On this page | |
Since | 17.0 |
Overview
By itself, this nodes doesn’t do anything. You must add spare parameters corresponding to existing attributes on prims in the scene graph tree. Then when you edit the spare parameters, the node authors equivalent changes to the referenced attributes.
How to
-
In Primitives, set the path(s) to the primitive(s) you want to the edit.
-
Click Edit Properties.
This opens the Edit Parameter Interface window with the From USD tab selected in the source pane on the left.
-
Find the prim you want to edit (or a prim of the same type). Click the plus button to expand it to show the properties as child items.
(The specific primitive you drag the property out of does not matter. It doesn’t affect which primitives this node changes. The node only uses the property name. This node always and only edits the prims selected in Primitives.)
-
Drag the property from the source tree on the left into the Existing parameters tree in the center. Drop it below "Primitive Path (primpath)" and above "Action (createprims)".
Dropping the item in the parameter tree will actually create two parameters: a "control" pop-up menu containing options for how to author the property, and a parameter for setting the parameter value. (For example, if you drop the
size
attribute from aCube
primitive, it will create bothsize
andsize_control
.)
Control pop-up menus
Tips
-
For each prim selected in the Primitives parameter, the node will look for properties with the same names as the properties you created spare parameters for. This node will only author properties on selected primitives if it has a matching parameter, and the control menu is set to write to the property.
So technically you have a single Edit Properties node that applies to prims of many different types, with a long list of parameters where each parameter applies to only a few of the selected prims. You may want to avoid doing this, however, since it might be confusing to other people trying to understand your network.
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If you make a useful editing interface you want to share, you can turn an Edit Properties node instance into a LOP digital asset. Right-click the node in the network editor and choose Create digital asset. The spare parameters become the digital asset’s parameter interface, and the node functions the same way, but as an asset that can be shared and versioned.
Note
Once you convert an Edit Properties node to a digital asset, you can’t add more spare parameters to an instance of the asset edit more properties. The asset only looks at its "baked in" parameters, and ignores spare parameters.
-
The USD attribute name is stored on the spare parameters as tag data.
-
In any parameter setting an attribute value, you can use the following local variables:
@numprim
($NPRIM
is deprecated)The total number of primitives being modified by this node.
@prim
($PRIM
is deprecated)Index of the primitive being modified. This value goes from '0' to '@numprim-1'.
@primpath
($PRIMPATH
is deprecated)The path of the primitive being modified.
-
Custom properties that are commonly added to primitives but which are not part of any USD schema can be specified in a file named
EditPropertiesCustom.usda
anywhere in yourHOUDINI_PATH
. This file describes a USD stage using any standard USD composition rules. The/custom
primitive and all of its descendant primitives and their properties will appear in the Edit Parameter Interface window on theUSD
tab, under theCustom Properties
branch.
This node belongs to a class of nodes that create or edit USD prims directly. These nodes operate in Create mode or Edit mode. This is controlled by a Create primitives checkbox or a Create/Edit popup menu. In create mode, the node creates new prims. In edit mode, the node changes the attributes on an existing prim.
Parameters that correspond to a USD attribute have a pop-up menu to the left that controls how the node authors the attribute.
Pop-up menu item |
Meaning |
---|---|
Set or Create |
Sets the attribute to the given value, whether it previously existed or not. |
Set If Exists |
Only set the attribute to the given value if it previously existed. Use this mode to make sure an attribute is only set on primitives of the correct type. For example, only |
Block |
Makes the attribute appear to not exist, so it takes on its default value. (If the attribute doesn’t already exist on the prim, this does nothing.) |
Do Nothing |
Ignore this parameter, don’t create or change the attribute in any way. |
Parameters
Edit Properties
Opens the Edit Parameter Interface window with the From USD tab selected in the source pane on the left.
Action
Whether this node should create new prims, or edit existing prims.
Primitive Path
In create mode, this lets you control where in the scene graph to create the prim(s).
The default is usually /$OS
. This creates a primitive at the root level with the same name as the node (for example, /tube1
). This is a useful default for preventing naming conflicts, but terrible for organization. You should try to remember to change the Primitive path to a better value when you create prims.
For example, instead of naming models after the node that created them, you might want to name them after the geometry inside, and organize them under a /Models
branch.
The "Create primitives" section contains basic controls for how to create the new prim(s).
Primitives
In edit mode, the node has a Primitive pattern parameter. This lets you specify the prim(s) the node should operate on. You can click the select button beside the text box to select the primitives from the scene graph tree. You can also use primitive patterns for advanced matching, including matching all prims in a collection.
Initialize Parameters For Edit
In edit mode, changes the state of all control menu parameters to Do Nothing
, so that this node will not apply any changes. Also grabs the current values of each property from the first Primitives match, and sets the values of the corresponding parameters to match. This means that changing any parameter’s control menu to Set or Create
mode will set the property to its current value, making it easier to apply changes to an existing value rather than setting a brand new value.
Create Primitives
This section only appears when the node is creating primitives.
For example:
-
If you want to create a new cube primitive at
/world/objects/cube1
on an empty stage: Set Primitive Specifier to "Define", and the Parent Primitive Type to "Xform". -
If you want to override the radius of a sphere at
/world/objects/sphere1
: Set Primitive Specifier to "Over", and the Parent Primitive Type to None. This makes sure the primitive types of any existing ancestor prims are not be modified by this node.
Primitive Count
The number of primitives to create.
Primitive Kind
Set all created prims to have this kind.
Parent Primitive Type
If any parents of a path in Primitive paths do not exist, this node will automatically create them. In this case, it will create parent nodes of this type.
Primitive Specifier
The USD operator to use when creating the new prims.
Define
Authors a completely new prim. Use this if you want to create a brand new prim or replace an existing prim.
Over
Authors an override of an existing prim. Attributes not explicitly authored on this prim will get their values from the existing prim on the lower layer.
Class
Define a primitive class. This is usually not necessary unless you are doing deep USD magic.