Adding Procedural & Adjustment Nodes

• Folder Structure
• Tags
• Node Type
• UI Name
• UI Location
• Version Compatibility
• Restricting Nodes to specific Mari Versions

Node XML files are automatically loaded without the need for extra python scripts.

The XML library structure follows the default XML Mari structure that is set in the

various examples they provide and included in the shader documentation API help file.

Nodes are automatically detected as long as they are placed into

~\Scripts\ExtensionPack_XvXX\Shaders\NodeLibrary

From here the autoloader will automatically detect what type of node it is and properly

register the node automatically without the need for writing anymore python registration files.

Node Type:

To determine what kind of Node it is the autoloader will use the default tags that are found in the Mari XML files and place

them into five types, Adjustment, Procedural.

If no <tag> is found the node will default to Type Procedural.

Node Name in UI:

The name of the Node as it appears in Mari's UI is used from Mari's Default XML Attribute

<DefaultName></DefaultName>

Example:

<DefaultName>Axis Mask</DefaultName> will Name the Node Axis Mask in the Mari UI.

Location in MARI UI

The Node Autoloader of Extension Pack requires an explicit path to accurately place the Node in the Mari UI

Example:

<Category>Filter/Custom/Histogram/</Category>  will place the node inside the Adjustment Folder with a sub-folder /Custom/Historgram/

Procedural Nodes do not require an explicit /Procedural/ Folder as they will default to it if none if defined.

Example:

<Category>Geometry/Custom/</Category>  will place the node inside the Geometry Folder in Mari's Procedural Menu with a sub-folder /Custom/

<Category>Procedural/Geometry/Custom/</Category> will place place the node in the same folder as above

Cross Version Compatibility

The <ID> tag is a unique Name that allows Mari to identify the Node, regardless of the name

it has in the UI. The <ID></ID> should never change between Versions of the Node to allow Mari to

convert between Versions.

Example:

<ID>Axis Mask</ID>

Restricting Nodes to specific Mari Versions

You can restrict Nodes to load only in specific MARI Versions by using the

<MinMariVersion> and <MaxMariVersion> tags in the Node XML files.

The tags are optional. You can have just a <MinMariVersion> tag, just a <MaxMariVersion> one

or leave them out completely if not required.        

Examples:

Restrict a Node to Mari 3.1 or higher:                   <MinMariVersion>30101000</MinMariVersion>

Restrict a Node to Mari 3.0v3 or lower:         <MaxMariVersion>30003300</MaxMariVersion>

Created with the Personal Edition of HelpNDoc: Create help files for the Qt Help Framework