1. Click on the dropdown box on the left side of the widget to see the list of times that are in this display. It will look something like this.

2. Select the third time in the list to view the visualization for that time step.
3. Loop through the entire animation by clicking the button on the animation widget.
4. Stop the animation by clicking the button.
5. Return to the first time step by clicking the button.
6. Step forward through the animation one step at a time by repeatedly clicking the button.
7. Step backward through the animation one step at a time by repeatedly clicking the button.
8. Go to the last time step by clicking the button.
9. The row of boxes at the top of the widget is a visual indicator of the current position in the animation sequence. Click on a box to go to that point in the sequence.
10. You can also use the boxes to skip particular timesteps. If you right click (MB3) on a box, it will turn red indicating that that step will be skipped. Right click on a box and then start the animation to see that the timestep is skipped.
11. Open the Time Animation Properties editor by clicking the button.
    
    • Change Direction to rock back and forth by selecting the Rocking option from the dropdown list and then click the Apply button.
    • Start the animation. When the loop reaches the last time step, the animation steps backward. When it reaches the first time, it goes forward again.
    • Set the First dwell to be the same value as the Last dwell, and then click the Apply button to see the effect.
    • Set the Direction back to Forward.

Unidata IDV Workshop for version 6.2u2 > Starting the IDV/GUI Basics > IDV Basic Concepts