FormIt 2023 - New Features – New FormIt + Dynamo Scripts

By Garry Stockton

New Features and Enhancements

Data Graphs and Node-Level Faceting

Autodesk has added a new way to run Dynamo graphs from FormIt which opens up the ability to run data-only graphs without the need for a ‘SendToFormIt’ node, and they’ve also added a new ‘FormItGroupOptions’ node to control geometry faceting (note – it’s only available for FormIt for Windows).

Data Graph Support

Have you ever wanted to run a Dynamo graph in FormIt that outputs data only, with no geometric results?

If so, with this update, Autodesk has removed the stipulation that a Dynamo graph must include a ‘SendToFormIt’ node to function in FormIt.

When executing a Dynamo graph without a SendToFormIt node, it's considered a Data Graph since it will only be surfacing or passing data through FormIt. Data Graphs can be identified by their icon in the Dynamo panel and they have added unique icons for the other graph types as well, see below.

Whilst using a Data Graph, any inputs marked ‘Is’ Input or any Watch Nodes marked ‘Is’ Output will be displayed in a new collapsible panel in the Dynamo palette. From here, you can re-run the graph by clicking the thumbnail again or clicking the Run button in the list of parameters.  If you're running multiple Data Graphs in this session, the last one run will be the one displayed here.