How to use Links in Smode

Understand the Link logic in Smode

A composition in Smode can be a lot more than just visual, especially through the use of Link .

Link offer the possibility of inserting logic in your compos, to create dynamic, interactive, and customizable content. Coupled with animation, parameters and external inputs (OSC, MIDI, video input, audio input, etc.), you can turn a composition into an interactive object.

Read Learn user guide to learn how to make your content interactive.

Create a Link

Here is how to link a parameter to another (here 2 vertical positions):

In order to keep visual consistency, it can be interesting to propagate the change of a parameter to another parameter (eg. link the opacity of two layers, or the intensity of two modifiers on different layers). It can be done by creating a Link between the two parameters.

Let’s take the example of two layers opacity bound together. To do this, you need to right click on the source Layer’s opacity and select the command Create Link From. This will create a new Link in a Link Bank with a disconnected Link Target . Expand the Link in the Element Tree to see its Link Target . When a Link Target is visible, you can drag the second layer into its value and select the opacity in the contextual menu.

You just created your first variables link: when you modify the White opacity, the Blue opacity follows.

Parameters binding are unidirectional: if you modify the Blue opacity, it will not change the White’s. Target parameters are only updated when source parameter is modified.

An alternative way to create that link would be to create a new Link from the target opacity, by using the Create Rule To menu entry when right clicking on the target opacity. That would create a disconnected Link Source with a correct target. To set the Link Source , you just have to drag the White Layer in the Link value.

The source and target parameters of a Link can be replaced at anytime by a simple drag and drop.

Navigate to Target

You can navigate from a Link to its target parameter in the Element Tree by right clicking on the value and selecting the Goto menu entry :

Multiple Targets

Links can have multiple targets:

To add a new target to an existing Link, right click on the new target parameter and use the Connect to menu:

You can also know visually which parameters of an Element are automated by selecting it. In the Parameters Editor , you will see a button listing the objects that targets that parameter:

Learn command

Read Learn user guide to learn how to make your content interactive.

Link Modifiers

On every Link you can add a Link Modifier :

In the previous chapters, we discovered the power of Links in your composition. We also discovered that link targets are used a lot in Smode (in cues, exposed parameters, local links and links with hardware devices). Since the targets can always contain Link Modifier and Link Condition , what you’ll learn in theses part of the documentation how to use them in lot of scenarios.

Now here is a small tutorial to show you the use of different type of links in order to create procedural animations and interactive setups. Here the links are made from the “controller” position, but indeed, links can be made from any input and open wide possibilities: