Marionette: How to add Custom Nodes to 'Current Node' pull-down?

[rDesign]

Perhaps I'm missing it, but what is the recommended way to add custom Marionette nodes so that they show up in the 'Current Node' pull-down list? Thanks.

[Kevin McAllister]

Marionette nodes are like other resources. There is a Marionette folder in the Library>Defaults folder. The long path on your Mac is Library>Application Support>Vectorworks>Vectorworks 2016>Library>Defaults>Marionette

KM

[rDesign]

Thanks Kevin.

Do you just make a separate .VWX file for each custom Marionette Node and put it in that folder?

Do the custom Nodes get categorized by Node type, such as 'Math' or 'Operations'?

Thanks again.

[PVA - Admin]

You can do that if you like, if you add your nodes to the existing VWX files, then the node will be sorted with them. If you make your own VWX you can make your own category.

I advise popping it in the user folder rather than the application folder though, since user folder will protect your files during updates and bring it along when you migrate to new versions in the future.

[PVA - Admin]

Also, if you add subfolders with VWXs that contain nodes in them, it will create the sub-folder-ish system you see in the Marionette tool, like Arc and Circle being sub-categories of "Objects"

[rDesign]

Thanks JimW. I noticed in the application Marionette folder, that the folder names end in a '$', like 'Math$'.

If we create user node category folders, is a '$' required at the end?

[PVA - Admin]

I am not sure if its REQUIRED but thats what i've been doing and its been working fine. I just emulated the structure that already existed and it seemed to play nice.

[rDesign]

Great - thank$ JimW.

[Pat Stanford]

I can't get this to work for me. Nothing I put in my User folder shows up under the Marionette tool.

I have triple checked the path to the User Folder (Mac_HD/Users/Pat/Application Support/Vectorworks/2016)

I have restarted VW. I have put mulitiple files in multiple locations. I have added files starting with 01. in the name. I have added folders with names that end in $.

Is anyone actually getting this to work? I have Default Content turned on in VW preference.

[PVA - Admin]

Yes, I just added a CUSTOMCommon.vwx to the Attributes$ subfolder in user folder and it appears in the tool itself.

[img:center]https://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=13257&filename=Screen%20Shot%202015-10-28%20at%204.26.57%20PM.png[/img]

(Not that I think this is the issue on your end most likely, but the VWX file you save there MUST have nodes in it, customized or stock, to make it appear in the Marionette tool menu)

[Pat Stanford]

And those nodes MUST be saved as a symbol. That is the part I was missing.

It is probably best to check the "Convert to Plugin Object" box on the create dialog otherwise you will have to manually ungroup the node before you can use it as part of a network.

Your nodes will be saved in a separate sub category than the default nodes. So if you create a file 01. Basic Math with some nodes (as symbols) in it, it will not just add them into the Basic Math sub-category, but will give you two Basic Math sub categories. The first with the info from the User Folder, the second with the data from the Application folder.

The good news is that you don't have to restart VW for it to recognize that new nodes (or files/folders) have been added. They just appear.

[rDesign]

And those nodes MUST be saved as a symbol. That is the part I was missing.

It is probably best to check the "Convert to Plugin Object" box on the create dialog otherwise you will have to manually ungroup the node before you can use it as part of a network.

Thanks Pat, this is really good to know. I was not aware that nodes had to be symbols.