Creating custom events

Beginner Topic used frequently in Bottango workflows.

Big idea

Each of the four custom event types lets you animate a specific kind of data like on/off or a movement value between 0.0 and 1.0.

You create custom events in the Create Part menu, just like other parts. When you create a custom event, you can see that there are four to choose from:

1 - Curved custom events

Curved custom events are animated on the animation timeline with movement values, just like motors and joints. A curved custom event sends a value between a movement of 0.0 and 1.0. An example when you might use a curved custom event is dimming a light or adjusting the speed of a continuously rotating motor.

2 - On/Off Custom Events

On/off custom events send an on/off signal, instead of a curved movement between 0.0 and 1.0. An example of when you might use an on/off event is turning a light on or off, or turning a continuously rotating motor on or off.

3 - Trigger custom events

Trigger custom events fire on each keyframe for that event in the animation. They don’t have any other data when the keyframe is expressed, just that a keyframe is at this moment. An example of when you might use a trigger custom event is playing a sound using your microcontroller, or releasing confetti from a closed container.

4 - Color custom events

Color custom events send an RGB color value. An example of when you might use a color custom event is setting the color on an RGB LED.

Custom events in the scene

When you create a custom event, you’ll see an interface for the custom event created in the 3D scene:

From left to right in the above screenshot:

• a slider that controls a curved custom event
• a switch that controls an on/off custom event
• a button that controls a trigger custom event
• a color that controls a color custom event.