Dynamo
Primer for v2.0
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  • About
  • Introduction
    • What is Dynamo & How Does It Work?
    • Primer User Guide, Dynamo Community & Platform
  • Setup for Dynamo
  • User Interface
    • Workspace
    • Library
  • Nodes and Wires
  • Essential Nodes & Concepts
    • Index of Nodes
    • Geometry for Computational Design
      • Geometry Overview
      • Vector, Plane & Coordinate System
      • Points
      • Curves
      • Surfaces
      • Solids
      • Meshes
    • The Building Blocks of Programs
      • Data
      • Math
      • Logic
      • Strings
      • Color
    • Designing with Lists
      • What's a List
      • Working with Lists
      • Lists of Lists
      • n-Dimensional Lists
    • Dictionaries in Dynamo
      • What is a Dictionary
      • Dictionary Nodes
      • Dictionaries in Code Blocks
      • Revit Use-Cases
  • Custom Nodes & Packages
    • Custom Nodes
      • Custom Node Introduction
      • Creating a Custom Node
      • Publishing to Your Library
    • Packages
      • Package Introduction
      • Package Case Study - Mesh Toolkit
      • Developing a Package
      • Publishing a Package
      • Zero-Touch Importing
  • Dynamo for Revit
    • The Revit Connection
    • Selecting
    • Editing
    • Creating
    • Customizing
    • Documenting
  • Dynamo for Civil 3D
    • The Civil 3D Connection
    • Getting Started
    • Node Library
    • Sample Workflows
      • Roads
        • Light Pole Placement
      • Land
        • Service Placement
      • Utilities
        • Rename Structures
      • Rail
        • Clearance Envelope
      • Surveying
        • Point Group Management
    • Advanced Topics
      • Object Binding
      • Python and Civil 3D
    • Dynamo Player
    • Useful Packages
    • Resources
  • Dynamo in Forma Beta
    • Set Up Dynamo Player in Forma
    • Add and Share Graphs in Dynamo Player
    • Run Graphs in Dynamo Player
    • Dynamo compute service differences with Desktop Dynamo
  • Coding in Dynamo
    • Code Blocks and DesignScript
      • What's a Code Block
      • DesignScript Syntax
      • Shorthand
      • Functions
    • Geometry with DesignScript
      • DesignScript Geometry Basics
      • Geometric Primitives
      • Vector Math
      • Curves: Interpolated and Control Points
      • Translation, Rotation, and Other Transformations
      • Surfaces: Interpolated, Control Points, Loft, Revolve
      • Geometric Parameterization
      • Intersection and Trim
      • Geometric Booleans
      • Python Point Generators
    • Python
      • Python Nodes
      • Python and Revit
      • Setup Your Own Python Template
    • Language Changes
  • Best Practices
    • Graph Strategies
    • Scripting Strategies
    • Scripting Reference
    • Managing Your Program
    • Efficiently Working With Large Data Sets In Dynamo
  • Sample Workflows
    • Getting Started Workflows
      • Parametric Vase
      • Attractor Points
    • Concept Index
  • Developer Primer
    • Build Dynamo from Source
      • Build DynamoRevit from Source
      • Managing and Updating Dependencies in Dynamo
    • Developing for Dynamo
      • Getting Started
      • Zero-Touch Case Study - Grid Node
      • Executing Python Scripts in Zero-Touch Nodes (C#)
      • Going Further with Zero-Touch
      • Advanced Dynamo Node Customization
      • Using COM (interop) types in Dynamo Packages
      • NodeModel Case Study - Custom UI
      • Updating your Packages and Dynamo Libraries for Dynamo 2.x
      • Updating your Packages and Dynamo Libraries for Dynamo 3.x
      • Extensions
      • Defining Custom Package Organization for Dynamo 2.0+
      • Dynamo Command Line Interface
      • Dynamo Integration
      • Developing For Dynamo For Revit
      • Publish a Package
      • Build a Package from Visual Studio
      • Extensions as Packages
    • Pull Requests
    • Testing Expectations
    • Examples
  • Appendix
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Visual Programming and Dynamo
    • Resources
    • Release Notes
    • Useful Packages
    • Example Files
    • Host Integration Map
    • Download PDF
    • Dynamo Keyboard Shortcuts
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  1. Custom Nodes & Packages
  2. Custom Nodes

Publishing to Your Library

PreviousCreating a Custom NodeNextPackages

Last updated 1 year ago

We've just created a custom node and applied it to a specific process in our Dynamo graph. And we like this node so much, we want to keep it in our Dynamo library to reference in other graphs. To do this, we'll publish the node locally. This is a similar process to publishing a package, which we'll walk through in more detail in the next chapter.

By publishing a node locally, the node will be accessible in your Dynamo library when you open a new session. Without publishing a node, a Dynamo graph which references a custom node must also have that custom node in its folder (or the custom node must be imported into Dynamo using File > Import Library).

You can publish custom nodes and packages from Dynamo Sandbox in version 2.17 and newer, as long as they have no host API dependencies. In older versions, publishing custom nodes and packages is only enabled in Dynamo for Revit and Dynamo for Civil 3D.

Exercise: Publishing a Custom Node Locally

Download the example file by clicking on the link below.

A full list of example files can be found in the Appendix.

Let's move forward with the custom node that we created in the previous section. Once the PointsToSurface custom node is opened, we see the graph in the Dynamo Custom Node Editor. You can also open up a custom node by double clicking on it in the Dynamo Graph Editor.

To Publish a custom node locally, simply right click on the canvas and select "Publish This Custom Node..."

Fill out the relevant information similar to the image above and select "Publish Locally". Note that the Group field defines the main element accessible from the Dynamo menu.

Choose a folder to house all of the custom nodes that you plan on publishing locally. Dynamo will check this folder each time it loads, so make sure the folder is in a permanent place. Navigate to this folder and choose "Select Folder". Your Dynamo node is now published locally, and will remain in your Dynamo library each time you load the program!

To check on the custom node folder location, go to Dynamo > Preferences > Package Settings > Node and Package Paths.

In this window we see a list of paths.

  1. Documents\DynamoCustomNodes... refers to the location of custom nodes we've published locally.

  2. AppData\Roaming\Dynamo... refers to the default location of Dynamo Packages installed online.

  3. You may want to move your local folder path down in the list order (by clicking on the down arrow to the left of the path name). The top folder is the default path for package installs. So by keeping the default Dynamo package install path as the default folder, online packages will be separated from your locally published nodes.

We switched the order of the path names in order to have Dynamo's default path as the package install location.

Navigating to this local folder, we can find the original custom node in the ".dyf" folder, which is the extension for a Dynamo Custom Node file. We can edit the file in this folder and the node will update in the UI. We can also add more nodes to the main DynamoCustomNode folder and Dynamo will add them to your library at restart!

Dynamo will now load each time with "PointsToSurface" in the "DynamoPrimer" group of your Dynamo library.

6KB
PointsToSurface.dyf