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Macros

Overview

RailClone Macro Node

Macros allow you to group a sub-graph inside a single node. In that way you can create brand-new nodes with unique functions. Conceptually macros open up a completely new workflow for RailClone that allows you to build more involved styles without cluttering your graph. Working this way allows you to see generators, operators and base objects as the atomic elements from which other, more sophisticated, nodes can be built.

Macros can be used to create 3 different types of node

  1. Numeric Macros that output a value.
  2. Geometry Macros that are used to manipulate segments
  3. Generator Macros that can be used to create completely new types of generator by combining one or more 1D and 2D arrays

Just like the built-in nodes, custom macros can have their own inputs and parameters. These are easily created by just adding Input or Numeric nodes to the Macro's graph.

Macros are easy to share. You can save any macro to an .rcm file that can be distributed in your studio or with other friends and colleagues online.

To help you get started, a number of examples are included in the library. There's also a user library where you can save the macros you create, making it a really efficient way to save and access graph snippets that you use regularly. Moreover, .rcm files can be imported to your user library in just a couple of clicks, making it easy for users to distribute their new creations and extend RailClone's feature set.

info

The macros library is managed by Update Manager. You will be notified when new sample macros become available.


Procedures

To load a macro from the library

  1. Click on the Macros tab below the Items List to show the macros library

    RailClone Macro Items list Macro option

  2. Choose from either the built-in macros or your custom macros from the drop-down list at the top of the Macros pane.

    RailClone Macro Built-in

  3. Drag a macro from the Macros List to the Construction View.

To create a new empty Macro

  • Drag a new Macro from the Items List to the Construction View.

To edit a Macro

Either

  • Double-click on the macro node. A new tab will open containing the Macro's sub-grath.

Or

  1. Right-click on a Macro node and select Macro > Edit.

    RailClone Macro Edit Contextual menu

  2. A new tab will open containing the Macro's sub-graph. Any changes or additions you make here will be evaluated in real-time. In RailClone you never need to evaluate your graphs.

    RailClone Macro Style editor

To add base object inputs to a Macro

  1. Add a new Input node

  2. From the Properties Panel, change the Type to Spline. Surface or Clipping Spline depending on your intended usage.

    RailClone Macro Input Segment

  3. Rename the Input node 4. If you switch back to the main view, you should see a new input will now be added to the Macro node with the same name.

    RailClone Macro New input diagram

To add segment inputs to a Macro

  1. Add a new Input node
  2. From the Properties Panel, change the Type to Segment. Rename the Input node
  3. If you switch back to the main view, you should see a new input will now be added to the Macro node with the same name.

To add an output to a Macro

  1. Add a new Output node

  2. From the Properties Panel, change the Type to either Numeric or Segment. Rename the Output node

  3. If you switch back to the main view, your macro will now have an Output.

    RailClone Macro Output

To create a generator Macro

  1. Add Input nodes as described above.
  2. Wire the input nodes to one or more generators. There is no need to include an Output node,

To change the order of inputs

  1. Go to Macro > Define Inputs Order. Select an input and use the arrows to change its order in the list.

    RailClone Macro Lister Options Order

To add parameters to a Macro

  1. Create a new Numeric node for each parameter you wish to create.
  2. Go to the Properties Panel and change the type of number. Choices are integer, float, percentage, scene units and boolean.
  3. To automatically create an input on the macro's node for the parameter, enable Exported by Default.

To change the order of parameters

  1. Go to Macro > Define Parameters Order. Select a parameter and use the arrows to change its order in the list. This will change the order in which the display in the Macro's Properties Pane.

    RailClone Macro Change order of parameters

To collect groups parameters into categories

RailClone Macro Grouping parameters into categories

  1. Go to Macro > Define Parameters Order. Click on the Add Category button.
  2. Enter a name for the new category.
  3. Move it into position using the up and down arrows.
  4. To edit the name of an existing category, double-click on it and enter a new name.

To reset parameters to their default values

  1. Right-click on the macro and select Macro > Reset Paramaters.

To add macro name and description

  1. Go to Style > Edit Description.

  2. Enter a Name and a Description for the Macro

    RailClone Macro Edit name and description

  3. Now clicking in the Macro's Properties will display this information. If you save the Macro to a library, it will also display if you hover the mouse over its name.

    RailClone Macro ToolTip with description

To save a Macro

Either

  • In the Macro's tab, go to Macro > Save As

    RailClone Macro Save As

Or

  • Right-Click on the Macro node and select Macro > Save As.

    RailClone Macro Contextual Save As

To Load a Macro

Either

  • In the Macro's tab, go to Macro > Load From

    RailClone Macro Load From

Or

  • Right-Click on the Macro node and select Macro > Load From

    RailClone Macro Contextual Load From

To save a Macro to the user library

  • Follow the save procedure described above and save your files to C:\Users\[USERNAME]\Documents\Itoo Software\RailClone Pro\macros where USERNAME is your windows' username.
  • You can create as many folders as you need in this location to organise your Macros
  • New folders can also be created directly in RailClone's style editor by right-clicking on the Macro panel and selecting Add New Category
tip

You can quickly locate the location of your editable macros library by following these steps

  1. In the Style Editor, right-click on a category or a macro and select Open in Shell

    RailClone Macro open in shell

  2. Note the location of the saved files

Importing a macro file to the User Library

  1. Click on the Macro Tab to open the Macros List

  2. Switch to a User Library location using the drop-down list at the top of the Macros pane

    RailClone Macro Users Macro access

  3. Select the category you wish to add the saved macro to, or create a new one by clicking in a blank area of the Pane and selecting Add New Category

    RailClone Macro Node Add Category

  4. Right-Click on the Category and select Import Macro

    RailClone Macro Import macro contextual menu

  5. Locate your macro (they're saved as .rcm files) and click Open

    RailClone Macro Open macro from file rcm

  6. The file will now be copied to your Custom macros folder and will be available every time you use RailClone.


Interface

Macro Node

RailClone Macro node

A node that acts as a container for a sub graph. Macro nodes can either output numeric data, segment data, or with no output they can act as a generator

The properties panel shows all the parameters contained in the Macro. Each parameter is represented in the macro by a Numeric node.

Right-Click Menu

RailClone Macro Contextual menu

Right-click on a node to either

  • Edit the macro
  • Save the macro
  • Load macro from a file - this will replace any existing contents of the macro

Editing a macro opens the sub-graph in a new tab.

RailClone Macro Style editor tab

In this tab you have 5 new items in the drop-down menus.

Style > Edit Description

Opens a dialog to edit the name of the macro and add a description. It also lists all the inputs and parameters used by the style. This information will be displayed whenever a user clicks on the

button from the Properties panel. If you add the macro to a library it will also disalay when you hover the mouse over a macro's name in the Macros List.

RailClone Macro Style Description

RailClone Macro Style ToolTip Description

Macro > Load From

Replace the contents of the macro from a .rcm (RailClone Macro) file.

Macro > Save As

Save the contents of the macro to a .rcm (RailClone Macro) file.

Macro > Define Parameter Order

RailClone Macro Grouping parameters into categories

Defines the order in which the parameters display in the properties panel. To change the order of a parameter, select it from the list and use the arrows to move it up or down. You can group parameters into categories. Click on the + button to add a new category and move its location in the list using the arrows.

Macro > Define Inputs Order

X-spline in Lister Options

Defines the order in which the inputs display on the macro node. To change the order of an input, select it from the list and use the arrows to move it up or down.

Input Node

RailClone Macro Input Segment

Add a new Input to the macro node that is used to connect objects like splines and segments

Type

Defines the type of input to be created

Segment. use to connect geometry.

Spline. use to connect splines for use with the X Spline and Y Spline input of Generators.

Surface. use to connect surfaces for use with the Surface input of Generators

Clipping Area. use to connect splines for use with the Clipping Area input of Generators.

Creating Input nodes automatically

From RailClone 6 onwards, when copying and pasting a Numeric, Spline, Surface, or Segment node into a macro it will be switched for an Input node with the correct type automatically.

Output Node

RailClone Macro Output node

Add a new output to the macro node. This defines the type of macro you are creating. It is not mandatory to add an Output node, if you add generators instead then the macro can be used to generate arrays.

Type

Defines the type of output to be used

Segment. use to output geomety

Numeric. use to output numerical values

note

Only one output node can be used per macro.

Numeric

Creates a new Numeric parameter will be accessible and editable from the Macro's properties pane.

Type

Defines the type of number to be used

Integer. use for whole numbers

Float. use for decimal numbers

Percentage. use for percentages (Usually with scale values)

Scene units. use for measurements in scene units

Booleans: use for true/false logic operations

Selector: use to create a drop-down list of values

Default Value

The value that is used when the macro is loaded and the parameter has yet to be edited by the user.

Limits

Use this to constrain the input range between two values.

Exported By Default

Check this to add an input for the parameter to the Macro node automatically.

RailClone Macro add input parameter

note

Any of a Macro's parameters can also be exported by right-clicking on the Macro node and selecting Export Parameters. this option merely ensure that a node is always exported when the macro is created. It is useful for saving time when you find you always need an input to be available, for example for a Macro that performs and arithmetic function on a numeric input.

Macro Library

RailClone Macro Add macro Library

The Macro Library includes all the built-in and user generated macros. It provides a simple convenient location to manage and access your content.

Location Selector

Enables you to switch between built-in and user-generated macro librarys. Built-In macros are managed by the Upload Manager and you may periodically receive notifications about new macros as content becomes available.

You should not edit content in the Library location, this is managed by RailClone and anything you save here can be overwritten

User's Macros contain your content. By default, this folder is located at C:\Users\[USERNAME]\Documents\Itoo Software\RailClone Pro\macros where USERNAME is your windows' username.

Right-Click Menu

with options to:

Add category. Adds a new category to help you organise your macros. In reality, it is creating a new folder in your user libraries location.

Delete category. deletes a category and its contents

Import Macro. copies a macro saved as an .rcm file to the specified category.

Open in shell. opens Windows explorer to reveal the location of the selected file or category