Glossary¶
- Activity Browser
Use the Activity Browser to create and inspect Activities and Activity Hosts, and to simulate the activation of Activities. The Activity Browser shows all possible UI states of Activities in your application.
- Activity node
An Activity is a part of an application UI that is responsible for a task. For example, a media player application can have Activities, such as radio, music player, and AUX.
See Activities.
- Alias
Use an Alias to get consistent access to a Kanzi node. You can use aliases to access nodes both in Kanzi Studio and using the Kanzi Engine API.
See Using aliases.
- Angle Trajectory
Use an Angle Trajectory to create a path where two straight lines form an angle in 3D space.
Use trajectories as paths along which Trajectory Layout 3D and Trajectory Layout 2D nodes arrange their child nodes, and along which Trajectory List Box 3D nodes move their items.
See Using angle trajectories, Trajectories, and Using the Trajectory Layout nodes.
- Animation Child Clip
Use an Animation Child Clip to create hierarchical animations. Animate the target node with an Animation Clip.
See Creating keyframe animations and Editing animation clips.
- Animation Clip
Use an Animation Clip to combine Animation Data resources into more complex animations. You can reuse the same Animation Data resources in different Animation Clip items. Use an Animation Child Clip to create hierarchical animations.
See Creating keyframe animations and Editing animation clips.
- Animation Data
Use an Animation Data resource to define the keyframes and target property of a keyframe animation. One Animation Data resource can target only one property or property field. Animation Data resources are independent from the nodes they target. This allows you to reuse Animation Data resources to animate different nodes.
See Creating keyframe animations and Editing animation clips.
- Animation Player
Use the Animation Player to play and control the playback of keyframe animations.
- Arc Trajectory
Use an Arc Trajectory to create a path in the shape of an arc in 3D space.
Use trajectories as paths along which Trajectory Layout 3D and Trajectory Layout 2D nodes arrange their child nodes, and along which Trajectory List Box 3D nodes move their items.
See Using arc trajectories, Trajectories, and Using the Trajectory Layout nodes.
- Asset Packages
Kanzi Studio asset packages are collections of ready-made content that you can import to your Kanzi Studio projects. With asset packages, you can create an asset library with content, such as UI components, materials, brushes, styles, and textures.
See Asset packages.
- Bindings
Use bindings to set the value of a property or property field with the value from another property, property field, or a data source.
Bindings allow nodes, render passes, 2D effects, states, state objects, and styles to automatically update the values of their properties in response to the changing property values, or the occurrence of some external event.
See Bindings.
- Blit Render Pass
Use a Blit Render Pass to blit one or more textures or render passes on the screen using a specific material.
See Blit Render Pass.
- Blur Effect 2D
Use the Blur Effect 2D effect to apply a Gaussian blur to a 2D node.
- Bookmark
Use bookmarks to quickly access items in your Kanzi Studio projects.
See Using bookmarks.
- Brushes
Use Brushes to set the appearance of the foreground and background of 2D nodes. For example, with brushes you can define the color of text in a Text Block 2D node, fill a background of a 2D node with an image pattern, or apply a material effect on 2D content.
See Using brushes.
- Button nodes
Use the Button, Toggle Button, and Toggle Button Group nodes to create interactions through clicking, tapping, or pressing a key on the keyboard.
See Buttons.
- Camera node
Use the Camera node to show the content of a Scene in Kanzi Studio Preview and in your Kanzi application.
See Camera node.
- Circle Trajectory
Use a Circle Trajectory to create a path in the shape of a circle in 3D space.
Use trajectories as paths along which Trajectory Layout 3D and Trajectory Layout 2D nodes arrange their child nodes, and along which Trajectory List Box 3D nodes move their items.
See Using circle trajectories, Trajectories, and Using the Trajectory Layout nodes.
- Clear Render Pass
Use a Clear Render Pass to clear some or all of the color, depth, and stencil buffers of the current render context.
See Clear Render Pass.
- Click Manipulator
Use the Click Manipulator to enable users to click nodes in your Kanzi application.
- Code Behind
Code Behind is a workflow where you associate code with an instance of an Activity instead of a type.
- Color Brush
Use a Color Brush to fill a 2D node with a solid color.
- Color workflow
Use the color workflow to set the color space in which Kanzi operates on color values. In the linear color workflow Kanzi operates on color values in linear color space. In the legacy color workflow Kanzi operates on color values in nonlinear gamma color space.
See Color workflow.
- Combine Object Source
Use a Combine Object Source to collect and combine nodes from one or more input sources.
See Using object sources.
- Compose and Blit Pass
Compose and Blit Pass contains the render pass structure that enables you to blit to the screen Composition Target Render Pass render passes or textures using a specific material.
See Using Kanzi Studio render pass presets and Rendering content to composition targets.
- Composition Target Render Pass
Use a Composition Target Render Pass to render content to one or more composition targets.
- Contains Property Filter
Contains Property Filter collects 3D nodes that contain, or do not contain a specific property.
- Content Layout node
Use the Content Layout nodes to present content in a UI control as a single item.
- Cubemap Render Pass
Use the Cubemap Render Pass to create dynamic reflections of the environment on the surface of 3D nodes.
- Cubemap Render Target Texture
Use a Cubemap Render Target Texture to render a Cubemap Render Pass to a cubemap texture.
- Cubemap Texture
Cubemap textures combine six square-shaped images into one texture to represent reflections of the environment. Each image represents the scenery in one of the six directions along the x, y, and z axes from the viewpoint of the cubemapped object.
- Data-Driven Exclusive Activity Host
You can use a list data source and a Data-Driven Exclusive Activity Host to create parts of UI with Activities from content of data objects. For example, you can define the content of menus in a data source and use a Data-Driven Exclusive Activity Host to create the menus in your application.
- Default Render Pass
You can use a Default Render Pass as the starting point for your render pass tree.
Default Render Pass contains a basic set of render passes that first render opaque nodes and then transparent nodes.
- Directional Light node
Directional Light emits light only in one direction and is suitable for modeling the sunlight.
- Dock Layout node
Use the Dock Layout nodes to place nodes relative to each other along the sides of a Dock Layout node.
- Drag-And-Drop Manipulator
Use the Drag-And-Drop Manipulator to enable users to drag and drop nodes in your Kanzi application.
See Using the Drag-And-Drop Manipulator and Handling user input.
- Draw Objects Render Pass
Use a Draw Objects Render Pass to render one object source using the camera from the Scene.
- Draw Objects With Material Render Pass
Use a Draw Objects With Material Render Pass to render 3D nodes with a specific material.
- Effect Stack 2D
Use an Effect Stack 2D effect prefab to apply multiple effects to a 2D node.
- Effects
Use effects to apply post-processing effects to 2D nodes.
See Effects for 2D nodes.
- Ellipse Trajectory
Use an Ellipse Trajectory to create a path in the shape of an ellipse in 3D space.
Use trajectories as paths along which Trajectory Layout 3D and Trajectory Layout 2D nodes arrange their child nodes, and along which Trajectory List Box 3D nodes move their items.
See Using ellipse trajectories, Trajectories, and Using the Trajectory Layout nodes.
- Empty Node node
Use the Empty Node nodes to group nodes and to set property values of their child nodes.
- Exclusive Activity Host node
An Activity Host node defines the rules for when an Activity node is active.
An Exclusive Activity Host can have only one of its child Activities active at a time. When one child Activity of an Exclusive Activity Host is active, all other Activities of that Activity Host are inactive. For example, you can use an Exclusive Activity Host to toggle between views in your application.
- Filters
Filters collect and reorganize 3D nodes in your Kanzi project. You can use filters to determine which 3D nodes to render in different render passes.
See Filters.
- Float Value Accumulator
Use a Float Value Accumulator to increment a value of a float property type or a property field over time.
- Flow Layout node
Use the Flow Layout nodes to arrange nodes along a line. When a line runs out of space, the Flow Layout node places its child nodes in a new line.
- Font
Use a font to render text. The default font in Kanzi is Fira Sans Regular. To use your own font, import it to your Kanzi Studio project.
See Importing fonts.
- Gather Lights Render Pass
Gather Lights Render Pass allows you to collect from a list of nodes the light nodes for lighting 3D nodes in a scene.
- Grid Layout node
Use the Grid Layout nodes to arrange nodes in a grid.
- Grid List Box node
Use the Grid List Box nodes to create scrollable lists of items arranged in a grid.
- Group Render Pass
Group Render Pass allows you to collect render passes so that you can refer to a single render pass prefab in your Viewport 2D node.
- Image node
Use the Image node to show a bitmap image.
See Using the Image node.
- Input Manipulators
Use Input Manipulators components to enable gesture recognition for nodes. You can create Input Manipulators components in the Node Components window.
- Instantiator node
Use the Instantiator node to replicate the appearance of a 3D node or a tree of 3D nodes that the Instantiator node targets.
- Int Value Accumulator
Use an Int Value Accumulator to increment a value of an integer property type over time.
- Kanzi Command Prompt
The Kanzi Command Prompt opens the Windows Command Prompt with the Kanzi environment variables set for the version of Kanzi for which you open a Kanzi Command Prompt.
Use the Kanzi Command Prompt to access Kanzi utilities and build tools, such as Gradle, SCons, and CMake, without using absolute paths or setting environment variables.
- Key Manipulator
Use the Key Manipulator to set the keys that the user can use to navigate your application. For example, you can override the default focus navigation keys and use a specific key to set focus to a node, set a key to open or close a popup-type window, or move focus in the focus chain.
- Layouts
You can use layout nodes to position nodes in relation to the application screen and other nodes. Layout consists of properties alignment, margins and layout size and can be defined either specific to a node or as general rules imposed on child nodes by specific layout containers.
See Layout control nodes and Layouts.
- Level of Detail node
Use the Level of Detail node when you want to show different appearances of the same object, or different object, based on the viewing distance of the Level of Detail node.
- Library window
You can find all resources in a Kanzi Studio project in the Library window.
The Library window shows, for example, animation clips, brushes, fonts, materials, mesh data, textures, render passes, state managers, themes, and styles.
See Resources.
- Light nodes
Use the light nodes to create sources of light for a Scene in your Kanzi application.
Kanzi has Directional Light, Point Light, and Spot Light nodes.
- Line trajectory
Use a Line Trajectory to create a path with a single straight line in 3D space.
Use trajectories as paths along which Trajectory Layout 3D and Trajectory Layout 2D nodes arrange their child nodes, and along which Trajectory List Box 3D nodes move their items.
See Using line trajectories, Trajectories, and Using the Trajectory Layout nodes.
- List Box Item Container
Use the List Box Item Container prefabs to set the appearance and behavior of items in List Box nodes. For example, use a List Box Item Container prefab to add decorative elements to List Box items or change the appearance of the currently selected item.
- Locale
Kanzi uses locale as an ID to select the resources associated with a language and location.
See Using locales.
- Localization Table
Kanzi uses localization tables to keep track of locales and localized resources.
- Log window
In the Log window you can see the state of your application, such as trigger messages, links to the binary files when Kanzi Studio creates an application from your project, shader compiler errors, warnings, and errors.
See Logging.
- Long-Press Manipulator
Use the Long-Press Manipulator to enable users to long-press nodes in your Kanzi application.
See Using the Long-Press Manipulator and Handling user input.
- Mask Effect 2D
Use the Mask Effect 2D effect to apply a mask to a 2D node.
- Material
Use materials to set the appearance of 3D nodes and Material Brush brushes.
See Using materials.
- Material Brush
Use a Material Brush to fill a 2D node with a material.
- Material Setup Render Pass
Material Setup Render Pass allows you to set properties for a material so that all successive rendering with that material uses the property values that you set in this render pass.
- Material Type
Material types define the property types of a material. By adjusting material property values defined by a material type, you set the appearance of a material. Each material type has a vertex shader and a fragment shader, which set the type of properties you can use in a material.
See Using material types.
- Message
Use messages to carry information between Kanzi Engine systems, such as input and animation systems, and nodes in your Kanzi application.
See Using messages and Triggers.
- Model node
Use the Model node to show the imported meshes in your Kanzi application.
See Using meshes.
- Modifier binding
A modifier binding modifies a property value, much like an animation or a state manager.
See Modifier bindings.
- Morph
Morphing transforms a shape into another in a seamless transition. Use the Morph resource to morph between meshes.
- Multi-Click Manipulator
Use the Multi-Click Manipulator to enable users to multi-click nodes in your Kanzi application.
See Using the Multi-Click Manipulator and Handling user input.
Use the Navigation Manipulator to set the keys that the user can use to navigate to different directions in your application.
See Using the Navigation Manipulator and Handling user input.
- Nine Patch Image node
Use the Nine Patch Image node to create a scalable button background that scales with the size of the Nine Patch Image content.
- Node Components window
In the Node Components window you can see the triggers and actions, animation players, and input manipulator components for the selected node.
Use node components to add functionality to a node.
For example, add triggers and actions to create interactions, or an Animation Player to play keyframe animations.
See Node components.
- Node List Render Pass
Node List Render Pass allows you to filter and hold a list of nodes that you want to render using other render passes.
- Node Tree window
In the Node Tree window you can see the structure of your Kanzi project, create and organize content, and manage your project.
See Presentation.
- Object Type Filter
Use Object Type Filter to collect 3D nodes based on their type.
- Outline Effect 2D
Use the Outline Effect 2D effect to apply an outline to the content of a 2D node.
- Page node
Use a Page node to add structure to your Kanzi application. For example, if your Kanzi application contains several applications, such as a music player, a photo album, and a calendar, create each on its own Page, and then use Page nodes to create the structure for each of these applications.
- Page Host node
Use a Page Host node to handle the navigation and transitions between Page nodes.
- Pan Manipulator
Use the Pan Manipulator to enable users to move nodes in your Kanzi application.
- Parallel Activity Host node
An Activity Host node defines the rules for when an Activity node is active.
Parallel Activity Host can activate more than one of its child Activities at a time. When you activate an Activity, a Parallel Activity Host brings that Activity to the front.
For example, you can use a Parallel Activity Host to implement the showing of critical messages, such as engine failure, in front of regular notifications, such as a phone call notification.
- Pinch Manipulator
Use the Pinch Manipulator to enable users to zoom and rotate nodes in your Kanzi application.
- Pipeline State Render Pass
Use a Pipeline State Render Pass to set depth and stencil testing, transparency, and culling for the child render passes.
- Plane node
Plane node is a primitive mesh node in the shape of a 2D plane and is centered in the origin.
See Using meshes.
- Plugins
With Kanzi plugins, you can extend the functionality of Kanzi and customize Kanzi to fit your application development requirements. When you create a Kanzi plugin, you can share the extended functionality with any Kanzi user.
See Kanzi Engine plugins and Kanzi Studio plugins.
- Point Light node
Point Light emits light from a specific location uniformly to all directions (360 degrees).
- Prefab Placeholder node
Use a Prefab Placeholder node to instantiate a node prefab which you do not intend to change during application runtime.
- Prefab View node
Use a Prefab View node to dynamically change a prefab, or to asynchronously load the resources which the prefab uses.
- Prefabs
Use node prefabs (prefabricated templates) to structure your application and to create consistent interfaces. Prefabs allow you to create the building blocks of your application and make the application easier to maintain.
See Using node prefabs.
- Preview window
In the Preview window you can see in real time what the Kanzi project that you are working on looks like. In the Preview window you can directly move, scale, and rotate nodes, and see structural information for your project and individual nodes.
See Preview.
- Project
You can use one or more Kanzi Studio projects to create your Kanzi application.
See Projects.
- Property Driven Animation Player
Use the Property Driven Animation Player when you want to use a property type instead of time to control a keyframe animation.
- Property Is Equal Filter
Property Is Equal Filter collects 3D nodes that contain, or do not contain a specific property the value of which matches a specific value.
- Property Target Easing Interpolator
Use the Property Target Easing Interpolator when you want to dynamically set the target value for a property and want to interpolate the current value to the target value over time using an easing function. Easing functions enable you to create lifelike animations that offer a more pleasant user experience.
- Property Target Interpolator
Use the Property Target Interpolator when you want to dynamically set the target value for a property and want to interpolate the current value to the target value over time.
- Rectangle Trajectory
Use a Rectangle Trajectory to create a path in the shape of a rectangle in 3D space.
Use trajectories as paths along which Trajectory Layout 3D and Trajectory Layout 2D nodes arrange their child nodes, and along which Trajectory List Box 3D nodes move their items.
See Using rectangle trajectories, Trajectories, and Using the Trajectory Layout nodes.
- Render Target Texture
Use a Render Target Texture to render content to a texture or to apply anti-aliasing to only a part of your application. You can use render target textures like any other texture. For example, you can use it in a Texture Brush or as an image in an Image node.
- Render to Texture Pass
Render to Texture Pass creates the render passes and texture you need to render to a texture.
See Rendering to texture.
- Resource dictionary
A resource dictionary is a collection of resource IDs pointing to resources. You can add a resource dictionary to any node.
- Resource Files
Kanzi Studio lists in the Library > Resource Files references to files in the resource directories of a Kanzi project. Kanzi Studio synchronizes the content of Resource Files with the files in the resource directories.
See Using resource files.
- Scene node
Use the Scene node to show 3D content in your Kanzi application.
See Using the Scene node.
- Screen node
Use the Screen node to set the metrics and the content of the screen of the target device on which your Kanzi application is rendered.
- Scroll View node
Use the Scroll View nodes to define an area where to generate scrolling messages in response to user input and physics-based animation.
- Shaders
Use Shaders to produce appropriate levels of light and color within an image, to produce special effects, or to do post-processing.
See Shaders.
- Shadow Effect 2D
Use the Shadow Effect 2D effect to apply a shadow to the content of a 2D node.
- Single Texture
Single textures use a single image for the texture.
- Slider node
Use the Slider nodes when you want to allow users to change numerical values using a visual indicator between a minimum and a maximum value.
- Sorting Filter
Sorting Filter either orders 3D nodes by their position on the z axis or groups them by their material type.
- Spiral Trajectory
Use a Spiral Trajectory to create a path in the shape of a spiral in 3D space.
Use trajectories as paths along which Trajectory Layout 3D and Trajectory Layout 2D nodes arrange their child nodes, and along which Trajectory List Box 3D nodes move their items.
See Using spiral trajectories, Trajectories, and Using the Trajectory Layout nodes.
- Spline Trajectory
Use a Spline Trajectory to import a trajectory defined by a set of points and control points in 3D space you created in a third-party tool.
Use trajectories as paths along which Trajectory Layout 3D and Trajectory Layout 2D nodes arrange their child nodes, and along which Trajectory List Box 3D nodes move their items.
See Using spline trajectories, Trajectories and Using the Trajectory Layout nodes.
- Spot Light node
Spot Light emits light from a specific location towards a specified direction in the shape of a cone.
- Stack Layout node
Use the Stack Layout nodes to arrange nodes next to each other on the selected axis.
- State Managers
Use a State Manager to create different states in your Kanzi application.
For example, you can define the appearance and behavior of a button during different states, such as how the button reacts when a user selects, presses, holds, or releases the button.
See State manager.
- Styles
Use styles to set the property values of one or more nodes of a certain type.
You can set a Style so that it applies to all nodes of a certain type in the selected scope, or to individual nodes.
See Using styles.
- Tag Filter
Tag Filter collects 3D nodes that have a specific tag assigned.
See Using the Tag Filter.
- Tags
Use tags to group, find, and filter nodes in your project. You can assign multiple tags to a single node.
See Using tags.
- Text Block node
Use the Text Block nodes to show a small amount of text in your application.
- Text Box node
Use the Text Box nodes to add single-line text input to your application.
- Texture Brush
Use a Texture Brush to fill a 2D node with a texture.
- Theme Group
Use a Theme Group to define a collection of themes.
See Using Themes.
- Theme
Use a Theme to set the resources which define the look and feel of your application.
Themes enable you to use a single Kanzi Studio project for multiple variants of your product.
- Timeline Entry
Use a Timeline Entry to manipulate animations, including repetition, scaling, targeting, and blending, and to define the type of animation input: time or property value.
- Timeline Sequence
Use a Timeline Sequence to combine a set of Timeline Entry resources.
Timeline entries can target specific items inside the scope of a Timeline Sequence.
- To-source binding
A to-source binding pushes a property value to a node or another project item, or to a resource used by that item.
See To-source bindings.
- Toggle Button Group node
Use the Toggle Button Group nodes to allow users to select only one option from a set of options that are mutually exclusive.
- Toggle Button node
Use the Toggle Button nodes to create interactions through buttons that can have multiple toggle states.
See Using the Toggle Button nodes and Buttons.
- Trajectory Layout node
Use the Trajectory Layout nodes to arrange items along a trajectory path.
- Trajectory List Box 3D node
Use the Trajectory List Box 3D node to create scrollable lists of items arranged along a trajectory in 3D space.
- Trapezoid Trajectory
Use a Trapezoid Trajectory to create a path in the shape of a trapezoid in 3D space.
Use trajectories as paths along which Trajectory Layout 3D and Trajectory Layout 2D nodes arrange their child nodes, and along which Trajectory List Box 3D nodes move their items.
See Using trapezoid trajectories, Trajectories, and Using the Trajectory Layout nodes.
- Triggers
Use Triggers to create interactions based on user input. With triggers you can set actions, such as printing to the Log window, setting a property to a certain value, activating an Activity, or playing an animation.
See Triggers.
- Value source binding
A value source binding sets the local value of an entire property and provides the value for that property during application runtime.
- Viewport node
Use the Viewport nodes to set the size of a render target surface onto which Kanzi projects content.
See Viewport nodes.