Making a group layer animation

Steps:

1. Click the Add Data button in ArcMap, ArcScene, or ArcGlobe to add the layers or group layer that you want to animate.
2. Click the Animation drop-down arrow and click Create Group Animation.
3. Optionally, choose a base name for tracks.

   You are provided with a default name for the tracks, but you can change it to something more meaningful.

4. Optionally, set the Begin time and End time parameters.

   Setting these times allows you to determine when the group animation will play relative to other tracks that may exist.

5. Choose a group layer.

   You can click a single group layer or click Top-level layers to select all the layers in the table of contents.

6. Optionally, set the transitions.

   These options help you determine how layers in an animation change from one to another. If you leave the Blend layers when fading option unchecked and just move the Fading transition slider, each layer will fade in and fade out separately. If you check Blend layers when fading and also move the slider, one layer will fade out, while the other layer fades in.

7. Optionally, uncheck Overwrite existing tracks with same name to add additional group animations.
8. Click OK.

Tip:

• On the Time View tab of the Animation Manager, group layer tracks are color coded to indicate their visibility. Green indicates that the layer is visible; red indicates that the layer is invisible; and pale yellow indicates that the layer is semitransparent, or in transitional visibility where the layer is either fading in or fading out.

• A group layer can be looped within the animation. Check Create looped animation, then set the Begin time value to 0.0 and the End time value to a number less than 1, such as 0.2. In this case, the group layer will animate five times within the animation time of 0 to 1.
• After playing an animation containing a group layer, if Restore state after playing is unchecked on the Animation Controls dialog box or Restore state after preview is unchecked on the Time View tab of the Animation Manager, the state of the layers at the end of the animation are retained (for example, the amount of transparency or their visibility). To return layers to their original state, play or preview the animation with the respective restore state option checked.