Forums Rigging Apex Abstract Control : how to customize

Apex Abstract Control : how to customize

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sanostol
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Hi
there a some examples where users customized the abstract controls in their rigs. are there any docs about this or even demos. it would be cool to adjust the look of the abstract control so that is self-explanatory in the viewport

thanks for Your time
Martin
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william_harley
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You can change the look of any control using the configure controls node. The second input on the configure controls can be used to add custom shapes.
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jerry7
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It seemed that there are some features not to be exposed to configure controls node such as mouse click callback and parent-child relation that only available in AutoRig Builder.
Edited by jerry7 - Nov. 21, 2025 02:16:39
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sanostol
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Thanks, configure controls works.

But I wonder how that advanced controls are build, that are used in the electra rig for exammple

Attachments:
ctrls.png (320.4 KB)

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william_harley
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Hi here are some examples of how to create controls groups and custom triggers.

Attachments:
controlgroups.hip (563.4 KB)

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sanostol
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Great, thank You!
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JonasSorgenfrei
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Heyhey

i've got a question about the addConfigControl function.
What are the possible controltype values?

The example uses __slider__ and __toggle__.
I tried __string__ which didn't work unfortunatly and had a numeric fallback parameter.

Cheers
Jonas
Edited by JonasSorgenfrei - Nov. 27, 2025 18:06:33
Jonas Sorgenfrei
FX/PIPELINE TD | RISE Visual Effects Studios
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esttri
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valid options are:
  • __color__ - gadget that makes it easier to set colors the rest is simply a normal vector3
  • __channel__ --> this is does not give you an actual control to select but simply an entry in the channelwidget for control groups. it needs to be combined with value_type ! otherwise it does not know if you are after an Int, Bool, Float or a String. also very important: the arg 'animatable' needs to be set to False if you want to use strings! strings cant be keyed!
  • __toggle__
  • __numbermenu__ - gives you gadget to set integer values
  • __menu__ - this also sets up an int menu but the entries can be shown in the channel widget and the gadget as string values, you will need menu_entries for the menu icons for this one and menu_labels for the label names for the icons for it
  • __btn__ - this does not give you a parm but simply a button control that can be used to trigger python callbacks the first entry in menu entries can be used to customize the shape of the btn
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MatijaK
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I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if it is even possible to do right now but when I try to do a controller that will switch between 0-3 by setting the slider min and max I still get 13 outputs(0-12) 
# Add the first control in the control group
graph.addConfigControl(
    controlgroup=control,
    parent=primary,
    name='slider',
    controltype='__numbermenu__',
    promoted_name='slider_x',
    instance=instance,
    value_type='Int',
    slider_min=0,
    slider_max=3,
    animatable=False,
    color=(1,0,1),
)
Edited by MatijaK - Jan. 10, 2026 05:21:10
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MatijaK
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Well for anyone else who could struggle with this here is the solution.
graph.addConfigControl(
    controlgroup=control,
    parent=primary,
    name='segments',
    controltype='__intlistmenu__',
    value_type='Int',
    defaultvaluedict={'value': 0},
    menu_entries=['0', '1', '2', '3'],

    instance=1,
)


There is still something I don't understand. I would assume that if I add :
menu_labels=['Football','Basketball','Tennis','Volleyball'],
I will see the labels in the view-port but I'm seeing the entries. If I use the sports strings as menu_entries I can see them in the view-port but than the integers I'm getting are always 0.
Edited by MatijaK - Jan. 10, 2026 13:32:20
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