Please, How to make a switch to enable/disable components results ?

Hello, Here I am in my adventure of learning how to use the filter editor, and have found something I still have not found how to do.

I want to be able to put a group of components that gives for example a texture or an effect, and that could be enabled or disabled by the user.

For example if I want to have a group of nodes that makes a texture that is going to be applied over the image, and I want that this is OPTIONAL, and so want to put a kind of switch checkbox, so when activated the texture is applied, and when not checked, not applied.

In the Filter Forge Help guide and Wiki have not found it

LOOKING INSIDE FILTERS THAT DO THIS

I have found some filters that do this, and then looking inside the filter Editor I could understand how is done, as there is not a simple checkbox, is a mix of components, or are checkboxes attached to ONE component switch and not a group.

SEARCHING IN THE FORUM

THREAD 1 - I have found this thread here --> Can a component be temporarily disabled?

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GMM wrote: There is no simple solution. You can use the Switch component to make two branches: with and without Blur.

I have done this but it does not work for me, I must surely be doing something wrong.

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uglyboys wrote: I wish changing switch could enable and disable few setting options

Yes is true I would like that it could be like a tap, when you activate, the water goes through, and when you close it, no more water.

THREAD 2 - Also found this other one ---> Switch option

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Rawn (RawArt) wrote: Quite often i want to make a switch in my filters to give a "this or that" option, But the switch tool wont allow me to submit with only 2 options, and tells me to use a checkbox. This checkbox thing is not always do-able for some of the switches I want to do.

and Kraellin answered this

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Kraellin wrote: The checkbox component, when used with a switch, also needs to be re-mapped. that's the secret. just hit the 're-map' option and then set your values according to the switch.

Well, I have done this, I used the switch with a checkbox and have hit the "remap" option and still does not work surely I must have left something or doing it wrongly

In the same thread also found this

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Vladimir Golovin wrote: Or you can use Blend with a checkbox connected to Opacity. Make sure the checkbox outputs 0 and 100 -- other values will cause blending and thus slow down the rendering.

I have done this ALSO and it does not work either

PLEASE, CAN YOU BE SO KIND TO EXPLAIN HOW TO DO IT FOR A BEGINNER ?

I am sorry that I do not understand it and it seems to be "easy" but I still have not been able to find how this is done.

Thanks really very much for your help

Hello, Morgantao, thanks very much for your help, I had not seen before you new filter snippet as it is very new, but know I found it fr om your link

I have seen your "simple" filter and I finally discovered what I was doing wrong and why it did not work.

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Morgantao wrote: I used a blend node set on Normal, with opacity connected to a checkbox. I remapped the checkbox to be either 0 (No texture) or 100 (Full texture).

There is one very important information missing here, Where do you configure the remapped checkbox with those values ?

And then looking at your filter, searching wh ere this values are stored inside your filter I found that is inside the NEW small tiny box that appears after "using remap". This is WHY did not work when I was doing it, I did not know that you MUST configure that tiny box TOO. I knew that there was something missing

Now I have tried it on my own filter and it WORKS VERY WELL !!!

1 - Just connect the final result of the group of components to the foreground of the blend mode
2 - Keep it at normal blend mode (I mean do not change it as this is by default)
3 - Click on "use remapping"
4 - on the new tiny box that appears configure it to use it as a switch

See the screenshot I have done here

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Morgantao wrote: If you have more then 2 options in your filter, you can use a switch that gets the different results, and add an Intslider with which the user can control the output. You will not need to remap the slider, just limit with max value, according to how many choices the user has.

For now and for what I want, just need only ONE source, and so is only enable/disable, but if later I need more options I will make as you suggest here.

Thanks really very much for your help

SpaceRay, I had the feeling you were missing the tiny box that appears when you click Use Remapping, but didn't really know how to describe it for you, that's why I sent you to the Plankworks filter.

It's easy to miss that small remapping box, expecialy if the component you are using remapping on is located far away from the component that gets the input. The remapping box is ALWAYS attached to the input of the component you connected to (In this case the blend component).

Anyway, glad I could help, and waiting to see what filter you're cooking for us

here is a simple switch sample showing it working with no remapping

fisheye.ffxml

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Sphinx. wrote: Be aware that both foreground and background sources are fetched with the blend (i.e. the render time is the sum of both, not just the active source).

I agree with you and you are right, BUT what happens if you use the Blend as a switch with ONLY the foreground ? Will increase also the time or it works just as a pass through?

I do not use the switch component because I do not want to put two sources, JUST ONE, and activate or desactivate it.

The blend mode with ONLY the foreground works well as a switch with the 0-100 values in the remapping

TOTTE´s MEGASWITCH MAP SCRIPT

Also I have found this very interesting Switch component made by Totte

http://filterforge.com/forum/read.php?FID=18&TID=7563

This has been asked for in other threads too.
We need a way to either put dividers between control groups, or have irrelevant controls grayed out or collapsed away from view.