Exposing a parameter | Substance 3D Designer

Exposing parameters is one of the most powerful tools and is key to opening up your graphs to other applications such as Substance 3D Painter, Substance 3D Sampler and Substance Integrations for Maya and 3DS Max.

This page explains all required concepts to get started exposing. It's recommended that you first learn what a Graph Instance is before continuing on this page. It's also good to have a grasp on the difference between Publish and Exporting, as well as the filetypes involved.

In this page

*Dashed, transparent lines above are an abstract representation of the connection
from exposed parameters to Graph Parameters.

Understanding parameters and exposing

How to expose

Currently there are two main methods to expose parameters. One method is more suited for quickly exposing a single parameter, the second method is more suited for exposing multiple parameters in one sweep.

SINGLE EXPOSE METHOD

Batch expose method

When exposing one parameter, this method will be a bit slower than the previous. When exposing multiple parameters, it is much faster.

Limitations

There are some limitations tied to exposing parameters, as listed in the table below.

Another significant limitation is related to static parameters. These cannot be changed in a published Substance 3D asset (SBSAR).

Static parameters – as opposed to dynamic parameters – cannot be edited on-the-fly after the graph has been cooked – i.e., processed in order to run its algorithm quickly and efficiently. Cooking occurs in Designer every time the graph is edited or published.

As such, static parameters are visible and editable in Designer, but are hidden in a published Substance 3D asset. You may use Preview mode to see these limitations in effect before publishing to a Substance 3D asset: see 'Previewing parameters' below.

As a workaround, you may use a Switch or Multi Switch node and multiple sets of logic to switch between different values/states for these parameters.

Modifying exposed parameters

Once exposed, it is no longer possible to access a parameter like before. Changing its value, renaming, arranging in the UI and even removing the parameter all happen on the Graph Properties level. This section details how to do so.

To change an exposed parameter's options either:

INPUT PARAMETERS

All exposed Parameters are listed under the Input Parameters tab. The following properties are available for most common cases such as Floats and Integers with default Editor type.

1. Identifier: Unique identifier for this parameter. Can not contain spaces or special characters.
2. Label: UI-only Label. If no Label is defined, the identifier is shown in the UI. Can contain spaces and special characters
3. Group: Group parameters together into collapsible section to keep long lists of parameters clean and manageable. Parameters are grouped together if they share the exact same group name. Use the / character to create sub-groups – e.g. My Group/My Sub-group
4. Description: Textfield for description, used as tooltip.

5. Type / Editor: Set the data type as well as the UI editor type. Certain Editors are only available for certain data types (such a drop down list only for Integer). Changing Editor will in many cases wipe default values, be careful.

6. Default: Default value the parameter starts out at. This is also the value used in your graph while previewing nodes. Try to use an easy, useable value here, avoid extreme cases.
7. Min: Minimum value for UI
8. Max: Maximum value for UI
9. Clamp: Set wether Min and Max are soft or hard limits (allow the user to go past the limits).
10. Step:Set the precison or granularity of the value.
11. User Data: Custom user data, available for any purpose.
12. Visible If: Special expression system to show or hide parameters based on external conditions. See Visible if: control visibility of inputs, outputs and parameters

Drop down list

A special case is the Drop down list for Integer types. There is no Default, Min or Max, just a single Value setting that allows you to define a list of Items.

• Every Item corresponds to an Item in the Drop Down List.
• The first value for an Item is the actual, internal integer used by the graph. Make sure you set these up correctly for your Multi Switch for example (they start at 1, not 0).
• The second value is the UI Label shown to the user.
• The third checkbox allows you to mark one Item as the default selected one.
• The X deletes an Item, the + adds an Item

Re-order

Re-ordering of Parameters can easily be done by dragging and dropping the dark, striped handles to the left of the input parameters name in the list. Keep in mind Grouping parameters can affect the order.

PREVIEWING PARAMETERS

As setting up parameters can be difficult without seeing the final result, a Preview Mode can be enabled, to check how the parameters UI will look and behave externally. Click the Preview tab in the top middle of the Input Parameters rollout.

Normally, any changes made in Preview Mode are discarded. You can however use the Apply button next to the eye icon to set the current values of the Preview Mode as the new default values.

Preview Mode also allows you to create Embedded Presets.

COPY-PASTING PARAMETERS

Parameters can be copy-pasted between graphs.

A single parameter can be copied with the Copy button . Multiple Parameters can be copied through the Parameters Menu . Choose Copy Inputs to copy all inputs.

Choose Paste Inputs in the Parameters Menu to paste one or more parameters.

If you want to transfer values, and not the actual exposed parameter itself, read about Parameter Presets.

Removing and cleaning exposed parameters

Because of the nature of parameters, where you can have on Input Parameter controlling multiple Nodes, or where Input parameters can exist without controlling a node, problems can arise with missing or unused parameters. Below common issues and their solutions are described.

TRACKING BROKEN PARAMETERS ON NODES

You can track what parameter is used by which node through the Node Finder Tool , which is located in the top bar of the Graph View. Click it and it allows you to find nodes using specific parameters.

If a node has an actual problem, it will display a Warning badge on its top left corner. Hovering over the badge will display a tooltip with more information.

To reset and remove a problem, for the parameter you want to fix or reset, click on the Dropdown button next to the Edit Function button and select Reset. This returns a parameter to its previous, non-exposed state, the blue name will turn gray again to reflect this.

CLEANING UP UNUSED INPUT PARAMETERS

If you have lost track of your Input Parameters and no longer know which ones are used, they can be cleaned up using a small tool. Click the Input Parameter menu button and select Clean Inputs.

A new dialog appears, listing all unused parameters. Check or uncheck whatever parameters you want to remove or keep, and click OK. If no dialog appears, there are currently no unused parameters to clean up.

REMOVING PARAMETERS

To actually remove a parameter that is in use, requires two distinct steps.