Hi @ferdinand Thanks for the response and heads up on the crashes. RE: you want to control hair guide vertices programmatically Yep yep you are right on this part. Basically, have a geometric hair animated and simulated for preview. But rendered on the actual hair object. This is the workflow for other DCC, and the more logical one. This way you separate the hair source and hair generation. It's easier to debug. Anyhow, for looking at your python example, this should get me by on my current use case. Thanks for your illustration as always! Will close thread now.

Hi ferdinand, I am very sorry for my lack of reading the Guidelines properly. But still, very huge thanks to you for the explanation anyway. This already helped me. I will try things out and will probably come back here with some code.

Thanks, Ferdinand. I'll take a closer look as soon as I find the time.

@ferdinand Thanks as always for the explanation. The illustration code works for my use case. Will close now thread

@m_adam Thanks for the confirmation. Will close the thread for now.

@m_adam Gotcha. Thanks for the heads up!

Hey @delizade, The script works for anything that is a c4d.PointObject, i.e., editable polygon and spline objects. But not for generators, e.g., the Cube object or the Circle spline, as you cannot edit their points and therefore have no control over the placement of their "axis" in relation to their vertices. When you want to set the transform of any BaseObject, e.g., a PointObject, a generator, or a null object, you must simply set either its local or global matrix. But this will not keep vertices 'in place' as generators and a null object have no vertices one could edit, and the vertices of PointObject instances must be corrected manually to achieve the 'move the axis idea'. But you can of course just set the global or local matrix (a.k.a. transform) of a BaseObject. Find an example below. For more detailled information, I would recommend having a look at the Matrix Manual. Cheers, Ferdinand The result, the two cubes are not at the same location because combining two transforms is not commutative, i.e., the order matters. A * B is not always the same as B * A for matrices: [image: 1669892200687-8392f997-7526-4a6d-b00b-e020d7669c59-image.png] The code: """Demonstrates the basic concept of transformations as realized by Cinema 4D. """ import c4d def main() -> None: """Constructs two transforms and applies them in the global coordinate system to two cube objects. """ # Construct a transform that translates by 500 units on the y-axis and one that rotates by # 45° on the x-axis. move: c4d.Matrix = c4d.utils.MatrixMove(c4d.Vector(0, 500, 0)) rotate: c4d.Matrix = c4d.utils.MatrixRotX(c4d.utils.DegToRad(45)) # Combine both transforms into a singular one by multiplying them. Note that matrix # multiplication, combining transforms, is not commutative. I.e., the order matters opposed # to numbers; move * rotate is not the same as rotate * move. tMoveRotate: c4d.Matrix = move * rotate tRotateMove: c4d.Matrix = rotate * move # Allocate two cube objects. cubeMoveRotate: c4d.BaseObject = c4d.BaseObject(c4d.Ocube) cubeRotateMove: c4d.BaseObject = c4d.BaseObject(c4d.Ocube) if None in (cubeMoveRotate, cubeRotateMove): raise MemoryError("Could not allocate cube object.") # And set their global matrix, i.e., the absolute transform in the global coordinate system. cubeMoveRotate.SetMg(tMoveRotate) cubeRotateMove.SetMg(tRotateMove) # Name both null objects, set their display color, insert them into the active document, and # push an update event. cubeMoveRotate.SetName("Cube: Move -> Rotate") cubeRotateMove.SetName("Cube: Rotate -> Move") cubeMoveRotate[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_USECOLOR] = c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_USECOLOR_ALWAYS cubeRotateMove[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_USECOLOR] = c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_USECOLOR_ALWAYS cubeMoveRotate[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_COLOR] = c4d.Vector(1, 0, 0) cubeRotateMove[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_COLOR] = c4d.Vector(0, 0, 1) doc.InsertObject(cubeMoveRotate) doc.InsertObject(cubeRotateMove) c4d.EventAdd() if __name__ == '__main__': main()

Hi Maxime, that's a bummer. Just a few additions: is done by calling HandleMouseDrag. Your code is paused until the drag operation ended Yes, no objection. But it should be said, during this "pause" one does still receive messages, among them BFM_DRAGRECEIVE_START and BFM_DRAGRECEIVE. Just not BFM_DRAGEND. Which makes me think, if only the receiver would not "consume" this message, it could already work... From a pure implementation point of view, it also does make sense since it would make no sense if each drag operation have to support all possible managers I wouldn't want it differently. But I still think, the initiator of an action deserves result information. after all these years, I'm still wondering, what's this obsession with not delivering feedback to a caller. Yes, I'm looking at you CallCommand()... Finally it is not possible to drag objects directly to the viewport I didn't even consider, drag and drop could work differently for materials and objects, or objects not working at all. So, thanks for the info and avoiding even more headache on my end. I guess, we are back to the drawing board then. Anyway, greetings to the team. Cheers, Andreas

@ferdinand Thanks for the reply! Ah, of course, I should have considered that Command is actually the last message I get for that operation. This Message stuff totally got me on the wrong track. Naturally, resetting the link and thereby cancelling and reverting the user's drag or pick operation is not as nice as showing a "stop sign" mouse pointer during the operation. Since the ACCEPT clause in a Resource allows setting accepted types, I wonder why there is no API functionality allowing the same. It's not even in the C++ implementation. I suppose people should use external resources anyway, but seeing stuff in the API makes functionality clearer to me at least. Regarding PyCapsule, no, I didn't happen across that previously, I just took code from some other thread on this forum to get into the message. I was lazy and looked for PyCapsule in the Cinema 4D API doc, and assumed it undocumented when it wasn't found. Totally my fault, I should have checked the web too. Never program in an unfamiliar scope past midnight! Nice code btw.

@manuel Interesting. Thanks for the heads up. It works now as expected. Closing the thread.

Hello @bentraje, thank you for reaching out to us. There is nothing much left to add for us here. All angle values are represented internally in radians in Cinema 4D, only the UI does convert to degrees. Except for displaying angle values in UIs, I would however recommend to embrace the unit of radians in code rather than converting in and out of it. There is no computional downside to always doing the conversions, e.g., theta: float = c4d.utils.DegToRad(90). But writing something like theta: float = math.pi * .5 forces oneself to understand the intimate relation between a trigangle and the unit circle, i.e., the circle or trigonometric functions. Understanding radians and why it is a useful unit is then an emergent property of that understanding of trigonometry. Cheers, Ferdinand

@manuel Gotcha. Thanks for the confirmation. Closing this thread now.

Hello @alexandre-dj, I know all menus in C4D have their own id, so this should be an easy check. That is only true on a relatively abstract level. There are string symbols, e.g., IDS_EDITOR_PLUGINS for menu resources, but there is no strict namespace management or anything else on might associate with statements such as 'all menus in C4D have their own id'. Also note that all menu entries in a menu container are stored under the integer IDs MENURESOURCE_COMMAND and MENURESOURCE_SUBMENU as shown in my example above. So, when you have a menu with ten commands and four sub-menus, all fourteen items are stored under these two IDs. This works because BaseContainer is actually not a hash map as one might think, and can store more than one value under a key. Long story short - traversing and modifying menus is not ultra complicated but I would also not label it as 'easy' ; which is why I did provide the example in my previous posting. When firing c4d.gui.GetMenuResource("M_EDITOR") to Get the whole menu of Cinema 4D (as you mention in your code here) I get a different address every time: >>> c4d.gui.GetMenuResource("M_EDITOR") <c4d.BaseContainer object at 0x000001B406C86580> >>> c4d.gui.GetMenuResource("M_EDITOR") <c4d.BaseContainer object at 0x000001B406CA6A40> >>> c4d.gui.GetMenuResource("M_EDITOR") <c4d.BaseContainer object at 0x000001B406C88C80> You are calling here the Python layer for returning a Python object representation of the C++ object that represents the menu. Cinema 4D is still a C++ application and the menu exists in your memory with the layout defined by the C++ type BaseContainer. That type has memory-wise nothing to do with its Python counter part c4d.BaseContainer. So, the Python layer must create that Python data on the fly, as otherwise the memory-footprint of Cinema 4D would double (actually more, because Python data is not exactly sparse data) and synchronizing both data layers would bring Cinema 4D to a crawl. TLDR; you retrieve the same data expressed as a different memory object because 'that is how Python works'. So when I use c4d.gui.SearchMenuResource(main_menu_ressource, my_custom_menu) to check if my custom menu is part of the main menu, this always return False, as the address of the main_menu object changes. Why your call fails here, depends a bit on what you are passing. The first argument should be the string symbol inside a sub menu, and the second item is the sub menu. When you store a reference to a sub-menu from a previous call to GetMenuResource, this might not work when SearchPluginMenuResource searches by identity instead of equality, i.e., it expects that container to be at a certain memory location (have not tried though). There is also c4d.gui.SearchPluginMenuResource(identifier='IDS_EDITOR_PLUGINS'), which should be sufficient to find anything that does not produce a name collision. I personally would just write my own stuff as demonstrated above, since I can then search however I want to. Cheers, Ferdinand

You can also filter your objects. Using GetInfo for example, you can check if the current object is a generator or not. If you make a generator editable, the generator will/should handle the children itself. The only exception are primitives. Primitives are generators but they do not care about their children. Cheers, Manuel

Thanks alot Ferdinand. I investigated some further and added the classes to the plugins list: _plugins = [ "Tools", "Recipe", The error was also caused, by the executables having different libraries. Meaning, we call once cinema 4d.exe, which uses the {prefs}/python39/libs folder. The second part of the plugin is executed using the classic Commandline.exe and uses the {prefs}_x/python39/libs folder. Im a idiot, but a stubborn one. Have a great day. Topic can be locked now.

Hello @Cairyn , without further questions or postings, we will consider this topic as solved by Friday 11th of august 2023 and flag it accordingly. Thank you for your understanding, Maxon SDK Group

Hi @ferdinand, Thanks for the reply and the information. Ok, it is an UX/UI thing. I know that the color value is just a Vector and the original value doesn't change when toggling between modes (sRGB, Render, Display and Raw). It's just confusing for the end user that by default C4D is displaying colors in sRGB mode (when using OCIO), especially when the given vector for the color is anyways in raw format. But as you said, it's UX/UI thing and I should do a feature request in Maxon's Support Center that it would be nice to be able to change the default mode for the color field. Thanks for the link to the OCIO article, really useful information! Cheers, Arttu

@ferdinand Thanks for the response. I'll get back to you on this just having some stuff in the pipeline that are more immediate. That said, I do want to confirm that your code is working from the get go. It's just my implemention of it in the GUI dialog. I'll just have to iron out the logic on that one.

Hello @d_keith, Thank you for reaching out to us. So, I had a look, and I could not find a bug with ExpandAssetCategoryId. I tried built-in categories, custom categories, and custom categories inside a custom database. My traversal method does return everything what I would expect to be returned. Find a more elaborate variant of ExpandAssetCategoryId below (I turned it into a class for easier inspection of the data). There are a few things which could go wrong here: You misunderstood the purpose of ExpandAssetCategoryId, it expands a category tree in a top-down fashion. E.g., for A->B->C, ExpandAssetCategoryId(B) will yield B, C but not A. It could certainly be done differently but that would be up to you. There is a bug in your code in another place. There might exist special conditions in the environment you are working in, but that is nothing for the forum. Find below my example which will expand asset category trees from a root in a more visual and therefore easier to check manner. Cheers, Ferdinand The result: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AssetCategoryHandler at 0X7FD2F3350B90 (repo = database@U1pOb6rnHdar41NpWahfnn): Managed IDs: (maxon.Id('category@3d2621c1bc48485aa2b7ceead989e421'), maxon.Id('category_32a5e2eefcc10592'), maxon.Id('category_3e39b2c258ae9313'), maxon.Id('category_f7cb610b3f172a93'), maxon.Id('category_8f51f303e1bbf875'), maxon.Id('category_bb4c48de0af7b8b3'), maxon.Id('category_28801c2ab359e01e'), maxon.Id('category_fd68f940d0b615ab'), maxon.Id('category_993d6d73f3c2629e'), maxon.Id('category_fce5f1171ae19de7'), maxon.Id('category_50bbe4f91e99090b'), maxon.Id('category_074c78c3e2d70ab9'), maxon.Id('category_c92b8c257f9e7517'), maxon.Id('category@23efef776140438f80b9ca1b0eef53f7'), maxon.Id('category_a800e5a243f9f385'), maxon.Id('category_9676f914364e4e27'), maxon.Id('category_e024f65cd280795e'), maxon.Id('category_2ab08ca489795a07'), maxon.Id('category_c04b37955dcb3895'), maxon.Id('category_34ed541e2020f38e'), maxon.Id('category_f7316fed1fc11137'), maxon.Id('category_efb8eae1116900c2'), maxon.Id('category_c0e06630879697c2'), maxon.Id('category_f4afa4f900193b95'), maxon.Id('category_476ff23d55425ca4'), maxon.Id('category_58e6a054402a25fd'), maxon.Id('category_ddcdf72383424d7e'), maxon.Id('category_ca1600eb107c6082'), maxon.Id('category_1b0948c77cb2f61e'), maxon.Id('category@c19d76abc1bf46f296ed837fd9e8a215'), maxon.Id('category_f40806b20b84f759'), maxon.Id('category_8ea059e3d503175a'), maxon.Id('category_9147f39c273d8342'), maxon.Id('category@6608dc0e700442f196c788a53170a078'), maxon.Id('category@d8567d0c206145979ef94bf495128c00'), maxon.Id('category@1bc8d3a8b3764acfb82bf5409646fe9f'), maxon.Id('category@8b5f3e8dfbb2489caff67db176800a50'), maxon.Id('category@d1b7bff693344889aa2b98b2f77e80ac'), maxon.Id('category@edad962d94254a26a90a492fae589221'), maxon.Id('category@7cd25e2b9d5c408986cded4f33d59c47'), 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maxon.Id('category_248c7a50c5c70f4c'), maxon.Id('category_8509ac933bece593'), maxon.Id('category@3be598900c7a428eb0fcbced997655ba'), maxon.Id('category_64f67f3727141f1a'), maxon.Id('category@e33ef358a9b24d6cab80454a4179e419'), maxon.Id('category_63ebef6aab44bd4d'), maxon.Id('category_045526cd4a11b6dc'), maxon.Id('category@a91d4cacaeba4170bf0c202d583fe2e0'), maxon.Id('category@35ee4e3871414784a3767fc2037c305b'), maxon.Id('category_04cdfd3b558329b6'), maxon.Id('category_24b5ae0d89e20ccc'), maxon.Id('category_cd5ad0a08c825d60'), maxon.Id('category_1c643f453b71129e'), maxon.Id('category_f9bd2fcc800c8279'), maxon.Id('category_468266206e683e39'), maxon.Id('category_172e168c2640e535'), maxon.Id('category@c9f25306ba024d939ae97d0999d70995'), maxon.Id('category_ab975c5373b7ba07'), maxon.Id('category@5e2b516fbc0541ad9d59781d675ad8f9'), maxon.Id('category_0133f046d03a46e7'), maxon.Id('category_74ec3ae6ecaab0de'), maxon.Id('category_fcf83cd1ff7e0fea'), maxon.Id('category_32750a41ff5ae804'), maxon.Id('category_f3dfa1fc22e1760f'), maxon.Id('category_8c28445d28cba3b6'), maxon.Id('category_65263c7c1c8c423c'), maxon.Id('category_67a056c194d9897c'), maxon.Id('category_73d82da307ebac4f'), maxon.Id('category_fa850c478d745f9e'), maxon.Id('category@780d427523e243028086a1aa33745b66'), maxon.Id('category_8cbecf2e6c1c53e6'), maxon.Id('category_66c6a982b7227e77'), maxon.Id('category_a2fde34845c656bd'), maxon.Id('category_95b2c4bc77dbeb2d'), maxon.Id('category@f7ac3097518e4141a80ec19bc0c8548b'), maxon.Id('category@93c3e0df81e54acfae70a129ad8f7fc0'), maxon.Id('category@9812f958facf4bc39d90fb79cc4fe783'), maxon.Id('category_ecfd5ef0b32fdc6e'), maxon.Id('category@4d87bd4452b8493aa2ffd9e9500cba56'), maxon.Id('category_de343673ae7ff879'), maxon.Id('category_2aa95f92d383989e'), maxon.Id('category_aded6c15b065a4a5'), maxon.Id('category_fe8c8340d4cfebef'), maxon.Id('category_2d90a72a03048a0a'), maxon.Id('category_8191022b0575a8c8'), maxon.Id('category_94bc6daab0db3454'), maxon.Id('category@7f080054d14f4758aefb36dfae705b88'), maxon.Id('category@d7bd914db4194b13baebbb49f981f395'), maxon.Id('category_bdac9c772d258396'), maxon.Id('category@ee5c708a346740a591544bb9be87cf8d'), maxon.Id('category_f72dcc94be532fa4'), maxon.Id('category_d6e2d304d1c0eb76'), maxon.Id('category_819c3f327c46106c'), maxon.Id('category_a7dd93c148997ea2'), maxon.Id('category_adbf1096d2400c47'), maxon.Id('category_6bf21b118e626b8f'), maxon.Id('category_66478df5e0c296b2'), maxon.Id('category_5ff49c9a181cad8c'), maxon.Id('category_06eaa38e9750e5e3'), maxon.Id('category_732f5bf076c873c7'), maxon.Id('category_781d1c68184a4319'), maxon.Id('category_b6d6fd4c864f01d8'), maxon.Id('category_bcc53614ed7486b6'), maxon.Id('category_20a0233895be23f3'), maxon.Id('category_d42b5d6450873989'), maxon.Id('category_cea3e864eb47b596'), maxon.Id('category_3385066daeaf9819'), maxon.Id('category@1445293c87e64c7684011d9c0477754e'), maxon.Id('category@1f03b25c815e421789036e5a84a3ccf1'), maxon.Id('category@9a2779a603bc4e1f93b9577abe5ecad1'), maxon.Id('category@3064bcb4ff4e4ae890730837caea6f10'), maxon.Id('category@1ba9498066ff42b6b2916242f8d8e7bb'), maxon.Id('category@ef89ec1e9b5a47a5b245e05c5c8b1418'), maxon.Id('category@b674f3ffaa9247f390fdbd49a08111a7'), maxon.Id('category@9a75f45dc5984049b0307b5dc1aea91e'), maxon.Id('category_ef962b4216a17f64'), maxon.Id('category_5a9141a0036aa0e2'), maxon.Id('category_e682fa27d7eb619d'), maxon.Id('category_899783790d811f25'), maxon.Id('category@beb1c0ee13d948faa8e2b084e6b23ab6')) Tree: '/Objects' '/Objects/Info Graphics' '/Objects/Humans' '/Objects/Humans/3D Posable Silhouettes' '/Objects/Humans/3D People - For Animation' '/Objects/Humans/3D People [Low Resolution]' '/Objects/Humans/3D People [Medium Resolution]' '/Objects/Humans/Cutout' '/Objects/Packaging' '/Objects/Tools' '/Objects/Vehicles' '/Objects/Periodicals' '/Objects/Appliances' '/Objects/Eyewear' '/Objects/Garments' '/Objects/Finance' '/Objects/Plants' '/Objects/Plants/European Trees Young' '/Objects/Plants/Garden & Exotic' '/Objects/Plants/European Trees Mature' '/Objects/Plants/Houseplants' '/Objects/Plants/Cutouts' '/Objects/Plants/Grass Elements' '/Objects/Plants/Grass Elements/Low Resolution' '/Objects/Plants/Grass Elements/Medium Resolution' '/Objects/Pots' '/Objects/Shelving' '/Objects/Shelving/Modular Cabinets & Doors' '/Objects/Shelving/Modular Cabinets & Doors/Misc Cabinet Examples' '/Objects/Shelving/Modular Cabinets & Doors/Cabinet & Door Pieces' '/Objects/Shelving/Modular Cabinets & Doors/Misc Door Examples' '/Objects/Shelving/Living Room & Bedroom' '/Objects/Celebration' '/Objects/Kitbash' '/Objects/Kitbash/Piping' '/Objects/Kitbash/Piping/Corners' '/Objects/Kitbash/Piping/Pipes' '/Objects/Kitbash/Piping/Pipe' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details/Squares' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details/Crosses' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details/Geometric' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details/Triangles' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details/Hexagons' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details/Arrows' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details/Rectangles' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details/Circles' '/Objects/Kitbash/Details/Pattern' '/Objects/Kitbash/Tubes' '/Objects/Kitbash/Connectors' '/Objects/Kitbash/Joints' '/Objects/Toys' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Scaffolds' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Trash Cans' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Buildings' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Buildings/Houses' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Buildings/Cityscape' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Buildings/Misc' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Wall Decor' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Manholes' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Miscellaneous' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Traffic Lights' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Antennas' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Pavement' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Street Lights' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Bus Stops' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Fire Escapes' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Infrastructure' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Road Signs' '/Objects/Outdoor Objects/Barriers & Barricades' '/Objects/Tables' '/Objects/Tables/Bedside Tables' '/Objects/Tables/Game Tables' '/Objects/Tables/Office Tables' '/Objects/Tables/Coffee Tables' '/Objects/Tables/Dining Tables' '/Objects/Arts & Crafts' '/Objects/Stairs' '/Objects/Cogwheel Objects' '/Objects/Cogwheel Objects/Saws' '/Objects/Cogwheel Objects/Gears' '/Objects/Cogwheel Objects/Miscellaneous' '/Objects/Cogwheel Objects/Clutches' '/Objects/Cogwheel Objects/Ratchet' '/Objects/Cogwheel Objects/Watch Gears' '/Objects/Kitchen' '/Objects/Kitchen/Cutlery' '/Objects/Kitchen/Dinnerware' '/Objects/Kitchen/Accessories' '/Objects/Kitchen/Cookware' '/Objects/Kitchen/Serveware' '/Objects/Kitchen/Glassware' '/Objects/Screws' '/Objects/Landscape' '/Objects/Landscape/Wood' '/Objects/Landscape/Stones' '/Objects/Vases' '/Objects/Window Treatments' '/Objects/Seating' '/Objects/Seating/Sofas' '/Objects/Seating/Waiting Areas' '/Objects/Seating/Benches' '/Objects/Seating/Chairs' '/Objects/Lighting & Ceiling Fans' '/Objects/Lighting & Ceiling Fans/Ceiling Lighting' '/Objects/Lighting & Ceiling Fans/Home Safety & Security' '/Objects/Lighting & Ceiling Fans/Outdoor Lighting' '/Objects/Lighting & Ceiling Fans/Wall Lighting' '/Objects/Lighting & Ceiling Fans/Ceiling Fans' '/Objects/Lighting & Ceiling Fans/Lamps' '/Objects/Lighting & Ceiling Fans/Light Bulbs' '/Objects/Lighting & Ceiling Fans/Light Stands' '/Objects/Music' '/Objects/Bedroom' '/Objects/Bath' '/Objects/Bath/Toilets' '/Objects/Bath/Bathroom Vanities' '/Objects/Bath/Sinks' '/Objects/Bath/Towels' '/Objects/Bath/Bathroom Accessories' '/Objects/Bath/Bathtubs & Showers' '/Objects/Bath/Faucets' '/Objects/Gambling' '/Objects/Stationary' '/Objects/Sculpting Base Meshes' '/Objects/Weather' '/Objects/Home Decor' '/Objects/Home Decor/Candles' '/Objects/Home Decor/Books' '/Objects/Home Decor/Picture Frames' '/Objects/Home Decor/Decorative Storage' '/Objects/Home Decor/Candleholders' '/Objects/Home Decor/Decorative Boxes' '/Objects/Home Decor/Clocks' '/Objects/Electronics & Technology' '/Objects/Miscellaneous' '/Objects/Sports Items' '/Objects/Food' '/Objects/Doors & Windows' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AssetCategoryHandler at 0X7FD2F3368910 (repo = net.maxon.repository.userprefs): Managed IDs: (maxon.Id('category@0ad833e88d774ac1ae4fd277e57ecacc'), maxon.Id('category@d8bc777f959e48bda659d1674bb1d5f3'), maxon.Id('category@0399404fe6fc46558b8f98f63d49ce28'), maxon.Id('category@08ab3faa66e348fe86574469cbabb2c7'), maxon.Id('category@793e20a462f04c64a5cea28209f9a38b')) Tree: '/MyUserCategory' '/MyUserCategory/Blah' '/MyUserCategory/Blah/Blub' '/MyUserCategory/Blub' '/MyUserCategory/Blub/Blah' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AssetCategoryHandler at 0X7FD2F1CBED10 (repo = database@CGBLAN4TBpzrDfyA9gjMTn): Managed IDs: (maxon.Id('category@d1233ed9975945debc8942a30edfd706'), maxon.Id('category@cfce060493cd4c61b92a115624d33eb1'), maxon.Id('category@fa80f5a53cea42b7a72f494f0d673377'), maxon.Id('category@ae9c2c99dee74deeb8a7a7d711d57ffe'), maxon.Id('category@ffc383ed61454affa841f13931f93125')) Tree: '/AlsoUserCategory' '/AlsoUserCategory/Foo' '/AlsoUserCategory/Foo/Bar' '/AlsoUserCategory/Blah' '/AlsoUserCategory/Blah/Blub' The code: """Provides a type to expand asset categories into trees. """ import c4d import maxon import typing import pprint class AssetCategoryHandler: """Handles an asset category that is a root to zero to many descendant categories. """ def __init__(self, asset: maxon.AssetDescription, categories: list[maxon.AssetDescription] = [], language: maxon.LanguageRef = maxon.Resource.GetCurrentLanguage(), path: str = ""): """Initializes the handler. Args: asset (maxon.AssetDescription): The category asset to expand. categories (list[maxon.AssetDescription], optional): A list of categories which should be respected for expansion, when the empty list is passed, the assets will be gathered from the repository #asset is attached to. Defaults to []. language (maxon.LanguageRef, optional): The language to retrieve asset strings in. Defaults to maxon.Resource.GetCurrentLanguage(). path (str, optional): [internal] The current parent path. Defaults to "". Raises: TypeError: On type assertion failures. """ # Type checks and retrieving some data from the asset. if not isinstance(asset, maxon.AssetDescription) or asset.IsNullValue(): raise TypeError(f"{asset = }") if not isinstance(categories, list): raise TypeError(f"{categories = }") if not isinstance(language, maxon.LanguageRef) or language.IsNullValue(): raise TypeError(f"{language = }") self._asset: maxon.AssetDescription = asset self._aid: maxon.Id = maxon.Id(asset.GetId()) if isinstance(asset.GetId(), str) else asset.GetId() self._name: str = asset.GetMetaString(maxon.OBJECT.BASE.NAME, language, "") self._path: str = f"{path}/{self._name}" self._repo: maxon.AssetRepositoryRef = asset.GetRepository() self._categories: list[maxon.AssetDescription] = categories self._language: maxon.LanguageRef = language self._children: list["AssetCategoryHandler"] = [] # Populate _categories when empty. if len(self._categories) < 1: self._categories = self._repo.FindAssets( maxon.AssetTypes.Category(), maxon.Id(),maxon.Id(), maxon.ASSET_FIND_MODE.LATEST) # Expand the tree and cache the IDs. self.__expand__() self._ids: tuple[maxon.Id] = tuple(self.__yieldids__()) def __repr__(self) -> str: """Returns a string representation of the handler. """ return f"{self.__class__.__name__} at {str(hex(id(self))).upper()}" def __expand__(self): """Expands the handler into a tree of handlers, one for each of the descendant categories of the wrapped category asset. """ for asset in self._categories: if self._aid != maxon.CategoryAssetInterface.GetParentCategory(asset): continue child = AssetCategoryHandler(asset, self._categories, self._language, self._path) self._children.append(child) def __yieldids__(self) -> typing.Generator[maxon.Id, None, None]: """Provides a generator for all asset IDs associated with this handler. Use the property Ids instead, unless rebuilding this data is desired. """ yield self._aid for child in self._children: for aid in child.__yieldids__(): yield aid @property def Ids (self) -> tuple[maxon.Id]: """Returns a tuple of all asset IDs associated with this handler. """ return self._ids def PrintTree(self, indent: int = 0) -> None: """Prints an asset tree for this handler. """ print(f"{' ' * indent}'{self._path}'") for handler in self._children: handler.PrintTree(indent + 1) def main() -> None : """Runs the example. """ # Get the user preferences asset repository, in a production environment it will contain all # relevant assets as of 2023.1.0. if not maxon.AssetDataBasesInterface.WaitForDatabaseLoading(): raise RuntimeError("Could not load asset databases.") repo: maxon.AssetRepositoryInterface = maxon.AssetInterface.GetUserPrefsRepository() if not repo: raise RuntimeError("Unable to retrieve user repository.") # Used to shorten the call signatures of the FindLatestAsset() calls below. kwargs: dict = { "type": maxon.AssetTypes.Category(), "version": maxon.Id(), "findMode": maxon.ASSET_FIND_MODE.LATEST } # Get a couple of root level asset categories. categoryRoots: list[maxon.AssetDescription] = [ # The /Objects category in the Asset Browser, a built-in category. repo.FindLatestAsset(aid=maxon.Id("category@3d2621c1bc48485aa2b7ceead989e421"), **kwargs), # # /Example Scenes # repo.FindLatestAsset(aid= maxon.Id("category@4e785a69ef3749738bfd9d2b191535d5"), **kwargs), # # /Materials # repo.FindLatestAsset(aid= maxon.Id("category_a1ba084a9eeedb9b"), **kwargs), # # /Nodes # repo.FindLatestAsset(aid= maxon.Id("category@52d8f01357834200aa0dc28f0e61bbb3"), **kwargs), # # /Textures # repo.FindLatestAsset(aid= maxon.Id("category@8c76a408c56f4b5ca9f585dbe0ece9b7"), **kwargs), # Custom category trees, they will be filtered out on other machines then mine, since other # machines won't find these assets. # /MyUserCategory (stored in the database in the user prefs) repo.FindLatestAsset(aid= maxon.Id("category@0ad833e88d774ac1ae4fd277e57ecacc"), **kwargs), # /AlsoUserCategory (stored in a custom database) repo.FindLatestAsset(aid= maxon.Id("category@d1233ed9975945debc8942a30edfd706"), **kwargs), ] # Wrap each one of them into a handler. categoryHandlerList: list["AssetCategoryHandler"] = [ AssetCategoryHandler(asset) for asset in categoryRoots if isinstance(asset, maxon.AssetDescription) and not asset.IsNullValue()] # Iterate over the handlers and inspect their data. for handler in categoryHandlerList: print ("\n", "-" * 80) print (f"{handler} (repo = {handler._asset.GetRepositoryId()}):\n") print ("\nManaged IDs:\n") pprint.pprint(handler.Ids) print ("\nTree:\n") handler.PrintTree(indent=1) if __name__ == "__main__": main()

@ferdinand RE: The id is CUSTOMGUI_HYPER_LINK_STATIC, you can find it on the page of the custom GUI Gotcha. Thanks for the confirmation. Just wondering, why is that ID not also on the list of the Custom GUIs in the documentation. Along with other CUSTOMGUIs. Is it because the list will be too long already? RE: code Can confirm it works as expected. Although had to revised this default=200 part to defaultw=200.