Docs / Getting started / The tool window

The tool window

A map of the numbered workflow cards in the main window, and the windows that open beside it.

The main window is a stack of numbered, collapsible workflow cards. The numbers suggest the natural order of work, top to bottom. Each card has a header (click to collapse/expand) and often a status pill on the right. Many groups carry a small Reset button in their header that restores just that group's fields to defaults.

The header row holds the Compact / Full switch — see Compact & Full layout — and the Timeline button that opens the floating Prompt Timeline.

The main Animatica window in Full layout: the header with the Compact / Full switch and the Timeline button, the Model card with its dropdown and facts line, the Skeleton card with Create Skeleton, Adopt, Delete and Link to model rig, and the collapsed Text to Motion and Single Pose cards.

#Cards in the main window

#	Card	What it's for
00	Model	Which model generates, and the knobs only it has. The choice also decides which rig Create Skeleton builds.
01	Skeleton	Pick, create, adopt, link, or delete the rig the motion applies to; HIK status.
03	Text to Motion	The main event: parameters, output target, and Generate Motion. Contains the Constraints sub-card.
04	Single Pose	Generate one pose at the current frame.

#Windows of their own

The remaining parts open beside the main window. Settings, Motion Import and Console are native MotionBuilder tools — they dock into your layout, reopen in place, and share the main window's state.

#	Window	Opens from	What it's for
00	Settings	Animatica → Settings…	Backend, server/login, story path, naming, and global options. Has its own Compact / Full switch.
02	Motion Import	Animatica → Open Motion Import…	Load motion from an `.npz` / `.bvh` / `.glb` / `.gltf` file.
05	Console	Animatica → Open Console…	Timestamped log of everything the tool does.
06	Prompt Timeline	Timeline button, top-right of the main window	Sequence prompts in time and place constraints on a shared ruler.

Why the numbers skip — The numbers are the workflow order across all parts of the tool, not the order of cards in one column: 00 Settings and Model, 01 Skeleton, 02 Motion Import, 03 Text to Motion, 04 Single Pose, 05 Console, 06 Prompt Timeline.