Basics

From SourceBinder Wiki

These are the basics that you need to know about SourceBinder.

Contents 1 Output node 2 Creating a node 3 Node attributes 4 Connections 5 Pause/Play composition 6 Editor states 7 Navigation 8 Copy and Paste nodes 9 Public attributes 10 Autosuggestion

Output node

The output is a special node, which sits on the end of every composition. Every node has to be connected somehow to the output to be processed. You may connect nodes of the types of DisplayObject or Sound directly to it.

Creating a node

1. Double click anywhere on the stage to access the list of available nodes.
2. Browse through the nodes by selecting categories on the left side, and simply click on the node name to use it.

Use the info button to get a brief description about a node

Node attributes

Every node has a bunch of attributes which do define it's behaviour.

1. By doubleclicking on a node, you can access its editable attributes.
2. Use the controls to fine-tune your node in realtime. Numeric values can also be set by dragging the small rectangle between the stepper buttons.

Connections

Connections are binding the attributes of the nodes together. A composition is a bunch of nodes connected to the Output node.

1. Click and drag from any output connector to start a connection. Drag the line to the node which's attribute you would like to bind.
2. When you release over the selected node a drop down will appear, from which you can select the attribute to bind.

Some input connectors are bigger than the others. To these you can connect more nodes at the same time.

Pause/Play composition

To pause/play the composition simply hit the ESC key. If you wish to restart the composition click on the restart button.

When your composition is starting to behave weird, or simply getting slow you may want to reset the composition. By doing so, the whole editor will be reloaded and the actual state of your composition as well, so no work will be lost.

Editor states

The graph of your composition will only be visible in editing mode [1]. To give the focus to your composition and also to hide the graph, change to the preview mode [2].

You can quickly change between these modes by hitting the Ctrl + Tab keys.

Navigation

You can move around your graph by the aid of the following tools:

• zoom in: ctrl + or mouse wheel
• zoom out: ctrl - or mouse wheel
• show all: ctrl shift T
• show selection: ctrl shift Z
• dragging: while holding the space key, you can drag around freely.

Copy and Paste nodes

You can copy and paste nodes amd even a whole node setupt between SourceBinder windows. This is a great way to make use of often used node setups.

To do so use the appropriate menu items in the Edit menu.

Public attributes

Click on the pin button on the right of any attribute to make it appear on a different panel, called the Publish Box where you are able to access it quickly.

It's a good idea to publish those attributes which are relevant for the composition. These attributes will also be accessible when previewing the composition.

Autosuggestion

1. Click and drag on the input connector belonging to the attribute you wish to bind.
2. A popup, the filtered node list will appear with only those nodes that can be connected to your attribute. Release the mouse over the node you wish to use