Layer Manual

About

Layers are used to organize a Cinema 4D scene. A layer is represented by a LayerObject, its settings are stored in a LayerData object.

// This example creates new layers with distinct colors.
GeListHead* const root = doc->GetLayerObjectRoot();
if (root == nullptr)
return maxon::UnexpectedError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
// create 10 layers with variations
for (Int32 i = 0; i < 20; ++i)
{
LayerObject* const newLayer = LayerObject::Alloc();
if (newLayer == nullptr)
return maxon::OutOfMemoryError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
// new color
const Vector hsv { Float(i) * 0.05, 1.0, 1.0 };
const Vector rgb = HSVToRGB(hsv);
// define layerData
LayerData layerData;
layerData.color = rgb;
layerData.solo = false;
// set layer settings
newLayer->SetLayerData(doc, layerData);
newLayer->SetName("Layer " + String::IntToString(i));
// insert layer
root->InsertLast(newLayer);
}
Py_ssize_t i
Definition: abstract.h:645
Vector HSVToRGB(const Vector &col)
Bool SetLayerData(BaseDocument *doc, const LayerData &data)
void SetName(const maxon::String &name, Bool setDirty=true)
Definition: c4d_baselist.h:2550
Definition: c4d_baselist.h:2209
void InsertLast(GeListNode *bn)
Definition: c4d_baselist.h:2296
Definition: c4d_basedocument.h:252
static LayerObject * Alloc()
static String IntToString(Int32 v)
Definition: c4d_string.h:497
maxon::Int32 Int32
Definition: ge_sys_math.h:56
maxon::Float Float
Definition: ge_sys_math.h:62
#define MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION
Definition: memoryallocationbase.h:67
const char * doc
Definition: pyerrors.h:226
Definition: c4d_basedocument.h:318
Vector color
Layer color.
Definition: c4d_basedocument.h:361
Bool solo
Definition: c4d_basedocument.h:350

LayerObject

A LayerObject represents a layer of a Cinema 4D scene. It is used to assign an element to this layer and to edit the layer.

LayerObject objects are an instance of Olayer.

Access

The LayerObject assigned to an element can be accessed and set with these BaseList2D functions:

Layers are organized in a tree. The root element of that tree is stored in the BaseDocument:

// This example gets the layer root object to access the first layer.
GeListHead* const layers = doc->GetLayerObjectRoot();
if (layers == nullptr)
return maxon::UnexpectedError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
LayerObject* const layer = static_cast<LayerObject*>(layers->GetFirst());
if (layer != nullptr)
ApplicationOutput("First Layer: " + layer->GetName());
String GetName() const
Definition: c4d_baselist.h:2544
GeListNode * GetFirst()
Definition: c4d_baselist.h:2266
#define ApplicationOutput(formatString,...)
Definition: debugdiagnostics.h:204
Note
To check if a given LayerObject is currently selected in the Layer Manager, read the bit BIT_ACTIVE.

Allocation/Deallocation

LayerObject objects are created with the usual tools:

// This example creates a new layer and assigns it to the "object" entity.
GeListHead* const root = doc->GetLayerObjectRoot();
if (root == nullptr)
return maxon::UnexpectedError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
LayerObject* const newLayer = LayerObject::Alloc();
if (newLayer == nullptr)
return maxon::OutOfMemoryError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
newLayer->SetName("This is a new layer"_s);
root->InsertLast(newLayer);
// assign
object->SetLayerObject(newLayer);

Navigation

LayerObject objects are based on GeListNode and are organized in a tree. This tree can be navigated with:

// This example checks if the given object is has a layer.
// If so, the topmost parent of that layer is assigned instead.
BaseObject* const object = doc->GetActiveObject();
if (object == nullptr)
return maxon::IllegalArgumentError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
LayerObject* const layer = object->GetLayerObject(doc);
if (layer != nullptr)
{
LayerObject* parentLayer = layer;
// search for topmost layer
while (parentLayer->GetUp())
{
parentLayer = parentLayer->GetUp();
}
// assign parent layer
object->SetLayerObject(parentLayer);
}
Bool SetLayerObject(const LayerObject *layer)
LayerObject * GetLayerObject(const BaseDocument *doc)
Definition: c4d_baselist.h:2823
Definition: c4d_baseobject.h:248
LayerObject * GetUp()
Definition: c4d_basedocument.h:295
Note
If a layer is folded in the Layer Manager is controlled with the bit BIT_OFOLD.

LayerData

A LayerData object represents the settings of a layer.

Access

The applied layer settings of an element are accessed with these BaseList2D functions:

These functions can be used on the given element or on a LayerObject object.

// This example get the object's LayerData and prints the color to the console.
const LayerData* const layerData = object->GetLayerData(doc, true);
if (layerData != nullptr)
{
}
static String VectorToString(const Vector32 &v, Int32 nnk=-1)
Definition: c4d_string.h:573

Properties

These are the properties of a layer stored in a LayerData object. These properties define how a layer changes the behavior of an element that is assigned to that layer:

// This example creates a new, locked layer and assigns all active objects.
// create layer
GeListHead* const root = doc->GetLayerObjectRoot();
if (root == nullptr)
return maxon::UnexpectedError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
LayerObject* const newLayer = LayerObject::Alloc();
if (newLayer == nullptr)
return maxon::OutOfMemoryError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
// setup layer and add it to the layer list
LayerData layerData;
layerData.locked = true;
layerData.solo = false;
newLayer->SetLayerData(doc, layerData);
newLayer->SetName("Locked"_s);
root->InsertLast(newLayer);
// get object selection
if (objects == nullptr)
return maxon::OutOfMemoryError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
doc->GetActiveObjects(objects, GETACTIVEOBJECTFLAGS::NONE);
// check every objects
for (Int32 i = 0; i < objects->GetCount(); ++i)
{
BaseObject* const object = static_cast<BaseObject*>(objects->GetIndex(i));
if (object == nullptr)
return maxon::UnexpectedError(MAXON_SOURCE_LOCATION);
object->SetLayerObject(newLayer);
}
Definition: ge_autoptr.h:37
Bool locked
Not selectable and no modification possible, grayed out in Object Manager.
Definition: c4d_basedocument.h:355
Note
When one edits the solo bit it is also necessary to change the NBIT::SOLO_LAYER of the BaseDocument with GeListNode::ChangeNBit() either using NBITCONTROL::SET or NBITCONTROL:: CLEAR.

Utility

  • IsObjectEnabled(): Checks if the given object should be visible in the viewport, including checking the layers.

Further Reading