Creating a Master Controller

T-HSCP-002-002

To create a Master Controller, you must add a Master Controller node to the scene, then link it to a UI script, in which its widget and the way it interacts with elements in the scene will be programmed. The UI script of a Master Controller is executed when its controls are displayed.

How to add a Master Controller to a scene
  1. In the Node view, add a Master Controller node by doing one of the following:
    • In the Node Library view, select the Misc filter, then drag and drop the Master Controller node from the Node Library view to the Node view.
    • Right-click on the Node view and select Insert > Misc > Master Controller.
    • Open the Node view menu and select Insert > Effects > Misc > Master Controller.
    IMPORTANT: The Master Controller node does not need to be connected to another node to work. However, if you do connect it to another node, the node system to which it is connected must ultimately be connected to a Display node.
  1. Click on the yellow square in the Master Controller node to open its Layer Properties.
    2. NOTE: The Layer Properties of a Master Controller are very similar to those of a Script Node. The main difference is that the Master Controller has access to methods allowing it to create and use widgets.
  1. Switch to the Script UI tab.
  1. In the scripting field of the Script UI tab, type in the following code to link to your widget script:
    2. include(scene.currentProjectPath() + "/scripts/myScript.js");

    In this example, the script is located in a scripts subfolder of the scene folder, and is named myScript.js.

    NOTE: To make sure a UI script stored in the scene's file structure is copied over when you make a template that includes the Master Controller node, you must add this script to the Extra Files list of the Master Controller node—see Creating Templates with a Master Controller.
  1. Save your scene.
  1. Open the Script Editor view by doing one of the following:
    • From the top menu, select Windows > Script Editor.
    • From any existing view (ie: the Camera or Drawing view), click on the Add View button and select Script Editor.
  1. In the Scope dropdown, select Project.

    2. The script list will now list scripts in the scripts subfolder of your scene.

  1. In the Script Editor toolbar, click on the New Script button.
  1. In the New Script dialog, type in myScript and confirm.
  1. In the Save Script dialog, select Scene in the location dropdown and confirm.

    2. The script scripts/myScript.js will be added to the list of scripts.

  1. Select scripts/myScript.js from the script list to load it in the editor.

    2. You are now ready to start scripting a widget for the Master Controller node.

NOTE: To make sure the script is copied over with the Master Controller node if it is copied into a template, you must add the script file to the Extra Files tab of the Master Controller's properties—see Creating Templates with a Master Controller.

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