administrators group

ferdinand

there is no need to be sorry, sometimes one struggles even with very on the nose information. But the example is quite verbose, as it contains literally the words "version" and "timestamp" multiple times and explains how these concepts work.

But it is pointless to endlessly discuss this, it is quicker for me to just write what you want. Here is an example doing exactly what you want to do. Please understand that it is an exception that I write a code example when there is already an example which already explains the subject sufficiently as it is here the case.

Cheers,
Ferdinand

Result

What we also learn from this, is that the asset team works at unholy hours .

Latest version of asset file_266f97c45ea05f17 has version string '2.0.2 - 2022-07-30 02:29', version hash '4905fdf9a02aa951e0d18a6d07f244172a41205a4692b4ae065d6b856e5de7cb' and timestamp '2022-07-30 00:29:28'.

Found 4 asset versions for asset id file_266f97c45ea05f17:
Found asset version with version string '2.0.2 - 2022-07-30 02:29', version hash '4905fdf9a02aa951e0d18a6d07f244172a41205a4692b4ae065d6b856e5de7cb' and timestamp '2022-07-30 00:29:28'.
Found asset version with version string '2.0.1 - 2022-02-03 23:45', version hash '3997955fa22c74286c9319509eeaa7a5dccd0230951b608fe338741bbce0d9f9' and timestamp '2022-02-03 22:45:45'.
Found asset version with version string '2.0.0 - 2022-02-03 23:26', version hash '310c1a6684d8be9eafff1708225b64fe72bff46bd7fae8fa783c39fac7c70d43' and timestamp '2022-02-03 22:26:39'.
Found asset version with version string '1.0.1 - 2022-02-02 03:02', version hash '5fafa425cbd3f951d4ce8859fc02f51857342094dd0c2fcac8eb4377b7cea9dd' and timestamp '2022-02-02 02:02:47'.

Assets sorted by timestamp:
file_266f97c45ea05f17/5fafa425cbd3f951d4ce8859fc02f51857342094dd0c2fcac8eb4377b7cea9dd (1.0.1 - 2022-02-02 03:02)
file_266f97c45ea05f17/310c1a6684d8be9eafff1708225b64fe72bff46bd7fae8fa783c39fac7c70d43 (2.0.0 - 2022-02-03 23:26)
file_266f97c45ea05f17/3997955fa22c74286c9319509eeaa7a5dccd0230951b608fe338741bbce0d9f9 (2.0.1 - 2022-02-03 23:45)
file_266f97c45ea05f17/4905fdf9a02aa951e0d18a6d07f244172a41205a4692b4ae065d6b856e5de7cb (2.0.2 - 2022-07-30 02:29)

Code

#coding: utf-8
"""Provides an example for sorting assets by their time stamp metadata.
"""
__version__ = "2026.X.X"

import c4d
import maxon

def main() -> None:
    """Runs the example for reading asset metadata.
    """
    # Get the user preferences repository.
    repo: maxon.AssetRepositoryRef = maxon.AssetInterface.GetUserPrefsRepository()
    if not repo:
        raise RuntimeError("Could not access the user preferences repository.")

    # The id of the "Stone 01" asset which naturally has four asset versions.
    aid: maxon.Id = maxon.Id("file_266f97c45ea05f17")

    # Find explicitly the latest version of the asset.
    asset: maxon.AssetDescription = repo.FindLatestAsset(
        maxon.AssetTypes.File(), aid, maxon.Id(), maxon.ASSET_FIND_MODE.LATEST)
    
    # Get the time stamp and version hash and string of the latest asset version.
    metadata: maxon.AssetMetaData = asset.GetMetaData()
    timestamp: str = metadata.Get(maxon.ASSETMETADATA.ASSET_TIMESTAMP)
    version_hash: str = asset.GetVersion()
    version_string: str = maxon.AssetInterface.GetVersionString(asset)

    print(f"Latest version of asset {aid} has version string '{version_string}', "
          f"version hash '{version_hash}' and timestamp '{timestamp}'.")

    # Now find all versions of assets with the id #aid and print their metadata.
    assets: list[maxon.AssetDescription] = repo.FindAssets(
        maxon.AssetTypes.File(), aid, maxon.Id(), maxon.ASSET_FIND_MODE.ALL)
    
    print(f"\nFound {len(assets)} asset versions for asset id {aid}:")
    for item in assets:
        metadata = item.GetMetaData()
        timestamp = metadata.Get(maxon.ASSETMETADATA.ASSET_TIMESTAMP)
        version_hash = item.GetVersion()
        version_string = maxon.AssetInterface.GetVersionString(item)

        print(f"Found asset version with version string '{version_string}', "
              f"version hash '{version_hash}' and timestamp '{timestamp}'.")
        
    # So, if we wanted to temporally sort #assets, we could do this. The asset version is naturally
    # a hash, and there is no grantee that there is a version string or that that string is parsable
    # into a numeric value which could be sorted.
    assets.sort(key=lambda a: a.GetMetaData().Get(maxon.ASSETMETADATA.ASSET_TIMESTAMP))
    print("\nAssets sorted by timestamp:")
    for item in assets:
        print(f"{item} ({maxon.AssetInterface.GetVersionString(item)})")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

ferdinand

Hey @lasselauch,

Thank you for reaching out to us. I am not 100% sure that I am understanding you correctly. You basically want to hook into this menu entry, right?

That is not possible at the moment. Because what this thing does, is gather information from the description of the selected entity or the active dialog and with that data calls cinema::OpenHelpBrowser (at least the backend version of that function). This is not even a dedicated command, just a switch case within the abstracted dialog menu handling. So, this is custom built for help.maxon.net.

It would not be impossible to isolate this so that there could be either a dedicated plugin hook for this or it somehow reusing the existing RegisterPluginHelpDelegate (the C++ variant of the Python hook you used). But that would be quite a bit of work, and you would also have to answer if that justifies the overhead of calling all hooks each time a user presses that button/menu entry (but you could also argue that the overhead of RegisterPluginHelpDelegate is even worse).

I can see the allure of "Show Help" working for third parties, but I doubt many people would use it and the current system is very Maxon centric which are not good arguments for going for this. On top of this, in theory, it would have to support both NodeData entities and dialogs (because the menu entry works for both). We could only support nodes, but there I would just recommend the proven and tested workflow of including a base description at the end of your nodes, which places there a bitmap icon branding that is clickable or just a button. I talked a bit in the all new Licensing Manual videos and code about this workflow.

edit: An alternative could be to offer a hook into OpenHelpBrowser but there you probably then run into problems with dialogs as the back end function splits into two signatures (which do not exist in the frontend). Also solvable but again extra work that can hardly be justified but the few users this will have.

I am not strictly against adding such hook, but I currently do not see a good cost/effect ratio unless this thread is flooded with third party developers stating otherwise.

Cheers,
Ferdinand

ferdinand

Hey,

as I already explained, maxon.ASSET_FIND_MODE.LATEST ensures that you find the last version of an asset. So this line of yours:

asset_desc = repo.FindLatestAsset(maxon.AssetTypes.File().GetId(), temp_id, maxon.Id(), maxon.ASSET_FIND_MODE.LATEST)

will retrieve the last asset version of an asset with the ID temp_id which is of asset type File. If you would use maxon.ASSET_FIND_MODE.ALL for example and then also not FindLatestAsset but FindAssets, you would find all assets that have the ID temp_id.

The id of an asset is not necessarily unique within a repository. It shares its ID with all other versions of that asset. Only the ID and version can uniquely identify an asset. And as said before, the version of an asset does not have to be a (quasi) numeric value as you assume it to be. The asset version is always a string, and in some cases, for example in the code example I linked to above, people put there something that could be parsed into a numeric value. But the asset version can also just be the string 'Bob's your uncle' or just some hash. So, you cannot sort assets temporally by their asset version. It is just another identifier that makes that version unique within the namespace of the asset ID.

If you want to temporally sort asset versions, first search for all assets with that ID, and then sort them using their timestamp. This, asset versioning, time stamps and other asset metadata, all has been extensively covered in the code example I already linked to above. Please read the example.

Cheers,
Ferdinand

https://github.com/Maxon-Computer/Cinema-4D-Python-API-Examples/blob/master/scripts/05_modules/assets/asset_metadata_r26.py

ferdinand

Hello @MPB,

Welcome to the Maxon developers forum and its community, it is great to have you with us!

Getting Started

Before creating your next postings, we would recommend making yourself accustomed with our forum and support procedures. You did not do anything wrong, we point all new users to these rules.

Forum Overview: Provides a broad overview of the fundamental structure and rules of this forum, such as the purpose of the different sub-forums or the fact that we will ban users who engage in hate speech or harassment.
Support Procedures: Provides a more in detail overview of how we provide technical support for APIs here. This topic will tell you how to ask good questions and limits of our technical support.
Forum Features: Provides an overview of the technical features of this forum, such as Markdown markup or file uploads.

It is strongly recommended to read the first two topics carefully, especially the section Support Procedures: How to Ask Questions.

About your First Question

Without your code and the asset you are trying to read, helping youn concretely is impossible. Asset versioning is demonstrated pretty throughly in this code example.

I think your major misconception is that an asset version string has to be what you would consider a version descriptor, .e.g., "1.0". But that is absolutely not the case, and you can put there anything you want. The system will by default put there hashes; which is probably what you mean with "some kind of ID".

You must evaluate the date of last modification of each version of an asset to temporally order them. But that is all not really necessary when you just want to get the last version of an asset, as that is already baked into search operations with maxon.ASSET_FIND_MODE.LATEST. I.e., when you have either an asset ID or an asset description, you just search for that asset ID and set the find mode to latest. See this example for a concrete case.

You can also search for all versions of an asset and then sort them yourself via the time stamp (see also first example link). You can also access the other versions of an asset if you have just one asset description, as each asset links to its other versions with a list of asset-id-version tuples.

Cheers,
Ferdinand

ferdinand

Hello @kng_ito,

thank you for reaching out to us. The answer to your question is BaseList2D and NimbusBaseInterface, as they both in tandem realize the relationship between Cinema and Maxon API scene elements. What node materials offer is just a convenience interface which is also offered in a more generic way via the mentioned classes.

A BaseList2D is the base type for a generic Cinema API scene element that holds a data container. It also offers methods to retrieve one or many NimbusBaseInterface references for that element, each associating this element of a Cinema API scene with a Maxon API nodes graph. A node material will for example have one NimbusBaseInterface reference for each material node space (i.e., render engine and with that node graph) it supports.

I actually thought there were already forum posts or even a code example about this subject, but I could not find any. So, I created a small code example addressing exactly this topic, as this is probably something people want to do commonly. It will be part of an upcoming Python SDK, but you can find a draft version below. The code is not that complicated, but the subject/theory around it is not entirely trivial. So, it is one of these code examples which is more words than code. I hope this helps you to understand the relationship between Cinema API scene elements and Maxon API nodes graphs better.

Cheers,
Ferdinand

Result

'' (BaseDocument: Tbasedocument)
├── [Branch] 'Render Settings' (Rbase)
│   └── 'My Render Setting' (RenderData: Rbase)
│       ├── [Branch] 'Post Effects' (VPbase)
│       │   ├── 'Magic Bullet Looks' (BaseVideoPost: VPMagicBulletLooks)
│       │   └── 'Redshift' (BaseVideoPost: VPrsrenderer)
│       └── [Branch] 'Multi-Pass' (Zmultipass)
│           └── 'Post Effects' (BaseList2D: Zmultipass)
├── [Branch] 'Scene Hooks' (SHplugin)
│   ├── 'STHOOK' (BaseList2D: 1012061)
│   ├── 'Python Embedded Change Monitor' (BaseList2D: 1058422)
│   ├── 'SceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1028481)
│   ├── 'CmSceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1026839)
│   ├── 'CameraMorphDrawSceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1029281)
│   ├── 'MotionCameraDrawSceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1029338)
│   ├── 'USD Scene Hook' (BaseList2D: 1055307)
│   ├── 'Substance Assets' (BaseList2D: 1032107)
│   ├── 'Alembic Archive Hook' (BaseList2D: 1028458)
│   ├── 'UpdateMerge Hook' (BaseList2D: 465001602)
│   ├── 'ArchiExchangeCADHook' (BaseList2D: 200000216)
│   ├── 'Paint Brush' (BaseList2D: 1031368)
│   ├── 'SLA wave scene hook' (BaseList2D: REG_EXP_PARSER)
│   ├── 'Thinking Particles' (TP_MasterSystem: ID_THINKINGPARTICLES)
│   ├── '' (BaseList2D: 1035577)
│   ├── 'Bullet' (BaseList2D: 180000100)
│   ├── 'XRefs' (BaseList2D: 1025807)
│   ├── 'CAManagerHook' (BaseList2D: 1019636)
│   │   └── [Branch] 'Weights Handler Head' (Tbaselist2d)
│   │       └── 'Weights Handler' (BaseList2D: 1037891)
│   ├── 'Volume Save Manager Hook' (BaseList2D: 1040459)
│   ├── 'UV Display 3D SceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1054166)
│   ├── 'uvhook' (BaseList2D: 1053309)
│   ├── 'ScatterPlacementHook' (BaseList2D: 1058060)
│   ├── 'Tool System Hook' (BaseList2D: ID_TOOL_SYSTEM_HOOK)
│   │   └── [Branch] 'SBM' (431000215)
│   │       └── 'Symmetry node' (BaseList2D: 431000215)
│   │           └── [Branch] 'C4DCoreWrapper' (200001044)
│   │               └── 'Symmetry node - net.maxon.symmetry.context.modeling' (BaseList2D: 300001078)
│   ├── 'MoGraphSceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1019525)
│   ├── 'gozScenehook' (BaseList2D: 1059748)
│   ├── 'Octane X' (BaseList2D: 1030798)
│   ├── 'Simulation' (BaseList2D: ID_SIMULATIONSCENE_HOOK)
│   │   └── [Branch] 'Simulation World' (Obase)
│   │       └── 'Default Simulation Scene' (BaseObject: Osimulationscene)
│   ├── 'PersistentHook' (BaseList2D: 180420202)
│   ├── 'Scene Nodes' (BaseList2D: SCENENODES_IDS_SCENEHOOK_ID)
│   │   └── [Branch] 'Nodes' (300001078)
│   │       ├── 'Group' (BaseList2D: 300001078)
│   │       ├── 'Group' (BaseList2D: 300001078)
│   │       ├── 'Group' (BaseList2D: 300001078)
│   │       ├── 'Geometry Op' (BaseList2D: 300001078)
│   │       ├── 'Scene Root' (BaseList2D: 300001078)
│   │       └── 'Cube' (BaseList2D: 300001078)
│   │           └── [Branch] 'Tracks' (CTbase)
│   │               ├── 'Size . X' (CTrack: CTbase)
│   │               │   └── [Branch] 'Sequences' (CSbase)
│   │               │       └── '' (CCurve: CSbase)
│   │               ├── 'Size . Y' (CTrack: CTbase)
│   │               │   └── [Branch] 'Sequences' (CSbase)
│   │               │       └── '' (CCurve: CSbase)
│   │               └── 'Size . Z' (CTrack: CTbase)
│   │                   └── [Branch] 'Sequences' (CSbase)
│   │                       └── '' (CCurve: CSbase)
│   ├── 'NE_SceneHook' (BaseList2D: 465002367)
│   ├── 'Take Hook' (BaseList2D: 431000055)
│   │   └── [Branch] 'Take System Branch' (TakeBase)
│   │       └── 'Main' (BaseTake: TakeBase)
│   │           └── [Branch] 'Override Folders' (431000073)
│   │               └── 'Overrides' (BaseList2D: 431000073)
│   │                   ├── 'Others' (BaseList2D: 431000073)
│   │                   ├── 'Layers' (BaseList2D: 431000073)
│   │                   ├── 'Materials' (BaseList2D: 431000073)
│   │                   ├── 'Shaders' (BaseList2D: 431000073)
│   │                   ├── 'Tags' (BaseList2D: 431000073)
│   │                   └── 'Objects' (BaseList2D: 431000073)
│   ├── 'CombineAc18_AutoCombine_SceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1032178)
│   ├── 'PLKHUD' (BaseList2D: 1020132)
│   │   └── [Branch] 'PSUNDOHEAD' (Obase)
│   │       └── 'PKHOP' (BaseObject: 1020120)
│   ├── 'RenderManager Hook' (BaseList2D: 465003509)
│   ├── 'Sound Scrubbing Hook' (BaseList2D: 100004815)
│   ├── 'To Do' (BaseList2D: 465001536)
│   ├── 'Animation' (BaseList2D: 465001535)
│   ├── 'BaseSettings Hook' (BaseList2D: ID_BS_HOOK)
│   ├── '' (BaseList2D: 1060457)
│   ├── 'SculptBrushModifierSceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1030499)
│   ├── 'Sculpt Objects' (BaseList2D: 1024182)
│   ├── 'HairHighlightHook' (BaseList2D: 1018870)
│   ├── 'MeshObject Scene Hook' (BaseList2D: 1037041)
│   ├── 'Lod Hook' (BaseList2D: 431000182)
│   ├── 'Annotation Tag SceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1030679)
│   ├── 'Sniper' (BaseList2D: 430000000)
│   ├── 'Mesh Check Hook' (BaseList2D: 431000027)
│   ├── 'Modeling Objects Hook' (BaseList2D: 431000032)
│   │   └── [Branch] 'Modeling Objects Branch' (431000031)
│   │       ├── 'Pattern Direction Manipulator' (BaseObject: Opatternmanipulator)
│   │       ├── 'Plane Manipulator' (BaseObject: Oplanemanipulator)
│   │       ├── 'Pivot Manipulator' (BaseObject: Opivotmanipulator)
│   │       ├── 'Knife Line Manipulator' (BaseObject: 431000168)
│   │       ├── 'Subdivision Manipulator' (BaseObject: 431000172)
│   │       └── 'PolyPenObject' (BaseObject: 431000031)
│   ├── 'Snap Scenehook' (BaseList2D: 440000111)
│   │   ├── [Branch] 'WpSH' (440000111)
│   │   │   └── 'WorkPlane' (BaseObject: Oworkplane)
│   │   └── [Branch] 'MdSH' (Tbase)
│   │       └── 'Modeling Settings' (BaseList2D: 440000140)
│   ├── 'Doodle Hook' (BaseList2D: 1022212)
│   ├── 'Stereoscopic' (BaseList2D: 450000226)
│   ├── 'ViewportExtHookHUD' (BaseList2D: ID_VIEW_SCENEHOOKHUD)
│   ├── 'ViewportExtHookhighlight' (BaseList2D: ID_VIEW_SCENEHOOKHIGHLIGHT)
│   ├── 'MeasureSceneHook' (BaseList2D: ID_MEASURE_SCENEHOOK)
│   ├── 'Redshift' (BaseList2D: 1036748)
│   ├── 'GvHook' (BaseList2D: ID_SCENEHOOK_PLUGIN)
│   ├── 'Material Scene Hook' (BaseList2D: 300001077)
│   ├── 'TargetDistancePicker' (BaseList2D: 1028063)
│   └── 'BodyPaint SceneHook' (BaseList2D: 1036428)
└── [Branch] '' (Tbasedraw)
    └── '' (BaseList2D: 110306)


--- Maxon API Scene Nodes Data ---

Maxon API node: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Scene Root with ID 300001078 at 22186209472>
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0<in -> DescID: ((1768816640, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0<in/flags -> DescID: ((1768828774, 5, 0), (1818322803, 12, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0<filter -> DescID: ((1718185076, 5, 0), (1701969920, 5, 0), (1, 400006001, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0/rot<in -> DescID: ((1768816640, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0/rot<datatype -> DescID: ((1684108385, 5, 0), (1954115685, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/net.maxon.neutron.corenode.multransform_0<datatype -> DescID: ((1684108385, 5, 0), (1954115685, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/net.maxon.neutron.corenode.multransform_0<in2 -> DescID: ((1768829440, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/net.maxon.neutron.corenode.multransform_0<in1 -> DescID: ((1768829184, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root<net.maxon.neutron.op.objectbase.children -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848536677, 5, 0), (1970565743, 5, 0), (1848536944, 5, 0), (779051626, 5, 0), (1701016674, 5, 0), (1634952494, 5, 0), (1667787116, 5, 0), (1685218670, 5, 0), (593719149, 5, 0), (1835101796, 5, 0), (593585252, 5, 0), (1986097769, 5, 0), (1633970531, 5, 0), (1886351988, 8, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root<net.maxon.neutron.op.objectbase.children/_0 -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848536677, 5, 0), (1970565743, 5, 0), (1848536944, 5, 0), (779051626, 5, 0), (1701016674, 5, 0), (1634952494, 5, 0), (1667787116, 5, 0), (1685218670, 5, 0), (774975086, 5, 0), (1702112877, 5, 0), (1635282798, 5, 0), (778986869, 5, 0), (1953656686, 5, 0), (779055150, 5, 0), (1868720741, 5, 0), (1668571745, 5, 0), (1936010851, 5, 0), (1751739492, 5, 0), (1919249920, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
Maxon API node: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0 -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Group with ID 300001078 at 22186202432>
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0<in -> DescID: ((1768816640, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0<in/flags -> DescID: ((1768828774, 5, 0), (1818322803, 12, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0<filter -> DescID: ((1718185076, 5, 0), (1701969920, 5, 0), (1, 400006001, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0/rot<in -> DescID: ((1768816640, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0/rot<datatype -> DescID: ((1684108385, 5, 0), (1954115685, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
Maxon API node: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0/rot -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Group with ID 300001078 at 22186170048>
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0/rot<in -> DescID: ((1768816640, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/_0/rot<datatype -> DescID: ((1684108385, 5, 0), (1954115685, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
Maxon API node: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/concat -> Cinema API surrogate node: None
Maxon API node: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/net.maxon.neutron.corenode.multransform_0 -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Group with ID 300001078 at 22186170048>
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/net.maxon.neutron.corenode.multransform_0<datatype -> DescID: ((1684108385, 5, 0), (1954115685, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/net.maxon.neutron.corenode.multransform_0<in2 -> DescID: ((1768829440, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: net.maxon.neutron.scene.root/net.maxon.neutron.corenode.multransform_0<in1 -> DescID: ((1768829184, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
Maxon API node: geometry@WCuZ0OX$L9brZcIW8Vdmn6 -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Geometry Op with ID 300001078 at 22186209472>
	Input port: geometry@WCuZ0OX$L9brZcIW8Vdmn6<geometry -> DescID: ((1734700909, 5, 0), (1702130297, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: geometry@WCuZ0OX$L9brZcIW8Vdmn6<net.maxon.node.bypassable.bypass -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848536687, 5, 0), (1684352610, 5, 0), (2037408115, 5, 0), (1935762028, 5, 0), (1697538681, 5, 0), (1885434739, 5, 0), (1, 400006001, 0))
Maxon API node: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5 -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Cube with ID 300001078 at 22186170048>
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.cube.subz -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (778270050, 5, 0), (1697543029, 5, 0), (1652162560, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.cube.suby -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (778270050, 5, 0), (1697543029, 5, 0), (1652097024, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.cube.subx -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (778270050, 5, 0), (1697543029, 5, 0), (1652031488, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.fillets.segment -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (778463596, 5, 0), (1818588275, 5, 0), (779314535, 5, 0), (1835363956, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.fillets.radius -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (778463596, 5, 0), (1818588275, 5, 0), (779247972, 5, 0), (1769304832, 5, 0), (1, 19, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.fillets.enable -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (778463596, 5, 0), (1818588275, 5, 0), (778399329, 5, 0), (1651270912, 5, 0), (1, 400006001, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.cube.separate -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (778270050, 5, 0), (1697543013, 5, 0), (1885434465, 5, 0), (1952776192, 5, 0), (1, 400006001, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.size -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (779315578, 5, 0), (1694498816, 5, 0), (1, 23, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.size/*access*zin -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (779315578, 5, 0), (1697589857, 5, 0), (1667458419, 5, 0), (1932163689, 5, 0), (1845493760, 5, 0), (1, 19, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.size/*access*xin -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (779315578, 5, 0), (1697589857, 5, 0), (1667458419, 5, 0), (1932163177, 5, 0), (1845493760, 5, 0), (1, 19, 0))
	Input port: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5<net.maxon.command.modeling.primitive.size/*access*yin -> DescID: ((1852142638, 5, 0), (1835104367, 5, 0), (1848533871, 5, 0), (1835884910, 5, 0), (1680764271, 5, 0), (1684368489, 5, 0), (1852255856, 5, 0), (1919511913, 5, 0), (1953068645, 5, 0), (779315578, 5, 0), (1697589857, 5, 0), (1667458419, 5, 0), (1932163433, 5, 0), (1845493760, 5, 0), (1, 19, 0))
Maxon API node: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5/parambuilder -> Cinema API surrogate node: None
Maxon API node: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5/defaultselections -> Cinema API surrogate node: None
Maxon API node: cube@MJo3tkcbJ1Zgd2oqJzGis5/generategeometry -> Cinema API surrogate node: None
Maxon API node: context_externaltimeinput -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Group with ID 300001078 at 22186170048>
	Input port: context_externaltimeinput<searchpaths -> DescID: ((1936023922, 5, 0), (1667788897, 5, 0), (1953002240, 12, 0))
	Input port: context_externaltimeinput<fps -> DescID: ((1718645504, 5, 0), (1, 19, 0))
	Input port: context_externaltimeinput<time -> DescID: ((1953066341, 5, 0), (1, 19, 0))
	Input port: context_externaltimeinput<nimbus -> DescID: ((1852403042, 5, 0), (1970470912, 12, 0))
	Input port: context_externaltimeinput<ocioconfig -> DescID: ((1868786031, 5, 0), (1668247142, 5, 0), (1768357888, 12, 0))
	Input port: context_externaltimeinput<renderspace -> DescID: ((1919250020, 5, 0), (1701999472, 5, 0), (1633903872, 12, 0))
Maxon API node: context_notime -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Group with ID 300001078 at 16252169408>
	Input port: context_notime<searchpaths -> DescID: ((1936023922, 5, 0), (1667788897, 5, 0), (1953002240, 12, 0))
	Input port: context_notime<fps -> DescID: ((1718645504, 5, 0), (1, 19, 0))
	Input port: context_notime<time -> DescID: ((1953066341, 5, 0), (1, 19, 0))
	Input port: context_notime<nimbus -> DescID: ((1852403042, 5, 0), (1970470912, 12, 0))
	Input port: context_notime<ocioconfig -> DescID: ((1868786031, 5, 0), (1668247142, 5, 0), (1768357888, 12, 0))
	Input port: context_notime<renderspace -> DescID: ((1919250020, 5, 0), (1701999472, 5, 0), (1633903872, 12, 0))
Maxon API node: builder -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Group with ID 300001078 at 16252169792>
	Input port: builder<in -> DescID: ((1768816640, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: builder<in/flags -> DescID: ((1768828774, 5, 0), (1818322803, 12, 0))
	Input port: builder<filter -> DescID: ((1718185076, 5, 0), (1701969920, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: builder/rot<in -> DescID: ((1768816640, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: builder/rot<datatype -> DescID: ((1684108385, 5, 0), (1954115685, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))
Maxon API node: builder/rot -> Cinema API surrogate node: <c4d.BaseList2D object called Group with ID 300001078 at 22170201152>
	Input port: builder/rot<in -> DescID: ((1768816640, 5, 0), (1, 133, 0))
	Input port: builder/rot<datatype -> DescID: ((1684108385, 5, 0), (1954115685, 5, 0), (1, 15, 0))

Code

"""Demonstrates how to associate nodes in a Maxon API graph with their corresponding Cinema 4D API 
surrogate elements.

Cinema 4D is split into two major APIs:

- *Cinema API*: The 'classic' API that represents and describes most tangible entities in Cinema 4D,
   such as materials, objects, tags, and so on. This API is mostly based on the concept of
   `BaseList2D` scene elements that hold data containers and are organized in hierarchical
   and generic node relationships (via `GeListNode`, one of the base classes of `BaseList2D`). I.e.,
   this data forms the graph that makes up a Cinema 4D scene, even when we usually think of it as a 
   tree structure (but GeListNode relationships are more than pure tree relationships).
- *Maxon API*: The Maxon API is a more modern API that also includes the Nodes API, which offers a
   a new (but not drop-in replacement) way to represent nodal scene data. It is used for Scene and
   Material Nodes at the moment (and subject of this part of the documentation).

But the majority of the UI of Cinema 4D is still based on the Cinema API, and the Attribute Manager
for example can only display `BaseList2D` scene elements and not `GraphNode` entities of the Maxon 
API. So, for user interaction purposes, Maxon API nodes must be associated with Cinema API surrogate
scene elements that represent those nodes in the Cinema API world.

A `NimusBaseInterface` is the glue between a Cinema API scene element and a Maxon API node graph. It 
not only provides access to the actual Nodes API graph associated with that element, but also 
manages the association between Nodes API nodes/ports and their Cinema API surrogate elements.

This example focuses on the Scene Nodes system, but the same principles apply to other Maxon API 
node graphs.

Compatibility Note: 

    Remove all code in #main up to `print("\n\n--- Maxon API Scene Nodes Data ---\n") and the 
    #mxutils import statement to make this example run in older versions of Cinema 4D (should work 
    at least in 2025.x and with minor modifications even in 2024.x).
    
"""
__author__ = "Ferdinand Hoppe"
__copyright__ = "Copyright (C) 2026 MAXON Computer GmbH"
__date__ = "05/01/2026"
__license__ = "Apache-2.0 License"
__version__ = "2026.0.0"

import c4d
import maxon
import mxutils

doc: c4d.documents.BaseDocument  # The currently active document.
op: c4d.BaseObject | None  # The primary selected object in `doc`. Can be `None`.

def main() -> None:
    """Called by Cinema 4D when the script is being executed.
    """
    # An good way to visualize what we are doing is mxutils.GetSceneGraphString, as it will give
    # us a visual representation of a Cinema API scene graph. We can find there the nodes we
    # will retrieve and associate with Maxon API nodes further below. You have to look for a 
    # Scene Nodes scene hook in the output. It will also hold all surrogate nodes for the Maxon
    # API Scene Nodes graph of the document.
    print("--- Cinema API Scene Graph ---\n")
    c4d.ClearPythonConsole()
    print(mxutils.GetSceneGraphString(doc))

    print("\n\n--- Maxon API Scene Nodes Data ---\n")

    # Now we attempt to get the Cinema API scene element to which the Scene Nodes system of a 
    # document is tied (and which also physically holds all Cinema API surrogate nodes for the
    # Maxon API Scene Nodes graph of the document). For scene nodes, this is a scene hook, for
    # material graphs it would be a BaseMaterial.
    # 
    # Scene hooks are a Cinema API node type for which always exactly one instance exists per 
    # document. It is only a coincidence that they also use the term "scene" in their name, there 
    # is no semantic relation between scene hooks and Scene Nodes. For material graphs, we would 
    # for example call `FindNimbusRef` on the `BaseMaterial` instance instead of retrieving 
    # a scene hook.
    hook: c4d.BaseList2D = doc.FindSceneHook(c4d.SCENENODES_IDS_SCENEHOOK_ID)
    if not hook:
        raise RuntimeError("Could not retrieve Scene Nodes scene hook.")

    # A `BaseList2D` offers various methods to retrieve `NimusBaseInterface` references for itself.
    # And a NimusBaseInterface is the glue between a Cinema API scene element and a Maxon API node 
    # graph. Here is the connection being made between a Cinema API scene element in form of a
    # scene hook and the the Scene Nodes Maxon API graph that is associated with that scene hook. 
    # Scene nodes come with the special condition that the their graph might not yet exist for 
    # performance reasons, so we must always send #MSG_CREATE_IF_REQUIRED before attempting to
    # access a scene nodes graph. For a material node graph, this would not be necessary.
    hook.Message(maxon.neutron.MSG_CREATE_IF_REQUIRED)
    handler: maxon.NimbusBaseRef | None = hook.GetNimbusRef(maxon.NodeSpaceIdentifiers.SceneNodes)
    if not handler:
        raise RuntimeError("Could not retrieve Scene Nodes handler.")

    # Now we get the nodes graph that is associated with this nimbus handler and iterate over all 
    # true nodes in it. The Nodes API follows the a bit odd notion that it represents graphs as 
    # trees of entities, where each entity is a  GraphNode. Some of those entities are 'true' nodes,
    # i.e., nodes that also an end user would see in the Node Editor, while other entities represent
    # things like input and output ports (but are also GraphNodes). So, in short, a GraphNode does
    # not necessarily represent a 'true' node.
    graph: maxon.NodesGraphModelRef = handler.GetGraph()
    root: maxon.GraphNode = graph.GetViewRoot()
    
    # For each entity in the graph...
    for entity in root.GetInnerNodes(maxon.NODE_KIND.ALL_MASK, False, None):
        # .. step over all non 'true node' entities ...
        if entity.GetKind() != maxon.NODE_KIND.NODE:
            continue

        # .. and find (or create) the BaseList2D Cinema API surrogate entity that represents the 
        # current #entity in this Maxon API graph. This is the surrogate that is shown in an 
        # Attribute Manager when the user selects the node in the Node Editor. Reading and writing
        # its parameters will be reflected in the Maxon API node and vice versa.
        surrogate: c4d.BaseList2D = handler.FindOrCreateCorrespondingBaseList(entity.GetPath())
        print(f"Maxon API node: {entity.GetPath()} -> Cinema API surrogate node: {surrogate}")

        # Now we are going to iterate over all input ports of #entity and translate them into
        # parameter IDs for our #surrogate.
        for port in entity.GetInnerNodes(maxon.NODE_KIND.ALL_MASK, False, None):
            if port.GetKind() != maxon.NODE_KIND.INPORT:
                continue

            # The reasons why we use here a try/except block is because nodes tend to hold input
            # ports which only fulfill internal purposes and do not have a corresponding parameter
            # in the Cinema API surrogate node (ports without an UI). Getting the DescID for such 
            # ports will fail with a ValueError because ports without an UI are not translated (and 
            # we are also probably not interested in them here).
            try:
                did: c4d.DescID = handler.GetDescID(port.GetPath()) # This fails
                print(f"\tInput port: {port.GetPath()} -> DescID: {did}")
            except:
                pass

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

maxon

Dear developer community,

The year 2025 comes to its end and between 15/12/2025 and 5/1/2026, the Maxon SDK Team will be short staffed. Please understand that we cannot deliver forum support in that period. For absolutely urgent matters - in the sense of business critical - please reach out via our contact form.

Happy Christmas and a happy new year to all developers,
the Maxon SDK Team

ferdinand

Hello @gelobui,

Welcome to the Maxon developers forum and its community, it is great to have you with us!

Getting Started

Before creating your next postings, we would recommend making yourself accustomed with our forum and support procedures. You did not do anything wrong, we point all new users to these rules.

Forum Overview: Provides a broad overview of the fundamental structure and rules of this forum, such as the purpose of the different sub-forums or the fact that we will ban users who engage in hate speech or harassment.
Support Procedures: Provides a more in detail overview of how we provide technical support for APIs here. This topic will tell you how to ask good questions and limits of our technical support.
Forum Features: Provides an overview of the technical features of this forum, such as Markdown markup or file uploads.

It is strongly recommended to read the first two topics carefully, especially the section Support Procedures: How to Ask Questions.

About your First Question

It depends a bit on how you mean your question. There is GetActiveNodeSpaceId which allows you to get the ID of the current node space. But there is no setting equivalent of that function. So, you cannot set a node space by its ID.

What you can do, is call the command which switches node spaces. These are however dynamically assigned and can have a different meaning, depending on how many render engines are installed. You can just check the script log after changing the space.

On this installation I have for example no extra render engines or node spaces installed, therefore Redshift is there 72000, 4.

But on this machine I have the C++ SDK installed and therefore the Example nodes space, so Redshift is now 72000, 5:

When you really want to do this in a fail safe manner, you would have to parse the menu of Cinema 4D to know with which sub-id to call CallCommand.

Cheers,
Ferdinand

ferdinand

Hey @lasselauch,

Thank you for reaching out to us. The issue is likely that you do not respect OCIO color management in your document. You have marked this posting as S26, but my hunch would be that you are using a newer version of Cinema 4D and an OCIO enabled document. The first implementation of OCIO showed up with S26 in Cinema 4D, although it was just some internal systems then such as the flag DOCUMENT_COLOR_MANAGEMENT_OCIO and user facing systems arrived with 2024 the earliest I think. In Python, you can only truly deal with this in 2025.0.0 and higher, as that is when we added the OCIO API to Python.

When you indeed are testing this on an S26 or lower instance of Cinema 4D, the major question would be if DOCUMENT_LINEARWORKFLOW is enabled or not. Because you cannot just blindly convert colors.

Is this the intended behavior? Should we always convert LINEAR→sRGB when drawing colors from ColorField/ColorDialog in a GeUserArea?

The question would be what you consider here this ;). But if the question is if it is intended behavior for a scene with DOCUMENT_COLOR_MANAGEMENT_BASIC and DOCUMENT_LINEARWORKFLOW enabled, to have all its scene element and parameter colors expressed as sRGB 1.0, then yes, that is the major gist of the old linear workflow. It is also intended that drawing happens in sRGB 2.2 up this day.

Issue 2: Eyedropper Roundtrip Doesn't Preserve Saturated Colors

Generally, multi question topics tend to become a mess (which is why we do not allow them). But in short: While roundtrips in the form of sRGB 1.0 -> sRGB 2.2 -> sRGB 1.0 are not absolutely lossless (you are always subject to floating point precision errors), there is no giant loss by default. I am not sure what math TransformColor is using explicitly. A simple pow(color, 2.2) and pow(color, 1/2.2) are the naive way to do this and the loss would be rather small. TransformColor might be respecting tristimulus weights which is a bit more lossy but still in a small range.

OCIO roundtrips on the other hand are generally quite lossy, because ACEScg is a very wide gamut color space and converting from ACEScg to sRGB 2.2 and back can lead to significant losses in saturated colors. Some conversion paths in OCIO are even irreversible in a certain sense (depending on what color spaces you have assigned to which transform). OCIO is rather complicated to put it mildly.

Is there a known issue with the ColorDialog eyedropper and color space conversion for saturated colors?

Not that I am aware of. But you likely just ignored OCIO. And while the default OCIO Render Space of Cinema 4D (ACEScg) is in a certain sense similar to sRGB 1.0 for low saturated colors, it diverges significantly for highly saturated colors. So, your loss of saturation is likely stemming from treating an OCIO document with an ACEScg render space as sRGB 1.0.

M	maxon
J	jana
I	i_mazlov
F	ferdinand
M	m_adam

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