✅ | How to use element animator to animate buttons

[obtuse jungle]

How to use element animator to animate buttons

[jade tapir]

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[jade tapir]

Do you prefer to continue in Spanish? 🇪🇸

To animate buttons with the Element Animator, do this 👇

1. Add an Element Animator

   • Right-click the layout background
   • Go to New Element -> Element Animator

2. Create the animation

   • Right-click the Animator
   • Open Edit Keyframes / Manage Keyframes
   • Press R to start recording
   • Move or resize the preview box to the first button state
   • Press K to save a keyframe
   • Move to the next time point, change the preview again, press K again

3. Attach your button

   • Right-click the Animator
   • Open Manage Targets
   • Click Add Target
   • Select the button you want to animate

4. Preview it

   • Press P in the keyframe editor to preview the animation

A few important notes ⚠️:

• The Animator can only change a button’s position, size, and anchor point
• It does not animate opacity, visibility, or rotation
• One Animator can control multiple buttons

If you want, I can also give you a simple example like “button slides in from the left” or “button grows on hover” 🙂

[vivid rivet]

Though you haven't tagged a helper, Instead of using the Ai why don't you watch this?
https://youtu.be/F9S8cIPssww?si=zBic2Ky4vYlTtSQt

[jade tapir]

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Editing messages does not change the AI conversation history. Alice will continue to see and use the original message text that was stored before the edit.

[obtuse jungle]

I didnt tagged any helper I think

[vivid rivet]

Though it's outdated it, still explains everything probably

[jade tapir]

No worries 🙂 You didn’t tag anyone.

I just can’t open or watch YouTube links here, so I can’t inspect that video directly.
If you want, tell me what you’re trying to do with the Element Animator and I’ll explain it step by step.

For example:

• slide a button in
• make it grow/shrink
• move multiple buttons together
• loop an intro animation

If you want, I can also give you the exact setup for animating a button with the Animator based on the docs 🤝

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@obtuse jungle paused AI answers for this thread.

Use the toggle again to change the AI state

[vivid rivet]

That's what I said

that is all I had to do though so see ya if you still don't figure it out!

[jade tapir]

AI Answers Resumed

@obtuse jungle resumed AI answers for this thread.

Use the toggle again to change the AI state

[obtuse jungle]

And if i wanna do smooth animations? do i need to do it manually

[jade tapir]

No, you do not need to animate it frame by frame 🙂

With the Element Animator, the motion between keyframes is already smooth/interpolated.

What you usually do:

1. Add a few keyframes
2. Move/resize the button at each keyframe
3. FancyMenu fills in the motion between them automatically

For smoother animations:

• use more keyframes for curved/complex movement
• keep movement changes smaller between keyframes
• use Distance Smoothing in the keyframe editor if you want the keyframes spaced more evenly in time

So the short answer is:
No manual frame-by-frame animation needed, just keyframes 👏

If you want, I can show you a simple example like a button that slides in and gently grows at the same time.

[obtuse jungle]

but i have two keyframes, is it an option to put smooth movement without putting tens of keyframes?

[jade tapir]

Yes 🙂 two keyframes are enough for smooth motion.

The Element Animator interpolates between keyframes automatically, so you do not need tens of keyframes for a simple slide/move.

What to know:

• 2 keyframes = smooth movement from start to end
• Add more keyframes only if you want a more complex path
• The Distance Smoothing button only changes the spacing/timing between selected keyframes, it does not add special easing or extra smoothness

So for a normal smooth button animation:

1. Put the button in the start position → keyframe 1
2. Put it in the end position → keyframe 2
3. Let the Animator play between them

If you want, I can show you the cleanest setup for a button that slides in and slightly grows at the same time 👋

[obtuse jungle]

but with a smooth stop

[jade tapir]

Yes, but not as a special “smooth stop” option in the docs 🙂

For a softer stop, the usual workaround is:

• keep your first keyframe where the animation starts
• add one extra keyframe near the end
• make that last movement very small

That makes the motion slow down at the end instead of stopping abruptly.

So:

• 2 keyframes = straight, constant movement
• 3+ keyframes = you can fake a smoother stop by making the last step smaller

If you want, I can show you a tiny example with exact keyframe positions/timing 👀

[obtuse jungle]

how to target many elements with element animator

[jade tapir]

Use the same Animator and add multiple targets to it 🤝

Steps:

1. Right-click the Element Animator
2. Open Manage Targets
3. Click Add Target
4. Select the first element
5. Repeat Add Target for every other element you want animated

A few notes:

• One Animator can control multiple elements at once
• All selected targets will follow the same keyframes
• If you want them to move a bit differently, FancyMenu 3.9.0 also has timing offsets for targets

If you want, I can also show you the cleanest setup for animating a whole button group together 👀

[obtuse jungle]

but the buttons overlap

[jade tapir]

Yes, that’s the catch 😅

If you put many buttons under the same Element Animator, they all follow the same keyframes, so they can end up stacking on top of each other.

What to do instead:

1. If you want them to keep their spacing

   • Use one Animator per button
   • Give each one the same keyframes, but keep the buttons’ own positions separate

2. If you want one whole row/group to move together

   • Animate a shared parent/anchor instead of every button directly
   • Otherwise they’ll all be pulled to the same animated position

3. If you only want them to start at different times

   • Use timing offsets on the targets
   • This only staggers the animation, it does not fix overlapping by itself

Also check that the buttons don’t all have the same anchor point if you want them to stay spaced out 👀

If you want, I can tell you the best setup for:

• a row of buttons sliding in together
• buttons staying spaced while animating
• staggered button animation

✅ | How to use element animator to animate buttons