Hello

I know you can shorten an animation by deleting frames like you had 500 frames you can delete the last 200 etc.

Can you take away frames from the front of the animation.  For example I have an animation where the character lands in a certain position I want to cut away and then cut back to the character in that same certain position and more action resumes.  Or would it be easier to just click on that character and save as?  ....And what do you suggest I save it as?  Thank you very much.

Yes.  Set keys on the frame after the cut before you chop the front end.  Alternately you can go to that frame and save as a single-frame pose, or save the set of frames whose poses you wish to keep.

Thank you.  I am still not sure how to chop off the front end.  I can do the back end at the frame counter but still am clueless about chopping off the front end.  Please clarify and thank you so very much.

decide what you want to trim , say from 1 to 60, keyframe frame 61 so that position is recorded.
then drag and select all keyframes from 1 to 60 , hit delete .
then drag and select all fromes from 61 to end , and drag the entiire block back to frame 1 .

That worked thank you.

Another option:

• set a keyframe for everything at the frame you want to make the first frame of the animation;
• delete all frames before that frame (for example, frame 1 up to 60);
• choose Animation->Retime Animation;
• set the source range from 61 to end;
• set the target range from 1 to end-60;
• press OK;
• and set the end frame of the animation 60 frames lower.

Wow  thank you very much

I usually do nothing at all to the first frame, because I find myself messing up... and then having to delete. If I applied a pose on frame 1, then I usually regret it bigtime. :)