Simulation Flow

Owned by thomas (Unlicensed)
Last updated: 17 Nov, 2016 by Alex Ribao
3 min read

The “Simulation Flow” window is located under RealFlow's “Layout” menu. With simulation- or event-based scripts and graphs it is possible to influence a running simulation. You can, for example

  • manipulate emitters, particles and objects
  • record changes in position or rotation
  • activate and deactivate nodes on demand
  • emit particles from surfaces
  • shift particles between emitters
  • do everything to customize a simulation.



Jump to


Events Tree (A)

The panel's left area contains a tree structure that represents the various events where a script or graph will influence a simulation. This can be

  • before the simulation starts or the simulation is finished
  • at the beginning or end a frame
  • at the beginning or end of an individual substep.

 

You can add as many scripts and graphs to the individual events as required:

  • Right-click on an event and choose which type of script or graph you want to create.
  • Once a script or graph has been added, a new entry will appear in the events tree.
  • You will also see a new tab in the panel's right area with exactly the same name.
  • Graphs and scripts can be mixed.

 

It is possible to shift an entry from one branch of the tree to another with simple drag and drop. Please be careful, because the script's or graph's tree position influences how often the program will be executed during the simulation: once per simulation, frame, or substep.

Script and Graph editors (B-D)

By default there are three tabs and each one contains an empty editor:

  • The “Master” (B) section is only there for compatibility with RealFlow 4. RealFlow 4 did not have an events tree and should therefore not be used with new scripts.
  • The second tab (C) contains an empty Python script editor. It becomes editable once you have added a script entry to the events tree.
  • The last tab (D) contains an empty graphs editor. It becomes editable once you have added a graph entry to the events tree.

Editor Menus (E)

Every tab has its own menu bar, but with almost identical entries. Furthermore, the great majority of menu entries is self-explaining and can be found in many other applications. Therefore we want to focus on the most important commands.




File

Load and save your scripts/graphs; open the → scripting and → graphs preferences.

 

Edit

Copy, paste, and cut parts of the script or graph, perform find and replace actions, and undo/redo your actions.

Shift Right Text | Shift Left Text (scripting editor only)

Leading tabs and spaces play an important role with Python. These functions allow you to create tabs for a selected text block.

 

Script

Clear

Removes the entire script from the editor. This action cannot be undone!

Show suggestions

Select a coloured RealFlow Python command and click on this menu entry to get the complete syntax structure.

Check Syntax

This function performs an error check. Errors are displayed in the editor and the “Messages” panel. Scripts with syntax errors will not be executed.

Check Integrity

An example: You have written a Python script and added it to the "FramesPre" section. At the end of the script there is a scene.simulate() command. A situation like that is an integrity violation and RealFlow will display a warning message.

 

Graph

Clear

Removes the entire graph from the editor. This action cannot be undone!

 

Help

Here you will find a link to RealFlow's internal scripting and graphs reference – a compilation of all available commands. It is also possible to request help for a selected coloured RealFlow Python command.