The Parameters View |
The Parameters Tabs are where you access the controls for the nodes and for the global script parameters.
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:
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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.
You can change the value of a parameter in several ways:
Some parameters have toggle-buttons associated with them. You can either
enter a value, or press the toggle button. The numeric value allows you
to enter expressions.
Color Pickers
The first way is to press the color swatch the Color Picker opens up, and you select your color from the Color Picker or Viewer.
Edit the individual channels or add expressions in the subtree.
The third way is to keep the subtree closed, and use the Color Button itself
as a virtual slider. Using the channel buttons as the keyboard guide, hold
the key (R, G, B, H, S, V, etc.)
and drag left or right on the Color button. For example,
in the illustration, press G down and drag, and the green
channel increases or decreases.
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Animate a parameter by turning on the Autokey button
for that parameter. When activated, keyframes are saved when you modify
the parameter.
Move the time slider to a different frame and change the value to enter a new keyframe. You can also edit the curve in the Curve Editor by clicking on the clock icon.
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.
Any parameter can use an expression in it. An expression is any non-numerical entry. Some expressions are extremely simple, such as time.
If the parameter has an expression and you adjust the slider, the expression is removed. The exception to this is if the parameter is animated. These special expressions are recognized by Shake, and are not removed when the slider is adjusted.
A second way to clear an expression is to press the Right-mouse menu, and select Clear Expression.
Expressions can be loaded or saved to disk with the Right-mouse menu over the expression.
By selecting Create Local Variable, you can create extra sliders to build complex expressions, but still allow interactive input. To remove a local variable, use Delete Local Variable on the Right-mouse menu.
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.
You can link any parameter to any other parameter.
To interactively Copy a parameter from one field to another, drag
the parameter name to the parameter name to which you want to copy a value
or expression. This copies the value from the first field to the second.
This drag and drop behavior also works when dragging color from one Color
Picker button to another.
You can also select the text in the text field and press Ctrl+C to copy the information. Go to the second textfield and paste it in with Ctrl+V.
To interactively Link two parameters together, Shift+drag
on the parameter name you want to link to, and drag down to the parameter
you want to link to the first parameter.
This creates an expression. It links back to the first parameter by listing
its name.
You can also type the name of the parameter. For example, in Move2D, link yPan to xPan by typing xPan in the yPan parameter. The default argument for yScale is a link to xScale.
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.
If you want to link interactively using the drag & drop technique, load the one parameter into the Parameter2 tab, and then use the middle button to drag the Parameter2 tab into a different window pane. This is more trouble than its worth, however.
To link to another time, use the @@ signs. For example,
Mult1.red@@(time-2)
links to Mult1's red parameter from two frames earlier.
For example:
The current frame is: {time}
prints:
The current frame is: x
where x automatically updates as each frame. In another example, to print out a value of a parameter from a color correction node using a Text node:
My red value = {Gamma1.rGamma}
prints
My red value is 1.7
assuming there is a node called Gamma1, and its rGamma value is 1.7.
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.
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
When you Right-click on the top part of the Parameter View:
Function
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Notes
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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
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Keyboard
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Notes
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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. |
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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. |