Capture Attribute Node¶
The Capture Attribute node stores one or more fields on a geometry, and outputs those same fields so they can be read by other nodes.
This storing and retrieving of a field can also be done with the Store Named Attribute Node and the Named Attribute Node respectively. The difference is that the Capture Attribute node creates an anonymous attribute, meaning there’s no need to specify a name and there’s no clutter at the end. This makes the node ideal for temporary data storage.
A common use case is saving information that would normally be lost while converting geometry – see the example below.
Note
The new attribute is only available in the geometry produced by this node. It can’t be read in the geometry of “sibling” or “upstream” nodes.
Inputs¶
- Geometry
Standard geometry input.
- Capture Items
The fields to store. Inputs can be added by connecting another node’s output to this node’s blank input, or by using the Capture Items list in the node’s Properties panel.
The inputs can be renamed by clicking them with Ctrl-LMB in the node itself or in its Capture Items list. The latter also accepts double clicking.
Properties¶
- Domain
Which attribute domain to store the evaluated data on.
Capture Items¶
Reference
- Menu:
List View for adding, removing, reordering, and renaming the inputs of the node.
- Data Type
The data type of the selected input.
Outputs¶
- Geometry
Standard geometry output.
- Attribute
The node has an attribute output for each of its field inputs.
Example¶
The goal of this example is to turn a Curve into a tube-shaped mesh with pieces cut away at regular intervals. At first, this seems straightforward: use the Curve to Mesh Node to create the tube, read from the Spline Parameter Node to find out where each tube vertex lies on the original curve, and do some math to decide whether to delete the vertex.
This alone doesn’t work, however: the Spline Parameter node calculates its outputs on the fly, and it can only do so for curves. Once the curve has been converted to a mesh, this node can no longer be used.
This is where the Capture Attribute node comes in: it can store the calculated distance on each curve control point. The Curve to Mesh node then transfers these numbers to the mesh vertices (as it does for any attribute). From there, the attribute can be retrieved again by connecting to the same Capture Attribute node that stored it.