Animation COMP
Summary
The Animation Component is a special component used for creating keyframe animation channels. The component contains a pre-defined network utilizing a Keyframe CHOP and a number of Table DATs to define the animated CHOP channels.
The Animation Editor is the user interface for creating and editing the animation of the Animation Component.
The Animation Component has both in and out CHOP connectors.
Animation Component Inputs
With no input connected, the Animation Component's index loops over the time range of the channels. The CHOP input can be used to manually control the index of the animated channels. For example, if the channels are keyed from frame 1 to 600, you can connect an input to the component and manually drive the animation output by feeding it a number between 1 and 600 (indexes outside the range will use the channel extend conditions).
Using the Keyframe CHOP's Index Units menu, you can drive the animation with numbers expressed in seconds, samples, or a fraction where 0 is the start and 1 is the end.
Animation Component Outputs
The CHOP output gives access to the animation channel's current value. CHOPs can be directly connected or a Null CHOP may be appended for exporting the channels to parameters. The current channel values can also be viewed by turning on the Animation Component's node viewer.
Using the Animation Component
Keyframing any parameter, attribute, or data in TouchDesigner begins with an Animation Component. You can create an Animation COMP from;
- The OP Create Dialog
- Right-click on any parameter of an OP. RMB -> Keyframe Parameter in... -> New Animation to create a new Animation COMP
To open the Animation Editor, right-click on an Animation COMP and select Edit Animation... to open that animation in the editor. You can also change any pane to Animation Editor type and the Editor will open whilst pointing to the last Animation COMP that was scoped.
Then you can create and keyframe animation channels. Refer to the Animation Editor for instructions on keyframing.
Parameters - Animation Page
Time Reference
timeref - The location the Animation COMP looks to for its time information. This is used for default channel range and rate when the Type parameter on the Range page is set to Timeline.
Play Mode
playmode - ⊞ - Specifies the method used to playback the animation or allows the output the entire animation curve.
- Locked to Timeline
locked- This mode locks the animation position to the timeline. Scrubbing or jumping in the timeline will change the animation position accordingly. The parameters Play, Speed, Cue, and Cue Point are disabled in this mode since the timeline is directly controlling the animation's position.
- Use Input Index
input- This mode allows the user to specify a particular position in the animation using the index input on the Animation COMP (the CHOP input to the Animation COMP). The Input Index Unit parameter can be used to change the units of the input channel. Use this mode for random access to any location in the animation for maximum flexibility.
- Sequential
sequential- This mode continually plays regardless of the timeline position (the Index parameter is disabled). Reset and Speed parameters below are enabled to allow some control.
- Output Full Range
outputrange- This option outputs the entire animation channel range. This is useful for using the Animation COMP to create custom lookup curves/channels.
Play
play - Animation plays when On and stops when Off. This animation playback control is only available when Play Mode is Sequential.
Speed
speed - This is a speed multiplier which only works when Play Mode is Sequential. A value of 1 is the default playback speed. A value of 2 is double speed, 0.5 is half speed and so on. Negative values will play the animation backwards.
Cue
cue - Jumps to Cue Point when set to 1. Only available when Play Mode is Sequential.
Cue Pulse
cuepulse - Instantly jumps to the Cue Point.
Cue Point
cuepoint - Set any index in the animation as a point to jump to. Only available when Play Mode is Sequential.
Cue Point Unit
cuepointunit - Units used when setting the Cue Point parameter.
Input Index Unit
inputindexunit - ⊞ - When Play Mode is set to Use Input Index use this menu to choose the units for the index input channel. For example, choose between setting the index with frames or seconds. The Units X option sets the index to use the key information directly from the key DAT table inside the Animation COMP, disregarding any custom settings found in the attributes DAT table.
- Samples
samples-
- Frames
frames-
- Seconds
seconds-
- Fraction
fraction-
- X Units
xunits-
Cyclic Range
cyclic - ⊞ - Adapts the range of the animation for cyclic or non-cyclic input indices. When using a cyclic input index the lookup value for index 0.0 and 1.0 result in the same value. To avoid this, set Cyclic Range to Yes and the lookup will cycle smoothly.
- Automatic
auto- Checks the right extend condition of each channel (Assumes type cycle and mirror are cyclic lookups).
- Yes
yes- Cycles the output when index is outside the animation range.
- No
no- Does not cycle the output when index is outside the animation range.
Specify Edit Attributes
specifyedit - Turn this on to enable the edit attributes parameter below.
Edit Origin
editorigin - Changes the origin of the animation channel edits. This does not change the data stored in the key DAT table, but it does effect the channels display in the graph and playback of the animation.
Edit Rate
editrate - Changes the rate of the animation channel edits. This does not change the data stored in the key DAT table, but it does effect the channels display in the graph and playback of the animation.
Edit Animation...
editanimation - Clicking this button will open this Animation COMP in the Animation Editor.
Parameters - Range Page
Type
rangetype - ⊞ - Set the working range for the Animation COMP.
- Timeline
timeline- Uses the range set in the timeline specified by the Time Reference parameter on the previous Animation parameter page.
- Custom
custom- Set a custom range using the Start and End parameters below.
Start
start - Start of the Custom range, expressed in units seconds, frames or samples.
Start Unit
startunit - Select the units to use for this parameter, Samples, Frames, or Seconds.
End
end - End of the Custom range, expressed in units seconds, frames or samples.
End Unit
endunit - Select the units to use for this parameter, Samples, Frames, or Seconds.
Trim Left
tleft - ⊞ - Determines the output of the channels when past the 'End' position. Does not affect Play Mode = Output Full Range, to manipulate the Extend Conditions of that mode adjust the Extend parameters of the Keyframe CHOP inside the Animation COMP.
- Hold
hold- Hold the current value of the channel.
- Slope
slope- Continue the slope before the start of the channel.
- Cycle
cycle- Cycle the channel repeatedly.
- Mirror
mirror- Cycle the channel repeatedly, mirroring every other cycle.
- Default Value
default- Use the constant value specified in the Default Value parameter.
Trim Right
tright - ⊞ - Determines the output of the channels when before the 'Start' position. Does not affect Play Mode = Output Full Range, to manipulate the Extend Conditions of that mode adjust the Extend parameters of the Keyframe CHOP inside the Animation COMP.
- Hold
hold- Hold the current value of the channel.
- Slope
slope- Continue the slope after the end of the channel.
- Cycle
cycle- Cycle the channel repeatedly.
- Mirror
mirror- Cycle the channel repeatedly, mirroring every other cycle.
- Default Value
default- Use the constant value specified in the Default Value parameter.
Trim Default
tdefault - The value used for the Default Value trim conditio above.
Parameters - Extensions Page
The Extensions parameter page sets the component's python extensions. Please see extensions for more information.
Extension
ext - Sequence of info for creating extensions on this component
Object
ext0object - A number of class instances that can be attached to the component.
Name
ext0name - Optional name to search by, instead of the instance class name.
Promote
ext0promote - Controls whether or not the extensions are visible directly at the component level, or must be accessed through the .ext member. Example: n.Somefunction vs n.ext.Somefunction
Re-Init Extensions
reinitextensions - Recompile all extension objects. Normally extension objects are compiled only when they are referenced and their definitions have changed.
Parameters - Common Page
The Common parameter page sets the component's node viewer and clone relationships.
Parent Shortcut
parentshortcut - Specifies a name you can use anywhere inside the component as the path to that component. See Parent Shortcut.
Global OP Shortcut
opshortcut - Specifies a name you can use anywhere at all as the path to that component. See Global OP Shortcut.
Internal OP
iop - Sequence header for internal operators.
Shortcut
iop0shortcut - Specifies a name you can use anywhere inside the component as a path to "Internal OP" below. See Internal Operators.
Operator Viewer
opviewer - Select which operator's node viewer to use when the Node View parameter above is set to Operator Viewer.
Enable Cloning
enablecloning - Control if the OP should be actively cloneing. Turning this off causes this node to stop cloning it's 'Clone Master'.
Enable Cloning Pulse
enablecloningpulse - Instantaneously clone the contents.
Load on Demand
loadondemand - Loads the component into memory only when required. Good to use for components that are not always used in the project.
Enable External .tox
enableexternaltox - When on (default), the external .tox file will be loaded when the .toe starts and the contents of the COMP will match that of the external .tox. This can be turned off to avoid loading from the referenced external .tox on startup if desired (the contents of the COMP are instead loaded from the .toe file). Useful if you wish to have a COMP reference an external .tox but not always load from it unless you specifically push the Re-Init Network parameter button.
Enable External .tox Pulse
enableexternaltoxpulse - This button will re-load from the external .tox file (if present).
External .tox Path
externaltox - Path to a .tox file on disk which will source the component's contents upon start of a .toe. This allows for components to contain networks that can be updated independently. If the .tox file can not be found, whatever the .toe file was saved with will be loaded.
Reload Custom Parameters
reloadcustom - When this checkbox is enabled, the values of the component's Custom Parameters are reloaded when the .tox is reloaded. This only affects top-level parameters on the component, all parameters on nodes inside the component are always reloaded with the .tox.
Reload Built-In Parameters
reloadbuiltin - When this checkbox is enabled, the values of the component's built-in parameters are reloaded when the .tox is reloaded. This only affects top-level parameters on the component, all parameters on nodes inside the component are always reloaded with the .tox.
Save Backup of External
savebackup - When this checkbox is enabled, a backup copy of the component specified by the External .tox parameter is saved in the .toe file. This backup copy will be used if the External .tox can not be found. This may happen if the .tox was renamed, deleted, or the .toe file is running on another computer that is missing component media.
Sub-Component to Load
subcompname - When loading from an External .tox file, this option allows you to reach into the .tox and pull out a COMP and make that the top-level COMP, ignoring everything else in the file (except for the contents of that COMP). For example if a .tox file named project1.tox contains project1/geo1, putting geo1 as the Sub-Component to Load, will result in geo1 being loaded in place of the current COMP. If this parameter is blank, it just loads the .tox file normally using the top level COMP in the file.
Relative File Path Behavior
relpath - ⊞ - Set whether the child file paths within this COMP are relative to the .toe itself or the .tox, or inherit from parent.
- Use Parent's Behavior
inherit- Inherit setting from parent.
- Relative to Project File (.toe)
project- The path, when specified as a relative path, will be relative to the .toe file.
- Relative to External COMP File (.tox)
externaltox- The path, when specified as a relative path, will be relative to the .tox file. When no external COMP file is specified, or when Enable External .tox is not toggled on, this doesn't have any impact.
Operator Inputs
- Input 0: -
Info CHOP Channels
Extra Information for the Animation COMP can be accessed via an Info CHOP.
Common COMP Info Channels
- num_children - Number of children in this component.
Common Operator Info Channels
- total_cooks - Number of times the operator has cooked since the process started.
- cook_time - Duration of the last cook in milliseconds.
- cook_frame - Frame number when this operator was last cooked relative to the component timeline.
- cook_abs_frame - Frame number when this operator was last cooked relative to the absolute time.
- cook_start_time - Time in milliseconds at which the operator started cooking in the frame it was cooked.
- cook_end_time - Time in milliseconds at which the operator finished cooking in the frame it was cooked.
- cooked_this_frame - 1 if operator was cooked this frame.
- warnings - Number of warnings in this operator if any.
- errors - Number of errors in this operator if any.
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