Ports

 
 
 

The Input Ports and Output Ports tabs allow you to set up ports and portgroups. Both tabs provide the same tools except for Group ID , Default Value , and the UI Value Range group, which are not available for output ports.

Name

Use this text box to specify a new name for your port.

Data Type

Select one of the supported data types from the drop-down list. These values correspond to the siICENodeDataType enum.

Note

To use a custom type you defined on the Custom Types tab, select siICENodeCustomDataType from the Data Type drop-down list and follow the instructions for the Custom Type drop-down list.

Structure Type

Select one of the supported structure types from the drop-down list. These values correspond to the siICENodeStructureType enum.

Context Type

Select one of the supported context types from the drop-down list. These values correspond to the siICENodeContextType enum.

Constraint Port Type

Check this option to constrain the new port with other ports in your ICENode. For more information on using constraint maps in your plug-in, see Handling Port Polymorphism.

Default Value (Input Ports tab only)

For the Float and Float data types, you can use this numeric slider to specify a default value. For all other data types, this slider is not visible.

UI Range (Input Ports tab only)

For the Float and Float data types, you can check this option to enable the UI Max and UI Min sliders which allow you to set a specific UI Range for this parameter. For all other data types, this checkbox is not visible.

UI Min (Input Ports tab only)

For the Float and Float data types, you can use this numeric slider to specify a minimum value. For all other data types, this slider is not visible.

Note

You can still set the minimum value directly in the code provided that the data type is based on the Float type (for example, siICENodeDataMatrix33).

UI Max (Input Ports tab only)

For the Float and Float data types, you can use this numeric slider to specify a maximum value. For all other data types, this slider is not visible.

You can still set the minimum value directly in the code provided that the data type is based on the Float type (for example, siICENodeDataMatrix33).

Custom Type

You can use a custom data type that you defined on the Custom Types tab as the data type for a port connection:

  1. Make sure you have defined the custom type you want to use on the Custom Types tab.

  2. Select siICENodeCustomDataType from the Data Type drop-down list. The Custom Type drop-down list is now enabled.

  3. Select the type you want from the Custom Type drop-down list.

Group ID (Input Ports tab only)

Input ports IDs are generated by the wizard and added to the input port group specified by the Group ID slider. For more information on using port instances in your plug-in, see Multiple Port Connections.

Tip

You can assign input ports to different groups or bundle more than one in the same group. You control this by either editing the GroupGroup ID field before adding the input port definition to the grid or you can also edit the Group ID field directly in the grid table.

Add button

Once you are done filling the fields, click Add to save the port definition in the Port grid located in the bottom section of the tab. All values are editable, so you can change any of them if you're not satisfied with your initial choices.

Remove Selected button

Select a port from the grid to and click Remove Selected to remove it.