Hello,
I made this graphic of default R21 COLOR Constants as a guide for me to find the right colors and wanted to share it with the community:

https://imgur.com/a/H11thSt

The spaces where there is no text means that the attribute is the same as c4d.COLOR_BG and is blending in with the background.

Also, while making this, I found that the documentation lists one attribute that throws an error: c4d.COLOR_TIMELINE

AttributeError: 'module' object has no attribute 'COLOR_TIMELINE'

@m_adam said in Pycharm - Invalid Python SDK:

Hi, @blastframe thanks for contact us.

So far we never encounter this issue and we are not able to reproduce it so few ideas to try:

1. Make sure you have permission to write in the Cinema 4D folder and subfolder.
2. Flush the cache, https://stackoverflow.com/a/45099651.
3. Send us your PyCharm log, see https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/en-us/articles/207241085-Locating-IDE-log-files

Cheers,
Maxime.

Hi @m_adam,
Thank you for the reply. I ran PyCharm as an Administrator and flushed the cache. I still received the same error. When I looked at the log, I found a lot of missing file errors, which made me think I had the python.exe (c4dpy.exe) file in the wrong location. When I moved the file to the same folder as the R20 .exe, PyCharm started working. I was confused about the file location because, while in the Install instructions from the C4D Python SDK Documentation has the c4dpy in the C4D folder, this image made it seem like it could exist in a separate folder:

I would have expected a file location similar to the default Windows location:
C:\Program Files\MAXON\Cinema 4D R20\python.exe

Thank you again. I have one follow-up question that I'll ask as a new topic.

Hi @jhpark!
I don't work for the SDK team, but I believe the script below will do what you want.

Some quick notes about posting:

1. When entering your code into a post on this forum, make sure you hit this button first
   
   It creates code tags in your post. Put your code in between those and then it will format your code automatically.

2. Also, after submitting, hit the button Topic Tools at the bottom right of your post to Ask as Question.
   

3. When someone has answered your question correctly, click this button at the bottom of their post.
   
   This makes it clear to the moderators when the question has been correctly answered.

Here's the code. Because you were using ID_BASEOBJECT_COLOR, I was unsure if you wanted the object's display color or the material color (they are two different things), but I wrote this for the sphere's texture tags' material's color. Also, the code is for the spheres' relative position. More work would need to be done to get the animating position track values into global space.

import c4d
from c4d import gui

def GetNextObject(op):
    #function for navigating the hierarchy
    if op==None: return None
    if op.GetDown(): return op.GetDown()
    while not op.GetNext() and op.GetUp():
        op = op.GetUp()
    return op.GetNext()
    c4d.EventAdd()

def getPreviewRange(doc,fps):
    #returns the active preview range
    fps = doc.GetFps()
    fromTime = doc.GetLoopMinTime().GetFrame(fps)
    toTime = doc.GetLoopMaxTime().GetFrame(fps)+1
    return [fromTime,toTime]

def convertVecToRgb(vector):
    #converts vector to rgb list
    return [vector[0]*255,vector[1]*255,vector[2]*255]

def main(doc):
    fps = doc.GetFps()
    previewRange = getPreviewRange(doc,fps) #rather than needing to set frames manually, you can simply resize your preview range.
    frame_count = previewRange[1]-previewRange[0]

    # this section navigates the hierarchy and saves all of the spheres to a list called 'output'
    # it's better to do this than to use doc.SearchObject in the case you have multiple spheres with the same name
    obj = doc.GetFirstObject()
    if obj==None:
        gui.MessageDialog('There are no objects in the scene.')
        return

    output = []
    while obj and obj!=None:
        if obj.GetType() == c4d.Osphere:
            output.append(obj)
        obj = GetNextObject(obj)

    if len(output) == 0:
        gui.MessageDialog('There are no spheres in the scene.')

    # loops through spheres in the scene
    for sphere in output:
        #prints a separating line to the console
        print '#' * 80
        for f in range(previewRange[0], previewRange[1]):
            doc.SetTime(c4d.BaseTime(0, doc[c4d.DOCUMENT_FPS]))
            keyTime = c4d.BaseTime(f,fps) #get the current frame

            # POSITION
            pTracks = sphere.GetCTracks() #get the sphere's animating tracks
            
            pos = [sphere.GetMl().off.x,sphere.GetMl().off.y,sphere.GetMl().off.z] #get the sphere's default relative position

            #replace those values with the animating ones.
            for t in pTracks:
                descid = t.GetDescriptionID() #get the track's id
                if descid[0].id == c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_REL_POSITION: #see if it matches the object's position track
                    curve = t.GetCurve() #get the track's animation curve
                    keyvalue = curve.GetValue(keyTime, fps) #get the animation curve's value at the current frame
                    if descid[1].id == c4d.VECTOR_X:
                        pos[0] = keyvalue #add to x
                    elif descid[1].id == c4d.VECTOR_Y:
                        pos[1] = keyvalue #add to x
                    elif descid[1].id == c4d.VECTOR_Z:
                        pos[2] = keyvalue #add to z

            # MATERIAL COLOR
            tags = sphere.GetTags() #get sphere's tags

            matColor = [] #create material color list

            for tag in tags: #loop through sphere's tags
                if tag.GetType() == c4d.Ttexture: #check if tag is a texture tag
                    mat = tag.GetMaterial() #if yes, get the tag's material

                    tracks = mat.GetCTracks() #get the material's animating tracks
                    
                    for t in tracks:
                        descid = t.GetDescriptionID() #get the track's id
                        if descid[0].id == c4d.MATERIAL_COLOR_COLOR: #see if it matches the material color track
                            curve = t.GetCurve() #get the track's animation curve
                            keyvalue = curve.GetValue(keyTime, fps) #get the animation curve's value at the current frame
                            matColor.append(keyvalue*255) #add r,g,b to matColor
                    
                    if len(tracks) == 0: #in case it's not animating, use general Color
                        matColor = convertVecToRgb(mat[c4d.MATERIAL_COLOR_COLOR])

            # I prefer using string formatting with the placeholder %s for strings, %d for numbers,
            # and the % as the replacement operator
            print("Name: %s, Frame: %d, Position (x,y,z): %d,%d,%d, Material Color (r,g,b): %d,%d,%d"%(
                                                                            sphere.GetName(),f,pos[0],pos[1],pos[2],
                                                                            matColor[0],matColor[1],matColor[2]))

if __name__=='__main__':
    # rather than using documents.GetActiveDocument, I found that you can pass a reference to the document using this method
    main(doc)

Here's a scene file where the object's display colors and material colors are different. The display colors are visible in the viewport, but you will see the material color if you render.
Spheres.c4d

Hi @woodstar
There's definitely a way! What did you want to connect in Xpresso with Python? I wrote a script that does some of what you described: it prompts the user for a camera name, then creates an Xpresso rig based on that. The rig connects a user data checkbox 'Follow Target' to a couple of properties in the rig (Target tag's 'Enable' and the camera's 'Use Target Object''s checkbox for setting the Focus Distance). That would allow you to follow an object for some of the camera move and then keyframe it off.

"""
Name-US:Xpresso Camera Rig
Description-US:Creates an Xpresso Camera Rig
author:blastframe

credits:
Creating User Data - https://www.cineversity.com/wiki/Python%3A_User_Data/
Python Xpresso - https://www.cineversity.com/vidplaytut/xpresso_maker_overview
"""

import c4d
from c4d import gui

def create_user_data_group(obj, name, parentGroup=None, columns=None, shortname=None):
    # see Creating User Data url above
    if obj is None: return False
    if shortname is None: shortname = name
    bc = c4d.GetCustomDatatypeDefault(c4d.DTYPE_GROUP)
    bc[c4d.DESC_NAME] = name
    bc[c4d.DESC_SHORT_NAME] = shortname
    bc[c4d.DESC_TITLEBAR] = 1
    if parentGroup is not None:
        bc[c4d.DESC_PARENTGROUP] = parentGroup
    if columns is not None:
        bc[22] = columns
    return obj.AddUserData(bc)

def create_user_data_bool(obj, name, val=True, parentGroup=None):
    # see Creating User Data url above
    if obj is None: return False
    bc = c4d.GetCustomDatatypeDefault(c4d.DTYPE_BOOL)
    bc[c4d.DESC_NAME] = name
    bc[c4d.DESC_SHORT_NAME] = name
    bc[c4d.DESC_DEFAULT] = val
    bc[c4d.DESC_ANIMATE] = c4d.DESC_ANIMATE_ON

    if parentGroup is not None:
        bc[c4d.DESC_PARENTGROUP] = parentGroup

    element = obj.AddUserData(bc)
    obj[element] = val
    return element

def connect_xpresso(camera,camera_truck_ctrl,targetTag):
    # Xpresso documentation:
    # https://developers.maxon.net/docs/Cinema4DPythonSDK/html/modules/c4d.modules/graphview/index.html
    xtag = camera_truck_ctrl.MakeTag(c4d.Texpresso) # create Xpresso tag
    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_NEW, xtag)

    # A Graph View Node Master stores a collection of Graph View Nodes.
    gv = xtag.GetNodeMaster()

    # create node for the camera truck control
    camera_truck_ctrlNode = gv.CreateNode(parent=gv.GetRoot(), id=c4d.ID_OPERATOR_OBJECT, insert=None, x=100, y=0)
    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_NEW, camera_truck_ctrlNode)

    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_CHANGE, camera_truck_ctrlNode)
    udPort = None
    # create output port for the user data boolean (from Rick Barrett script)
    for id, bc in camera_truck_ctrl.GetUserDataContainer():
        if bc[c4d.DESC_CUSTOMGUI] is not None and \
        bc[c4d.DESC_CUSTOMGUI] is not c4d.CUSTOMGUI_SEPARATOR:
            doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_CHANGE,camera_truck_ctrlNode)
            udPort = camera_truck_ctrlNode.AddPort(c4d.GV_PORT_OUTPUT, id)

    # create node for the camera Target tag
    targetNode = gv.CreateNode(gv.GetRoot(), c4d.ID_OPERATOR_OBJECT, insert=None, x=300, y=0)
    # get DescID for Target tag's Enable property
    targetEnabled = c4d.DescID(c4d.DescLevel(c4d.EXPRESSION_ENABLE));

    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_NEW, targetNode)
    # after creating node we need to give it an object
    targetNode[c4d.GV_OBJECT_OBJECT_ID] = targetTag
    # add Target node Enabled input port
    enablePort = targetNode.AddPort(c4d.GV_PORT_INPUT, targetEnabled)

    # create node for the camera
    cameraNode = gv.CreateNode(parent=gv.GetRoot(), id=c4d.ID_OPERATOR_OBJECT, insert=None, x=300, y=100)
    # after creating node we need to give it an object
    cameraNode[c4d.GV_OBJECT_OBJECT_ID] = camera
    # add camera input port for using the Target tag's object as the Focus Object
    useTargetObjectPort = cameraNode.AddPort(c4d.GV_PORT_INPUT, c4d.CAMERAOBJECT_USETARGETOBJECT)

    # connect the ports
    udPort.Connect(enablePort)
    udPort.Connect(useTargetObjectPort)

    # refresh the Graph View
    c4d.modules.graphview.RedrawMaster(gv)

def main(doc):
    doc.StartUndo()
    camera_truck_ctrl = c4d.BaseObject(c4d.Osplinenside) # Create camera_truck_ctrl control
    camera_truck_ctrl[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_USECOLOR] = 2 # turn on display color
    camera_truck_ctrl[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_COLOR] = c4d.Vector(0,1,1) # set display color
    doc.InsertObject(camera_truck_ctrl)
    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_NEW, camera_truck_ctrl)
    cameraControls = create_user_data_group(camera_truck_ctrl,"Camera Controls",c4d.DescID(0)) # create user data group
    followTargetBool = create_user_data_bool(camera_truck_ctrl,"Follow Target",True,cameraControls) # Follow Target boolean checkbox
    camera = c4d.BaseObject(c4d.Ocamera) # Create camera
    name = gui.InputDialog("What would you like to name your camera?", "Camera") # prompt user for name
    camera.SetName(name)
    camera_truck_ctrl.SetName("%s_con+"%name) # use camera name to name control

    targetTag = camera.MakeTag(c4d.Ttargetexpression) # create Target tag
    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_NEW, targetTag)

    focusObject = c4d.BaseObject(c4d.Onull) # Create focus object
    focusObject.SetName("%s Target"%name)

    focusObject[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_USECOLOR] = 2 # turn on display color
    focusObject[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_COLOR] = c4d.Vector(1,0,0) # set display color
    focusObject[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_REL_POSITION,c4d.VECTOR_Z]  = 500 # set focus object's position Z to 500
    focusObject[c4d.NULLOBJECT_DISPLAY] = 13  # set null target to display as sphere
    focusObject[c4d.NULLOBJECT_RADIUS] = 30 # set sphere radius to 30
    focusObject[c4d.NULLOBJECT_ORIENTATION] = 1 # set sphere plane to XY
    targetTag[c4d.TARGETEXPRESSIONTAG_LINK] = focusObject # assign focus object to Target tag object link

    # insert objects to document
    doc.InsertObject(focusObject)
    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_NEW, focusObject)
    doc.InsertObject(camera_truck_ctrl)
    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_NEW, camera_truck_ctrl)
    camera.InsertUnder(camera_truck_ctrl) # parent to camera_truck_ctrl
    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_NEW, camera)

    connect_xpresso(camera,camera_truck_ctrl,targetTag) # create Xpresso connections
    doc.SetActiveObject(camera_truck_ctrl,c4d.SELECTION_NEW) # select camera truck control

    c4d.EventAdd()
    doc.EndUndo()

if __name__=='__main__':
    main(doc)

Hello @esan !
I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of your script is, so I made changes to what you provided. You're probably already aware, but this script will only work with children of your selected object, not grandchildren.

The biggest changes were:

• createInstance: passing the selected object and returning the Instance created using BaseObject & the Instance Object type
• Your loop for populating the Integer Cycle was reduced by several lines of code by using Python's enumerate function. It gives you an index and instance variable so you don't have to do it all manually. Here's an article about it.
• To allow for a one-step Undo, you need to add Undos along the way in your functions. Here's more info about the types of Undos in the C4D SDK documentation.
• This doesn't impact your script too much, but for future scripts it's better to use your main function to get references to your document and active object(s) and then pass them to the functions you write. That will allow you to call those GetActiveDocument and GetActiveObject methods less frequently and reuse your code in the case you want to pass other objects to the functions (e.g. the 'parent' variable in your setQuickTab function).

import c4d
from c4d import gui

def createInstance(obj):
    inst = c4d.BaseObject(c4d.Oinstance) # created Instance with Base Object
    inst[c4d.INSTANCEOBJECT_LINK] = obj # set Instance's reference link
    # set the name using the object passed to the function
    inst[c4d.ID_BASELIST_NAME] = "%s Instance"%obj[c4d.ID_BASELIST_NAME]
    return inst # return the Instance instance

def AddLongDataType(obj): # create User Data Container named Picker
    if obj is None: return

    bc = c4d.GetCustomDataTypeDefault(c4d.DTYPE_LONG)
    bc[c4d.DESC_NAME] = "Picker"

    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDO_CHANGE, obj)
    obj.AddUserData(bc)

    c4d.EventAdd()

def setQuickTab(obj, data): # change User Date container to type Cycle, populate with Children Names
    descid = data[0][0]
    bc = data[0][1]

    children = obj.GetChildren()

    # Build new cycle options container dynamically
    cycle = c4d.BaseContainer()

    for i,child in enumerate(children):
      cycle.SetData(i, child.GetName())

    bc[c4d.DESC_CYCLE] = cycle

    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDO_CHANGE, obj)
    # Set modified description data container
    obj.SetUserDataContainer(descid, bc)

def main(doc):
    obj = doc.GetActiveObject()
    if (obj == None):
        gui.MessageDialog("Please select an object.")
        return

    doc.StartUndo()
    AddLongDataType(obj)
    data = obj.GetUserDataContainer()
    setQuickTab(obj, data)
    inst = createInstance(obj)
    doc.InsertObject(inst)
    doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDO_NEW, inst)
    doc.EndUndo()
    c4d.EventAdd()

if __name__=='__main__':
    main(doc)

Hi @bentraje!
I found this documentation in the C++ manual that says:

"To start and end an undo based on some interaction in a GeDialog the messages BFM_INTERACTSTART and BFM_INTERACTEND can be used."

I tried this in the GeDialog and got a TypeError:

    def Message(self, msg, result):
        if msg.GetId()==c4d.BFM_INTERACTSTART:
            print("Interact Start")
            doc.AddUndo(c4d.UNDOTYPE_CHANGE,self)
        elif msg.GetId()==c4d.BFM_INTERACTEND:
            print("Interact End")
        return gui.GeDialog.Message(self, msg, result)

TypeError: argument 2 must be c4d.GeListNode

I don't think I'm setting up the Undo correctly because what can be passed to doc.AddUndo from the GeDialog that is GeListNode? Without the doc.AddUndo line, those message conditionals do work.

Hello,
I think I've found a small error in the documentation:

In BaseBitmap.ScaleIt it lists the final argument as inprop. While using this:

orig.ScaleIt(newBitmap, intens=256, sample=True, inprop=False)

I got the following error:
TypeError: Required argument 'nprop' (pos 4) not found

When I changed the argument to nprop, it worked.

Thanks.

@m_adam This is nice work, Maxime, thank you! I have to check out weakref

I'm getting a couple of errors when clicking in a part of the GeUserArea without a square or hitting a key on the keyboard. How can I handle these?

No square:

line 331, in InputEvent
        currentIndex = self.draggedObj.GetParentedIndex()   
    AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'GetParentedIndex'`

Keyboard input:

line 278, in InputEvent
    self.MouseDragStart(c4d.KEY_MLEFT, mouseX, mouseY, c4d.MOUSEDRAGFLAGS_DONTHIDEMOUSE | c4d.MOUSEDRAGFLAGS_NOMOVE)
TypeError: a float is required

@m_adam & @PluginStudent Thank you both! This was exactly what I needed. This forum is so so helpful.

@m_adam Hi Maxime, I did try your example and I saw it working as a gadget but, you're right, I want to communicate between two GeDialogs. I followed your advice on using CoreMessage and found success with SpecialEventAdd. Thank you!

@m_magalhaes Yes, I think the error was because Octane was the result of rdata.GetFirstVideoPost() and those symbols don't exist in it. If I check for the Viewport Renderer, it seems to work fine. Thanks for the reply and symbol tip!

I think I have discovered the issue: I believe rdata.GetFirstVideoPost() was getting a renderer other than the Viewport Renderer, so those symbols weren't available. I am now using the following (I found it here) to check that the video post is the Viewport Renderer.

            post = rdata.GetFirstVideoPost()
            while post is not None:
              if post.CheckType(300001061):
                break
              post = post.GetNext()
            if post is None:
              rd.InsertVideoPost(c4d.BaseList2D(300001061))

Unless the API devs have any corrections, I'll mark this as solved.

Hello,
I am trying to change the Viewport Renderer parameters. I was able to use the method illustrated in the code sample below, but something changed (I believe in the API) and this now leads to TypeError: __setitem__ expected str, not bool. If I'm not to assign these values as a boolean, can someone please advise on how these are to be set? Thank you.

import c4d
from c4d import documents

def main():
    doc = documents.GetActiveDocument()
    rdata = doc.GetActiveRenderData()
    rd = rdata.GetData()
    post = rdata.GetFirstVideoPost()
    post[c4d.VP_PREVIEWHARDWARE_DISPLAYFILTER_NGONLINES] = False
    post[c4d.VP_PREVIEWHARDWARE_DISPLAYFILTER_OTHER] = False
    post[c4d.VP_PREVIEWHARDWARE_DISPLAYFILTER_SDSCAGE] = False
    post[c4d.VP_PREVIEWHARDWARE_DISPLAYFILTER_ONION] = False

if __name__=='__main__':
    main()

Hello,
When I create a GeDialog with buttons, the first button is highlighted by default for some reason:

import c4d
from c4d import gui

MY_PLUGIN_ID = 1234567
GROUP1_ID = 1000
GROUP2_ID = 1001
BUTTON1_ID = 1002
BUTTON2_ID = 1003
BUTTON3_ID = 1004

class Example_Dialog(gui.GeDialog):
    def CreateLayout(self):
        self.SetTitle("BUTTON_HIGHLIGHTED")
        self.GroupBorderSpace(10,10,10,10)
        if self.GroupBegin(GROUP1_ID, c4d.BFH_SCALEFIT | c4d.BFV_SCALE | c4d.BFV_CENTER):
            if self.GroupBegin(GROUP2_ID, c4d.BFH_SCALEFIT, 1):
                self.GroupBorderSpace(5,5,5,5)
                self.AddButton(BUTTON1_ID, c4d.BFH_SCALEFIT | c4d.BFV_SCALE | c4d.BFV_CENTER, name='Button1')
                self.AddButton(BUTTON2_ID, c4d.BFH_SCALEFIT | c4d.BFV_SCALE | c4d.BFV_CENTER, name='Button2')
                self.AddButton(BUTTON3_ID, c4d.BFH_SCALEFIT | c4d.BFV_SCALE | c4d.BFV_CENTER, name='Button3')
            self.GroupEnd()
        self.GroupEnd()
        return True

# Main function
def main():
    global example_dialog
    example_dialog = Example_Dialog()
    example_dialog.Open(c4d.DLG_TYPE_ASYNC, pluginid=MY_PLUGIN_ID, defaultw=300, defaulth=150)

# Execute main()
if __name__=='__main__':
    main()

@ferdinand Thank you. I'll try to cache myself.

@ferdinand Hi, thank you for the reply. I won't need particles. This is a polygon object with a deformer whose point positions I need to get over the Preview Range.

Isn't the crawl you're describing the same as the range loop in the basedocument_read_animated_mesh.py? My question is: is there a more performant way if this needs to be calculated on each frame?

If this is the only way, since the animation keyframes would be on another object (the deformer, joints, or a controller) and not a point level animation, I believe the position will depend upon all of the ExecutePasses (animation, expressions, and caches) as in the example. Unless the deformed cache stores these points between playback?

Thank you.

@ferdinand Thank you for the prompt reply.

In my project I need to get the entire timeline and be able to scrub it. Can you please explain the "crawl" method more?

I was able to remove the EventAdd from my expression tag. I tried removing ExecutePasses() and it the deformation animation froze.

@ferdinand Thank you for the reply. I mentioned in the title, but (my apologies), I didn't specify in the body of my topic or code example: Is it possible to detect when there a new keyframe has been added for transformation from a tag plugin?

I found this post on CGSociety where @m_adam shares a link to this file: basedocument_read_animated_mesh.py. Awesome stuff!

I've got it working, but I'm curious: do I need to use doc.SetTime() to get all the values over time at once?

This seems like a resource-expensive process for my project because I'm using it in a tag.

Hello,
I am trying to get a deformed point position at a different frame. Is this possible?

I know about doing this for CCurves from this post, CCurve.GetValue() with Track Before & After Functions using CTrack.Remap(), but can it be done with a BaseObject.GetDeformCache()?

Thank you!