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Intro
This article follows TouchDesigner Integration (Part 1)
Intermediate to Advanced Users
Note that this article is targeted toward intermediate and above TouchDesigner users. For tutorials on how to use TouchDesigner, refer to Derivative's website.
Anatomy of the .tox file
A .tox file is the file format that PIXERA accepts for import. When preparing your .tox file for import into PIXERA you will need to contain all required operators and code in your TouchDesigner network to a single Container COMP or Base COMP. This Component operator will be saved as the .tox file and imported into PIXERA later. Handles that PIXERA uses to operate the .tox file are made by utilizing TouchDesigner's Custom Parameters on the single Container COMP or Base COMP holding your network.
While the .tox is the media type that needs to be imported into PIXERA it is recommended to keep your .toe file backed up as your working file.
Out TOPs: TouchDesigner Image Data into PIXERA
Getting image data out of your .tox file and onto the PIXERA timeline is accomplished by adding Out TOPs to your .tox file. The naming convention of the Out TOP is at the user discretion, however it is recommended to name the output in an intuitive manner for your project.
In the example project folder open HUD.toe in a TouchDesigner editor by double clicking the .toe file within your File Explorer. At the top of the editor window in the Layout Strip are a series of bookmarks:
Select the Pane Layout called HUD. The editor window will jump you to the following screen
In TOPs: PIXERA Image Data into TouchDesigner
A single In TOP can only accommodate a single sampler texture from PIXERA. If you want to receive more than one texture input from PIXERA you will need as many In TOPs as you want texture inputs into TouchDesigner. The naming conventions are up to the user's discretion.
In CHOPs: PIXERA Timing Data into TouchDesigner
Using an In CHOP allows PIXERA to pass it's timing information into your .tox file, once it is placed on a PIXERA Timeline. Once an In CHOP is placed in your network (and located at the root of the containing Container COMP or Base COMP) PIXERA will pass two channels of timing data.
In the HUD Layout the inTiming CHOP is the operator receiving timing information from PIXERA. The first channel of data is the current PIXERA seconds. The second channel of data is the current PIXERA frame count.
In CHOP's first channel - PIXERA time in secondsIn CHOP's second channel - PIXERA time in frames
In HUD.toe select the Timing Pane Layout in the layout strip to jump to this part of the network:
In the above screen shot the select_timing_input CHOP references the inTiming CHOP from HUD/inTiming which can be accessed by pressing the HUD Layout button at the top of the Editor. The rename_channels CHOP renames the incoming data to “PixeraSecond” and “PixeraFrame” which is then merged with a Constant CHOP holding two common TouchDesigner expressions absTime.frame and me.time.frame.
Operator Cooking
In this above screenshot the select_timing_input CHOP and rename_channels CHOP appear unused and this is because the .tox file is not yet hosted within a PIXERA Timeline, and thus not sending timing information. HUD.toe will have operators that, when opened in a TouchDesigner editor, don't cook because there is no active information passing through it to cause the operator chain to cook.
Once HUD.tox is loaded into PIXERA, the timing information will be passed from PIXERA's Timeline into the .tox by way of the In CHOP and cause some HUD elements to render on screen.
Like how absTime.seconds and absTime.frames can be used to drive animation data within TouchDesigner, now so too can PIXERA's timing data.
In TOPs, Out TOPs, and In CHOP Location
The In TOPs, Out TOPs, and In CHOPs intended to pass texture information to/from PIXERA must be at the top-most level of your Container COMP or Base COMP in order for data exchange to occur.
Custom Parameters == PIXERA Timeline Parameters
TouchDesigner's Custom Parameters are the means by which parameters become accessible on the PIXERA timeline. In order to get TouchDesigner parameters on the PIXERA Timeline you need to use TouchDesigner's Custom Parameters on the top level of your Component in your TouchDesigner network. To customize your COMP navigate to the COMP, right click, and select “Customize Component”. Refer to Derivative's documentation on setting up Custom Parameters and Pages here.
Scripts & Extensions
Note that if your Custom Parameters trigger scripts to fire off within your TouchDesigner network those scripts will work if you change parameter values in your PIXERA Timeline to trigger them. The same goes for Python Extension calls made that are triggered by those Custom Parameters.
In HUD.toe select the HUD layout button at the top of the editor window in the layout strip.
In the bottom left corner are op.HUD's Custom Parameters. While the Custom Parameters are spread across two tabs (HUD UI and HUD Control) PIXERA will read all Custom Parameters on the same level and not divided or grouped by these tab divisions.
OSC
In HUD.toe an OSC Out CHOP is used to stream data into PIXERA Control. At the top of HUD.toe use the layout button called OSC/Pixera to jump to this view:
Resulting in these UI elements animating.
Pixera 25.2 | 27. August 2025 | T.M.