Insert Symbol from Favorites

[wellebracht]

I have a Marionette that I would like to insert a 2d symbol from a Workgroup or project file I have under "favorites" in the Resource Manager, but the stock "Insert Symbol" node appears to only insert from the active project. Is there a different node, or a way I can augment the current node to look in the resource manager as a whole?

[Pat Stanford]

Nodes have to be stored in VW files in specific locations for them to be seen by the Marionette Tool. I believe you can use aliases or shortcuts rather than duplicates of the file if you like where you have the file stored now.  The relative path from the User folder or Workgroup folder is:

 

UserOrWGFolder/Libraries/Defaults/Marionette

If you want to have the node show up in a certain section there are specific subfolders the VW file will need to be put into also. I am not certain if you can create your own subfolders or not. Hopefully one of our Marionette Experts (or maybe the Maven herself) can help us out. And explain to me why the few subfolders (all empty) in my User Folder have $ characters at the end.

 

[wellebracht]

My Issue is more that the Symbol I am referencing with the "Insert Symbol" node is located in a "Favorites" file, but the Marionette wont insert the referenced symbol unless that same symbol is in the active project folder. 

[Pat Stanford]

OK, I misread your post.  You are not looking to add custom nodes to insert using the Marionette tool, you have a Marionette network that inserts a symbol and you want to be able to select that from a different file.

 

I can't help on that one.

 

@DomC? @Marissa Farrell?

[Mirko Guhr]

Hi wellebracht,

 

i have written a node for you and anyone else who needs it, which imports any type of resource (that is supported) from any file. The output is also this imported object and can then be directly packed into a symbol node or list. The value for type symbol is 16.

Here is the documentation for the types: VALUE

If the resource to be imported is already present in the document but modified, the usual dialog with change/overwrite, etc., will appear.

It is not necessary to have the reference as a favorite or anything like that. The absolute path is specified.

I haven’t done extensive debugging with this node yet. However, it is definitely not possible to work with %userprofile% syntax for AppData or user-specific storage locations within networks, at least in Vectorworks 2023. I also haven’t performed any tests regarding access-restricted folders. But I think it should work for you.

Have fun with it, hope this is what you were looking for.

 

Best regards 😉

Import Resource.vwx

[Mirko Guhr]

And now there’s already a change to the node. I thought it would be good if users who prefer a folder structure could also enjoy the node without pulling their hair out. Therefore, it is now possible to define a folder with an additional string input, which will be created at the first level or, if it already exists, the object will be placed directly into it. A hierarchy of folders cannot be created with this. The hierarchy must already exist, then the object will also move into the corresponding folder.

 

ATTENTION!!!

As is usual in Vectorworks, there must be no duplicate names. The node does not provide feedback if the name already exists. The folder will simply not be created if the name already exists. This does not have to be another folder. If there is a class/symbol or something similar with the same name, the folder will not be created.

Example:

The object to be imported is named Käsebrot. If I now define the input string for the folder also as Käsebrot, the folder will not be created.

However, if I define the string as, for example, KäsebrotMitSpeck, this folder will be created, provided there is no KäsebrotMitSpeck yet.

 

Feel free to play around and provide feedback if something doesn’t work

Import Resource to Folder.vwx