c4d.BaseContainer¶

class c4d.BaseContainer¶: Provides a container type used to store bundles of data.

Containers are the form in which most scene elements exposed it parameters. See the data/c4d_basecontainer.py example in the SDK for more

information on how to use containers.

Overview¶

Deprecated
`BaseContainer.GetLLong()`	Use `GetInt64()` instead.
`BaseContainer.GetLong()`	Use `GetInt32()` instead.
`BaseContainer.GetReal()`	Use `GetFloat()` instead.
`BaseContainer.SetLLong()`	Use `SetInt64()` instead.
`BaseContainer.SetLong()`	Use `SetInt32()` instead.
`BaseContainer.SetReal()`	Use `SetFloat()` instead.
Generic Data Access
`BaseContainer.GetData()`	Returns the data for an element by ID.
`BaseContainer.GetDataPointer()`	Retrieves a pointer to directly access the data.
`BaseContainer.GetVoid()`	Gets the void* value at the specified id.
`BaseContainer.SetData()`	Sets an arbitrary data value at the specified ID.
`BaseContainer.SetDataNoDirty()`	Sets arbitrary data at the specified id without setting the container dirty.
`BaseContainer.SetVoid()`	Stores a PyCObject to an void* object with the specified ID.
Identity And State
`BaseContainer.GetDirty()`	Returns the dirty count.
`BaseContainer.GetId()`	Returns the ID of the container.
`BaseContainer.IsInstance()`	Checks if the container is an instance.
`BaseContainer.SetId()`	Sets the ID of the container.
Index And Entry Management
`BaseContainer.FindIndex()`	Returns the index for the value with the specified ID and its assigned data, or -1 if no such value exists.
`BaseContainer.GetIndexData()`	Retrieves the data for the element at index.
`BaseContainer.GetIndexId()`	Returns the ID of the element at the specified index, or NOTOK if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetType()`	Returns the type of a container element by ID.
`BaseContainer.InsData()`	Inserts an arbitrary data at the specified id.
`BaseContainer.InsDataAfter()`	Inserts an arbitrary data at the specified id after last.
`BaseContainer.RemoveData()`	Removes the first data item with the specified ID.
`BaseContainer.RemoveIndex()`	Removes the data item at the specified index i.
`BaseContainer.SetIndexData()`	Sets the data for the element at index.
`BaseContainer.Sort()`	Sorts a container strings by their ID.
Lifecycle And Composition
`BaseContainer.CopyTo()`	Copies all values to dst.
`BaseContainer.FlushAll()`	Clears all values in the container.
`BaseContainer.GetClone()`	Returns a copy of the container including all values.
`BaseContainer.MergeContainer()`	Stores the values in src in this container, overwriting any elements with colliding IDs and keeping the rest.
Magic Methods
`BaseContainer.__eq__()`	Check if the compared containers have the same ID, have the same values, and all values are equal.
`BaseContainer.__getitem__()`	Returns a value with the specified ID.
`BaseContainer.__init__()`	Initializes a new container.
`BaseContainer.__iter__()`	The BaseContainer is iterable so just use it like in the following example:
`BaseContainer.__len__()`	Calculates the number of data elements inside the container.
`BaseContainer.__ne__()`	Check if the compared containers don’t have the same ID, don’t have the same values, and all values are not equal.
`BaseContainer.__setitem__()`	Automatically redirect the value to the corresponding Set* method.
Nested And Linked Data
`BaseContainer.GetContainer()`	Returns a copy of the sub-container with the specified ID, or an empty container if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetContainerInstance()`	Returns the sub-container with the specified ID, or None if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetCustomDataType()`	Returns a copy of the custom data type or None if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetLink()`	Returns a linked object, evaluated in the attached document.
`BaseContainer.GetMaterialLink()`	Returns a linked material object, evaluated in the attached document.
`BaseContainer.GetObjectLink()`	Returns a linked base object, evaluated in the attached document.
Typed Value Assignment
`BaseContainer.SetBool()`	Sets a bool value and changes the data type accordingly.
`BaseContainer.SetContainer()`	Sets a `BaseContainer` value and changes the data type accordingly.
`BaseContainer.SetFilename()`	Sets a new string value with the specified ID to s as a filepath, or inserts it if it didn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.SetFloat()`	Sets a float value and changes the data type accordingly.
`BaseContainer.SetInt32()`	Sets an int value and changes the data type accordingly.
`BaseContainer.SetInt64()`	Sets a long value and changes the data type accordingly.
`BaseContainer.SetLink()`	Stores a link to an atom object with the specified ID.
`BaseContainer.SetMatrix()`	Sets a `Matrix` value and changes the data type accordingly.
`BaseContainer.SetString()`	Sets a string value and changes the data type accordingly.
`BaseContainer.SetTime()`	Sets a `BaseTime` value and changes the data type accordingly.
`BaseContainer.SetUuid()`	Sets a uuid value and changes the data type accordingly.
`BaseContainer.SetVector()`	Sets a `Vector` value and changes the data type accordingly.
Typed Value Retrieval
`BaseContainer.GetBool()`	Returns a bool value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetFilename()`	Returns a string value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetFloat()`	Returns a float value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetInt32()`	Returns a int value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetInt64()`	Returns a long value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetMatrix()`	Returns a `Matrix` value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetString()`	Returns a string value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetTime()`	Returns a `BaseTime` value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetUuid()`	Returns a uuid value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.
`BaseContainer.GetVector()`	Returns a `Vector` value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Members¶

Deprecated¶

BaseContainer.GetLLong(self, id, preset=0)¶

Deprecated since version R15: Use GetInt64() instead.

Returns a long value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (int) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

int

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetLong(self, id, preset=0)¶

Deprecated since version R15: Use GetInt32() instead.

Returns a int value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (int) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

int

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetReal(self, id, preset=0.0)¶

Deprecated since version R15: Use GetFloat() instead.

Returns a float value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (float) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

float

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.SetLLong(self, id, l)¶

Deprecated since version R15: Use SetInt64() instead.

Sets a long value and changes the data type accordingly.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
l (int) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetLong(self, id, l)¶

Deprecated since version R15: Use SetInt32() instead.

Sets an int value and changes the data type accordingly.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
l (int) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetReal(self, id, v)¶

Deprecated since version R15: Use SetFloat() instead.

Sets a float value and changes the data type accordingly.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
l (int) – The new value.

Generic Data Access¶

BaseContainer.GetData(self, id)¶

Returns the data for an element by ID.

Parameters: id (int) – The ID of the element.
Return type: Optional[Any]
Returns: The data or None if it wasn’t found.

BaseContainer.GetDataPointer(self, id)¶

Retrieves a pointer to directly access the data.

New in version R17.053.

bc = c4d.BaseContainer()
bc[1000] = "hello"
bc[2000] = "world"

# Print content
print("Original:")
for dataid, data in bc:
    print(data)

dataptr = bc.GetDataPointer(1000)
bc.InsDataAfter(3000, "beautiful", dataptr)

# Print content
print("Changed:")
for dataid, data in bc:
    print(data)
print(" ")

Parameters: id (int) – The ID of the element.
Return type: PyCObject
Returns: A pointer to the data.

BaseContainer.GetVoid(self, id)¶

Gets the void* value at the specified id.

Parameters: id (int) – The ID of the requested void object.
Return type: PyCObject
Returns: The PyCObject representing the void object.

BaseContainer.SetData(self, id, n)¶

Sets an arbitrary data value at the specified ID.

If a value exists under the same ID, its content will be changed.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the element to set.
n (any) – The data value to set.

BaseContainer.SetDataNoDirty(self, id, n)¶

Sets arbitrary data at the specified id without setting the container dirty.

If a value exists under the same ID, its content will be changed. This function will not set the container dirty and can be used to store data without affecting the object system evaluation.

New in version 2025.0.0.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the element to set.
n (any) – The data value to set.

BaseContainer.SetVoid(self, id, v)¶

Stores a PyCObject to an void* object with the specified ID.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested void object.
v (PyCObject) – The void* as a PyCObject to store.

Identity And State¶

BaseContainer.GetDirty(self)¶

Returns the dirty count.

Can be used to check if the container has changed.

Return type: int
Returns: Dirty counter. It is incremented when the container changes.

BaseContainer.GetId(self)¶

Returns the ID of the container.

Return type: int
Returns: The container ID.

BaseContainer.IsInstance(self)¶

Checks if the container is an instance.

Return type: bool
Returns: True if the container is an instance, otherwise False.

BaseContainer.SetId(self, id)¶

Sets the ID of the container.

Parameters: id (int) – The container ID.

Index And Entry Management¶

BaseContainer.FindIndex(self, i)¶

Returns the index for the value with the specified ID and its assigned data, or -1 if no such value exists.

Parameters: i (int) – The ID of the value.
Return type: Dict[index: int, ppData: Any]
Returns: The index of the value, or -1 if not found and its assigned data if found.

BaseContainer.GetIndexData(self, index)¶

Retrieves the data for the element at index.

New in version R16.038.

Parameters: index (int) – The index of the element.
Return type: Optional[Any]
Returns: The data, or None if no data was found.

BaseContainer.GetIndexId(self, index)¶

Returns the ID of the element at the specified index, or NOTOK if it doesn’t exist.

Used to browse through the container.

Parameters: index (int) – The index of the value.
Return type: bool
Returns: The ID of the value, or NOTOK.

BaseContainer.GetType(self, id)¶

Returns the type of a container element by ID.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the element.

Return type

int

Returns

The type:

DA_NIL	No value.
DA_VOID	PyCObject
DA_LONG	Integer.
DA_REAL	Float.
DA_TIME	`BaseTime`.
DA_VECTOR	`Vector`.
DA_MATRIX	`Matrix`.
DA_LLONG	Integer.
DA_STRING	String.
DA_FILENAME	String.
DA_CONTAINER	`BaseContainer`.
DA_ALIASLINK	`BaseList2D`.
DA_MARKER	Not used.
DA_MISSINGPLUG	Denotes a missing datatype plugin.
DA_UUID	New in version R17.048: UUID.
DA_TRISTATE	New in version R20: No single value.
DA_CUSTOMDATATYPE	Datatypes higher than this value are custom.

BaseContainer.InsData(self, id, n)¶

Inserts an arbitrary data at the specified id.

Warning

This function does not check if the ID already exists in the container!

Parameters

id (int) – The ID to insert at.
n (any) – The data to insert.

Return type

Any

Returns

The inserted data.

BaseContainer.InsDataAfter(self, id, n, last)¶

Inserts an arbitrary data at the specified id after last.

Warning

This function does not check if the ID already exists in the container!

Parameters

id (int) – The ID to insert at.
n (any) – The data to insert.
last (any) – The data to insert after.

Return type

Any

Returns

The inserted data.

BaseContainer.RemoveData(self, id)¶

Removes the first data item with the specified ID.

Parameters: id (int) – The container ID.
Return type: bool
Returns: True if any value was removed, otherwise False.

BaseContainer.RemoveIndex(self, i)¶

Removes the data item at the specified index i.

Parameters: i (int) – The index of the value to be removed.
Return type: bool
Returns: True if any value was removed, otherwise False.

BaseContainer.SetIndexData(self, index, data)¶

Sets the data for the element at index.

New in version R16.038.

Parameters

index (int) – The index of the element.
data (any) – The data for the element.

Return type

bool

Returns

True if the data was set, otherwise False.

BaseContainer.Sort(self)¶

Sorts a container strings by their ID.

Intended for sorting menus and other string containers. Is useless for containers that hold any other type of data.

warning:

Will replace all entries with string entries that are not strings or sub-containers.

Lifecycle And Composition¶

BaseContainer.CopyTo(self, dst, flags, trans=None)¶

Copies all values to dst.

Parameters

dst (c4d.BaseContainer) – The destination container.
flags (int) –
Flags:

COPYFLAGS_NONE

None.

COPYFLAGS_PRIVATE_CONTAINER_COPY_DIRTY

Private.

COPYFLAGS_PRIVATE_CONTAINER_COPY_IDENTICAL

Private.
trans (Optional[c4d.AliasTrans]) –

New in version R17.032.

An optional alias translator for the operation.

BaseContainer.FlushAll(self)¶: Clears all values in the container.

The container ID is not changed.

BaseContainer.GetClone(self, flags, trans=None)¶

Returns a copy of the container including all values.

Parameters

flags (int) –
Flags:

COPYFLAGS_NONE

None.

COPYFLAGS_PRIVATE_CONTAINER_COPY_DIRTY

Private.

COPYFLAGS_PRIVATE_CONTAINER_COPY_IDENTICAL

Private.
trans (Optional[c4d.AliasTrans]) –

New in version R17.032.

An optional alias translator for the operation.

Return type

c4d.BaseContainer

Returns

The cloned container.

BaseContainer.MergeContainer(self, src)¶

Stores the values in src in this container, overwriting any elements with colliding IDs and keeping the rest.

Parameters: src (c4d.BaseContainer) – The source container.

Magic Methods¶

BaseContainer.__eq__(self, other)¶

Check if the compared containers have the same ID, have the same values, and all values are equal.

Parameters: other (c4d.BaseContainer) – Returns True if the compared containers are equal.

BaseContainer.__getitem__(self, key)¶

Returns a value with the specified ID.

Parameters: key (int) – Index of the value.
Return type: Any
Returns: Any value.

BaseContainer.__init__(self, n=-1)¶

Initializes a new container.

Parameters: n (Optional[Union[c4d.BaseContainer, int]]) – Use int if you just want to set the ID of the container. Pass a container if you want to clone it, or None to use a standard empty container.

BaseContainer.__iter__(self)¶

The BaseContainer is iterable so just use it like in the following example:

>>> bc = c4d.BaseContainer()
>>> bc[0] = "foo"
>>> bc[37] = "bar"
>>> bc[42] = False

>>> for index, value in bc:
...     print(f"id: {index}, val: {value}")
id: 0, val: foo
id: 37, val: bar
id: 42, val: 0

BaseContainer.__len__(self)¶

Calculates the number of data elements inside the container.

Return type: int
Returns: The number of data elements.

BaseContainer.__ne__(self, other)¶

Check if the compared containers don’t have the same ID, don’t have the same values, and all values are not equal.

Parameters: other (c4d.BaseContainer) – Returns True if the compared containers are equal.

BaseContainer.__setitem__(self, key, value)¶

Automatically redirect the value to the corresponding Set* method.

Its recommended to use the original Set* method to avoid type problems.

Warning

This method can replace types.

Please check the types before when a special key is associated with a special type.

To delete a key, call del(bc[i]) or RemoveData().

Parameters

key (int) – Index of the value.
value (any) – It depends on the type which Set* method is internally called.

Nested And Linked Data¶

BaseContainer.GetContainer(self, id)¶

Returns a copy of the sub-container with the specified ID, or an empty container if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters: id (int) – The ID of the requested sub-container.
Return type: c4d.BaseContainer
Returns: The Sub-container.

BaseContainer.GetContainerInstance(self, id)¶

Returns the sub-container with the specified ID, or None if it doesn’t exist.

Changes to the container are reflected in the stored sub-container.

Parameters: id (int) – The ID of the requested sub-container.
Return type: Optional[c4d.BaseContainer]
Returns: The sub-container, or None.

BaseContainer.GetCustomDataType(self, id)¶

Returns a copy of the custom data type or None if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters: id (int) – The ID of the requested sub-container.
Returns: The custom data type.
Return type: Optional[object]

BaseContainer.GetLink(self, id, doc=None, isinstanceof=0)¶

Returns a linked object, evaluated in the attached document.

Note

If instanceof is specified, None is returned if the object is not of this type.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested sub-container.
doc (Optional[c4d.documents.BaseDocument]) – The document to evalulate the link in or None.
isinstanceof (int) – Set this to a node type to only return the link if it is of this type.

Return type

Optional[c4d.BaseList2D]

Returns

The linked object, or None if the link is broken.

BaseContainer.GetMaterialLink(self, id, doc=None)¶

Returns a linked material object, evaluated in the attached document.

Note

Returns None if the link doesn’t point to a base object.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested sub-container.
doc (Optional[c4d.documents.BaseDocument]) – The document to evalulate the link in.

Return type

Optional[c4d.BaseMaterial]

Returns

The linked material object, or None if the link is broken.

BaseContainer.GetObjectLink(self, id, doc=None)¶

Returns a linked base object, evaluated in the attached document.

Note

Returns None if the link doesn’t point to a base object.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested sub-container.
doc (Optional[c4d.documents.BaseDocument]) – The document to evalulate the link in.

Return type

Optional[c4d.BaseObject]

Returns

The linked base object, or None if the link is broken.

Typed Value Assignment¶

BaseContainer.SetBool(self, id, b)¶

Sets a bool value and changes the data type accordingly.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
b (bool) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetContainer(self, id, s)¶

Sets a BaseContainer value and changes the data type accordingly.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
s (c4d.BaseContainer) – The sub-container

BaseContainer.SetFilename(self, id, f)¶

Sets a new string value with the specified ID to s as a filepath, or inserts it if it didn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
f (str) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetFloat(self, id, v)¶

Sets a float value and changes the data type accordingly.

New in version R15.037.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
l (int) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetInt32(self, id, l)¶

Sets an int value and changes the data type accordingly.

New in version R15.037.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
l (int) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetInt64(self, id, l)¶

Sets a long value and changes the data type accordingly.

New in version R15.037.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
l (int) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetLink(self, id, link)¶

Stores a link to an atom object with the specified ID.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
link (c4d.C4DAtom) – The link to store.

BaseContainer.SetMatrix(self, id, m)¶

Sets a Matrix value and changes the data type accordingly.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
m (c4d.Matrix) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetString(self, id, s)¶

Sets a string value and changes the data type accordingly.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
s (str) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetTime(self, id, b)¶

Sets a BaseTime value and changes the data type accordingly.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
b (c4d.BaseTime) – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetUuid(self, id, u)¶

Sets a uuid value and changes the data type accordingly.

New in version R16.021.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
u – The new value.

BaseContainer.SetVector(self, id, v)¶

Sets a Vector value and changes the data type accordingly.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the value to set.
v (c4d.Vector) – The new value.

Typed Value Retrieval¶

BaseContainer.GetBool(self, id, preset=False)¶

Returns a bool value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (bool) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

bool

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetFilename(self, id, preset='')¶

Returns a string value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (str) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

str

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetFloat(self, id, preset=0.0)¶

Returns a float value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

New in version R15.037.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (float) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

float

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetInt32(self, id, preset=0)¶

Returns a int value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

New in version R15.037.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (int) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

int

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetInt64(self, id, preset=0)¶

Returns a long value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

New in version R15.037.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (int) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

int

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetMatrix(self, id, preset=<_custom_c4d.Matrix object at 0x0000012EC3F09AE0>)¶

Returns a Matrix value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (c4d.Matrix) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

c4d.Matrix

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetString(self, id, preset='')¶

Returns a string value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (str) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

str

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetTime(self, id, preset=<_custom_c4d.BaseTime object at 0x0000012EC3F131A0>)¶

Returns a BaseTime value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (c4d.BaseTime) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

c4d.BaseTime

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetUuid(self, id, preset)¶

Returns a uuid value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

New in version R16.021.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

UUID

Returns

The value.

BaseContainer.GetVector(self, id, preset=<_custom_c4d.Vector object at 0x0000012EC3F08820>)¶

Returns a Vector value with the specified ID, or preset if it doesn’t exist.

Parameters

id (int) – The ID of the requested value.
preset (c4d.Vector) – Returned if the value is not available.

Return type

c4d.Vector

Returns

The value.

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Terms	OR / AND	Choose whether to match any term or require all terms.
Fuzzy	On / Off	Toggle approximate and prefix matches. Quoted phrases always use strict matching.
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Location	All / Text / Code / Name / Signature	Text covers everything outside code, names, and signatures. Name and Signature are available with All or API.

COPYFLAGS_NONE	None.
COPYFLAGS_PRIVATE_CONTAINER_COPY_DIRTY	Private.
COPYFLAGS_PRIVATE_CONTAINER_COPY_IDENTICAL	Private.