pose name is initially set to 'my pose', as shown in the right-most textbox in the line '[Save pose] as [ my pose ] -00x'.
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Restore a named pose |
All poses saved in the KineBody Repository are listed in the menu labeled 'View a stored pose'.
Select a pose from this menu. It will appear in the KineBody viewing area. | ||
Delete one or more named pose(s) |
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Details
This section provides additional info regarding the instructions above. Saving a named pose: A numeric suffix follows the pose name (e.g. ‘-001’); this suffix will be automatically appended to the name. The numeric value increments automatically whenever you save a pose, so you can reuse the same name multiple times, without ambiguity (& without the hassle of having to confirm whether to overwrite the previous pose of the same name). Note that the numeric suffix cannot be edited. Also, it is limited to 3 digits: after it reaches '-999', the next suffix will be '-000' again.If you start to edit the pose name, but then change your mind, you must still press the [Return] key, to indicate that you're no longer editing.
Note that the [Save Pose] button is disabled while you’re editing the pose name. It will be re-enabled after you press [Return].
To verify that the pose has been saved, open the pose menu (labeled ‘View a stored pose’): the newly saved pose name will appear at the bottom.
Restoring a named pose:
The instructions above describe how to restore a pose currently saved in the KineBody Repository. If the pose you want isn't included in the current repository, but rather in a repository file, you must first restore the repository, as described here.
Deleting named pose(s):
After you press [Delete Pose(s)] and confirm the deletions in the popup window, the pose(s) are removed from the current KineBody Repository. You can confirm this by reopening the pose menu – the pose(s) you just deleted will no longer be listed.
This action only removes the pose information from the repository - it does not delete the pose from the viewing area.
FYI: The menu for selecting poses for deletion is also used by the 'Export Poses' feature, so the controls for Exporting and Importing are included near the pose deletion controls. Apart from the shared menu, the operations to delete poses and export poses are independent. For more information about Exporting poses, see here .
Save or Restore a repository file
(Click here to skip ahead to Instructions)
The KineBody Repository (described in the previous section) is ultimately saved to your local disk. However, the file that contains the Repository is intended only for use by your browser: you can't select the filename or edit the contents, and you probably shouldn't share it, as it contains additional info besides your named poses. Plus, although you can store hundreds of poses in the Repository, that may not be adequate if you're a serious user. Finally, there's a chance you could accidently erase your Repository, if you choose to clear your browser data and forget that it holds your poses.
To work around all of these limitations, KineBody Pro allows you to save your current Repository to a file you choose, on your local disk. You can select the name and the path, and make as many backup copies as you like. Later, you can restore a repository from a disk file back into KineBody.
This capability provides several benefits:
- You can back up the KineBody Repository for safekeeping.
- You can build a library of poses, to access as needed.
- You can move poses from one browser to another.
- You can share your pose files with colleagues or friends. (Note: a KineBody Pro subscription is required to open and view the poses).
!!! This section applies for users of Windows, Mac, or Android devices. If you're using an iphone or ipad (iOS), please see Instructions for Saving Files using iOS.
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Save the current Repository to a file
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Restore a repository from a file |
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