Installation
- Download the Cavalry Asset Library script
- Unzip the downloaded zip file
- In Cavalry navigate to
Help > Show Scripts Folder - Open the Scripts folder
- Drag the contents of the zip into the Scripts folder
- In Cavalry navigate to
Scripts > Cavalry Asset Library
Importing C.A.L v1 Libraries
The internal file structure of C.A.L has changed with the V2 update!
If you've used C.A.L v1 and have existing libraries that you want to import into C.A.L v2, there is a utility script included in your downloaded files called 'CAL2 Library Updater'. This utility will semi-automatically import your old libraries into the new file structure.
Watch this video on how to use it.
Just place that utility script into the main Cavalry Asset Library folder. If this was in the main Scripts folder, I suggest creating a folder called 'Cavalry Asset Library' or 'EM Scripts' and placing the files in there instead of loose in the main Scripts folder. The utility script will create the new file structure inside of whatever folder it is placed in. Then run the utility from inside Cavalry like any normal script, and it will walk you through importing your old libraries over.
Once you've run it and everything looks good, you can delete the library updater utility.
Main Panel
C.A.L now only has one 'main' panel to allow more visual space for your libraries. All other 'panels' are now popup modals
Saving Assets
To save assets to your library, simply select your layers and drag-and-drop them onto the main Library Panel, and C.A.L. will save the asset to the active library and automatically name it based on the topmost layer in your selection.
Best Practice
For now the best practice for saving an asset would be to put all relevant layers you want included in your asset into a folder or component, and then drag that onto the main Library Panel
Thumbnail Frame
C.A.L will automatically generate thumbnails for you when you save an Asset to a library. It will also generate the thumbnail based on the frame the playhead is at when the Asset is saved. This is so that if you create something like a transition, or a physics sim, you can scroll to the frame that looks the best, and your thumbnail will be based on that frame. This frame number is saved in the Asset, so if you share this library with others, their generated thumbnail will be based on that same frame that you chose.
Adding Saved Assets To The Scene
Adding assets to your scene is simple — You can select which library you want to use at the top, and double click on any thumbnail to load the asset into your scene. By default, C.A.L will load the Asset on the root level, aka unparented, even if you have a layer selected. If you wish to create the asset as a Child of whatever you have selected, simple hold Alt/option when you double click.
File Assets
C.A.L now saves any non-native 'file assets' related to the asset you are saving. This means if you are using images or audio or video in the rig you want to save, those files will be copied over into the library folder and relinked. This means that when you use it again or share the library with another user, the file will always link properly.
Asset Types
In C.A.L 2, there are now a few 'asset types' beyond the normal saved native layers.
Textures
If you save an Image Shader layer on it's own, C.A.L will save that asset as a 'Texture' asset. To apply the texture, select whatever layer in your scene you want to apply it to and double click the thumbnail to bring it in. C.A.L will automatically create the Image Shader as a child of that layer and connect it to the Image Shader attribute with all the settings it was saved with, instantly adding that texture to that layer. Note that 'Texture' asset thumbnails have a small grid of dots on the top left corner to signify that they are textures.
Audio
When saving a single Audio layer, C.A.L will recognize it as an 'Audio' asset and will save the playheads current position as the audios 'hit point'. Then when you bring it back into a scene it will be placed with that 'hit point' on the current playhead and not just the beginning of the audio. E.G. if you had a punch sound effect of 'wha-POW', you'd place the playhead on the 'POW' when saving it into C.A.L. Then when you want to use it, you would place your playhead on the 'contact' point of the animation and C.A.L would place the audio layer with the 'hit point' on that frame. This makes placing audio much faster.
Math Functions
When saving a JSMath layer by itself, C.A.L will save it as a 'function'. When bringing it back in, if you have a JSMath layer selected it will update the function attribute with the saved function rather than creating a new JSMath layer. If either no layer or a layer other than a JSMath node is selected, it will create a JSMath node with that function already set. This is useful for saving things like in-line if statements. NOTE: If you save a multi-layer rig that has any of these layer types in it, it will save as a normal asset. The only way to save the assets as a special asset type is to save only the single layer. If you want to spawn in a 'special' asset as a normal asset, either have nothing selected or hold 'Alt' while double clicking on the thumbnail
Editing A Saved Asset
Right click on the thumbnail of the asset you wish to edit, and the Edit Asset panel will appear. At the top of this panel you can change the name of the asset, and which library you want to to be saved in. Underneath that is a space where you can add search tags, and under that is a space for adding 'hover' tooltip text.
Deleting An Asset
If you wish to delete an asset, right click on its thumbnail and select Delete Asset.
Creating Custom Thumbnails
C.A.L will automatically generate thumbnails of your Assets, but sometimes you might want a custom thumbnail for something. You can Right Click on a selected thumbnail and click on "Make thumbnail from Active Comp". This will create and assign a thumbnail that is whatever your current open comp is. Best practice for this is to use a square comp, and unless you specifically want a background color, setting the background to white with alpha 10 will keep it consistent with the automatically generated thumbnails. NOTE: Custom thumbnails aren't 'saved' within the actual library. This means that if you give someone else this library, they will have a default generated thumbnail for that item.
Set Favorites
Right click on any asset and choose Toggle Favorite to set (or remove) favorite status. Any assets set to favorite will be sorted at the top of the list first, followed by any non-favorited assets.
Export As CVC
Right click on any asset and select Export as CVC file to save a .cvc file of the asset. These files are saved to .../CAL_assets/exports
Library List
At the top of the UI is the Library List dropdown. This dropdown is populated by C.A.L. library files in your library folder. By default this folder is .../CAL_assets/libraries. This list is semi-hotloaded, so on startup C.A.L. will populate the list from that folder. If you add a library to the folder while C.A.L. is currently open, click the 'reload' button next to the dropdown to repopulate the list.
Thumbnail Size And List View
Next to the Library List reload button is the Thumbnail Size button. Clicking on this will cycle the Library Panel through 3 different thumbnail sizes, as well as a no-thumbnail list view.
Searchbar
Underneath the main Library Panel is the Searchbar. You can use this to search the current library assets by name or search tag.
Create a New Library
Next to the Searchbar is the Save Asset button. This button opens a new modal where you can save selected layers to an existing library with a custom name (not automatically named by the topmost layer), or into a new library. To create a new library, check the box next to the New Library Name input and give it a name. This asset will be saved into that new library.
Free External Libraries
The button on the bottom right of the panel will take you to another library selecting panel. These are curated asset libraries created by me (maybe others in the future) for you to download. Just double click on a thumbnail of whichever library you want to download, and it will appear at the bottom of your library list. Click the back button at the bottom right to go back to the main panel
Settings Panel
To get to the Settings modal, click on the gear icon in the lower left of the window
Create Assets In a Group
If this is checked, any time you add an asset to the scene, it will be added into a Group folder that will be named whatever the Asset is named. With the current 'best practice' of grouping layers before saving, this is a bit redundant, but it provides more flexibility with how you want to work.
Show Asset Tooltips
If this is checked then the assets tooltip will appear when you hover over the thumbnail.
Set Library Path
This allows you to choose a different folder as your library folder.
Backup Libraries and Set Frequency
C.A.L will automatically back up your libraries on a set amount of 'startups'. The default is 10, meaning every 10th time C.A.L is opened, it will duplicate your existing libraries into a library_backups folder inside the CAL_assets folder. You can set the frequency of backups as you wish. If you set the frequency to -1, it will never backup the libraries (not reccommended). The Backup Libraries Now button will backup all of your existing libraries and reset the frequency 'timer' to 0.
Clean Assets In Active Library
Over time new features will be added to C.A.L, which means that the data schema will change over time. When pressed, C.A.L. will scan the assets in the active library and add default values to anything that is missing (if the library was created in an older version).
Reset Preferences To Default
Pretty much all settings get saved as they are adjusted. If for some reason something gets weird, you can always reset the preferences to the default. Currently there's no good way to 'auto refresh' the script panel, so if you do reset to default you should close the C.A.L panel and restart.