Render Preview
Render Preview Button and Window to Render
Many times during animating you want to test render your scene but don't really care whether the test render is saved or what size it is. To create this test or preview render click the Render Preview button on the render toolbar, then left click in the window you would like to create the preview render of. To render only a section of your window right click (Ctrl click on the Mac) and drag a bounding rectangle around the desired area of your scene instead of left clicking in the previous step.
Animation Window
After selecting the window to preview render, an Animation Window will appear to display the rendered frames as they are completed. The preview render will use the render settings from the [Tools][Options] dialog on the Rendering tab or possibly the current camera if the window to be rendered is in camera view and the "Non Camera Views" option is "ON" in the [Tools][Options] dialog on the Rendering tab. The size of the rendered images will be the exact same size as the window you clicked in to create the preview or the bounding rectangle you created to render a portion of the window. The rendered animation will start at the current frame of the window being rendered and will render to the end of the animation unless aborted.
Abort
While the animation is rendering you can click the Abort button on the Animation Window to quit rendering. A small icon animation next to the abort button will play showing that the animation is currently rendering.
Save As
Once the render has completed or has been aborted, the Abort button will be replaced by a Save As button in case you would like to save your results. Notice how the small icon animation next to the button is no longer playing because the rendering has stopped. Preview renders are temporary images and will be permanently deleted when the animation window is closed unless you click the Save As button or [File] [Save As...] menu first and save it to your hard drive.
Frame Bar
After the animation has completed rendering or has been aborted you can view the rendered frames by using the + or - key to change the current frame or use the Frame Toolbar. The images will be stored in memory as long as the Animation Window is open allowing for quick playback of the animation, but using a lot of the system memory. This process is called a RAM PLAYER. Click the play button on the Frame bar to watch the rendered animation.
Note: The animation window will use the Skip frames if behind when playing option from the [Tools][Options] dialog's Global tab. If "ON", this feature will skip frames to play back the animation at the current Frames Per Second if it can not play back all the frames quick enough.
Play Range
Also when using the play button it will play back only the selected play range from the Time Line. The play range will be set automatically to the length of the rendered animation or the maximum number of frames in can hold in memory. The play range can be changed by using any of the standard methods described in the user manual.
Render Status and Render Options
While the animation is being rendered the rendering status values like percent complete, current frame, and time remaining can be viewed on the status tab of the Animation Window.
The render size and render options used to render the animation can be viewed on the Options tab of the Animation Window.
Temporary Animation
While the Animation Window is open the rendered animation will show up under the Images folder in the Project Workspace. Notice the animation's name and file size information are grayed out, showing that this animation is not part of this project and is temporary. If the project is saved this animation will not be part of it because it is a temporary object. When the Animation Window is closed the animation will be removed from under the Images folder, and if the animation was never saved by clicking the Save As button or Save As menu then it will also be permanently lost.
Add to Project
If you would like to add the temporary animation to your project so it could be used by other objects in the scene, or so it will be saved and loaded with the project, then right click (Ctrl click on the Mac) on the animation under the Images folder in the Project Workspace and pick [Add to project]. If the animation has never been saved you will be prompted at this time to save it.
Many times you might want to add temporary renders to your project that might have different render options so you can review them later while deciding which render options to use when rendering your final animation.