Changing the Position of a Master Controller Widget

By default, a Master Controller widget will always appear where it is scripted to appear. However, it is possible to manually offset the widget of a Master Controller from its default position. This is done by attaching a peg to the Master Controller, then manipulating the peg. The Master Controller's widget will move along with the peg, as if it was a drawing layer. Likewise, if you need a Master Controller's widget to be positioned relative to a specific character, you can connect the Master Controller to this character's master peg.

By default, Master Controllers do not have an input port to which you can connect a peg. To be able to do this, you must configure it to have a transformation input port. Those ports are green and are usually used to connect pegs.

NOTE If you configure your Master Controller to have several input ports, the peg that will be used to offset the Master Controller widget must be the first of its input ports. The first input port of a Master Controller node is always the rightmost input port in the Node view.
  1. In the Node view, locate the Master Controller node.

  2. Click on its Layer Properties button to open its Layer Properties dialog.

  3. Open the Specifications tab. By default, the content of this tab will be as follows:

    <specs> <ports> <in type="IMAGE"/> <out type="IMAGE"/> </ports> <attributes> </attributes> </specs>

  4. Click on the Edit button to open the Specifications editor.

  5. In the Value field of the Specifications editor, replace the word IMAGE with PEG in the following line:

    <in type="IMAGE"/>

    It should now be:

    <in type="PEG"/>

  6. Click on OK.

    The Master Controller node's input port switches from blue to green. This is how you can tell that it is now a transformation (peg) input port, which can be connected to a peg.

  7. In the Node view, locate and select the Master Controller node.

  8. Do one of the following to display the Master Controller's widget:

    • In the Camera view toolbar, click on  Show Control .
    • From the top menu, select View > Show > Control.
    • Press Shift + F11.

    The widget displays in the Camera and Perspective views.

  1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Transform tool.

  1. Press Ctrl + P (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + P (macOS) to instantly create a parent peg attached to the Master Controller.

  2. In the Node view, click on the Peg node to select it.

    A transformation box appears in the Camera view.

  3. In the Camera view, click and drag on the Master Controller's widget to offset its position.