Use the buttons and fields in the TimelineGeneric term within Unity that refers to all features, windows, editors, and components related to creating, modifying, or reusing cut-scenes, cinematics, and game-play sequences. More info
See in Glossary Playback Controls to play the Timeline instanceRefers to the link between a Timeline Asset and the GameObjects that the Timeline Asset animates in the scene. You create a Timeline instance by associating a Timeline Asset to a GameObject through a Playable Director component. The Timeline instance is scene-based. More info
See in Glossary and to control the location of the Timeline PlayheadThe white marker and line that indicates the exact point in time being previewed in the Timeline Editor window. More info
See in Glossary.
Click the Timeline Start button, or hold Shift and press Comma (,), to move the Timeline Playhead to the start of the Timeline instance.
Click the Previous Frame button, or press Comma (,), to move the Timeline Playhead to the previous frame.
Click the Timeline Play button, or press the Spacebar, to preview the Timeline instance in Timeline Playback mode. Timeline Playback mode does the following:
Begins playback at the current location of the Timeline Playhead and continues to the end of the Timeline instance. If the Play Range button is enabled, playback is restricted to a specified time range.
The Timeline Playhead position moves along the Timeline instance. The Playhead Location field shows the position of the Timeline Playhead in either frames or seconds, depending on the Timeline settings.
To pause playback, click the Timeline Play button again, or press the Spacebar.
When playback reaches the end of the Timeline instance, the Wrap Mode determines whether playback should hold, repeat, or do nothing. The Wrap Mode setting is a property of the the Playable Director component.
Timeline Playback mode provides a preview of the Timeline instance while in the Timeline Editor windowThe name of the window where you create, modify, and preview a Timeline instance. Modifications to a Timeline instance also affects the Timeline Asset. More info
See in Glossary. Timeline Playback mode is only a simulation of Game Mode that does not support audio playback. To preview a Timeline instance with audio, you can enable the Play on AwakeSet this to true to make an Audio Source start playing on awake More info
See in Glossary option in the Playback Director component and preview game play by using the Play mode.
Click the Next Frame button, or press Period (.), to move the Timeline Playhead to the next frame.
Click the Timeline End button, or hold Shift and press Period (,), to move the Timeline Playhead to the end of the timeline.
Enable the Play Range button to restrict playback to a specific range of seconds or frames. The timeline highlights the play range and indicates its start and end with white markers. To modify the play range, drag either marker.
The Wrap Mode property of the Playable Director component determines what happens when playback reaches the end marker.
You can only set a play range when previewing a Timeline instance within the Timeline Editor window. Unity ignores the play range in Play mode.
The Timeline Playhead indicates the exact point in time being previewed in the Timeline Editor window. The Playhead Location field expresses the location of the Timeline Playhead in either frames or seconds.
To jump the Timeline Playhead to a specific time, click the timeline. You can also enter the time value in the Playhead Location field and press Enter. When typing a value, frames are converted to seconds or seconds are converted to frames, based on the Timeline settings. For example, if the timeline is expressed as seconds with a frame rate of 30 frames per secondThe frequency at which consecutive frames are displayed in a running game. More info
See in Glossary, entering 180 in the Playhead Location field converts 180 frames to seconds and moves the Timeline Playhead to 6:00.
To set the time format used by the Timeline Editor window, use the Timeline Settings.
Did you find this page useful? Please give it a rating:
Thanks for rating this page!
What kind of problem would you like to report?
Is something described here not working as you expect it to? It might be a Known Issue. Please check with the Issue Tracker at issuetracker.unity3d.com.
Thanks for letting us know! This page has been marked for review based on your feedback.
If you have time, you can provide more information to help us fix the problem faster.
Provide more information
You've told us this page needs code samples. If you'd like to help us further, you could provide a code sample, or tell us about what kind of code sample you'd like to see:
You've told us there are code samples on this page which don't work. If you know how to fix it, or have something better we could use instead, please let us know:
You've told us there is information missing from this page. Please tell us more about what's missing:
You've told us there is incorrect information on this page. If you know what we should change to make it correct, please tell us:
You've told us this page has unclear or confusing information. Please tell us more about what you found unclear or confusing, or let us know how we could make it clearer:
You've told us there is a spelling or grammar error on this page. Please tell us what's wrong:
You've told us this page has a problem. Please tell us more about what's wrong:
Thanks for helping to make the Unity documentation better!
When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.
More information
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. Some 3rd party video providers do not allow video views without targeting cookies. If you are experiencing difficulty viewing a video, you will need to set your cookie preferences for targeting to yes if you wish to view videos from these providers. Unity does not control this.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.