Convert Keyframes to Action Clip

There is currently no option that allows a user to select a number of keyframes in the Action Editor or Dope Sheet and push down just those keyframes into a new action clip.

Nor is there an option to move or separate the selected keyframes into a new action .

To achieve either of these things the user has to manually create a new action and separate the keyframes by hand. Only then can they push down each action into separate action clips to work with in the NLA Editor.

I propose that both:

• Convert Keyframes to Action Clip and
• "Move Keyframes to New Action"

are added to the options of the Key menu in both the Dope Sheet and the Action Editor.

These features would allow animators to separate large blocks of keyframes into more manageable chunks (in a simple and intuitive way). Which is basically the point of the NLA Editor of course! But the current and convoluted process of having to do this manually means that (in my opinion) many people don't actually understand or make use of the NLA Editor at all.

Menu options to automate the required steps would be much more intuitive (users are already familiar with the separate operator in the edit mode modelling context and with node groups). As well as this, these features would also support the paradigm of creating nests or pre-comps that editors and animators are used to from other software.

I'd like to hear what other users and developers think of this.

Thanks