Parametric objects (Scripted objects)

Introduction

Besides the standard object types such as annotations, meshes and parts objects, FreeCAD also offers the amazing possibility to build 100% python-scripted parametric objects, called Python Features. Those objects will behave exactly as any other FreeCAD object, and are saved and restored automatically on file save/load.

One particularity must be understood: For security reasons, FreeCAD files never carry any embedded code. The Python code that you write to create parametric objects is never saved inside a file. This means that if you open a file containing such an object on another machine, if that python code is not available on that machine, the object won't be fully recreated. If you distribute such objects to others, you will need to distribute your Python script too, for example as a Macro.

Note: It is possible to pack python code inside a FreeCAD file using json serializing with an App::PropertyPythonObject, but that code can never directly be run, and therefore has little use for our purpose here.

Python Features follow the same rule as all FreeCAD features: they are separated into App and GUI parts. The app part, the Document Object, defines the geometry of our object, while its GUI part, the View Provider Object, defines how the object will be drawn on screen. The View Provider Object, as any other FreeCAD feature, is only available when you run FreeCAD in its own GUI. There are several properties and methods available to build your object. Properties must be of any of the predefined properties types that FreeCAD offers, and will appear in the property view window, so they can be edited by the user. This way, FeaturePython objects are truly and totally parametric. you can define properties for the Object and its ViewObject separately.

Basic example

The following sample can be found in the FeaturePython.py file, together with several other examples:

'''Examples for a feature class and its view provider.'''

import FreeCAD, FreeCADGui
from pivy import coin

class Box:
    def __init__(self, obj):
        '''Add some custom properties to our box feature'''
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength", "Length", "Box", "Length of the box").Length = 1.0
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength", "Width", "Box", "Width of the box").Width = 1.0
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength", "Height", "Box", "Height of the box").Height = 1.0
        obj.Proxy = self

    def onChanged(self, fp, prop):
        '''Do something when a property has changed'''
        FreeCAD.Console.PrintMessage("Change property: " + str(prop) + "\n")

    def execute(self, fp):
        '''Do something when doing a recomputation, this method is mandatory'''
        FreeCAD.Console.PrintMessage("Recompute Python Box feature\n")

class ViewProviderBox:
    def __init__(self, obj):
        '''Set this object to the proxy object of the actual view provider'''
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyColor","Color", "Box", "Color of the box").Color = (1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
        obj.Proxy = self

    def attach(self, obj):
        '''Setup the scene sub-graph of the view provider, this method is mandatory'''
        self.shaded = coin.SoGroup()
        self.wireframe = coin.SoGroup()
        self.scale = coin.SoScale()
        self.color = coin.SoBaseColor()

        data=coin.SoCube()
        self.shaded.addChild(self.scale)
        self.shaded.addChild(self.color)
        self.shaded.addChild(data)
        obj.addDisplayMode(self.shaded, "Shaded");
        style=coin.SoDrawStyle()
        style.style = coin.SoDrawStyle.LINES
        self.wireframe.addChild(style)
        self.wireframe.addChild(self.scale)
        self.wireframe.addChild(self.color)
        self.wireframe.addChild(data)
        obj.addDisplayMode(self.wireframe, "Wireframe");
        self.onChanged(obj,"Color")

    def updateData(self, fp, prop):
        '''If a property of the handled feature has changed we have the chance to handle this here'''
        # fp is the handled feature, prop is the name of the property that has changed
        l = fp.getPropertyByName("Length")
        w = fp.getPropertyByName("Width")
        h = fp.getPropertyByName("Height")
        self.scale.scaleFactor.setValue(float(l), float(w), float(h))
        pass

    def getDisplayModes(self,obj):
        '''Return a list of display modes.'''
        modes=[]
        modes.append("Shaded")
        modes.append("Wireframe")
        return modes

    def getDefaultDisplayMode(self):
        '''Return the name of the default display mode. It must be defined in getDisplayModes.'''
        return "Shaded"

    def setDisplayMode(self,mode):
        '''Map the display mode defined in attach with those defined in getDisplayModes.\
                Since they have the same names nothing needs to be done. This method is optional'''
        return mode

    def onChanged(self, vp, prop):
        '''Here we can do something when a single property got changed'''
        FreeCAD.Console.PrintMessage("Change property: " + str(prop) + "\n")
        if prop == "Color":
            c = vp.getPropertyByName("Color")
            self.color.rgb.setValue(c[0], c[1], c[2])

    def getIcon(self):
        '''Return the icon in XPM format which will appear in the tree view. This method is\
                optional and if not defined a default icon is shown.'''
        return """
            /* XPM */
            static const char * ViewProviderBox_xpm[] = {
            "16 16 6 1",
            "   c None",
            ".  c #141010",
            "+  c #615BD2",
            "@  c #C39D55",
            "#  c #000000",
            "$  c #57C355",
            "        ........",
            "   ......++..+..",
            "   .@@@@.++..++.",
            "   .@@@@.++..++.",
            "   .@@  .++++++.",
            "  ..@@  .++..++.",
            "###@@@@ .++..++.",
            "##$.@@$#.++++++.",
            "#$#$.$$$........",
            "#$$#######      ",
            "#$$#$$$$$#      ",
            "#$$#$$$$$#      ",
            "#$$#$$$$$#      ",
            " #$#$$$$$#      ",
            "  ##$$$$$#      ",
            "   #######      "};
            """

    def __getstate__(self):
        '''When saving the document this object gets stored using Python's json module.\
                Since we have some un-serializable parts here -- the Coin stuff -- we must define this method\
                to return a tuple of all serializable objects or None.'''
        return None

    def __setstate__(self,state):
        '''When restoring the serialized object from document we have the chance to set some internals here.\
                Since no data were serialized nothing needs to be done here.'''
        return None

def makeBox():
    FreeCAD.newDocument()
    a=FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject("App::FeaturePython", "Box")
    Box(a)
    ViewProviderBox(a.ViewObject)

makeBox()

Things to note

If your object relies on being recomputed as soon as it is created, you must do this manually in the __init__ function as it is not called automatically. This example does not require it because the onChanged method of the Box class has the same effect as the execute function, but the examples below rely on being recomputed before anything is displayed in the 3D view. In the examples, this is done manually with ActiveDocument.recompute() but in more complex scenarios you need to decide where to recompute either the whole document or the FeaturePython object.

This example produces a number of exception stack traces in the report view window. This is because the onChanged method of the Box class is called each time a property is added in __init__. When the first one is added, the Width and Height properties don't exist yet and so the attempt to access them fails.

An explanation of __getstate__ and __setstate__ is in the forum thread obj.Proxy.Type is a dict, not a string.

obj.addProperty(...) returns obj, so that the value of the property can be set on the same line:

obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength", "Length", "Box", "Length of the box").Length = 1.0

Which is equivalent to:

obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength", "Length", "Box", "Length of the box")
obj.Length = 1.0

Other more complex example

This example makes use of the Part module to create an octahedron, then creates its coin representation with pivy.

First is the Document object itself:

import FreeCAD, FreeCADGui, Part
import pivy
from pivy import coin

class Octahedron:
  def __init__(self, obj):
     "Add some custom properties to our box feature"
     obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength","Length","Octahedron","Length of the octahedron").Length=1.0
     obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength","Width","Octahedron","Width of the octahedron").Width=1.0
     obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength","Height","Octahedron", "Height of the octahedron").Height=1.0
     obj.addProperty("Part::PropertyPartShape","Shape","Octahedron", "Shape of the octahedron")
     obj.Proxy = self

  def execute(self, fp):
     # Define six vetices for the shape
     v1 = FreeCAD.Vector(0,0,0)
     v2 = FreeCAD.Vector(fp.Length,0,0)
     v3 = FreeCAD.Vector(0,fp.Width,0)
     v4 = FreeCAD.Vector(fp.Length,fp.Width,0)
     v5 = FreeCAD.Vector(fp.Length/2,fp.Width/2,fp.Height/2)
     v6 = FreeCAD.Vector(fp.Length/2,fp.Width/2,-fp.Height/2)

     # Make the wires/faces
     f1 = self.make_face(v1,v2,v5)
     f2 = self.make_face(v2,v4,v5)
     f3 = self.make_face(v4,v3,v5)
     f4 = self.make_face(v3,v1,v5)
     f5 = self.make_face(v2,v1,v6)
     f6 = self.make_face(v4,v2,v6)
     f7 = self.make_face(v3,v4,v6)
     f8 = self.make_face(v1,v3,v6)
     shell=Part.makeShell([f1,f2,f3,f4,f5,f6,f7,f8])
     solid=Part.makeSolid(shell)
     fp.Shape = solid

  # helper mehod to create the faces
  def make_face(self,v1,v2,v3):
     wire = Part.makePolygon([v1,v2,v3,v1])
     face = Part.Face(wire)
     return face

Then, we have the view provider object, responsible for showing the object in the 3D scene:

class ViewProviderOctahedron:
  def __init__(self, obj):
     "Set this object to the proxy object of the actual view provider"
     obj.addProperty("App::PropertyColor","Color","Octahedron","Color of the octahedron").Color=(1.0,0.0,0.0)
     obj.Proxy = self

  def attach(self, obj):
     "Setup the scene sub-graph of the view provider, this method is mandatory"
     self.shaded = coin.SoGroup()
     self.wireframe = coin.SoGroup()
     self.scale = coin.SoScale()
     self.color = coin.SoBaseColor()

     self.data=coin.SoCoordinate3()
     self.face=coin.SoIndexedFaceSet()

     self.shaded.addChild(self.scale)
     self.shaded.addChild(self.color)
     self.shaded.addChild(self.data)
     self.shaded.addChild(self.face)
     obj.addDisplayMode(self.shaded,"Shaded");
     style=coin.SoDrawStyle()
     style.style = coin.SoDrawStyle.LINES
     self.wireframe.addChild(style)
     self.wireframe.addChild(self.scale)
     self.wireframe.addChild(self.color)
     self.wireframe.addChild(self.data)
     self.wireframe.addChild(self.face)
     obj.addDisplayMode(self.wireframe,"Wireframe");
     self.onChanged(obj,"Color")

  def updateData(self, fp, prop):
     "If a property of the handled feature has changed we have the chance to handle this here"
     # fp is the handled feature, prop is the name of the property that has changed
     if prop == "Shape":
        s = fp.getPropertyByName("Shape")
        self.data.point.setNum(6)
        cnt=0
        for i in s.Vertexes:
           self.data.point.set1Value(cnt,i.X,i.Y,i.Z)
           cnt=cnt+1

        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(0,0)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(1,1)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(2,2)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(3,-1)

        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(4,1)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(5,3)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(6,2)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(7,-1)

        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(8,3)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(9,4)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(10,2)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(11,-1)

        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(12,4)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(13,0)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(14,2)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(15,-1)

        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(16,1)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(17,0)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(18,5)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(19,-1)

        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(20,3)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(21,1)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(22,5)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(23,-1)

        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(24,4)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(25,3)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(26,5)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(27,-1)

        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(28,0)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(29,4)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(30,5)
        self.face.coordIndex.set1Value(31,-1)

  def getDisplayModes(self,obj):
     "Return a list of display modes."
     modes=[]
     modes.append("Shaded")
     modes.append("Wireframe")
     return modes

  def getDefaultDisplayMode(self):
     "Return the name of the default display mode. It must be defined in getDisplayModes."
     return "Shaded"

  def setDisplayMode(self,mode):
     return mode

  def onChanged(self, vp, prop):
     "Here we can do something when a single property got changed"
     FreeCAD.Console.PrintMessage("Change property: " + str(prop) + "\n")
     if prop == "Color":
        c = vp.getPropertyByName("Color")
        self.color.rgb.setValue(c[0],c[1],c[2])

  def getIcon(self):
     return """
        /* XPM */
        static const char * ViewProviderBox_xpm[] = {
        "16 16 6 1",
        "    c None",
        ".   c #141010",
        "+   c #615BD2",
        "@   c #C39D55",
        "#   c #000000",
        "$   c #57C355",
        "        ........",
        "   ......++..+..",
        "   .@@@@.++..++.",
        "   .@@@@.++..++.",
        "   .@@  .++++++.",
        "  ..@@  .++..++.",
        "###@@@@ .++..++.",
        "##$.@@$#.++++++.",
        "#$#$.$$$........",
        "#$$#######      ",
        "#$$#$$$$$#      ",
        "#$$#$$$$$#      ",
        "#$$#$$$$$#      ",
        " #$#$$$$$#      ",
        "  ##$$$$$#      ",
        "   #######      "};
        """

  def __getstate__(self):
     return None

  def __setstate__(self,state):
     return None

Finally, once our object and its viewobject are defined, we just need to call them (The Octahedron class and viewprovider class code could be copied in the FreeCAD python console directly):

FreeCAD.newDocument()
a=FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject("App::FeaturePython","Octahedron")
Octahedron(a)
ViewProviderOctahedron(a.ViewObject)

Making objects selectable

If you want to make your object selectable, or at least part of it, by clicking on it in the viewport, you must include its coin geometry inside a SoFCSelection node. If your object has complex representation, with widgets, annotations, etc, you might want to include only a part of it in a SoFCSelection. Everything that is a SoFCSelection is constantly scanned by FreeCAD to detect selection/preselection, so it makes sense try not to overload it with unneeded scanning.

Once the parts of the scenegraph that are to be selectable are inside SoFCSelection nodes, you then need to provide two methods to handle the selection path. The selection path can take the form of a string giving the names of each element in the path, or of an array of scenegraph objects. The two methods you provide are getDetailPath, which converts from a string path to an array of scenegraph objects, and getElementPicked, which takes an element which has been clicked on in the scenegraph and returns its string name (note, not its string path).

Here is the molecule example above, adapted to make the elements of the molecule selectable:

class Molecule:
    def __init__(self, obj):
        ''' Add two point properties '''
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyVector","p1","Line","Start point")
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyVector","p2","Line","End point").p2=FreeCAD.Vector(5,0,0)

        obj.Proxy = self

    def onChanged(self, fp, prop):
        if prop == "p1" or prop == "p2":
            ''' Print the name of the property that has changed '''
            fp.Shape = Part.makeLine(fp.p1,fp.p2)

    def execute(self, fp):
        ''' Print a short message when doing a recomputation, this method is mandatory '''
        fp.Shape = Part.makeLine(fp.p1,fp.p2)

class ViewProviderMolecule:
    def __init__(self, obj):
        ''' Set this object to the proxy object of the actual view provider '''
        obj.Proxy = self
        self.ViewObject = obj
        sep1=coin.SoSeparator()
        sel1 = coin.SoType.fromName('SoFCSelection').createInstance()
        # sel1.policy.setValue(coin.SoSelection.SHIFT)
        sel1.ref()
        sep1.addChild(sel1)
        self.trl1=coin.SoTranslation()
        sel1.addChild(self.trl1)
        sel1.addChild(coin.SoSphere())
        sep2=coin.SoSeparator()
        sel2 = coin.SoType.fromName('SoFCSelection').createInstance()
        sel2.ref()
        sep2.addChild(sel2)
        self.trl2=coin.SoTranslation()
        sel2.addChild(self.trl2)
        sel2.addChild(coin.SoSphere())
        obj.RootNode.addChild(sep1)
        obj.RootNode.addChild(sep2)
        self.updateData(obj.Object, 'p2')
        self.sel1 = sel1
        self.sel2 = sel2

    def getDetailPath(self, subname, path, append):
        vobj = self.ViewObject
        if append:
            path.append(vobj.RootNode)
            path.append(vobj.SwitchNode)

            mode = vobj.SwitchNode.whichChild.getValue()
            if mode >= 0:
                mode = vobj.SwitchNode.getChild(mode)
                path.append(mode)
                sub = Part.splitSubname(subname)[-1]
                if sub == 'Atom1':
                    path.append(self.sel1)
                elif sub == 'Atom2':
                    path.append(self.sel2)
                else:
                    path.append(mode.getChild(0))
        return True

    def getElementPicked(self, pp):
        path = pp.getPath()
        if path.findNode(self.sel1) >= 0:
            return 'Atom1'
        if path.findNode(self.sel2) >= 0:
            return 'Atom2'
        raise NotImplementedError

    def updateData(self, fp, prop):
        "If a property of the handled feature has changed we have the chance to handle this here"
        # fp is the handled feature, prop is the name of the property that has changed
        if prop == "p1":
            p = fp.getPropertyByName("p1")
            self.trl1.translation=(p.x,p.y,p.z)
        elif prop == "p2":
            p = fp.getPropertyByName("p2")
            self.trl2.translation=(p.x,p.y,p.z)

    def __getstate__(self):
        return None

    def __setstate__(self,state):
        return None

def makeMolecule():
    FreeCAD.newDocument()
    a=FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject("Part::FeaturePython","Molecule")
    Molecule(a)
    ViewProviderMolecule(a.ViewObject)
    FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.recompute()

Working with simple shapes

If your parametric object simply outputs a shape, you don't need to use a view provider object. The shape will be displayed using FreeCAD's standard shape representation:

import FreeCAD as App
import FreeCADGui
import FreeCAD
import Part
class Line:
    def __init__(self, obj):
        '''"App two point properties" '''
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyVector","p1","Line","Start point")
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyVector","p2","Line","End point").p2=FreeCAD.Vector(1,0,0)
        obj.Proxy = self

    def execute(self, fp):
        '''"Print a short message when doing a recomputation, this method is mandatory" '''
        fp.Shape = Part.makeLine(fp.p1,fp.p2)

a=FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject("Part::FeaturePython","Line")
Line(a)
a.ViewObject.Proxy=0 # just set it to something different from None (this assignment is needed to run an internal notification)
FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.recompute()

Same code with use ViewProviderLine.

import FreeCAD as App
import FreeCADGui
import FreeCAD
import Part

class Line:
    def __init__(self, obj):
         '''"App two point properties" '''
         obj.addProperty("App::PropertyVector","p1","Line","Start point")
         obj.addProperty("App::PropertyVector","p2","Line","End point").p2=FreeCAD.Vector(100,0,0)
         obj.Proxy = self

    def execute(self, fp):
        '''"Print a short message when doing a recomputation, this method is mandatory" '''
        fp.Shape = Part.makeLine(fp.p1,fp.p2)

class ViewProviderLine:
   def __init__(self, obj):
      ''' Set this object to the proxy object of the actual view provider '''
      obj.Proxy = self

   def getDefaultDisplayMode(self):
      ''' Return the name of the default display mode. It must be defined in getDisplayModes. '''
      return "Flat Lines"

a=FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject("Part::FeaturePython","Line")
Line(a)
ViewProviderLine(a.ViewObject)
App.ActiveDocument.recompute()

Scenegraph Structure

You may have noticed that the examples above construct their scenegraphs in slightly different ways. Some use obj.addDisplayMode(node, "modename") while others use obj.SwitchNode.getChild(x).addChild(y).

Each feature in a FreeCAD document is based the following scenegraph structure:

RootNode
 \- SwitchNode
     \- Shaded
      - Wireframe
      - etc

The SwitchNode displays only one of its children, depending on which display mode is selection in FreeCAD.

The examples which use addDisplayMode are constructing their scenegraphs solely out of coin3d scenegraph elements. Under the covers, addDisplayMode adds a new child to the SwitchNode; the name of that node will match the display mode it was passed.

The examples which use SwitchNode.getChild(x).addChild also construct part of their geometry using functions from the Part workbench, such as fp.Shape = Part.makeLine(fp.p1,fp.p2). This constructs the different display mode scenegraphs under the SwitchNode; when we later come to add coin3d elements to the scenegraph, we need to add them to the existing display mode scenegraphs using addChild rather than creating a new child of the SwitchNode.

When using addDisplayMode() to add geometry to the scenegraph, each display mode should have its own node which is passed to addDisplayMode(); don't reuse the same node for this. Doing so will confuse the selection mechanism. It's okay if each display mode's node has the same geometry nodes added below it, just the root of each display mode needs to be distinct.

Here is the above molecule example, adapted to be drawn only with Coin3D scenegraph objects instead of using objects from the Part workbench:

import Part
from pivy import coin

class Molecule:
    def __init__(self, obj):
        ''' Add two point properties '''
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyVector","p1","Line","Start point")
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyVector","p2","Line","End point").p2=FreeCAD.Vector(5,0,0)

        obj.Proxy = self

    def onChanged(self, fp, prop):
        pass

    def execute(self, fp):
        ''' Print a short message when doing a recomputation, this method is mandatory '''
        pass

class ViewProviderMolecule:
    def __init__(self, obj):
        ''' Set this object to the proxy object of the actual view provider '''
        self.constructed = False
        obj.Proxy = self
        self.ViewObject = obj

    def attach(self, obj):
        material = coin.SoMaterial()
        material.diffuseColor = (1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
        material.emissiveColor = (1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
        drawStyle = coin.SoDrawStyle()
        drawStyle.pointSize.setValue(10)
        drawStyle.style = coin.SoDrawStyle.LINES
        wireframe = coin.SoGroup()
        shaded = coin.SoGroup()
        self.wireframe = wireframe
        self.shaded = shaded

        self.coords = coin.SoCoordinate3()
        self.coords.point.setValues(0, 2, [FreeCAD.Vector(0, 0, 0), FreeCAD.Vector(1, 0, 0)])
        wireframe += self.coords
        wireframe += drawStyle
        wireframe += material
        shaded += self.coords
        shaded += drawStyle
        shaded += material

        g = coin.SoGroup()
        sel1 = coin.SoType.fromName('SoFCSelection').createInstance()
        sel1.style = 'EMISSIVE_DIFFUSE'
        p1 = coin.SoType.fromName('SoIndexedPointSet').createInstance()
        p1.coordIndex.set1Value(0, 0)
        sel1 += p1
        g += sel1
        wireframe += g
        shaded += g

        g = coin.SoGroup()
        sel2 = coin.SoType.fromName('SoFCSelection').createInstance()
        sel2.style = 'EMISSIVE_DIFFUSE'
        p2 = coin.SoType.fromName('SoIndexedPointSet').createInstance()
        p2.coordIndex.set1Value(0, 1)
        sel2 += p2
        g += sel2
        wireframe += g
        shaded += g

        g = coin.SoGroup()
        sel3 = coin.SoType.fromName('SoFCSelection').createInstance()
        sel3.style = 'EMISSIVE_DIFFUSE'
        p3 = coin.SoType.fromName('SoIndexedLineSet').createInstance()
        p3.coordIndex.setValues(0, 2, [0, 1])
        sel3 += p3
        g += sel3
        wireframe += g
        shaded += g

        obj.addDisplayMode(wireframe, 'Wireframe')
        obj.addDisplayMode(shaded, 'Shaded')

        self.sel1 = sel1
        self.sel2 = sel2
        self.sel3 = sel3
        self.constructed = True
        self.updateData(obj.Object, 'p2')

    def getDetailPath(self, subname, path, append):
        vobj = self.ViewObject
        if append:
            path.append(vobj.RootNode)
            path.append(vobj.SwitchNode)

            mode = vobj.SwitchNode.whichChild.getValue()
            FreeCAD.Console.PrintWarning("getDetailPath: mode {} is active\n".format(mode))
            if mode >= 0:
                mode = vobj.SwitchNode.getChild(mode)
                path.append(mode)
                sub = Part.splitSubname(subname)[-1]
                print(sub)
                if sub == 'Atom1':
                    path.append(self.sel1)
                elif sub == 'Atom2':
                    path.append(self.sel2)
                elif sub == 'Line':
                    path.append(self.sel3)
                else:
                    path.append(mode.getChild(0))
        return True

    def getElementPicked(self, pp):
        path = pp.getPath()
        if path.findNode(self.sel1) >= 0:
            return 'Atom1'
        if path.findNode(self.sel2) >= 0:
            return 'Atom2'
        if path.findNode(self.sel3) >= 0:
            return 'Line'
        raise NotImplementedError

    def updateData(self, fp, prop):
        "If a property of the handled feature has changed we have the chance to handle this here"
        # fp is the handled feature, prop is the name of the property that has changed
        if not self.constructed:
            return
        if prop == "p1":
            p = fp.getPropertyByName("p1")
            self.coords.point.set1Value(0, p)
        elif prop == "p2":
            p = fp.getPropertyByName("p2")
            self.coords.point.set1Value(1, p)

    def getDisplayModes(self, obj):
        return ['Wireframe', 'Shaded']

    def getDefaultDisplayMode(self):
        return 'Shaded'

    def setDisplayMode(self, mode):
        return mode

    def __getstate__(self):
        return None

    def __setstate__(self,state):
        return None

def makeMolecule():
    FreeCAD.newDocument()
    a=FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject("App::FeaturePython","Molecule")
    Molecule(a)
    b=ViewProviderMolecule(a.ViewObject)
    a.touch()
    FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.recompute()
    return a,b

a,b = makeMolecule()

Part Design scripted objects

When making scripted objects in Part Design the process is similar to the scripted objects discussed above, but with a few additional considerations. We must handle 2 shape properties, one for the shape we see in the 3D view and another for the shape used by the pattern tools, such as polar pattern features. The object shapes also needs to be fused to any existing material already in the Body (or cut from it in the case of Subtractive features). And we must account for the placement and attachment of our objects a little bit differently.

Part Design scripted solid object features should be based on either PartDesign::FeaturePython, PartDesign::FeatureAdditivePython, or PartDesign::FeatureSubtractivePython rather than Part::FeaturePython. Only the Additive and Subtractive variants can be used in pattern features, and if based on Part::FeaturePython when the user drops the object into a Part Design Body it becomes a BaseFeature rather than being treated by the Body as a native Part Design object. Note: all of these are expected to be solids, so if you are making a non-solid feature it should be based on Part::FeaturePython or else the next feature in the tree will attempt to fuse to as a solid and it will fail.

Here is a simple example of making a Tube primitive, similar to the Tube primitive in Part Workbench except this one will be a Part Design solid feature object. For this we will 2 separate files: pdtube.FCMacro and pdtube.py. The .FCMacro file will be executed by the user to create the object. The .py file will hold the class definitions, imported by the .FCMacro. The reason for doing it this way is to maintain the parametric nature of the object after restarting FreeCAD and opening a document containing one of our Tubes.

First, the class definition file:

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
#classes should go in pdtube.py
import FreeCAD, FreeCADGui, Part
class PDTube:
    def __init__(self,obj):
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength","Radius1","Tube","Radius1").Radius1 = 5
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength","Radius2","Tube","Radius2").Radius2 = 10
        obj.addProperty("App::PropertyLength","Height","Tube","Height of tube").Height = 10
        self.makeAttachable(obj)
        obj.Proxy = self

    def makeAttachable(self, obj):

        if int(FreeCAD.Version()[1]) >= 19:
            obj.addExtension('Part::AttachExtensionPython')
        else:
            obj.addExtension('Part::AttachExtensionPython', obj)

        obj.setEditorMode('Placement', 0) #non-readonly non-hidden

    def execute(self,fp):
        outer_cylinder = Part.makeCylinder(fp.Radius2, fp.Height)
        inner_cylinder = Part.makeCylinder(fp.Radius1, fp.Height)
        if fp.Radius1 == fp.Radius2: #just make cylinder
            tube_shape = outer_cylinder
        elif fp.Radius1 < fp.Radius2:
            tube_shape = outer_cylinder.cut(inner_cylinder)
        else: #invert rather than error out
            tube_shape = inner_cylinder.cut(outer_cylinder)

        if not hasattr(fp, "positionBySupport"):
            self.makeAttachable(fp)
        fp.positionBySupport()
        tube_shape.Placement = fp.Placement

        #BaseFeature (shape property of type Part::PropertyPartShape) is provided for us
        #with the PartDesign::FeaturePython and related classes, but it might be empty
        #if our object is the first object in the tree.  it's a good idea to check
        #for its existence in case we want to make type Part::FeaturePython, which won't have it

        if hasattr(fp, "BaseFeature") and fp.BaseFeature != None:
            if "Subtractive" in fp.TypeId:
                full_shape = fp.BaseFeature.Shape.cut(tube_shape)
            else:
                full_shape = fp.BaseFeature.Shape.fuse(tube_shape)
            full_shape.transformShape(fp.Placement.inverse().toMatrix(), True) #borrowed from gears workbench
            fp.Shape = full_shape
        else:
            fp.Shape = tube_shape
        if hasattr(fp,"AddSubShape"): #PartDesign::FeatureAdditivePython and
                                      #PartDesign::FeatureSubtractivePython have this
                                      #property but PartDesign::FeaturePython does not
                                      #It is the shape used for copying in pattern features
                                      #for example in making a polar pattern
            tube_shape.transformShape(fp.Placement.inverse().toMatrix(), True)
            fp.AddSubShape = tube_shape

class PDTubeVP:
    def __init__(self, obj):
        '''Set this object to the proxy object of the actual view provider'''
        obj.Proxy = self

    def attach(self,vobj):
        self.vobj = vobj

    def updateData(self, fp, prop):
        '''If a property of the handled feature has changed we have the chance to handle this here'''
        pass

    def getDisplayModes(self,obj):
        '''Return a list of display modes.'''
        modes=[]
        modes.append("Flat Lines")
        modes.append("Shaded")
        modes.append("Wireframe")
        return modes

    def getDefaultDisplayMode(self):
        '''Return the name of the default display mode. It must be defined in getDisplayModes.'''
        return "Flat Lines"

    def setDisplayMode(self,mode):
        '''Map the display mode defined in attach with those defined in getDisplayModes.\
                Since they have the same names nothing needs to be done. This method is optional'''
        return mode

    def onChanged(self, vp, prop):
        '''Here we can do something when a single property got changed'''
        #FreeCAD.Console.PrintMessage("Change property: " + str(prop) + "\n")
        pass

    def getIcon(self):
        '''Return the icon in XPM format which will appear in the tree view. This method is\
                optional and if not defined a default icon is shown.'''
        return """
            /* XPM */
            static const char * ViewProviderBox_xpm[] = {
            "16 16 6 1",
            "   c None",
            ".  c #141010",
            "+  c #615BD2",
            "@  c #C39D55",
            "#  c #000000",
            "$  c #57C355",
            "        ........",
            "   ......++..+..",
            "   .@@@@.++..++.",
            "   .@@@@.++..++.",
            "   .@@  .++++++.",
            "  ..@@  .++..++.",
            "###@@@@ .++..++.",
            "##$.@@$#.++++++.",
            "#$#$.$$$........",
            "#$$#######      ",
            "#$$#$$$$$#      ",
            "#$$#$$$$$#      ",
            "#$$#$$$$$#      ",
            " #$#$$$$$#      ",
            "  ##$$$$$#      ",
            "   #######      "};
            """

    def __getstate__(self):
        '''When saving the document this object gets stored using Python's json module.\
                Since we have some un-serializable parts here -- the Coin stuff -- we must define this method\
                to return a tuple of all serializable objects or None.'''
        return None

    def __setstate__(self,state):
        '''When restoring the serialized object from document we have the chance to set some internals here.\
                Since no data were serialized nothing needs to be done here.'''
        return None

And now the macro file to create the object:

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

#pdtube.FCMacro
import pdtube
#above line needed if the class definitions above are place in another file: PDTube.py
#this is needed if the tube object is to remain parametric after restarting FreeCAD and loading
#a document containing the object

body = FreeCADGui.ActiveDocument.ActiveView.getActiveObject("pdbody")
if not body:
    FreeCAD.Console.PrintError("No active body.\n")
else:
    from PySide import QtGui
    window = FreeCADGui.getMainWindow()
    items = ["Additive","Subtractive","Neither additive nor subtractive"]
    item,ok =QtGui.QInputDialog.getItem(window,"Select tube type","Select whether you want additive, subtractive, or neither:",items,0,False)
    if ok:
        if item == items[0]:
            className = "PartDesign::FeatureAdditivePython"
        elif item == items[1]:
            className = "PartDesign::FeatureSubtractivePython"
        else:
            className = "PartDesign::FeaturePython" #not usable in pattern features, such as polar pattern

        tube = FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject(className,"Tube")
        pdtube.PDTube(tube)
        pdtube.PDTubeVP(tube.ViewObject)
        body.addObject(tube) #optionally we can also use body.insertObject() for placing at particular place in tree

Available object types

The list of all object types you can create with FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject() can be obtained with FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.supportedTypes(). Only object types with a name ending in Python can be used for scripted objects. These are listed here (for FreeCAD v0.21):

App::DocumentObjectGroupPython
App::FeaturePython
App::GeometryPython
App::LinkElementPython
App::LinkGroupPython
App::LinkPython
App::MaterialObjectPython
App::PlacementPython
Part::CustomFeaturePython
Part::FeaturePython
Part::Part2DObjectPython
Path::FeatureAreaPython
Path::FeatureAreaViewPython
Path::FeatureCompoundPython
Path::FeaturePython
Path::FeatureShapePython
Sketcher::SketchObjectPython
TechDraw::DrawComplexSectionPython
TechDraw::DrawLeaderLinePython
TechDraw::DrawPagePython
TechDraw::DrawRichAnnoPython
TechDraw::DrawTemplatePython
TechDraw::DrawTilePython
TechDraw::DrawTileWeldPython
TechDraw::DrawViewPartPython
TechDraw::DrawViewPython
TechDraw::DrawViewSectionPython
TechDraw::DrawViewSymbolPython
TechDraw::DrawWeldSymbolPython

Available methods

See FeaturePython methods for the complete reference.

Available properties

Properties are the true building blocks of FeaturePython objects. Through them, the user will be able to interact and modify your object. After creating a new FeaturePython object in your document, you can get a list of the available properties:

obj = FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject("App::FeaturePython", "Box")
obj.supportedProperties()

See FeaturePython Custom Properties for an overview.

When adding properties to your custom objects, take care of this:

Do not use characters < or > in the properties descriptions (that would break the xml pieces in the .FCStd file).
Properties are stored alphabetically in a .FCStd file. If you have a shape in your properties, any property whose name comes after "Shape" in alphabetic order, will be loaded AFTER the shape, which can cause strange behaviors.

The properties are defined in the PropertyStandard C++ header file.

Property types

By default properties can be updated, but it is possible to make properties read-only, for instance if one wants to show the result of a method. It is also possible to hide a property. The property type can be set using:

obj.setEditorMode("MyPropertyName", mode)

where mode is a short int that can be set to:

-- default mode, read and write
-- read-only
-- hidden

The mode can also be set using a list of strings, e.g. obj.setEditorMode("Placement", ["ReadOnly", "Hidden"]).

The EditorModes are not set at FreeCAD file reload. This could to be done by the __setstate__ function. See http://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=13460&start=10#p108072. By using the setEditorMode the properties are only read-only in the Property editor. They can still be changed from Python. To really make them read-only the setting has to be passed directly inside the addProperty function. See http://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=13460&start=20#p109709 for an example.

Using the direct setting in the addProperty function, you also have more possibilities. In particular, an interesting one is mark a property as an output property. This way FreeCAD won't mark the feature as touched when changing it (so no need to recompute).

Example of output property (see also https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?t=24928):

obj.addProperty("App::PropertyString", "MyCustomProperty", "", "", 8)

The property types that can be set at last parameter of the addProperty function are:

-- Prop_None, No special property type
-- Prop_ReadOnly, Property is read-only in the editor
-- Prop_Transient, Property won't be saved to file
-- Prop_Hidden, Property won't appear in the editor
-- Prop_Output, Modified property doesn't touch its parent container
-- Prop_NoRecompute, Modified property doesn't touch its container for recompute
-- Prop_NoPersist, Property won't be saved to file at all

The property types are defined in the PropertyContainer C++ header file.

Available extensions

The list of available extensions can be obtained with grep -RI EXTENSION_PROPERTY_SOURCE_TEMPLATE in the repository of the source code and is given here (for FreeCAD v0.21).

For objects:

App::GeoFeatureGroupExtensionPython
App::GroupExtensionPython
App::LinkBaseExtensionPython
App::LinkExtensionPython
App::OriginGroupExtensionPython
Part::AttachExtensionPython
TechDraw::CosmeticExtensionPython

For view objects:

Gui::ViewProviderExtensionPython
Gui::ViewProviderGeoFeatureGroupExtensionPython
Gui::ViewProviderGroupExtensionPython
Gui::ViewProviderOriginGroupExtensionPython
PartGui::ViewProviderAttachExtensionPython
PartGui::ViewProviderSplineExtensionPython

There exist other extensions but they do not work as-is:

App::ExtensionPython
TechDrawGui::ViewProviderCosmeticExtensionPython
TechDrawGui::ViewProviderDrawingViewExtensionPython
TechDrawGui::ViewProviderPageExtensionPython
TechDrawGui::ViewProviderTemplateExtensionPython

Further information

Additional pages:

Interesting forum threads about scripted objects:

In addition to the examples presented here have a look at FreeCAD source code here for more examples.

Parametric objects (Scripted objects)

Introduction​

Basic example​

Things to note​

Other more complex example​

Making objects selectable​

Working with simple shapes​

Scenegraph Structure​

Part Design scripted objects​

Available object types​

Available methods​

Available properties​

Property types​

Available extensions​

Further information​