Understanding Nodes!
Introā
EXA3Ds core functionality is the node based dependency editor. You won't need any developer background to create complex dependencies. It mainly contains nodes and connections, that are visualized on your screen.
Nodesā
Nodes represent on the one hand elements and tags you created under elements, on the othere hand dependencies between those tags, like calculations, hierarchy etc.
Basic Understandingā
Regulary a node does not represent a single element, but a group of elements with a given tag. So if you create a dependency for this node, all elements with this node will inherit this dependency. On the other hand a single element can have multiple tags and so inherit dependencies from multiple nodes.
Handlesā
Handles are connection points on your node. On the left side of the node are all input connections. Values are given to to node. On the right side arethe output connections. Values are going out of the node
Connectionsā
Connections are lines that connect two nodes. They can transfer data from one node to the other, or visualize a connection between those nodes.
Parent Child Connectionā
The simplest connection between two nodes is the parent child dependency. It represents the hierarchical order of the placement of elements. So to say you can place the child element on the parent elements snapping point.
To create this kind of dependency you simply connect two tag-nodes with a connection. You need to connect the parent output handle of the child node with the child input handle of the parent node. That's it. You just defined, what can be placed on my parent nodes snapping points.
You can further define the corresponding snapping point by not connecting the child node to the children node, but by connecting it to the snapping point of the parent node. To do so you need to expand the inputs of the parent node by clicking the small triangle on the node inputs and select the snapping point you wish to connect.
> How to create Snapping Points.
Now you can only place the child elements on the snapping point you just defined.