Connections

Connections form a key feature of Cavalry. They can be used to set up attributes to drive other attributes.

You create connections by clicking and dragging from a Connection Anchor. A Connection Anchor is anything that turns blue on rollover.

Connection Anchors highlight in blue when you rollover an attribute.

It’s important to note that making connections in Cavalry is not a shortcut for writing expressions. You are creating real connections between attributes/ nodes. The result is speedy computation and versatility.

To create a connection in the Attribute Editor:

1. Hover the cursor over an attribute (the Connection Anchor icon will change to state 2).

2. Move your mouse over the Connection Anchor icon (the icon will turn to state 3) then click and drag.

3. Move your mouse to another attribute (the ‘connection’ will turn blue when it can connect).

4. Release the mouse.

You will see a connection icon appear on the attribute you dropped the connection onto in step 4 indicating you have made a connection.

When we talk about the id we are referring to the connection from the header bar of a nodes Attribute Editor UI. This is the output of a node.

The process in the Scene Window is very similar:

1. Rollover a layer (the Connection Anchor icon will change to state 2).

2. Move your mouse over the Connection Anchor icon (the icon will turn to state 3) then click and drag.

3. Move your mouse to another layer (the ‘connection’ will turn blue when it can connect).

4. Release the mouse.

5. A pop up window will appear.

6. Select the row (attribute) you’d like to connect to.

7. Click the mouse.

You will see a connection icon appear on the layer you dropped the connection onto in step 6 indicating you have made a connection.

Connections in the Scene Window

Connections can be inputs or outputs. An Input is when an attribute is being driven by another attribute. An Output is when an attribute is driving another attribute. Inputs are indicated by a yellow left facing icon. Outputs are indicated by a right facing purple icon.

Clicking on a connection icon will open a pop over showing you a list of existing connections. Double click on the row to reveal the connected node/attribute or click the cross to break the connection.

When inside a popover, if you hold cmd/ctrl when either double clicking on a connection, or clicking the 'x' to disconnect the attribute, the window will stay open, allowing you to do several things in a row.

To overwrite an existing connection hold down cmd/ctrl when using the Connector or select Replace Connection in the contextual menu.

Note - an attribute with keyframes cannot accept an input connection as it's already connected to an animation curve. You can overwrite the connection but you will lose any keyframe data.