9.5.2

1066 • CHAPTER 22
XPRESSO EDITOR • 1067
 In the Attribute manager, choose User Data > Add User Data. In the dialog
that opens, set the port’s parameters as desired, then click OK.
 Click the node’s inputs menu (the blue square) and choose the name of the
User Data port.
 You will now be able to send values to the port via the User Data parameter
on the Attribute manager’s User Data page. See the XPresso tutorial in the
CINEMA 4D Tutorial manual for a working example of why user data is
useful.
Wires
Wires enable you to connect the ports of nodes and XGroups.
To enable nodes and XGroups to pass values to one another, you must rst create the necessary ports
and connect those ports using wires. To create a wire between two ports, drag the circle of one port
and drop it onto the other. A line appears while you drag that snaps to the second port when the
mouse pointer is close to it.
Some connections are not allowed. For example, you cannot connect input ports together or output
ports together, nor can you connect ports that have incompatible data types. While you draw the wire,
its color changes to indicate whether the connection is allowed (green) or not allowed (dark grey). If
the connection is not allowed, the wire will be deleted as soon as you release the mouse button.
An output port may be connected to multiple input ports, thus enabling you to pass the same value
to several nodes or XGroups. However, an input port may have one connection only.
To connect an output port to an input port of the same node, copy the node (hold down Ctrl and
drag and drop out a copy) and connect the output port of the rst node to the input port of the
second node.
If you accidentally connect a wire to the wrong port, you can reconnect it by dragging and dropping
the wire onto the correct port. If you drop the wire onto an empty space (i.e. not onto a port), the
wire will be deleted as soon as you release the mouse button. You can also delete wires by choosing
Remove Wires from the port’s context menu.