Thanks Damien. I also found out that the Series component also creates paths when you input several numbers. This can also be used to rearrange a flat list into paths. Using this method you don't actually need an individual component for every loft: http://grasshopper3d.googlegroups.com/web/rearangetree.jpg
Actually, i asked David about this when i received the v0.6 pre- release and he said this particular example was not possible :P On Mar 21, 5:39 pm, damien_alomar <[email protected]> wrote: > With the new versions of GH (6.00x) there's data paths, which make a > whole lot of components work in a much more desired manner by being > able to do separate operations depending on the path structure. We're > still waiting on a number of components that allow us to take the > creation and manipulation of paths into our own hands, but there's a > work around that David suggested to me that will probably be useful > for some of you as well. Its not a perfect way to make your own path > structure, but its better than nothing so here we go. > > I'm going to use the example of making multiple lofts, as this is > something that people always tend to want to do. If you're lucky to > have the output of a component create a path that does the multiple > lofts for you, then you're golden, but that typically isn't the case. > This post is about making multiple lofts directly from your curves by > creating your own path structure. > > 1. Split Your List - Separate out your curves so that each resulting > list of curves will be used for a single loft. There are a number of > ways of doing this; Splitting lists, sublists, or the easiest, just > bringing your curves into grasshopper with separate "Curves" > parameters. > > 2. Assign Paths - Here's really where the work around happens. The > Flatten component is meant to be used to take a tree of many branches > and make one singular branch from them. The good news is that you > don't have to have an existing path structure to create a singular > branch path. So for each list that you've created, add a Flatten > component and connect the curve list to the D node. The next thing > you'll need to do is specify a path for each one of your Flatten > components. It is important that you assign each one a unique > number. Its not really important that they are sequential, but as > long as they're unique they'll be fine. Right click on the P node > choose Set Path, and change the 0 to whatever number you want. > > 3. Join the Branches - Here's the second stage of the work around. > The Merge component will honor any path structure that you have within > the data you input. It will merge data with the same path, but if the > paths are different, then they will just assemble that into a single > stream. As long as the path numbers that we've specified in the > previous step are unique, then they will all be assembled into one > stream with their paths intact. You can use Merge or Merge Multiple > depending on how many lists you have. > > 4. Loft - All that's left now is to feed that merged stream into the > Loft component and you should have multiple lofts. > > http://grasshopper3d.googlegroups.com/web/CreatePath_workaround.JPG?h... > > Hope this helps people out get a handle on paths. At this point, this > isn't the optimal way to create paths, but it works and that's what > matters. I haven't really played around with creating more complex > path structures. My initial thoughts are that it can be done, but > there won't really be too much use for them with how GH currently uses > paths. > > Best, > Damien
