A quick reference for common TouchDesigner jargon and core concepts.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| OP (Operator) | The fundamental building blocks of a network (nodes). Categorized into families: COMP, TOP, CHOP, SOP, DAT, MAT, and POP. See The Operators. |
| Cooking | The process where an operator recalculates its data. TD only “cooks” a node if its inputs have changed and its output is being requested by another node or a viewer. See Cooking. |
| Dirty | A state an operator enters when its inputs change but it hasn’t cooked yet. The next time its output is requested, it re-cooks. |
| Binding | A bi-directional link between two parameters. Changing one automatically updates the other. See Parameters. |
| Referencing | A one-way Python link where one parameter “reads” the value of another (e.g., op('null1')['chan1']). See Expressions and Parameters. |
| Export | A one-way link where a CHOP channel drives a parameter directly, bypassing its constant value. Faster than an expression for many channels. See Parameters. |
| Time Slice | The process of calculating only the data needed for the current frame. Essential for real-time performance in CHOPs. |
| Global Shortcut | A name given to a COMP that allows it to be referenced from anywhere in the project using parent.Name or op.Name. |
| Clone | A system where one “Master” COMP’s internal network is automatically copied to multiple “Clone” COMPs. |
| TOX | A saved, reusable component exported to a .tox file. The unit of modular design in TD; drag one into any project to reuse it. See Modular Design and Toxes. |
| Instancing | Drawing many copies of one piece of geometry in a single GPU draw call, positioned and colored from CHOP/SOP/POP channels. The key to rendering thousands of objects. See Instancing. |
| Feedback Loop | Routing an operator’s output back into its own input (via a Feedback TOP) to accumulate trails, blur, and motion over time. See Feedback Loops. |
| Viewer Active | A mode where you can interact directly with a node’s visual display (e.g., rotating 3D geometry or clicking buttons). See Viewer Active Mode. |
| Null | A “do-nothing” operator used at the end of a chain. It’s a best practice to reference Nulls instead of active operators to avoid breaking links when you add nodes in the middle of a chain. |
| Palette | The built-in browser of ready-made components and example .tox files, opened with Alt+L. |
| Network Path | The location of an operator in the project hierarchy (e.g., /project1/geo1/transform1). |
| Perform Mode | A specialized mode (F1) that hides the network editor and only displays a designated Window COMP for maximum performance. |