Node Properties

Reference

See Hierarchy.

Reference Mode

Use Start Position

To reference an element relative to the object that owns the XPresso tag, use either this mode or the more advanced Relative Reference mode. For example, to reference the element that is three positions before the object that owns the tag, set Reference Mode to Use Start Position, set Start Position to Predecessor On This Level and set Start Distance to 3. The Use First Position mode also enables you to reference the first or last object in the scene.

Absolute Reference

This mode references the object that is displayed in the Reference box. If you want to use the expression in several places in your scene, avoid using the Absolute Reference mode, otherwise you will need to change the referencing of the objects each time.

Relative Reference

This mode is similar to Use Start Position. It enables you to reference an element relative to the object that owns the XPresso tag. Unlike the Use Start Position mode, you enter a path that gives the node instructions on how to reach the element. The starting position is the object that owns the tag. For example, the path UPPDN stands for Up, Previous, Previous, Down, Next, where Previous and Next represent a jump to the previous or next element on the same hierarchical level. Up and Down represent jumps one level up or one level down the hierarchy. The advantage of a relative reference is that it enables you to transfer the Object node from one hierarchy to another without problems. Edit the path using the Path box.

Start Position [-2147483648..2147483647]

This defines the Start Position when Reference Mode is set to Use Start Position. The setting is relative to the object that owns the XPresso tag. For example, if you set Start Position to First In This Level, the node references the first element on the same hierarchical level as the object that owns the tag.

• This Object: The object that owns the tag.
• Up In Hierarchy: Chooses the first object one level up the hierarchy.
• Down In Hierarchy: Jumps to the first object one level down the hierarchy.
• Successor On This Level: Chooses the next object on the same hierarchical level.
• Predecessor On This Level: Jumps to the previous object on the same hierarchical level.
• First On This Level: Chooses the first element on the same hierarchical level.
• Last On This Level: References the last element on the same hierarchical level.
• First In Scene: Chooses the first object in the scene.
• Last In Scene: Jumps to the scene’s last element

Start Distance [1..2147483647]

With some Start Position modes you might want to jump several steps in the hierarchy in one go. In such cases, use Start Distance as a multiplier for the Start Position. For example, to reference an object that is three positions after the object that owns the XPresso tag, set Start Position to Successor On This Level and set Start Distance to 3.

Reference Path

See Relative Reference.

Start Path

This box is available only when Reference Mode is set to Relative Reference. Use the box to enter the path for the relative reference.

Use the following shortcuts for the respective start positions:

• U up one hierarchical level
• D down one hierarchical level
• P previous object on current hierarchical level
• N next object on current hierarchical level
• F first object on hierarchical level
• L las object on hierarchical level

Iteration Path

The Hierarchy iterator continually repeats this path. For example, N will cause the node to output all objects that are on the same level one after another.

The Hierarchy iterator continues to output objects until either of the following happens:

• there are no more objects at the hierarchical position defined by the Start Path and the (repeated) Iteration Path.
• the number of iterations defined by the Maximum Iterations input port has been reached.

The Hierarchy node then refers to the object that is defined by the Reference Path and Start Path once more. The next time the node is called, the Iteration Path will be repeated over again.

Exclude

If you want the node to ignore some of the objects in the hierarchy during the iteration, drag the names of these objects from the Object Manager and drop them into this box. The iteration will skip over any of these objects it meets as it runs through the hierarchy.