Component

Components (or COMPs) differ from other node families in that they contain their own networks and are used to create new networks. To make a new network, just create a new Component by pressing Tab and selecting from COMP. Then go inside your new component and start building your network.

Components can be nested, so you can make networks within a network. There are several ways to enter the Component:

• double-click it
• use the mouse wheel to zoom up close to it and keep zooming in to go inside
• select it and then press <Enter>
• select it and then press the < i > key
• select the Component and then press the small black fwd arrow in the pane’s path
• on the node RMB -> Edit OPs

When inside a Component, to go up a level press the < u > key, use the roller wheel to zoom out, or click on the '/' in front of the Component’s name in the pane's path. You may find the Back and Forward buttons becoming handy to navigate into and out of Components.

With TouchDesigner’s mixed-node networks, you can populate Components with networks containing any type of operators. For example, consider making a Component that takes a movie input, applies a panel-controllable hue shift to it, and then applies that texture to sprites on a Particle SOP. This can all be placed inside one Component network. Components will have operator inputs and outputs on the left/right sides of the node if their network contains In and/or Out operators (of most types: TOP, CHOP, SOP, DAT. e.g. In TOP and Out CHOP).

These allow operator data to flow in and out of the component's network, allowing a Component to share its internal data with other components, operators, and other parts of your project. Each operator type has 2 operators called In and Out that take care of this. Adding these OPs inside a Component will add alphanumerically-ordered inputs/outputs on the left/right side of the component that data can flow through. Inputs are on Component’s left side, outputs on the right.

An output preview window is displayed when the cursor is over one of the outputs of a component. MMB on output preview to see info about that output. RMB on output preview brings up OP Create menu.

Component Flags

Components have the 4 common Flags along their left side: the Viewer Flag, the Clone Immune Flag, the Cooking Flag, and the Lock Flag. Object Components also have a Bypass Flag and an additional 3 flags in their lower right corner: the Pickable Flag (orange), the Render Flag (purple), and the Display Flag (blue).

Saving Components to Files

You can save out a Component into a .tox file with a RMB -> Save Component on the node. This is handy for sharing networks with other TouchDesigner users and projects. Any commonly-used tool or network you create in TouchDesigner is good candidate for a Component.

When writing a component to disk, it can embed files that the nodes in the component refer to. The files need to be in $TOUCH/Comp/path, where path is the path of the component in TouchDesigner.

Component Types

There are two special types of components, Panel Components and Object Components. In addition to this there are a number of miscellaneous components.

Panel Components

• Button COMP
• Container COMP
• Field COMP
• Select COMP
• Slider COMP
• Table COMP

Panel components can be parented in a hierarchy by connecting them together vertically (using their connectors on the top and bottom of the nodes).

Object Components

• Ambient Light COMP
• Bone COMP
• Blend COMP
• Camera COMP
• Geometry COMP
• Handle COMP
• Light COMP
• Null COMP
• Xform In COMP
• Xform Out COMP

Object components can be parented in a hierarchy by connecting them together vertically (using their connectors on the top and bottom of the nodes).

Miscellaneous Components

• Animation COMP - the Animation COMP is used to create keyframe animation data. Keyframed channels are stored inside the component and can be edited by scoping the Animation COMP in the Keyframe Editor.
• Base COMP - the Base COMP has no panel gadgets and no object gadgets. It is the most basic shell of a component and can be used when a new network is required.
• Replicator COMP - the Replicator COMP creates a node for every row of a table, adding and deleting nodes ("replicants") as the table changes.
• Time COMP - the Time COMP contains a network of operators that can drive a Timeline, drive animations in Animation COMPs, or be used to drive any custom time-based system.
• Window COMP - the Window COMP create a separate floating application window. This can be used for control panels or when outputting to multiple monitors.

Example

A noise component has been constructed to take a TOP, CHOP, and SOP input, apply noise to each one, then output the results. The component's internal network looks like this:

The image below shows how the inputs and outputs of the Component can be connected into a network.