Hi @ferdinand ,

Yes, I do need the dimension overlay to coexist with another active tool. The plugin is mainly intended to help adjust objects to realistic dimensions and proportions.

When precise dimensions are not required, the overlay helps me quickly resize and place objects in the scene. Once that is done, I can turn off the dimension overlay.

The plugin can be enabled or disabled directly and includes some settings, with usage similar to the Symmetry tool. Inactive objects do not display dimension information, and grouped objects are measured as a whole, so the viewport does not become a sea of dimension annotations .

Cheers,
Anlv

Hey @ferdinand,

Thanks for your reply. When building this plugin in Python, I implemented move, scale, and rotate functionality within the plugin, since switching to C4D’s native tools would stop the dimension information from being drawn.

However, this made the plugin rather bloated, and the performance was indeed less than ideal. Having to maintain those transform functions myself also felt like reinventing the wheel.

I’ve now completed the C++ version of the plugin, and I’m very happy with it so far. Going forward, I’ll probably choose between C++ and Python depending on the use case.

Demo Video:

Cheers~
Anlv

Hey community,

I'd like to develop a viewport helper plugin in Python that displays dimension lines, values, and units for the currently selected objects, making it easier to assess their actual size and proportions.

I'd like this display to work alongside the native Move, Rotate, and Scale tools, without adding helper objects to the scene or attaching tags to the objects.

While looking through the SDK, I found that SceneHookData::Draw()
in C++ seems suitable for this purpose, but I haven't found an equivalent interface in Python.

I'm currently building a C++ version of the plugin, but I'd still like to see equivalent viewport drawing support added to Python.

Is there a similar interface in Python, or another way to achieve this under these constraints? If not, are there any plans to expose SceneHookData, particularly its Draw() callback, to Python?

Cheers,
Anlv

@ferdinand Thanks for pointing that out. Indeed, matrix = obj.GetMg() and obj.SetMg(matrix) are not necessary; this is leftover code from when it was previously used to insert into the child or sibling level of the selected object.

Cheers,
Anlv

import c4d

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

def main() -> None:

    obj = c4d.BaseObject(c4d.Ocube)

    # Insert after the last root object.
    roots = doc.GetObjects()
    doc.InsertObject(obj, pred=roots[-1] if roots else None)

    c4d.EventAdd()
    
if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Hope this helps.
Here is another example that can directly execute the import

import c4d

def main():
    doc = c4d.documents.GetActiveDocument()
    path = c4d.storage.LoadDialog(
        c4d.FILESELECTTYPE_SCENES,
        "Import Scene"
    )
    if not path:
        return

    roots = doc.GetObjects()
    anchor = roots[-1] if roots else None
    old_guids = {obj.GetGUID() for obj in roots}

    flags = (
        c4d.SCENEFILTER_OBJECTS |
        c4d.SCENEFILTER_MATERIALS |
        c4d.SCENEFILTER_MERGESCENE |
        c4d.SCENEFILTER_DIALOGSALLOWED
    )

    c4d.StopAllThreads()
    doc.StartUndo()

    try:
        doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_CHANGE, doc)

        if not c4d.documents.MergeDocument(doc, path, flags, None):
            c4d.gui.MessageDialog("Import failed.")
            return

        # Find the newly imported root objects.
        imported = [
            obj for obj in doc.GetObjects()
            if obj.GetGUID() not in old_guids
        ]

        # Move them below the previous last root object.
        if anchor:
            for obj in imported:
                matrix = obj.GetMg()
                doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_CHANGE, obj)
                obj.Remove()
                obj.InsertAfter(anchor)
                obj.SetMg(matrix)
                anchor = obj
    finally:
        doc.EndUndo()
        c4d.EventAdd()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Cheers,
Anlv

Hi, @chuanzhen

I tested the same code as you in both saved projects and unsaved new documents, but no crash occurred. This might be a bug, possibly related to the ObjectData plugin in your project. I can't be certain that's the cause. You could try ruling out the plugin's influence first. But this is beyond my capability, so let's wait for more professional personnel to help.

Cheers,
Anlv

Hi, @chuanzhen

This code runs fine on my end (Cinema 4D 2026.3.4). Analyzing the cause of the failure may require more detailed information, such as the Cinema 4D version number and the real path (path resolution may occur), and corruption of the path_str file is also one possibility.

Cheers,
Anlv

Hi @ferdinand,

using the mxutils.RecurseGraph method is much clearer and simpler. Thank you, I've learned something new again.

Cheers,
Anlv

@ceen Hi, The Summary row mey only a UI aggregate; it is not a single CTrack that can be switched directly.
To reproduce its Animation switch, collect the real CTrack objects and set their c4d.ID_CTRACK_ANIMOFF value:

# True = animation enabled, False = animation disabled
track[c4d.ID_CTRACK_ANIMOFF] = False

This does not delete keyframes and does not hide Timeline rows. Do not use NBIT_TLx_HIDE for this, because those flags only hide rows in the Timeline.
A complete document-wide solution must also traverse Motion Sources in doc.GetNLARoot() . Add Motion Source moves/copies animation into that separate NLA hierarchy, so iterating only normal scene objects and tags will miss tracks such as Time and 2D Tracks.

It should be noted that doc.GetNLARoot() is marked as Private in the SDK, and I'm not sure whether it should be used.

"""Toggle the Summary Animation switch for all collected CTracks."""

import c4d


def iter_nodes(node):
    while node:
        yield node
        yield from iter_nodes(node.GetDown())
        node = node.GetNext()


def main():
    doc = c4d.documents.GetActiveDocument()
    tracks, seen = [], set()

    def add_tracks(owner):
        for track in (owner.GetCTracks() or []) if owner else []:
            if id(track) not in seen:
                seen.add(id(track))
                tracks.append(track)

    def add_tree(root, include_tags=False):
        for node in iter_nodes(root):
            add_tracks(node)
            if include_tags:
                for tag in node.GetTags() or []:
                    add_tracks(tag)

    add_tracks(doc)
    add_tree(doc.GetFirstObject(), include_tags=True)

    material = doc.GetFirstMaterial()
    while material:
        add_tracks(material)
        add_tree(material.GetFirstShader())
        material = material.GetNext()

    render_data = doc.GetFirstRenderData()
    while render_data:
        add_tracks(render_data)
        video_post = render_data.GetFirstVideoPost()
        while video_post:
            add_tracks(video_post)
            video_post = video_post.GetNext()
        render_data = render_data.GetNext()

    layer_root = doc.GetLayerObjectRoot()
    add_tree(layer_root.GetDown() if layer_root else None)

    # Private API, but required for Add Motion Source tracks in C4D 2026.
    add_tree(doc.GetNLARoot().GetDown(), include_tags=True)

    enabled = any(track[c4d.ID_CTRACK_ANIMOFF] for track in tracks)
    for track in tracks:
        track[c4d.ID_CTRACK_ANIMOFF] = not enabled
    c4d.EventAdd()


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Cheers,
Anlv

This appears to be a Float32-to-quantized-weight conversion or rounding issue in SetWeightMap(), rather than ordinary floating-point noise.

Cinema 4D version: 2026.3.4
Expected: unchanged values after every round-trip.
Round  0: weight=0.14285496299687189 (14.28549630%), total=0.99998474097810308 (99.99847410%)
Round  1: weight=0.1428397039749752 (14.28397040%), total=0.99987792782482621 (99.98779278%)
Round 10: weight=0.14270237277790493 (14.27023728%), total=0.99891660944533434 (99.89166094%)
Round 19: weight=0.14256504158083466 (14.25650416%), total=0.99795529106584246 (99.79552911%)
Round 20: weight=0.14256504158083466 (14.25650416%), total=0.99795529106584246 (99.79552911%)
Round 25: weight=0.14256504158083466 (14.25650416%), total=0.99795529106584246 (99.79552911%)

Hi, @atg Simply remove the invalid child IDs after the commands recorded in the script log, for example:

c4d.CallCommand(1062577, 1067510) → c4d.CallCommand(1062577)

I remember encountering the same issue before, but I can’t quite recall the details. I need to look it up.

import c4d

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.
    """
    c4d.CallCommand(1062577)  # Mesh Emitter

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

How do I retrieve a command call from it's index number ?

Cheers,
Anlv

@ferdinand Thank you so much!
I made some minor adjustments to the plugin, adding support for CTRL hotkey activation, which allows quick reloading of previously checked plugins that need to be reloaded without opening the window. As always, open source, and will continue to be open source.
Download: Plugin Debug Manager v1.5.0.zip
Cheers,
Anlv

Hi everyone, I’m releasing Plugin Debug Manager, a debugging utility for Cinema 4D Python plugin development.

When working on a .pyp plugin, changing a single entry file can otherwise require reloading every Python plugin—or restarting Cinema 4D. Plugin Debug Manager reads the currently registered Python plugins and lets developers reload only the entries they are testing.

Main features:

• Reads registered .pyp and .pypv plugins from Cinema 4D
• Groups multiple registrations by their actual entry-file path
• Displays plugin names, icons, decimal IDs, registration types, and full paths
• Filters entries by filename or plugin ID
• Reloads one plugin, selected plugins, or all reloadable plugins
• Supports click-and-drag checkbox painting for batch selection
• Persists checked entries and can move them to the top on demand
• Provides Reload Plugin, Reload All, Fold All, and Unfold All context commands
• Locates plugin files in Explorer or Finder through c4d.storage.ShowInFinder()
• Continues processing when an individual plugin fails to reload

Implementation details:

• Registry entries are collected with c4d.plugins.FilterPluginList(c4d.PLUGINTYPE_ANY, True)
• Entry files and registration metadata are obtained through BasePlugin.GetFilename(), GetID(), and GetType()
• Selective reloads are performed with c4d.plugins.ReloadPythonPlugin()
• ReloadDocumentAfterReload(True) is called only once after the reload batch

Before reloading, the manager copies and normalizes the target file paths instead of retaining BasePlugin objects that may become invalid during the reload process. The manager itself remains visible in the list but cannot be selected or reloaded.

Compatibility:

• Current target: Cinema 4D 2026.3.3
• Selective reloading depends on c4d.plugins.ReloadPythonPlugin, available in this version
• Other Cinema 4D versions have not yet been verified
  

Version: 1.3.0
Plugin ID: 1069486
Author: Anlv
Download: Plugin Debug Manager v1.3.0.zip

By the way, this is open source, and you can edit and modify it yourself to make it better suit your work habits.

Best regards,
Anlv

@ferdinand Hi, I think the issue has been fixed. I just tried uploading an attachment (before uploading, I cleared the cache and changed the network environment), and it no longer prompts "Error: Something went wrong while parsing server response."

Thanks for your help,
Anlv

@ferdinand A small update:

My first attempt to open the upload endpoint directly only returned Forbidden and did not display a visible Cloudflare verification page.

I then used a small userscript to submit a real multipart file upload as a top-level browser navigation instead of an XHR request. That request succeeded and returned the normal NodeBB JSON response:

{"status":{"code":"ok","message":"OK"}}

More importantly, after this top-level request, the forum’s normal attachment uploader also started working successfully.

This suggests that the top-level request allowed Cloudflare to complete or refresh its verification/clearance state, while the original XHR upload could not handle the HTML Challenge response. It appears to be a Cloudflare Challenge/clearance issue rather than a damaged file or a failure in NodeBB’s upload handler.

@ferdinand Hi Ferdinand,

I reproduced the upload failure and found that it is caused by a Cloudflare Challenge, rather than NodeBB itself.

The upload request completes, but the response is:

• Endpoint: POST /forum/api/post/upload
• Status: 403 Forbidden
• Server: cloudflare
• cf-mitigated: challenge
• Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
• Ray ID: a1c1af0daaf34f1a-LAX
• Time: 16 July 2026, 14:26:46 UTC

Cloudflare returns an HTML Challenge Page to the XHR upload request. NodeBB expects a JSON upload response, so its parser subsequently reports: “Something went wrong while parsing server response.” The 100% progress only indicates that the browser finished sending the request body.

Could you please look up this Ray ID in Cloudflare Security Events to identify which WAF/Bot Management rule issued the challenge? A narrowly scoped exception for POST /forum/api/post/upload may resolve it, since an interactive Challenge Page cannot be completed inside this AJAX upload request.

I tested with a small PNG file in Chrome on Windows. I can provide additional non-sensitive request details if needed.

Cheers,
Anlv

Hi Ferdinand,

Here is an identical situation. I can see the file upload progress reaching 100%, followed by the error message: "Error: Something went wrong while parsing server response."

Since I am unable to successfully upload the image, below is the console information I copied.

nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:65  POST https://developers.maxon.net/forum/api/post/upload 403 (Forbidden)
send @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:65
ajax @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:65
(anonymous) @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:51
r.fn.ajaxSubmit @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:51
(anonymous) @ topic.1839ecb58ed413849a53.min.js:3
dispatch @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:62
De.handle @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:62
trigger @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:63
(anonymous) @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:63
each @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:62
each @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:62
trigger @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:63
a.fn.<computed> @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:65
push.43103.v.ajaxSubmit @ topic.1839ecb58ed413849a53.min.js:3
(anonymous) @ topic.1839ecb58ed413849a53.min.js:3
dispatch @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:62
De.handle @ nodebb.min.js?v=0b8ddba251d:62

Cheers,
Anlv

Hi Community,

I noticed a small issue with Plugin Manager → Create Reload Script on Windows.

I often use Reload Python Plugins while developing Python plugins, but it reloads all Python plugins. In some cases, especially with renderer-related plugins, this can also trigger viewport/material refreshes.

Create Reload Script is very useful because it allows reloading a specific plugin only. However, on Windows, the generated script uses an unescaped path with backslashes:

plugins.ReloadPythonPlugin(
    path="C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Maxon\Maxon Cinema 4D 2026_XXXXXXXX\plugins\PluginName\PluginName.pyp",
    reloadDocumentAfterReload=False,
    reloadOnlyActiveDocument=False
)

Running the generated script in the Script Manager causes:

SyntaxError: (unicode error) 'unicodeescape' codec can't decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape

Manually replacing \ with /, using a raw string, or escaping the backslashes fixes the issue.

It would be great if Create Reload Script could generate a Python-safe path automatically on Windows.

Thanks!

Another small tip: you can simply use a single <br> for line breaks — there’s no need to use <b> or </b>.

Also, just like in the script example, scripts can support localized language strings as well:

"""
Name-US:Example
Name-CN:示例
Description-US:Example line 1.<br>Example line 2.<br>Example line 3.
Description-CN:示例第 1 行。<br>示例第 2 行。<br>示例第 3 行。
"""

Hi @ferdinand,

Yes, this example was written with the help of AI, and I performed a basic review;

I wanted to avoid installing dependencies, so I used the currently supported ctypes, but I indeed did not fully consider the issue of supporting every operating system. Thank you for the reminder.

Best regards,
Anlv