Light linker pane

The light linker lets you manage links between various nodes.

The light linker lets you link lights to objects to control which lights illuminate which objects (Light Mask), which objects cast shadows from which lights (Shadow Mask), and which objects are reflected in other objects (Reflection Mask).

You can work by choosing which objects are lit by a light (Light-Centric), or by choosing which lights light an object (Object-Centric). For reflections, you can choose Reflector-Centric or Reflection-Centric.

The pane consists of two subpanes the contents of which are determined by the Link type and Mode settings. Each of these subpanes contains a hierarchical display of nodes, groups and bundles . Links are created by first selecting one or more items in the left (source) subpane and then selecting one or more items in the right (target) subpane.

To...	Do this
Set up the link editor	Choose the Link type and Mode. You can optionally filter the items using the Filter field.
Link source items to target items	Choose the source of the link in the left subpane. The right subpane shows all possible link targets, with the currently linked items highlighted. Select items in the right subpane to link them to the source item in left subpane. The link editor always reflects the current state of the scene file. Linked items are blue in the target list. Partially linked items are white. Use the Select field to control which items are selected in the target list with a pattern. Enter a pattern in the field and click + to add select any matches, - to deselect any matches, or = to select only the matches. The `@bundle_name` pattern will match the contents of a bundle , not the bundle itself. To match the bundle, use `@@bundle_name` instead.
See the parameter values being controlled by the link	Move the mouse over the appropriate sub-pane, press ((Ctrl + RMB)) and choose Show Spreadsheet, or press W. Only the subpane whose items contain the parameter being affected can show this spreadsheet. This will be the subpane displaying the lit objects when light masking, light sources when shadow masking, and reflector objects when reflection masking.

Tip

A quick way to add a node to a group or bundle is to drag it onto the corresponding tree node.

Tip

The cells in the spreadsheet column can be edited and multiple cells can be selected by holding Space and either clicking or dragging.

Tip

Channel references are followed when setting mask parameters making it possible to link objects embedded in locked assets.

Toolbar buttons

Export view camera (camera icon)	When this button is on, when you select a light in the source tree, the 3D viewer will automatically look down the light.
Read-only target selection (lock icon)	When this button is on, you cannot select or deselect link targets.

Select toolbar

	Sets the selection to items that match the value in the Select field.
	Adds items that match the value in the Select field to the current selection.
	Removes items that match the value in the Select field from the current selection.

Pane menu entries

Linker

Read-only target selection	When this button is on, you cannot select or deselect link targets.
Export source as view camera	When this button is on, when you select a light in the source tree, the 3D viewer will automatically look down the light.

View

Source tree spreadsheet	When this toggle is on, the left subpane will contain a column displaying the parameters being modified (if appropriate).
Target tree spreadsheet	When this toggle is on, the right subpane will contain a column displaying the parameters being modified (if appropriate).
Expose linked target nodes	When this toggle is on, selecting items in the left subpane will cause the currently linked items in the right subpane to be exposed, expanding parent items as necessary.

Troubleshooting

I can't select items in the target list.

Possible causes and solutions:

The read-only button is on.
Make sure the lock button above the right/target list is off (the button is bright yellow when it’s on).
The parent is a bundle or a group.
You cannot individually link a member of a bundle or a group using the contents of that bundle or group in the tree. This is by design. You will need to find the node in the operator hierarchy in order to link it.

I can't see my group or bundle.

The group or bundle is not empty, but contains no operators of the expected type. The linker will display empty groups or bundles to allow linking before populating them. However, once a group or bundle is non-empty, the linker attempts to reduce the clutter in the subpanes.
Either add an operator of the expected type to the group or bundle, or create a new one.

Reference Light linker pane