Hi @brian-michael, I've forked your posting in a dedicated thread. For your following postings please stick to our guidelines, which you can find in the Support Procedures, namely: Singular Subject: From all this follows that a topic must have a singular and sparse subject tied to a specific problem especially when it comes to N-years-old threads Regarding your question, please share more context on what specifically you're trying to do, because depending on that you can end up in a completely different ways of approaching your goal. For example, if you'd like to bake animation in a "read-only manner" (just take the object transformations and store/send them somewhere), then the suggested approach would be to clone document and process it in a separate C4DThread. You can check Ferdinand's code example on the exact same topic in application to rendering document: RenderDocument/PythonCallBack : how to display progress prints during the render. However, with such approach you're limited to not being able to modify original document (because you'd use the cloned document instead of the active one). Cheers, Ilia

Hey Ferdinand, Thank you for the quick response! Ah ok I see. Thank you for the provided information, I will have a look at it. But I can also wait for the moment. My work arround for now would be to simply set everything up / import the parameters and colors with color management set to 'Basic' and manually doing the conversion via 'Convert to OCIO' in the Project settings. Thats giving me the correct result. But thanks again! Cheers, Ben

Hello @ferdinand ! Thanks for answer it is very clear, i will use virtual resolution from now on

@m_adam Thanks, I await your info. Have a nice weekend

Hi Ilia, Thank you very much, I was not aware of that! Cheers!

Good to hear. When you want to know more about how to expose libraries, I would recommend reading the Python Libraries Manual, as there are quite a few differences to a vanilla CPython. The guide is a little bit dated, I haven't updated it yet to the pip support Maxime is adding, and I also did not yet cover there mxutils.LocalImportPath. Cheers, ferdinand

Hello @qq475519905, Thank you for reaching out to us. Your question is very ambiguous. But given your posting history, I assume this is a development question and not an end user question. I.e., you are a developer who struggles with setting up a plugin which is being loaded, and you are not a user struggling with installing someone else's plugin (the latter would be out of scope of support for the developer forum). We have plenty of Python plugin examples on Github, for anything more concrete, we will need a more concrete question from you. Most importantly executable example code which highlights your problem. Please have a look at Support Procedures: How to Ask Questions. Cheers, Ferdinand

Hi @i_mazlov , Unfortunately, the python node approach is not effective for my use case, so I may have to emulate the error conditions on my own for each node. In any case, thank you for your answer.

Oh, my bad, I did overlook that you flagged this as S26. Yes, mxutils is a 2024+ feature. I used it here to carry out type checks, e.g., that a document or bitmap are not null/none. The code will run without them, but it will fail more gracefully with these checks. You could replace these calls with manual checks: bmp: c4d.bitmaps.BaseBitmap = c4d.bitmaps.MultipassBitmap( int(rData[c4d.RDATA_XRES]), int(rData[c4d.RDATA_YRES]), c4d.COLORMODE_RGB)) if bmp is None: # or more precise: if not isinstance(bmp, c4d.bitmaps.BaseBitmap) ... raise MemoryError("Failed to allocate bitmap.") Cheers, Ferdinand

Hey @ops, Thank you for reaching out to us. Please excuse the delayed reply. You must use the c4d.modules.volume.VolumeBuilder interface for what you want to do, specifically its GetInputObject method. You have to understand that a volume builder is not a singular object, but a virtual tree of objects, and most parameters are located on one of these child objects. Cinema 4D then only displays the parameters of the child objects inline in the GUI (i.e., description) of the Volume Builder object. [image: 1729163133931-5b76e06e-da90-4205-9e68-3e0ca7d14e8f-image.png] Fig.I: The internal makeup of a Volume Builder object. The virtual hierarchy in form of Volume Filter is inaccessible both via the Object Manager and things like GeListNode.GetChildren(). Instead we must use the dedicate UI and API interface to access them. Cheers, Ferdinand Code """Sets the new min and max values of a Volume Builder fog range object. Must be run as a Script Manager script with a Volume Builder object selected. """ import c4d doc: c4d.documents.BaseDocument # The currently active document. op: c4d.BaseObject | None # The primary selected object in `doc`. Can be `None`. #: The volume builder fog range object type. We currently do not expose a symbol for this. c4d.Ofograngemap = 1039862 def main() -> None: """Called by Cinema 4D when the script is being executed. """ if not isinstance(op, c4d.modules.volume.VolumeBuilder): raise ValueError("The selected object is not a Volume Builder.") # Iterate over the objects in the Volume Builder 'Objects' parameter list. for i in range(op.GetInputObjectCount()): node: c4d.BaseList2D | None = op.GetInputObject(i) # Can happen for folders and on failure, there is no good way to distinguish between the two. if node is None: continue # This is a fog range object, we could do here further checks to ensure it is the correct one. if node.GetType() == c4d.Ofograngemap: print(f"{node[c4d.ID_VOLUMEFILTER_SDF_REMAP_NEW_MIN] = }") print(f"{node[c4d.ID_VOLUMEFILTER_SDF_REMAP_NEW_MAX] = }") # Set new values. node[c4d.ID_VOLUMEFILTER_SDF_REMAP_NEW_MIN] = 0.5 node[c4d.ID_VOLUMEFILTER_SDF_REMAP_NEW_MAX] = 2.0 # Push an update event to Cinema 4D to refresh the user interface. c4d.EventAdd() if __name__ == '__main__': main()

Thank you for the quick answer. Unfortunately this approach was quite destructive for my workflow, so i found a workaround using materials and 3d gradients. For anyone who want to render z-depth in python from c4d scene, this may be the approach. There may be some tweaks considering color space. It would be nice to get access to this kind of data inside cinema 4d's python without crazy workarounds. import c4d from c4d import gui, plugins, storage import os PLUGIN_ID = 1234567 # Replace this ID with your unique plugin ID from Maxon def GetFilterTypeFromFilename(filename): ext = os.path.splitext(filename)[1].lower() if ext == '.bmp': return c4d.FILTER_BMP elif ext == '.jpg' or ext == '.jpeg': return c4d.FILTER_JPG elif ext == '.png': return c4d.FILTER_PNG elif ext == '.tif' or ext == '.tiff': return c4d.FILTER_TIF elif ext == '.exr': return c4d.FILTER_EXR else: return c4d.FILTER_PNG # Default to PNG if extension is unrecognized class RenderDialog(gui.GeDialog): DESTINATION_FILE = 1001 BROWSE_BUTTON = 1002 RENDER_BUTTON = 2000 def CreateLayout(self): self.SetTitle("External Render Plugin") # Add Destination File Field self.GroupBegin(id=0, flags=c4d.BFH_SCALEFIT, cols=2) self.AddStaticText(id=0, flags=c4d.BFH_LEFT, name="Destination File:") self.AddEditText(id=self.DESTINATION_FILE, flags=c4d.BFH_SCALEFIT) self.GroupEnd() # Add Browse Button self.AddButton(id=self.BROWSE_BUTTON, flags=c4d.BFH_LEFT, name="Browse") # Add Render Button self.AddButton(id=self.RENDER_BUTTON, flags=c4d.BFH_CENTER, name="Render") return True def Command(self, id, msg): if id == self.BROWSE_BUTTON: path = storage.SaveDialog(title="Select Destination File") if path: self.SetString(self.DESTINATION_FILE, path) return True elif id == self.RENDER_BUTTON: path = self.GetString(self.DESTINATION_FILE) if not path: gui.MessageDialog("Please specify a destination file.") return True # Get the active document doc = c4d.documents.GetActiveDocument() # Create a large sphere object sphere = c4d.BaseObject(c4d.Osphere) sphere[c4d.PRIM_SPHERE_RAD] = 10000000 # Set radius to 10,000,000 m doc.InsertObject(sphere) c4d.EventAdd() # Check if a material named "LuminanceMaterial" already exists material = doc.SearchMaterial("LuminanceMaterial") if not material: # Create new material and set its parameters material = c4d.BaseMaterial(c4d.Mmaterial) material.SetName("LuminanceMaterial") material[c4d.MATERIAL_USE_COLOR] = False material[c4d.MATERIAL_USE_REFLECTION] = False material[c4d.MATERIAL_USE_LUMINANCE] = True # Create gradient shader and set it as luminance gradient_shader = c4d.BaseShader(c4d.Xgradient) if gradient_shader: gradient_shader[c4d.SLA_GRADIENT_TYPE] = c4d.SLA_GRADIENT_TYPE_3D_LINEAR # 3D Linear Gradient gradient_shader[c4d.SLA_GRADIENT_SPACE] = c4d.SLA_GRADIENT_SPACE_WORLD # World space gradient_shader[c4d.SLA_GRADIENT_CYCLE] = False material[c4d.MATERIAL_LUMINANCE_SHADER] = gradient_shader material.InsertShader(gradient_shader) # Insert material into the document doc.InsertMaterial(material) # Update gradient start and end points for the current camera gradient_shader = material[c4d.MATERIAL_LUMINANCE_SHADER] if gradient_shader: camera = doc.GetActiveObject() if not camera or camera.GetType() != c4d.Ocamera: camera = doc.GetRenderBaseDraw().GetSceneCamera(doc) if not camera: camera = doc.GetRenderBaseDraw().GetEditorCamera() if camera: start_position = camera.GetMg().off focus_distance = camera[c4d.CAMERAOBJECT_TARGETDISTANCE] end_position = start_position + (camera.GetMg().v3 * focus_distance) # Use v3 for z-axis direction gradient_shader[c4d.SLA_GRADIENT_START] = start_position gradient_shader[c4d.SLA_GRADIENT_END] = end_position # Enable material override in render settings rd = doc.GetActiveRenderData() rd[c4d.RDATA_MATERIAL_OVERRIDE] = True rd[c4d.RDATA_MATERIAL_OVERRIDE_LINK] = material # Set render settings rdata = rd.GetDataInstance().GetClone(c4d.COPYFLAGS_NONE) rdata[c4d.RDATA_PATH] = path rdata[c4d.RDATA_RENDERENGINE] = c4d.RDATA_RENDERENGINE_STANDARD # Create a bitmap to render into width = int(rdata[c4d.RDATA_XRES]) height = int(rdata[c4d.RDATA_YRES]) bmp = c4d.bitmaps.BaseBitmap() result = bmp.Init(width, height) if result != c4d.IMAGERESULT_OK: gui.MessageDialog("Failed to initialize bitmap.") return True # Trigger render render_result = c4d.documents.RenderDocument( doc, # Document to render rdata, # Render settings bmp, # Bitmap to render into c4d.RENDERFLAGS_EXTERNAL | c4d.RENDERFLAGS_DONTANIMATE # Flags ) if render_result != c4d.RENDERRESULT_OK: gui.MessageDialog("Render failed.") else: # Determine the appropriate file format filter filter_type = GetFilterTypeFromFilename(path) # Save the rendered image save_result = bmp.Save(path, filter_type, c4d.BaseContainer()) if save_result != c4d.IMAGERESULT_OK: gui.MessageDialog("Failed to save image.") else: gui.MessageDialog("Render completed and saved.") # Turn off material override after rendering rd[c4d.RDATA_MATERIAL_OVERRIDE] = False rd[c4d.RDATA_MATERIAL_OVERRIDE_LINK] = None # Delete the large sphere after rendering sphere.Remove() c4d.EventAdd() # Delete the material after rendering if material: material.Remove() c4d.EventAdd() # Refresh the document c4d.EventAdd() return True return False class ExternalRenderPlugin(plugins.CommandData): def __init__(self): self.dlg = None def Execute(self, doc): if not self.dlg: self.dlg = RenderDialog() self.dlg.Open(c4d.DLG_TYPE_ASYNC, defaultw=400, defaulth=100) return True if __name__ == "__main__": plugins.RegisterCommandPlugin( id=PLUGIN_ID, str="External Render Plugin", info=0, icon=None, help="Render current frame to a specified file", dat=ExternalRenderPlugin() )

Hey everyone, Just as an FYI: cinema::GvCopyBuffer is not a public type. Just saying this so that future C++ users do not run against a wall here. One might be able to wiggle through with a forward/dummy deceleration of GvCopyBuffer, but officially this is not supported in the public C++ API either. And we therefore cannot provide forum support for this in C++ either. Cheers, Ferdinand

Hello, Ferdinand! Thank you for your attention to my question, your time, and your academic explanations.

And that's good to know about using GetMl() over Get Mg(), mainly for the performance reasons if I understood correctly.

Thank you so much, this was very helpful to learn. All the best.

Hey @lednevandrey, without wanting to be rude, I really struggle with understanding what you want to convey. Material[c4d.TEXTURETAG_PROJECTION] = c4d.TEXTURETAG_PROJECTION_UVW does not work because Python is case sensitive and you gave your BaseMaterial instance the symbol material. So, Python is complaining about that. But as said before, a material, i.e., BaseMaterial is not the right place to set the projection. It is the counter part to the thing you see in the Material Manager of Cinema 4D and has no projection. The projection is set in the Material Tag, which slightly confusingly is called TextureTag in the API. Cheers, Ferdinand """Assigns the first material in the document to the selected object and sets its projection to UVW. """ import c4d 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. """ if not op: raise ValueError("Please select an object.") # Get the first material in the document. material: c4d.BaseMaterial = doc.GetFirstMaterial() if not material: raise ValueError("No materials found in the document.") # Get the first existing texture tag on #op or create a new one when none exists. tag: c4d.BaseTag = op.GetTag(c4d.Ttexture) or op.MakeTag(c4d.Ttexture) if not tag: raise ValueError("Failed to get or create a texture tag.") # Set the material and projection. tag[c4d.TEXTURETAG_MATERIAL] = material tag[c4d.TEXTURETAG_PROJECTION] = c4d.TEXTURETAG_PROJECTION_UVW # Update the Cinema 4D UI. c4d.EventAdd() if __name__ == '__main__': main()

Hi @tx3008, 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: Asking Questions. About your First Question Third party software is out of scope of our Support Procedures, namely: We cannot provide support for third party libraries. Hence I've moved your thread to the "General Talk" forum. Many thanks to @Dunhou for taking an active role of our community! Much appreciated! Cheers, Ilia

Hi @ferdinand Thanks for the response. Found a workaround it. Basically, just name the poses properly in a sorting order. Query the GetName() method and perform my own sorting. Regards, Ben

Great to hear that you found your solution! Do not hesitate to ask more questions when you run into problems while exploring our Python API. But just as a heads up, we prefer users opening new topics for new questions. For details see the Support Procedures linked above. Cheers, Ferdinand

@ferdinand I figured this issue out so you can mark this as solved/closed. Thank you.