Hey!
I made a simple setup that reads the members of a bundle and copies the oppath as an instance attribute to points. When dealing with a huge amount of instances, it’s super easy to manage those instance masters. Click here to download the scene. InstanceByBundleMembers
Quick Edit: Please add the line oInstances.sort() to the Python SOP. With this line, the instaces will stay the same. Otherwhise it could be, that python reads the bundle members in another way from time to time.
Here is a update to the rolling coin setup. It now works also with non-rounded shapes. Here you’ll find the hip file: rolling_objects_setup 
For a current Job I’d to make a rolling coin setup. All transforms and rotations are done on SOP level with VOPs. Feel free to grab the hip file and to try it out. Quick node, currently it’s just working with round shapes. rolling_coin_setup
Hi!
If the scenes get more and more complicated, material selection gets time-consuming, too. To speedup the selecting and navigating networks, I’ve build a shelf tool, that lets you jump directly to the corresponding material of an object. Please have look at my video. I’m explaining the installation and functionality. Hopefully that makes your navigation, during the shading process more comfortable.
#Import Modules
import toolutils
import hou
#Set Variables
selected_node = ""
#Define type arrays
MAT_Detect = ["redshift::Material","redshift_vopnet","principledshader::2.0","materialbuilder","arnold::standard_surface", "arnold_materialbuilder"]
Sel_Detect = ["geo","instance"]
#Get the Selected Nodes
selected = hou.selectedNodes()
#Check if there is something selected
if selected:
#Compare first selected objects type with the valid object types
if selected[0].type().name() in Sel_Detect:
#Set the selected node. Just the fist is valid
selected_node = selected[0]
#Force the user to select an object, if the current doesn't match the selection type
else:
#Clear the selection
hou.clearAllSelected()
#Promt the user to select an new object
prompt = toolutils.selectionPrompt(hou.objNodeTypeCategory())
scene_viewer = toolutils.sceneViewer()
selected_objects = scene_viewer.selectObjects(prompt)
#Check if an object is selected
if selected_objects:
#Set the first selected node to variable
selected_node = selected_objects[0]
else:
#Output an Error
hou.ui.displayMessage("Nothing Selected")
#Force the user to select an object, because nothing is selected
else:
#Promt the user to select an new object
prompt = toolutils.selectionPrompt(hou.objNodeTypeCategory())
scene_viewer = toolutils.sceneViewer()
selected_objects = scene_viewer.selectObjects(prompt)
#Check if an object is selected
if selected_objects:
#Set the first selected node to variable
selected_node = selected_objects[0]
else:
#Output an Error
hou.ui.displayMessage("Nothing Selected")
#Check if the selected_node variable is not empty
if selected_node:
#Compare selected_node's type with the valid object types
if selected_node.type().name() not in MAT_Detect :
#Convert Releative Pathes to Absolute Pathes
matPath = selected_node.parm("shop_materialpath").eval()
#Set the targetpath to the node variable
node = selected_node.node(matPath)
#Check if node is valid
if node:
#Look for child Objects
if node.children():
#If there are children, replace node with the fist child
node = node.children()[0]
else:
#Output an Error
hou.ui.displayMessage("Empty material path")
else:
node = selected_node
#Look for child Objects
if node.children():
node = node.children()[0]
#Check if the material node exists
if node:
#Set some Variables
pane = ""
index = 0
#Loop over the active panes
while pane is not None:
#Search for the first network editor
pane = hou.ui.paneTabOfType(hou.paneTabType.NetworkEditor, index)
#Loop over the panes
if pane is not None:
#Get the current state
ID = pane.linkGroup()
#Looking for Linkgroup1
if str(ID) == "paneLinkType.Group1":
targetPane = pane
switchorselect = 1
#Looking for FollowSelection
if str(ID) == "paneLinkType.FollowSelection":
targetPane = pane
switchorselect = 0
#Looking for Pinned
if str(ID) == "paneLinkType.Pinned":
targetPane = pane
switchorselect = 2
index += 1
#If there is a PaneType Group1
if switchorselect == 1:
#Set the current Node
targetPane.setCurrentNode(node)
#If the PaneTypeState is set to Follow selection
if switchorselect == 0:
#Selet the material
node.setSelected(True, clear_all_selected=True)
#If the PaneTypeState is set to Pinned
if switchorselect == 2:
#Retun an errror
hou.ui.displayMessage("The PaneType is set to Pinned")
Hey!
Everyone who is coming from a Maya/Softimage background is wondering why the Houdini ChannelList has this strange scoping behavior. It loads by default all parameters with auto-add into the ChannelList.
To get only the animated ones there is an option:
I have prepared a script, if you want to stay with the default behavior (Add Parameters With Auto-Add to Channel List flag), but want the option to load the Animation Editor with just the animated parms.
First select the Nodes with the animation you want to edit. Then run the script. You’ll notice the script scopes/unscopes the channels, and leave you with a clean animation editor.
The script was a nice finger exercise 🙂
import hou
if hou.selectedItems():
oSel = hou.selectedItems()
for oObj in oSel:
for parm in oObj.parms():
if parm.isTimeDependent():
parm.setScope(1)
else:
parm.setScope(0)
try:
if str(parm.expression()) == "linear()":
parm.setScope(1)
if str(parm.expression()) == "bezier()":
parm.setScope(1)
if str(parm.expression()) == "constant()":
parm.setScope(1)
except:
parm.setScope(0)
else:
print "nothing selected"
animationEditor = hou.ui.curDesktop().createFloatingPanel(hou.paneTabType.ChannelEditor)
animationEditor.setName("Animation Editor - Selection")