The Parameters View

The Parameters Tabs are where you access the controls for the nodes and for the global script parameters.

Loading the Parameters1 and Parameters2 Tabs

 

Tweaker Windows.

You can also tune a parameter by selecting the node and pressing Ctrl+T – this opens a floating Tweaker window that you can place where you want:

 

Getting Global Parameters

Double-click on an empty spot in the Node View to load the Global Parameters into the Control workspace, or click on the Globals tab in the Parameters workspace.

 

Editing Parameters

You can change the value of a parameter in several ways:

 

 

 

Color Pickers

Some parameters have Color Pickers associated with them. There are several ways to use the Color Picker buttons:

 

 

To gang your color sliders together, use O+drag, O standing for Offset.

 

Animating Parameters

Whenever a parameter is animated, markers appear in the Time Bar to indicate that you have a key. If the keyframe is on the parameter you have the cursor over, the notch is green. If it is grey, it indicates that other parameters from that node have keyframes.

 

To delete a keyframe in the Parameter View, go to that frame, and press the Right mouse button over the parameter you want to delete a key from. Select Delete Current Key. You can also use the Viewer and Curve Editor to delete keyframes.

Parameters linked to onscreen controls can be animated with the Viewer autokey button. The Delete Key button also affects those parameters.

Using Expressions

Any parameter can use an expression in it. An expression is any non-numerical entry. Some expressions are extremely simple, such as time.

 

 

For a tutorial on using local variables and expressions, jump to the Fan Tutorial.

For a list of mathematical expressions and variables, jump to the Expression List.

 

Linking Parameters

You can link any parameter to any other parameter.

If the parameter is in a different node, preface the link with nodeName.parameter. For example, to link the red parameter Add1 to Add2, enter the following expression in Add1's red channel:

Add2.red

Links can be used in expressions as well. For example, to double the value, enter Add2.red*2.

 

There is a macro called Wedge in Cookbook/Image Macros to print out wedging values for color timing Cineon files.

For a tutorial on linking parameters, jump to the Fan Tutorial.

 

Using Popup Menus

Some parameters have popup menus associated with them, like the filters on a transform or Blur, or the font type in Text.

Left-click on the popup button to get the menu, then

 


The Right-Mouse menu.

When you Right-click on the top part of the Parameter View:

Function
Notes
Clear Tab Unloads the current parameters from the Tab
Create Local Variable

Allows you to create a variable specific to that node. Use this when you want to drive one or more parameters off of other parameters. Jump to the Fan Tutorial.

Delete Local Variable Deletes the local variable for the selected parameter.
Add Notes A dedicated local variable in string format. Allows you to add notes to any node to help you remember what the heck you were thinking at the time.
Reset Values Resets all values in the node to their default state.


When you Right-click on a Parameter:

Function
Keyboard
Notes
Copy Ctrl+C Copies the selected nodes into the paste buffer
Paste Ctrl+V Pastes the buffer into the node view. You can also copy nodes from the Node View and paste them into a Text document. You can also copy the text and paste it into the Node View.
Load Expression   Loads an expression from disk. The expression should be in Shake format. You can use this if you have a translator for other package's curve types.
Save Expression   Saves the current expression as a text file to disk.
Clear Expression   Clears the current expression.
Clear Tab   Unloads the current parameters from the Tab
Create Local Variable  

Allows you to create a variable specific to that node. Use this when you want to drive one or more parameters off of other parameters. Jump to the Fan Tutorial.

Delete Local Variable   Deletes the local variable for the selected parameter.
Add Notes   A dedicated local variable in string format. Allows you to add notes to any node so you can remember what the hell you were thinking at the time.