I have often used the std_switcher hscript command to create a user-friendly HDA interface that switches tabs for the user depending on some context.

This command now uses a different syntax. This syntax was never well documented in the first place and it has now changed. Instead of using something like:

std_switcher_5 ( 0 0 0 0 )

In H9, I now have to use something like:

g16 ( 0 0 0 ) g18 ( 0 0 0 )

It would've been pretty straight forward if “std_switcher_5” were simply replaced with “g5”, but the logic seems to have changed as well.

Does anyone know of any docs or is anyone familiar with the logic?

If SESI is listening, could you please add this obscure bit of information into the documentation?

Prior to H9, folder parameters were assigned names automatically, and there was nothing you could do about it. In H9, you can actually specify the name you want to use for the folder parameters. So rather than trying to reverse engineer any auto-naming logic used by Houdini, I would suggest simply going into your assets and giving the folder parms meaningful names.

By the way, the “g18” name that you are seeing (I assume you're loading an H8 asset into H9) is actually the one that has always been saved in the dialog script, it just was ignored in the past. New folder parameters created in H9 have names like “folder1”, and are named sequentially each time you put down a new folder parm (but as I said, you can now change these names).

Mark

That's pretty cool!

Though, is there an hscript command to switch to a particular folder? Since I've always used std_switcher, I don't know how to opparm a folder switch.

Also, some of the new folders I create are greyed out and don't allow me to change the names. Do you know why that is?

I thought you were exaggerating about the “std_switcher command”. I wasn't aware there ever was any such command. I assumed you were using the opparm command, with “g16 ( 0 0 0 )” as arguments to opparm. Anyway, if that's not what you were doing before, that's what you need to do now. Folders are parms just like any other. You set their values using the opparm command.

As for the greyed out names, when you have a series of tabs, those are all merged into a single folder parameter (with as many components as there are tabs). So changing the name of the second tab doesn't affect the parameter name at all, so Houdini doesn't let you do it. You must use the opparm command with the name of the first tab in a series (the one that isn't greyed out).

Mark

I think I understand…

So how do I interpret g16 ( 1 1 1 ) ?

Does this mean that the g16 folder has three subfolders in it and that I am indexing the second of those three?

Currently, I have to opscript with the desired tab selected to understand these elusive commands.

Documentation, please? This is extremely useful to know when creating good HDA interface design.

This raises the question again.. why can't houdini jump to the appropriate tab with the promoted channel being manipulated? This has been an issue with h8.. I was hoping it would go away with h9.

Strange fact.. if the channel belongs to a setup that uses a chop solver then houdini ‘would’ swtich tabs..??