KineBody Pro Operating Instructions:
(last updated 240423)
Saving & Restoring Poses - Background
Overview
‘Saving a pose’ can mean a lot of different things, in KineBody Pro. So, this background section will try to clarify the term, and some related issues.
A pose refers to a collection of numbers, representing the body position and orientation, and all joint angles. These numbers constitute the essential information required to reconstruct a 3D posed body in the app.
Note that this collection of numbers is only a subset of all the data it takes to recreate a KineBody Pro pose: information such as bone geometry, joint locations and axis orientations, and more, are not saved. Instead, this 'internal' information resides only within the KineBody Pro app. When you reload a saved pose, that data is combined with the internal data, to reconstitute the pose in its entirety.
Also, the term ‘pose’ could be used to describe a 2D graphic rendition of the content shown in the KineBody Pro viewing area, but we’ll generally use the term image, for such data.
KineBody poses can be saved to several different destinations; the most important is KineBody's Repository, which is a dedicated storage space within your browser or app. You can make copies of the Repository to a local file, for safekeeping or for distribution to other KineBody users.
The features for saving & restoring poses, and related operations, are available depending on which edition/subscriptions you have:
| All users: | ||
| Saving pose history (for Undo/Redo) |
Background | |
| Viewer-only users: | ||
| Loading poses | Background & Instructions | |
| PoseTools users: | ||
| Saving named poses to Repository | Background | Instructions |
| Viewing Repository poses | ||
| Auto-saving most recent pose | Background | |
| Backing up Repository to a file | Background | Instructions |
| Loading/restoring Repository from a file | ||
| Renaming Repository poses | Background & Instructions | |
| Deleting Repository poses | Background & Instructions | |
| AnimTools users: | ||
| Export/import poses to text file | Background & Instructions | |
Instructions for these various operations are available via the links in the tables above. The remainder of this page provides additional background about the various methods.
Saving pose history
(available in Viewer & all subscriptions):
Pose data is saved automatically while you manipulate the body & joints, as a 'history' that you can review, using the the Undo & Redo buttons. Although it's automatic, this method of saving poses has some shortcomings: a) you can't add names or labels to the poses, b) if you go back in the history (by Undo-ing), and make any changes, the forward history (reached by 'Redo') is overwritten by the changes, and c) the operation history is deleted, whenever you close your KineBody Pro session. These limitations of the pose 'history' can be circumvented by saving poses by name, described next.
Saving named poses to the Repository
(requires PoseTools):
Viewing Repository poses
(available with Viewer):
(Instructions)
You can assign a name to a pose, & then save it the KineBody Repository (dedicated app storage area). Later, you can reload that pose into the viewing area, by selecting its name from a menu. From there, you view and modify the pose: spin it around, move the joints, hide bones, etc, just as for any other pose.
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 or app*. Thus, you can begin to create an intricate pose (or series of poses) during one KineBody Pro session, and if necessary, continue with your task at a later time.
* Note that the KineBody Repository stores your poses from one session to the next, but there's a possibility of 'inadvertent deletion'. If you're using our Webapp edition, the Repository is part of the 'browser data' (for KineBody Pro); if you clear the browser data, the poses will be deleted. If you're using our Android edition, your poses will be deleted if you uninstall the app. To make a more permanent copy of your poses, you can save your Repository to a file, as described in the next section.
The KineBody Repository can potentially hold hundreds of poses. The actual number depends on your browser or app, 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/app-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.
Repository poses can be viewed by any KineBody Pro user; no subscriptions are required. However, if you have a PoseTools subscription, you can perform some additional operations:
- You can rename poses, individually or by common name (root), or all at once. Please visit Renaming Poses for more info.
- You can also remove one or more named pose(s) from the Repository, at any time. For more information, please visit Deleting Poses.
Note that the pose data saved by name is encoded, and not intended for editing or for importing into other applications. However, if you have an AnimTools subscription, there's an additional way to save and restore poses, which allows you to export or import pose data to an editable text file. For more info, please visit our Exporting & Importing Poses page.
Note about privacy: Poses saved in the KineBody Repository are stored on your device; they are not sent or accessed by the KineBody.com 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 browsing data (for example, by syncing browser accounts).
Auto-saving your most recent pose
(requires PoseTools):
Each time you change the body or joint position in KineBody Pro, the new pose is automatically saved in your browser or app. 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.
Saving Repository to a file
(requires PoseTools):
Loading/restoring Repository from a file
(available with Viewer):
(Instructions)
The KineBody Repository (described above) resides locally on your device. It's contained within a special file, intended only for use by your browser or app: 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 of 'inadvertent deletion': if you use the Webapp edition, and choose to clear your browser data, your Repository poses will be deleted. A similar issue arises for the KineBody Pro Android App: you'll delete your Repository poses if you ever uninstall the KineBody Pro app.
To work around all of these limitations, KineBody Pro allows you to backup your current Repository to a file you choose. You can make as many backup copies as you like. Later, you can restore a repository file on your device back into the KineBody Pro Repository.
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 between different platforms or browsers.
- You can share your pose files with colleagues or friends.
Any KineBody Pro user can restore a repository file from their device into the Repository; no subscriptions are required. However, if you have a PoseTools subscription, you have additional options, as to what becomes of the existing repository content. Options are:
- Replace: The existing Repository poses & animations are cleared before the incoming ones are loaded. This is the default, and for non-subscribers, it's the only option. If you choose this option, you may want to backup the old Repository contents before loading the new contents.
- Merge: The existing Repository poses & animations remain as they are; incoming poses and animations are added to the repository, after adding a ‘merge suffix’ to their names. Additional details about the merge suffix are provided on the associated Instructions page.
The Repository can also contain KineBody Pro animation sets, generated and saved by you (using an AnimTools subscription), or restored from a repository backup file (generated by you or shared by some other KineBody Pro user). The procedure for loading the Repository from a file is the same regardless of whether it contains poses, animations, or both.
Further caution: Android users need to take extra precautions, when saving a Repository to a file. Please see our page Saving KineBody Pro Files to Android, for more info.