Connecting and setting values on Macros in relation constraint

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

I am having trouble making connections and setting values on Macro boxes within a relation constraint with python. When trying to create a connection there is no error but nothing happens, and when trying to write data to an input it will error:

AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'WriteData'

I have tried changing the 'Input' and 'Output' names but cannot find a way to make it work. Any ideas?

[rig_vader]

Are you using FBConnect() to make the connections?

[Anonymous]

Yes I use FBConnect() to try and make the connections between the Macro boxes, it doesn't work, but it works fine between any other type of Box!

[rig_vader]

I'm sure I have some code connecting macros somewhere.. I'll try to find it and post

[rig_vader]

I think I might have hooked up macros from python at some point.. but unfortunately I'm hazy on the when and how. I could not find anything in my code base, but I remember having the same issue - I think I must have choosen a workflow that did not require me to hook up macros from Python. Sorry

[middlek]

The main issue with not being able to connect to Macro box within a relation constraint is the name you are passing here, is not finding the name:

ConnectBox(inputOutput, 'Output', inputOutput1, 'Input')

You either need to use the function:

FBAnimationNode FindByLabel
(
str 
pNodeLabel
 ) 


Returns the animation node from its label.
Parameters:

pNodeLabel 
Label of the searched animation node.

Returns:
AnimationNode found.

Or you need to look to see what the auto generated names are by MotionBuilder, like this:

lMacro = lRelation.CreateFunctionBox('My Macros', 'HelperBoneControl')
lRelation.SetBoxPosition(lMacro,300,200)

#Testing what the real Animation Node names are, they don't reflect what is in the UI for Macros
lMacroIN = lMacro.AnimationNodeInGet().Nodes
for lAnimationNode in lMacroIN:
print "IN: (%s) " % (lAnimationNode.UserName)

lMacroOUT = lMacro.AnimationNodeOutGet().Nodes
for lAnimationNode in lMacroOUT:
print "OUT: (%s) " % (lAnimationNode.UserName)

lMacroIn = FindAnimationNode( lMacro.AnimationNodeInGet(), 'MacroInput0' )
lMacroOut = FindAnimationNode( lMacro.AnimationNodeOutGet(), 'MacroOutput1' )

~Kristine