Group in Anark Studio 2.5

A grouping of nodes in the scene.

Inherits from:

Instance Properties

name type description
active Boolean Should this asset be drawn? [from Asset]
behaviors Collection (read only) All Behavior objects attached under this asset. [from Asset]
cameras Collection (read only) All cameras attached to this object. [from Node]
clickable Boolean Can this object be clicked on? [from Node]
constructor Object A reference to the constructor class for the current object instance. [from Object]
context TimeContext (read only) The asset's local TimeContext object. [from Asset]
contextType Number Type of the TimeContext for this asset. [from Asset]
endLifeTime Number Ending time of the asset. [from Asset]
groups Collection (read only) All groups attached to this object. [from Node]
id Number (read only) Unique ID for the asset. [from Asset]
lastGlobalTransform Matrix (read only) Cumulative transformation applied to this object. [from Node]
lights Collection (read only) All lights attached to this node. [from Node]
models Collection (read only) All models attached to this node. [from Node]
music Collection (read only) All Music objects attached under this asset. [from Asset]
name String User-defined name for the asset. [from Asset]
opacity Number Opacity of the object. [from Node]
parent Object (read only) Parent object of this asset. [from Asset]
pivot Vector Pivot point location. [from Node]
position Vector Location of the object. [from Node]
prototype Object The prototype for a class. [from Object]
rotation Rotation Rotation of the object. [from Node]
scale Vector Scale of the object. [from Node]
sounds Collection (read only) All Sounds objects attached under this asset. [from Asset]
startLifeTime Number Starting time of the asset. [from Asset]
type String (read only) Type of the asset. [from Asset]

Instance Methods

name returns description
attach(assetObject) (none) Attach the argument underneath the asset. [from Asset]
copy() Asset Create a copy of the asset. [from Asset]
detach(assetObject) (none) Remove an asset from this asset. [from Asset]
hasOwnProperty(propertyOrMethodName) Boolean Determines if the object/instance itself has the named property or method. [from Object]
isPrototypeOf(instanceToTest) Boolean Determines if the calling object prototype is in the inheritance chain for the supplied argument. [from Object]
propertyIsEnumerable(propertyOrMethodName) Boolean Determines if the object/instance itself has a property or method of the supplied name which will appear in a for (prop in obj) enumeration. [from Object]
removeChildren() (none) Remove all children from this node. [from Node]
toLocaleString() String For most objects, the same as toString() unless explicitly overridden. [from Object]
toString() String Returns a string representation of the object. [from Object]
valueOf() String Returns the internal this value of the object. [from Object]

Description

A group is the simplest type of node. A typical group has no special properties or methods and acts as a simple placeholder to which other nodes may be attached. Groups are used to organize complex data and move sets of nodes such as models as though they are one.

Components are slightly more complex in that they work together with the TimeContext object to provide an independent clock for an object or group of objects.

There are two types of object constructors for groups. The Library asset constructor creates a new instance of the object from a resource in the Anark Studio Library. The scripting object constructor creates an empty Group object. Objects created via scripting are not available to the Anark Studio interface, but they do appear in the finished project.

Library asset constructor syntax

var theGroup = new Group( "library://libraryAssetName" [, objectToAttachTo] );
libraryAssetName
required — A String with the name of the asset in the Anark Studio Library from which to create this object.
objectToAttachTo
optional — The String name of the object to which the group will be attached. The group must be attached to an object in the scene either now or later in order to appear in the scene during playback.

Scripting object constructor syntax

var theGroup = new Group( [sceneGraphName] [, objectToAttachTo] );
sceneGraphName
optional — A String with the name for the new group in the scene graph.
objectToAttachTo
optional — The String name of the object to which the group will be attached. The group must be attached to an object in the scene either now or later in order to appear in the scene during playback.

Group Examples

// Create a group.  
this.manGroup = new Group( "BodyGroup" );  

// Attach the group to an existing layer.  
scene.BackgroundLayer.attach( this.manGroup );  

// Attach some existing models to the group.  
this.manGroup.attach( theHeadModel );  
this.manGroup.attach( theTorsoModel );  
this.manGroup.attach( theArmsModel );  
this.manGroup.attach( theLegsModel );  

// Move the entire group of objects.  
this.manGroup.position.x = 100;  
this.manGroup.position.y = 50;