View table: Glossary

TOuch Environment file, the file type used by TouchDesigner to save your entire project.

TouchDesigner Component file, the file type used to save a Component of your TouchDesigner project.

Absolute Time starts counting from 0 when the TouchDesigner process starts, and is always increasing. It will pause if the Power 0/1 button at the top of the UI is Off.

Annotates are displayed in the Network Editor as colored rectangles containing user-authored text and graphics. It is based on the Annotate COMP and allows you to document your networks with useful information like comments and node grouping.

Information associated with SOP geometry. Points and primitives (polygons, NURBS, etc.) can have any number of attributes - position (P) is standard, and built-in optional attributes are normals (N), texture coordinates (uv), color (Cd), etc.

The Backdrop is the grid of node viewers that are visible behind the Network, set by turning on Display Flags and the network RMB -> Display... Backdrop OPs.

Binding is a Parameter Mode that ties two or more parameters' values together, where changing the value of any one of the bound parameters changes all of them. The actual value is stored in one place.

A pull-down list at the top of a network Pane containing jump-to Network Paths.

An operator whose Bypass flag is set does nothing: All data going into its first input appears at its output unaffected.

Some operators have a DAT docked to them that contains some python functions. These functions, called "callbacks", get called when something in the operator changes.

A CHOP outputs one or more channels, where a channel is simply a sequence of numbers (Samples), representing motion, audio, etc. Channels are passed between CHOPs in TouchDesigner networks. Channels can be Exported to Parameters.

An Operator Family which operate on Channels (a sequence of numbers (Samples)) which are used for animation, audio, mathematics, simulation, logic, UI construction, and data streamed from/to devices and protocols.

samples-per-second of a CHOP. Each CHOP in your network has a sample rate. In contrast, the overall timeline has a Frame Rate, which is the number of frames to cook and display per second, generally your monitor display frequency, default 60.

Cloning makes multiple components match the contents of a master component. A Component whose Clone parameter is set will be forced to contain the same nodes, wiring and parameters as its master component. Cloning does not create new components as does the Replicator COMP.

An Operator Family that contains its own Network. There are sixteen 3D Object Component and ten 2D Panel Component types. See also Network Path.

The notches on the left and right of each Node that let you Wire the output of one Operator to the input of another of the same Operator Family. The notches on the top and bottom of 3D Object Components and Panel Components that tie the components of each sub-Family in a Hierarchy.

The Container component type is a Panel Component that holds, lays out and displays any number of other Panel Components.

An Operator Family that manipulates text strings: multi-line text or tables. Multi-line text is often a python Script or GLSL Shader, but can be any multi-line text. Tables are rows and columns of cells, each containing a text string.

is the Procedural mechanism in TouchDesigner, where if one piece of data changes, it automatically causes other operators and expressions to re-Cook.

You edit your networks in Designer Mode. See Perform Mode.

Any floating window that is not a Pane or Viewer.

The blue flag on Geometry components and SOP operators determines if the geometry contained in that operator is visible in node viewers and geometry viewer panes. See Render Flag.

Any node can be docked to another node. This helps organize networks as two node that are docked together will stay together when the dock parent is moved in a network editor. A docked node can be collapsed into a small icon under the dock parent, reducing network clutter.

A text string that contains data (string, float, list, boolean, etc.) and operators (+ * < etc) that are evaluated by the node's language (python or Tscript) and returns a string, float list or boolean, etc. Expressions are used in parameters, DATs and in scripts.

In CHOPs, Extend Conditions determine what numbers you get when you try to get a channel value that is outside its start-end range - in its Extend Regions.

Any component can be extended with its own Python classes which contain python functions and data.

Operators that need 1 or more inputs are called Filters in TouchDesigner, like a Math CHOP. See Generator.

A powerful feature of CHOPs that filter over time, like the Lag CHOP and Filter CHOP where each sample acts as its own filter.

Indicator of certain states of an operator (bypass, display, lock, viewer active).

The purple flag on COMP and SOP nodes that determines if the node will be rendered in a Render TOP or Render Pass TOP. The operator must also be listed in the Render / Render Pass TOP's 'Geometry' parameter.

A Folder in TouchDesigner always refers to a Windows or macOS operating system directory/folder system that contain files and other folders. It does not refer to operators within TouchDesigner. See Network Path.

The term "Frame" is a measurement of time used (1) in the Timeline, (2) as a time-unit in CHOPs, and (3) as a time unit in movie files that are read into TOPs and written out from TOPs. The frame rate is the frames per second (FPS).

The Frames-per-Second that TouchDesigner's Timeline runs at. Set with project.cookRate.

Operators that do not need any inputs connected are called Generators in TouchDesigner, like a Pattern CHOP. See Filter.

The 3D data held in SOPs and passed for rendering by the Geometry COMP.

Currently, use a SOP to DAT to look at SOP point/polygon XYZ and other attributes. Formerly a Pane type.

A 3D viewport for viewing and manipulating 3D scenes or objects interactively. A geometry viewer can be found in Panes (alt+3 in any pane) or the Node Viewers of all Geometry Object components.

A name for a component that is accessible from any node in a project, which can be declared in a component's Global Operator Shortcut parameter.

The Graphics Processing Unit. This is the high-speed, many-core processor of the graphics card/chip that takes geometry, images and data from the CPU and creates images and processed data.

Every node has an Immune Flag, when on and the node is inside a Clone, it is not affected by any change to the clone master, so you can store extra data in the clone or set a node to be ignored by the cloning process.

Internal Operators (iOPs) provide a simple shortcut to a frequently-used operator, accessing from anywhere in that component.

Internal Parameters (iPars) act like local variables in a component. They provide a simple shortcut to collections of parameters that you create within a component, and access from anywhere in that component.

The devices, protocols and software tools that TouchDesigner interfaces to, via native Operators and Palette components.

In the Animation component each keyframe specifies a channel's value at a specific time (or frame). A keyframe holds a value, slopes and accelerations, and an interpolation type. A channel's keyframes are used to interpolate and determine the values of all the samples of the channel.

A Link. The grey dashed lines between nodes is a Reference or Link that indicates one operator is getting data from another operator from any Operator Family.

When an operator is locked, it does not cook and its output data remains frozen, even when the TouchDesigner session is saved to a .toe file and restarted.

The F1 to F12 keys run macros. The F1 macro puts you in Perform Mode. Pressing F9 or F10 over a panel brings up the network of the panel element you are pointing at. Macros are written in the legacy Tscript.

MATs or Materials are an Operator Family that applies a Shader to a SOP or 3D Geometry Object for rendering textured surfaces with lighting.

The bar at the top of the Designer Mode interface that contains menus, links, status messages and other controls.

Display devices in TouchDesigner that support multiple-finger or control-point input.

Every component contains a network of operators that create and modify data. The operators are connected by wires that define where data is routed after the operator cooks its inputs and generates an output.

TouchDesigner is WYSIWID - What You See Is What It's Doing. All nodes can have interactive viewers of their data.

A pane type where networks of operators can be created and edited.

The generic thing that holds an Operator, and includes Flags (display, bypass, lock, render, immune) and its position/size in the network. Whether you "lay down an Operator" or "lay down an Node", you're doing the same thing.

The viewer found on each operator in a Network Editor pane. This viewer is turned on by clicking the Viewer Flag.

Each node has a viewer flag that turns on/off the node's viewer in the Node Viewer.

The sub-Family of Component types that are used to define and render 3D scenes. A Geometry Component is an Object that contains the 3D shapes to render. A Camera COMP and Light COMP are other Object types. Separately, "Objects" also refers to Python objects.

The menu used to select and create a new operator. Can be opened in the Network Editor by pressing the <tab> key or double-clicking the background, or by clicking the MMB or RMB on an operator's output connector, or by the + sign in the Pane Bar.

OP Snippets is a set of 700+ live examples of TouchDesigner operators. You can access snippets via the Help menu, or by right-clicking on network operators, or r-clicking on OP Create dialog items.

Any of the procedural data operators. OPs do all the work in TouchDesigner. They "cook" and output data to other OPs, which ultimately result in new images, data and audio being generated. See Node.

The Operator Families are TOPs, CHOPs, SOPs, MATs (Materials), DATs (data operators) and Components (Panel Gadgets and Objects).

A built-in panel in TouchDesigner that contains a library of components and media that can be dragged-dropped into a TouchDesigner network.

A work area in TouchDesigner's layout that includes the Network Editor and 7 other pane types used for different tasks. The TouchDesigner interface can consist of a single pane, or be split into multiple panes.

There are 8 pane types; Network, Panel, Textport, Geometry Viewer, TOP Viewer, CHOP Viewer, Parameters, Graph Editor for CHOP Channels, or a Geometry Spreadsheet.

A custom interactive control panel built within TouchDesigner. Panels are created using Panel Components.

The sub-Family of Components that are used to create custom interactive 2D control panels (Container, Widget, Text COMP Slider, Button, etc.).

The internal states of a panel component are Panel Values, and are accessed with a Panel CHOP, a OP.panel Python expression, or a Panel Execute DAT.

Every operator in TouchDesigner has a set of control Parameters that can be integer or floating point numbers, menus, binary toggles, text strings or operator paths, which determine the output of the operator.

Parameter Value refers to the constant, the expression, the export, the bind reference and the Parameter Mode that are used together to determine the "evaluated" parameter value.

A floating dialog, pane type, or dialog in a Network Editor that displays one operator's parameters.

A parameter expression is a python expression that is in the expression field of a parameter.

Every Parameter can be in one of four modes: Constant Mode, Expression Mode, Export Mode or Bind (Binding) Mode.

A parameter reference can be setup between any two parameters by putting an expression in one parameter that refers to another parameter. This creates a Link between the two parameters such that when one changes, the other will change automatically (known in other software as a "constraint").

There are 2 kinds of parenting. The "parent component" is the component in which a node resides. The metaphor is extended to include grand parents, grand-grand parents, etc. The root / is the ultimate parent to all nodes. See also 3D Parenting and panel Parenting.

A Parent Shortcut is a parameter on a component that contains a name that you can use anywhere inside the component to refer to that component using the syntax parent.Name, for example parent.Effect.width to obtain panel width.

A ParGroup is a group of related parameters that you can set and get as a whole instead of its individual parameters.

Pattern Expansion takes a short string and expands it to generate a longer string of individual elements.

Matching names using wildcard characters and bracketing. Useful in "Select" type parameters to select multiple operators, paths, channels, etc.

Used in conjunction with Pattern Matching to replace all or portions of matched strings with new data. Used in places such as the Rename CHOP.

The tool built-in to TouchDesigner that analyzes and displays what TouchDesigner is doing as it generates the output images, audio and data.

A way of moving data from one TouchDesigner process to another. Images are moved via Touch Out / In TOPs, channels are moved via Touch Out / In CHOPs and Pipe Out / In CHOPs. Data moves via TCP/IP or UDP.

Each SOP has a list of Points. Each point has an XYZ 3D position value plus other optional attributes. Each polygon Primitive is defined by a vertex list, which is list of point numbers.

A polygon is a type of Primitive that is formed from a set of Vertices in 3D that are implicitly connected together to form a multi-edge shape.

A surface type in SOPs that includes polygon, curve (NURBS and Bezier), patch (NURBS and Bezier) and other basic shapes like sphere, tube and metaball. Points and Primitives are part of the Geometry Detail, which is a part of a SOP.

Privacy of TouchDesigner Components (.tox files) or Projects (.toe files) is the protection of networks that enables them to be used but not be visible or editable.

A technique or workflow that allows for displaying content on often irregular shapes and surfaces.

Quad Reprojection renders pixel-perfect perspective-correct images for flat TVs and LED panels hung at any orientation.