Yeah, I'm in compact mode. But don't have any HOUDINI_UISCALE global. Should I?
I'm starting to notice that with the zoom though. There is some scale level that it seems to work with (though your placement of the cursor over the connection has to be perfect). I can't delete the connection at any other zoom level.
Found 21 posts.
Search results Show results as topic list.
Technical Discussion » Bug:Unlinking connection in vop?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Technical Discussion » Bug:Unlinking connection in vop?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Noticed that this one was posted before, though it didn't really get any attention: http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&t=9455&highlight=disconnect [sidefx.com]
Same problem I'm having in 9.0.733 (under XP, if that makes a difference).
Right clicking on connections doesn't bring up the usually menu with the “disconnect” option inside VEX. Actually, not in SHOPs either, for that matter.
Right now, the only way I'm capable of removing any connections in vex is to select a node, right click on a connection, and locate the “remove selected node inputs” option (strange that I can only get this node-centric menu when right clicking on a connection, but not when right-clicking on a node… :? ).
Why that's a completely unacceptable solution: Imagine that I have a node with 20 inputs, and I only want to disconnect one of them.
Same problem I'm having in 9.0.733 (under XP, if that makes a difference).
Right clicking on connections doesn't bring up the usually menu with the “disconnect” option inside VEX. Actually, not in SHOPs either, for that matter.
Right now, the only way I'm capable of removing any connections in vex is to select a node, right click on a connection, and locate the “remove selected node inputs” option (strange that I can only get this node-centric menu when right clicking on a connection, but not when right-clicking on a node… :? ).
Why that's a completely unacceptable solution: Imagine that I have a node with 20 inputs, and I only want to disconnect one of them.
Technical Discussion » VOP RSL surface - inline outputs broken?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
I'm having issues with the inline code vop in H9.0.733: The outputs aren't working correctly.
I have a simple case where I have the output of my inline plugging into my final output color. In order to do this, I've enabled an output on the inline vop, and given it an appropriate name.
Problem is, here's what the output looks like:
// Code produced by: inline1
tex = color(1,0,0);
// Code produced by: output1
Ci = color(0, 0, 0);
So basically, that output connection is being completely ignored.
Even if I wanted to try to get around this problem by manually setting the output value, I can't. Here's what I get when I do that in my inline:
// Code produced by: inline1
tex = color(1,0,0);
Ci = tex;
// Code produced by: output1
Ci = color(0, 0, 0);
So unless I'm completely missing something here… I basically can't use the inline vop.
Anyone else having the same problem?
I have a simple case where I have the output of my inline plugging into my final output color. In order to do this, I've enabled an output on the inline vop, and given it an appropriate name.
Problem is, here's what the output looks like:
// Code produced by: inline1
tex = color(1,0,0);
// Code produced by: output1
Ci = color(0, 0, 0);
So basically, that output connection is being completely ignored.
Even if I wanted to try to get around this problem by manually setting the output value, I can't. Here's what I get when I do that in my inline:
// Code produced by: inline1
tex = color(1,0,0);
Ci = tex;
// Code produced by: output1
Ci = color(0, 0, 0);
So unless I'm completely missing something here… I basically can't use the inline vop.
Anyone else having the same problem?
Houdini Lounge » H9: view rsl code - better viewer, please?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Minor annoyance, but the text viewer that pops up when you want to view source code (RSL source of your network, for instance) is very painful to use, for a couple reasons:
I have to use inline nodes sometimes, and when the inevitable errors pop up, they come with a line reference. Which would be useful, except that this viewer doesn't display line numbers.
Now obviously, I could (and should) just copy everything over into an external editor. That's annoying though, because whenever I use this viewer, it's usually just to quickly look up a tiny section of code, just to find out exactly which part of my inline code is being referred to. And if I am to use an external editor, that means I'm constantly having to copy text back and forth, just for the sake of locating the specific line being referred to.
The idea of using an external editor is a moot point anyway, because selecting and copying text in this viewer window is quite troublesome. None of the traditional shortcuts for making quick selections (ctrl-a!) work. Up and down, left and right keys don't work. So, it's down to making manual selections with the mouse. That'd be fine, except that when you're viewing a larger file, you have to copy it in sections: You can't scroll while making a selection. And half the time you do select and copy something, it doesn't work anyway. When I was making full selections of all of my code and trying to copy it, it would time and again only successfully copy small portions of it. It only finally worked after closing, reopening and reselecting everything several times.
So, it's down to saving the code out to a file, and then loading it up elsewhere… Pretty annoying if you have many shaders and just want to quickly track down a section of code that's causing an error.
Just to be clear, I'm not expecting a full featured editor with syntax highlighting and all of that crap here. All I want to use this for finding out what is cuasing my shaders to err, nothing else. The more common expression editor is perfectly capable of serving this purpose. The viewer that shows up here, though, is very nearly unusable.
To fix it, line numbers would do it for me. Failing that, working select-all and copy would be enough. Failing even that, automatically opening the code up in notepad would be a great improvement.
Any improvement, please?
I have to use inline nodes sometimes, and when the inevitable errors pop up, they come with a line reference. Which would be useful, except that this viewer doesn't display line numbers.
Now obviously, I could (and should) just copy everything over into an external editor. That's annoying though, because whenever I use this viewer, it's usually just to quickly look up a tiny section of code, just to find out exactly which part of my inline code is being referred to. And if I am to use an external editor, that means I'm constantly having to copy text back and forth, just for the sake of locating the specific line being referred to.
The idea of using an external editor is a moot point anyway, because selecting and copying text in this viewer window is quite troublesome. None of the traditional shortcuts for making quick selections (ctrl-a!) work. Up and down, left and right keys don't work. So, it's down to making manual selections with the mouse. That'd be fine, except that when you're viewing a larger file, you have to copy it in sections: You can't scroll while making a selection. And half the time you do select and copy something, it doesn't work anyway. When I was making full selections of all of my code and trying to copy it, it would time and again only successfully copy small portions of it. It only finally worked after closing, reopening and reselecting everything several times.
So, it's down to saving the code out to a file, and then loading it up elsewhere… Pretty annoying if you have many shaders and just want to quickly track down a section of code that's causing an error.
Just to be clear, I'm not expecting a full featured editor with syntax highlighting and all of that crap here. All I want to use this for finding out what is cuasing my shaders to err, nothing else. The more common expression editor is perfectly capable of serving this purpose. The viewer that shows up here, though, is very nearly unusable.
To fix it, line numbers would do it for me. Failing that, working select-all and copy would be enough. Failing even that, automatically opening the code up in notepad would be a great improvement.
Any improvement, please?
Houdini Lounge » Using slim shaders inside houdini?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
ihabThe only downside to both of these methods is that the input parameters are not preserved in the shader generation step, since slim puts parameter values directly into the code. And so, if you're actually looking to port a shader in its entirety away from slim, and not just a specific shader with a specific set of parameters, then you'll have to do the longer manual editing method circusmonkey just posted.
It's been a long time since i used slim shaders with houdini but i think if you right click on the icon to the left of the parameter inside slim you'll have 3 options 1. Internal (i think) 2. External and 3. Expression (where you use TCL to control the parameter). If you choose External and then convert the created slo to otl you'll find that the parameters are available inside houdini for tweaking. I'm sorry my explanation is not specific but i'm only using my memory here.
cheers
…
…
My god… how did I never see that before? Haha, yeah, that helps just a little bit. ops:
Houdini Lounge » just wondering about real flow and houdin?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Also, that 00001 after Mesh01 is your padded frame number. So you really want:
filepath/Mesh01`padzero( 5, $F )`.bin
I do have a simple HDA that wraps around the rf importer, to create a slightly more convenient interface for loading rf data. Among other things, it separates the filename from the frame number so you don't have to setup the expressions yourself every time. I'll post it up later if you can't get that expression to work.
filepath/Mesh01`padzero( 5, $F )`.bin
I do have a simple HDA that wraps around the rf importer, to create a slightly more convenient interface for loading rf data. Among other things, it separates the filename from the frame number so you don't have to setup the expressions yourself every time. I'll post it up later if you can't get that expression to work.
Houdini Lounge » Using slim shaders inside houdini?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
When you get the edit window up for your slim surface (surfaces, not ensembles!), choose file->view sl source. You can save that source out as a .sl file to use elsewhere.
Alternatively, when you just render the icon on one of your slim shaders, both the .sl and .slo are written to slim's temporary file. If you're running slim in standalone mode, this is usually $HOME/rat/default/rmanshader. If you're running it from Maya, it's probably under the rmanshader folder of your project directory.
When I'm using slim with Houdini, I like to use the .sl/.slos that are automatically generated by slim, since I can quickly batch convert them into a single .otl file using a simple command like this:
for file in `ls *.slo`; do rmands -l SlimShaders.otl $file; done
The only downside to both of these methods is that the input parameters are not preserved in the shader generation step, since slim puts parameter values directly into the code. And so, if you're actually looking to port a shader in its entirety away from slim, and not just a specific shader with a specific set of parameters, then you'll have to do the longer manual editing method circusmonkey just posted.
Primitive/AOV variables are preserved in the .sl generation, though, and will be made available as controls when converted to an otl. So if you were to wire an AOV variable into the parameters of your slim network that you want to control, you could have some control over parameters after getting everything out of slim, just by adjusting the defaults on the variables. It's sloppy, but it works. But manually converting shaders is definitely the most..definite way of doing things.
Alternatively, when you just render the icon on one of your slim shaders, both the .sl and .slo are written to slim's temporary file. If you're running slim in standalone mode, this is usually $HOME/rat/default/rmanshader. If you're running it from Maya, it's probably under the rmanshader folder of your project directory.
When I'm using slim with Houdini, I like to use the .sl/.slos that are automatically generated by slim, since I can quickly batch convert them into a single .otl file using a simple command like this:
for file in `ls *.slo`; do rmands -l SlimShaders.otl $file; done
The only downside to both of these methods is that the input parameters are not preserved in the shader generation step, since slim puts parameter values directly into the code. And so, if you're actually looking to port a shader in its entirety away from slim, and not just a specific shader with a specific set of parameters, then you'll have to do the longer manual editing method circusmonkey just posted.
Primitive/AOV variables are preserved in the .sl generation, though, and will be made available as controls when converted to an otl. So if you were to wire an AOV variable into the parameters of your slim network that you want to control, you could have some control over parameters after getting everything out of slim, just by adjusting the defaults on the variables. It's sloppy, but it works. But manually converting shaders is definitely the most..definite way of doing things.
Houdini Lounge » just wondering about real flow and houdin?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Make sure you match the frame padding from RealFlow in your file expression (RealFlow likes a padding of 5 by default, so you might need $F5).
Can't imagine what else it could be if you're just trying to load meshes. I'd agree with xionmark: The importer is pretty solid.
Can't imagine what else it could be if you're just trying to load meshes. I'd agree with xionmark: The importer is pretty solid.
Houdini Lounge » Houdini tools
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Nice site! Good to see some HDK work in there, complete with source code. Thanks for putting that stuff up.
Technical Discussion » Visual Studio JIT Debugger crashing mplay?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Hey guys. I'm having a strange issue I've noticed recently, after having installed Visual Studio: My renders very frequently crash, popping up the Just-In-Time debugging window. It seems to only happen when there's an object in the scene, in which case it seems to happen nearly every single time. This is on both 8.1.866 and 8.2.13.
If I disable the debugger (fyi, you might have to rename the vsjitdebugger executable from your system32 directory to do so, or reinstall the old drwtsn debugger), no problem. And that's probably not a bad idea, because it seems to like to force a lot of applications to close when there's an error, but when it's also not really necessary to do so.
On the otherhand, this supposedly only ever pops up when a program really is doing something it shouldn't be doing, which has caused some type of exception. In this case, if I load mplay into the debugger, it tells me that the application has failed in an attempt to read a block of memory. But the exact error code seems to vary.
Oh, and if it helps any, launching just mplay by itself separately will also cause the same crash, up until I delete whatever mplay lock file has been left behind by the last crash.
Anyway, I don't know if anyone else is running vs2k5 and Houdini side by side, so maybe that's just me. :?
If I disable the debugger (fyi, you might have to rename the vsjitdebugger executable from your system32 directory to do so, or reinstall the old drwtsn debugger), no problem. And that's probably not a bad idea, because it seems to like to force a lot of applications to close when there's an error, but when it's also not really necessary to do so.
On the otherhand, this supposedly only ever pops up when a program really is doing something it shouldn't be doing, which has caused some type of exception. In this case, if I load mplay into the debugger, it tells me that the application has failed in an attempt to read a block of memory. But the exact error code seems to vary.
Oh, and if it helps any, launching just mplay by itself separately will also cause the same crash, up until I delete whatever mplay lock file has been left behind by the last crash.
Anyway, I don't know if anyone else is running vs2k5 and Houdini side by side, so maybe that's just me. :?
Houdini Lounge » The Magic Of Houdini Files
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Technical Discussion » bbox() - wrong values?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Ahh. Yeah, that was it. I had tried entering it that way once before, but it wasn't working right. Must have overlooked something that time.
But it's working now. Thanks.
But it's working now. Thanks.
Technical Discussion » bbox() - wrong values?
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Hey. I have a case where I'm setting one sphere's transformation in the Y axis relative to another sphere in my scene (which is placed directly at the origin), using this bbox expression:
bbox(“../meshSphere”, “D_YMAX”)
What's strange though, is that this expression is always returning a negative value. Even if I try to use D_YMIN, it's still negative. Similarly, bbox(“../meshSphere”, “D_YSIZE”) is returning a negative value.
…am I doing something wrong here? :?
I mean, it's no big deal. By multiplying the values by -1, I get the values I was expecting. I just find this to be rather…odd.
bbox(“../meshSphere”, “D_YMAX”)
What's strange though, is that this expression is always returning a negative value. Even if I try to use D_YMIN, it's still negative. Similarly, bbox(“../meshSphere”, “D_YSIZE”) is returning a negative value.
…am I doing something wrong here? :?
I mean, it's no big deal. By multiplying the values by -1, I get the values I was expecting. I just find this to be rather…odd.
Houdini Lounge » origin/pivot - confusion over transforms
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Well, let me give a different example: Say I have a sphere, which of course would have its origin for child transformations directly at its center (and the origin for the transformations of the sphere itself is of course the world origin). But I then decide to move the pivot point to, say, one of the vertices of the sphere. My understanding was that, if I were to then make another object a child of the sphere at that point, and sets its transformations to zero, then this child object should be centered exactly at the vertice where I moved the sphere's pivot point to.
I suppose my confusion over this probably just stems from too much time in Max, which does handle child transformations exactly that way.
Of course, Houdini does have pre-transforms (which I love) that can allow you to change what is considered to be the zero point in the parameter pane. But let's say that, for whatever reason, you were parenting a whole crapload of objects to another object, and wanted them to automatically be pre-transformed to a place other than the parent's origin. You could of course just select all of the child objects and edit all of their tranformations (and clear them) all at once. And I'm sure that this wouldn't be too difficult to manage through an expression. But I just want to see if there's another built-in option that I might be missing for things like this (Forget whether or not it's practical; I'm just curious!).
I suppose my confusion over this probably just stems from too much time in Max, which does handle child transformations exactly that way.
Of course, Houdini does have pre-transforms (which I love) that can allow you to change what is considered to be the zero point in the parameter pane. But let's say that, for whatever reason, you were parenting a whole crapload of objects to another object, and wanted them to automatically be pre-transformed to a place other than the parent's origin. You could of course just select all of the child objects and edit all of their tranformations (and clear them) all at once. And I'm sure that this wouldn't be too difficult to manage through an expression. But I just want to see if there's another built-in option that I might be missing for things like this (Forget whether or not it's practical; I'm just curious!).
Houdini Lounge » origin/pivot - confusion over transforms
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
I hate to keep asking such simple questions, but I only seem to be having issues with the simple things.
I'm finding myself being rather confused by the way that Houdini handles pivot points and transormations. According to the help browser, all transformations are set relative to an object's pivot point - this is of course the method that nearly all 3d software uses for handling transformations.
It would make sense, then, that if I were to move the pivot point, the geometry (and all child objects) should move with it. But this isn't the case in Houdini, because (from what I can tell) Houdini handles object origins and pivot points separately (The help browser's word on the subject of pivot point vs. origin is of course just “TBD”).
That's fine. It's probably convenient to have it that way. But how exactly can I edit an object's origin, then?
I'm finding myself being rather confused by the way that Houdini handles pivot points and transormations. According to the help browser, all transformations are set relative to an object's pivot point - this is of course the method that nearly all 3d software uses for handling transformations.
It would make sense, then, that if I were to move the pivot point, the geometry (and all child objects) should move with it. But this isn't the case in Houdini, because (from what I can tell) Houdini handles object origins and pivot points separately (The help browser's word on the subject of pivot point vs. origin is of course just “TBD”).
That's fine. It's probably convenient to have it that way. But how exactly can I edit an object's origin, then?
Houdini Lounge » object level path tool
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
EDIT:
Okay, just a few things with the object level path tool that I want to try and figure out: For one, is there any hotkey or anything that will -close- the curve when working at the top level (IE, while creating new points)? And also, I'm assuming there's a button for stepping back a point in the curve while creating points, but my searches haven't really turned up anything. Is there one?
Okay, just a few things with the object level path tool that I want to try and figure out: For one, is there any hotkey or anything that will -close- the curve when working at the top level (IE, while creating new points)? And also, I'm assuming there's a button for stepping back a point in the curve while creating points, but my searches haven't really turned up anything. Is there one?
Technical Discussion » Licensing issues (apprentice - winxp)
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
AdamJNice, worked for me. For now, at least… Thanks.
One thing to try is to delete the ‘keys’ folder in your windows folder and try to reinstall. I think someone suggested it in the past and that did the trick.
edward - Yeah, I am using DHCP. Is that likely to become a problem with Houdini?
Technical Discussion » Licensing issues (apprentice - winxp)
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Did a search on this, but none of the things suggested in the various threads I found solved the problem.
But anyway, my first month of Houdini Apprentice ended, and the re-licensing process didn't go over so smoothly. I used the automatic process first. It goes through, tells me that the non-commercial license was successfully installed, but then when I try to start up any of the Houdini programs it again tells me that I have no licenses and that I need to install one again.
I opened up the License Administrator, and the licenses seem to be just fine. I've also checked to make sure I'm running in standalone mode, so that should be fine. Not the case when looking in the server information tab, though. From there, I'm seeing an error message that reads “the License Server may not serve licenses.” and “(Invalid server key).”
Tried uninstalling 8.0.405 and moving to 8.0.410. Same thing.
I've also tried manually entering keys, as suggested in another thread, but Houdini won't let me install over the keys that are already installed (I really wish I knew where the license files were being stored, so that I could just try clearing those completely, so that I could manually enter keys correctly).
I've also tried completely disabling my firewall, to make sure it wasn't interfering with the licensing apps at all. Same thing.
Am I missing something obvious here? :?
I'll probably email my diagnostic info to support, but thought I'd just check in here first.
Thanks
But anyway, my first month of Houdini Apprentice ended, and the re-licensing process didn't go over so smoothly. I used the automatic process first. It goes through, tells me that the non-commercial license was successfully installed, but then when I try to start up any of the Houdini programs it again tells me that I have no licenses and that I need to install one again.
I opened up the License Administrator, and the licenses seem to be just fine. I've also checked to make sure I'm running in standalone mode, so that should be fine. Not the case when looking in the server information tab, though. From there, I'm seeing an error message that reads “the License Server may not serve licenses.” and “(Invalid server key).”
Tried uninstalling 8.0.405 and moving to 8.0.410. Same thing.
I've also tried manually entering keys, as suggested in another thread, but Houdini won't let me install over the keys that are already installed (I really wish I knew where the license files were being stored, so that I could just try clearing those completely, so that I could manually enter keys correctly).
I've also tried completely disabling my firewall, to make sure it wasn't interfering with the licensing apps at all. Same thing.
Am I missing something obvious here? :?
I'll probably email my diagnostic info to support, but thought I'd just check in here first.
Thanks
Houdini Lounge » merge node and key framed animation
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
Hey. Noobish question, I'm sure, but this is a seemingly simple task I ran into.
Initially, I had setup one primitive object within a geometry SOP, and then connected it to a transform node. I then keyframed the settings of this transform node.
Later on, I decided I wanted another piece of geometry to follow the same transform node. So, attempting to make things simple, I connected both my previous primitive object and my new one to a merge node, and connected the output of the merge node into my keyframed transform node.
When I play back the animation at this point, I can clearly see the transform values on my transform node being animated, but the transformation is only being applied to my original object.
Am I missing something about the merge node here? Can you not translate the entire output of a merge node with a single transform node?
I'm sure there are probably other nodes that I should be using for simple linking like this, but I don't really understand why this doesn't work. Merge has a single output, so you would think that the transform node would move everything that's connected to the merge node… :?
Initially, I had setup one primitive object within a geometry SOP, and then connected it to a transform node. I then keyframed the settings of this transform node.
Later on, I decided I wanted another piece of geometry to follow the same transform node. So, attempting to make things simple, I connected both my previous primitive object and my new one to a merge node, and connected the output of the merge node into my keyframed transform node.
When I play back the animation at this point, I can clearly see the transform values on my transform node being animated, but the transformation is only being applied to my original object.
Am I missing something about the merge node here? Can you not translate the entire output of a merge node with a single transform node?
I'm sure there are probably other nodes that I should be using for simple linking like this, but I don't really understand why this doesn't work. Merge has a single output, so you would think that the transform node would move everything that's connected to the merge node… :?
Technical Discussion » Menus disappearing
- Vormav
- 33 posts
- Offline
XP (home)
Radeon 9800 Pro (Yes yes, I know… ops: )
Both of these problems seem to go away when I restard Houdini, but I can't quite figure out what I'm doing that triggers the behavior (although I think it tends to happen the most when I minimize/maximize the houdini window, to work with other apps).
Radeon 9800 Pro (Yes yes, I know… ops: )
Both of these problems seem to go away when I restard Houdini, but I can't quite figure out what I'm doing that triggers the behavior (although I think it tends to happen the most when I minimize/maximize the houdini window, to work with other apps).
-
- Quick Links