Multipe spline issues

[Dragan]

As usual, I am working on a large generator and trying to simplify the process of generating complex splines. Right now, I am focusing on creating something similar to Array and Stacker functionalities. Array isn't a problem as the Offset Operator can be used, but for Stacker, I had to be a bit more innovative to obtain the X/Y Bounding Box of the spline.
In this regard, I have one ER (Feature Request) to potentially introduce an operator that would return the Bounding Box of the current Spline Setup. I am aware that splines can be placed in many ways, but I believe that the Bounding Box of the entire setup could be useful. I created a small macro that currently does the job, but I believe if it were integrated into the core, the result would be calculated much faster.

I also encountered a couple of technical issues:

1. The size of the macro window is determined by its name, not the longest text in the window, so we need to add a few blank characters to increase its size.

2. The Default values of the String type Parameter for the Sequencing MatID are not working.

3. When I tried to apply the translation to the Stack, the entire Spline Setup was correctly moved and participated correctly in the segment generation, but there was a "duplicate" left at the original position (I assume this happens because they are additionally generated through generators in the auxiliary macro for the Bounding Box).

If you need any further clarification, feel free to ask. I have more topics to discuss, but it would be nice if we could have a live chat, as it is really hard to explain everything with images and text.
Best Regards

[Michal Karmazín]

Hi Dragan,

Thank you very much for reporting these issues and for sharing the scene and image—it's a big help in identifying the problems clearly. I've passed all the details on to our main developers, and they’ll look into it further.

Once again, big thanks for your detailed feedback.

Best regards,

[iToo]

Hi Dragan,

Regarding issue 2: are you sure you have not modified the value for this macro parameter ?
I tried creating a new String parameter, and default value is set correctly. But once the macro is in the scene, if you modify the parameter, it cannot be reverted to the default value.
Usually default value is used for the Library, to set a default when imported.

[Dragan]

Let me simplify:

[Dragan]

The parameter is empty, so the default values should be active.

[Dragan]

Usually default value is used for the Library, to set a default when imported.

You are right, but in some cases, you can use Macro-->Reset Parameters for the Macros to get the default values.

[iToo]

The parameter is empty, so the default values should be active.

Ok, i understand. Unfortunately it would be very complex to implement that in the current workflow.

All parameters returns some value (in this case an empty string, or zero for numeric). There is no way to apply a specific behaviour when string is empty.
Macro default values are used only for edition and library purposes.

Really when style is evaluated, macros are removed, generating a raw style with all nodes connected between them.

[Dragan]

Thank you, Carlos.
Of course, this is not a critical issue. Thank you for clarifying.
Sure, I have a simple workaround macro for those types of issues, like Multiple Numeric Inputs, but my only concern is the number of logic operations and how this will impact overall speed.

[iToo]

I guess performance hit should be negligible. Arithmetic expressions are very optimized for speed.

[Dragan]

off topoc:
Carlos, thank you for answering all my questions, not only about simple issues but also with a deep understanding of how everything works. On that matter, I have one issue regarding parameter synchronization through the generator but I have sent a request via helpdesk email.