Syntax: using local variables in fileIn/out nodes

[ankuragarwal]

Hi all
I want to use a local variable from a particular node in the imagename part of a FileIn node. I want shake to plop whatever the variable holds into the pathname for loading the file. This is what I'm doing now:

//myMachineName/home/mrpedal/nreal/testImage."$FileIn2.useFrame".tif

it likes that syntax, but errors

/home/mrpedal/nreal/testImage."FileIn2.useFrame".tif: No such file or directory

Been though the docs a few times, but don't see much about it.

Any idea? This has got to be super simple and I'm just missing it...

-Mike

Mike K
vfx/troubleshooting
Pixar Animation Studios

[anewhope]

From what I understand, file names can't be 'animated' in a render launched from the gui.
However, I've seen it done within a script launched from the command line.

Ask Peter Warner for the RadioButtons macro if you need an example.
From the command line, this macro renders all four versions of a specified radio button icon, each with the appropriate extensions.
His also adapted it for the GUI, but you can only render one version at a time.

Tim

[atitcomb]

Try putting this in the imageName parameter:

: stringf("//myMachineName/home/mrpedal/nreal/testImage.%04d.tif", (int) FileIn2.useFrame);

Be sure to use the : at the head so that Shake knows it needs to compile this expression, not take it as a literal string.

[jimim]

you know, this is actually excellent. I've been looking for this for quite a long time. I wonder if it is documented somewhere. It looks like you can any kind of c string method here. I still believe the shake developers should make the FileIn node respond to shake variables in a more obvious way such as: /mypyt/{shakevariable} though.

Big thanks.

D.