The User Interface

Overview:

The interface for any application is a type of visual metaphor, and TouchDesigner’s network is no different. The TouchDesigner interface is an expansive workspace where operators (functions) can be combined to generate many forms of output (auditory, visual, data, etc.). Here we’ll look briefly at the most common interface elements that you’ll interact with, and demonstrate how you might access the most common elements in the TouchDesigner UI.

The menus for manipulating the TouchDesigner settings and environment are located at the top of the application window, File, Edit, Dialog, and Help. Each of these access typical application elements – including our preferences (Edit-> Preferences), and our common application dialogs (Dialogs).

Creating operators is central to TouchDesigner, and you most commonly do that with the OP Create dialog (press Tab or double-click on an empty area of the network), When looking at the OP Create Dialog each family contains both generators and filters – these are distinguished by the color shading of the operators. Generators are a darker shade of the family color, generate data, and only have an output. Filters are the lighter shade of the family color – they have both an input and output, and are used to transform the data within a given family.

• Network – Derivative Wiki
• Network Editor – Derivative Wiki
• Network Path – Derivative Wiki