QTimeLine

The QTimeLine class provides a timeline for controlling animations. More…

Synopsis

Functions

• def currentFrame ()

• def currentTime ()

• def currentValue ()

• def direction ()

• def duration ()

• def easingCurve ()

• def endFrame ()

• def frameForTime (msec)

• def loopCount ()

• def resume ()

• def setCurrentTime (msec)

• def setDirection (direction)

• def setDuration (duration)

• def setEasingCurve (curve)

• def setEndFrame (frame)

• def setFrameRange (startFrame, endFrame)

• def setLoopCount (count)

• def setPaused (paused)

• def setStartFrame (frame)

• def setUpdateInterval (interval)

• def start ()

• def startFrame ()

• def state ()

• def stop ()

• def toggleDirection ()

• def updateInterval ()

Virtual functions

• def valueForTime (msec)

Detailed Description

It’s most commonly used to animate a GUI control by calling a slot periodically. You can construct a timeline by passing its duration in milliseconds to QTimeLine ‘s constructor. The timeline’s duration describes for how long the animation will run. Then you set a suitable frame range by calling setFrameRange() . Finally connect the frameChanged() signal to a suitable slot in the widget you wish to animate (for example, setValue() in QProgressBar ). When you proceed to calling start() , QTimeLine will enter Running state, and start emitting frameChanged() at regular intervals, causing your widget’s connected property’s value to grow from the lower end to the upper and of your frame range, at a steady rate. You can specify the update interval by calling setUpdateInterval() . When done, QTimeLine enters NotRunning state, and emits finished() .

Example:

...
progressBar = QProgressBar(self)
progressBar.setRange(0, 100)

# Construct a 1-second timeline with a frame range of 0 - 100
timeLine = QTimeLine(1000, self)
timeLine.setFrameRange(0, 100)
timeLine.frameChanged[int].connect(progressBar.setValue)

# Clicking the push button will start the progress bar animation
pushButton = QPushButton(QObject.tr("Start animation"), self)
pushButton.clicked.connect(timeLine.start)
...

By default the timeline runs once, from its beginning to its end, upon which you must call start() again to restart from the beginning. To make the timeline loop, you can call setLoopCount() , passing the number of times the timeline should run before finishing. The direction can also be changed, causing the timeline to run backward, by calling setDirection() . You can also pause and unpause the timeline while it’s running by calling setPaused() . For interactive control, the setCurrentTime() function is provided, which sets the time position of the time line directly. Although most useful in NotRunning state (e.g., connected to a valueChanged() signal in a QSlider ), this function can be called at any time.

The frame interface is useful for standard widgets, but QTimeLine can be used to control any type of animation. The heart of QTimeLine lies in the valueForTime() function, which generates a value between 0 and 1 for a given time. This value is typically used to describe the steps of an animation, where 0 is the first step of an animation, and 1 is the last step. When running, QTimeLine generates values between 0 and 1 by calling valueForTime() and emitting valueChanged() . By default, valueForTime() applies an interpolation algorithm to generate these value. You can choose from a set of predefined timeline algorithms by calling setEasingCurve() .

Note that, by default, QTimeLine uses InOutSine , which provides a value that grows slowly, then grows steadily, and finally grows slowly. For a custom timeline, you can reimplement valueForTime() , in which case QTimeLine ‘s easingCurve property is ignored.

See also

QProgressBar QProgressDialog

class PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine([duration=1000[, parent=None]])

Parameters

• duration – int

• parent – PySide6.QtCore.QObject

Constructs a timeline with a duration of duration milliseconds. parent is passed to QObject ‘s constructor. The default duration is 1000 milliseconds.

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.State

This enum describes the state of the timeline.

Constant	Description
QTimeLine.NotRunning	The timeline is not running. This is the initial state of QTimeLine , and the state QTimeLine reenters when finished. The current time, frame and value remain unchanged until either setCurrentTime() is called, or the timeline is started by calling start() .
QTimeLine.Paused	The timeline is paused (i.e., temporarily suspended). Calling setPaused (false) will resume timeline activity.
QTimeLine.Running	The timeline is running. While control is in the event loop, QTimeLine will update its current time at regular intervals, emitting valueChanged() and frameChanged() when appropriate.

See also

state() stateChanged()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.Direction

This enum describes the direction of the timeline when in Running state.

Constant	Description
QTimeLine.Forward	The current time of the timeline increases with time (i.e., moves from 0 and towards the end / duration).
QTimeLine.Backward	The current time of the timeline decreases with time (i.e., moves from the end / duration and towards 0).

See also

setDirection()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.currentFrame()

Return type

int

Returns the frame corresponding to the current time.

See also

currentTime() frameForTime() setFrameRange()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.currentTime()

Return type

int

See also

setCurrentTime()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.currentValue()

Return type

float

Returns the value corresponding to the current time.

See also

valueForTime() currentFrame()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.direction()

Return type

Direction

See also

setDirection()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.duration()

Return type

int

See also

setDuration()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.easingCurve()

Return type

PySide6.QtCore.QEasingCurve

See also

setEasingCurve()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.endFrame()

Return type

int

Returns the end frame, which is the frame corresponding to the end of the timeline (i.e., the frame for which the current value is 1).

See also

setEndFrame() setFrameRange()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.frameForTime(msec)

Parameters

msec – int

Return type

int

Returns the frame corresponding to the time msec. This value is calculated using a linear interpolation of the start and end frame, based on the value returned by valueForTime() .

See also

valueForTime() setFrameRange()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.loopCount()

Return type

int

See also

setLoopCount()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.resume()

Resumes the timeline from the current time. QTimeLine will reenter Running state, and once it enters the event loop, it will update its current time, frame and value at regular intervals.

In contrast to start() , this function does not restart the timeline before it resumes.

See also

start() updateInterval() frameChanged() valueChanged()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setCurrentTime(msec)

Parameters

msec – int

See also

currentTime()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setDirection(direction)

Parameters

direction – Direction

See also

direction()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setDuration(duration)

Parameters

duration – int

See also

duration()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setEasingCurve(curve)

Parameters

curve – PySide6.QtCore.QEasingCurve

See also

easingCurve()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setEndFrame(frame)

Parameters

frame – int

Sets the end frame, which is the frame corresponding to the end of the timeline (i.e., the frame for which the current value is 1), to frame.

See also

endFrame() startFrame() setFrameRange()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setFrameRange(startFrame, endFrame)

Parameters

• startFrame – int

• endFrame – int

Sets the timeline’s frame counter to start at startFrame, and end and endFrame. For each time value, QTimeLine will find the corresponding frame when you call currentFrame() or frameForTime() by interpolating, using the return value of valueForTime() .

When in Running state, QTimeLine also emits the frameChanged() signal when the frame changes.

See also

startFrame() endFrame() start() currentFrame()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setLoopCount(count)

Parameters

count – int

See also

loopCount()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setPaused(paused)

Parameters

paused – bool

If paused is true, the timeline is paused, causing QTimeLine to enter Paused state. No updates will be signaled until either start() or (false) is called. If paused is false, the timeline is resumed and continues where it left.

See also

state() start()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setStartFrame(frame)

Parameters

frame – int

Sets the start frame, which is the frame corresponding to the start of the timeline (i.e., the frame for which the current value is 0), to frame.

See also

startFrame() endFrame() setFrameRange()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.setUpdateInterval(interval)

Parameters

interval – int

See also

updateInterval()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.start()

Starts the timeline. QTimeLine will enter Running state, and once it enters the event loop, it will update its current time, frame and value at regular intervals. The default interval is 40 ms (i.e., 25 times per second). You can change the update interval by calling setUpdateInterval() .

The timeline will start from position 0, or the end if going backward. If you want to resume a stopped timeline without restarting, you can call resume() instead.

See also

resume() updateInterval() frameChanged() valueChanged()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.startFrame()

Return type

int

Returns the start frame, which is the frame corresponding to the start of the timeline (i.e., the frame for which the current value is 0).

See also

setStartFrame() setFrameRange()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.state()

Return type

State

Returns the state of the timeline.

See also

start() setPaused() stop()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.stop()

Stops the timeline, causing QTimeLine to enter NotRunning state.

See also

start()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.toggleDirection()

Toggles the direction of the timeline. If the direction was Forward, it becomes Backward, and vice verca.

See also

setDirection()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.updateInterval()

Return type

int

See also

setUpdateInterval()

PySide6.QtCore.QTimeLine.valueForTime(msec)

Parameters

msec – int

Return type

float

Returns the timeline value for the time msec. The returned value, which varies depending on the curve shape, is always between 0 and 1. If msec is 0, the default implementation always returns 0.

Reimplement this function to provide a custom curve shape for your timeline.

See also

easingCurve frameForTime()