Data Access Blocks

Why Data Access Matters

The Data Access family is where the graph touches actual state: constants, variables, object properties, scene assets, collections, and structured payloads.

If Control Flow tells the graph when to act, Data Access often determines what it acts on.

Constants And Variables

Constant

Use Constant when the graph needs a fixed value.

This block is especially useful in early prototypes because it gives you a direct way to provide strings, numbers, vectors, colors, or matrices without introducing more graph complexity.

GetVariable

Use GetVariable to read a graph variable.

This is useful when a value has already been computed or stored elsewhere in the graph and needs to be reused.

SetVariable

Use SetVariable to write a graph variable.

This block is often the simplest way to introduce persistent graph state. In multi-variable mode, it can expose additional configurable inputs through its specialized property editor.

Object Property Access

GetProperty

Use GetProperty to read a property from a target object.

This is useful when the graph needs scene-derived values such as values from meshes, materials, or other referenced objects.

SetProperty

Use SetProperty to write a property on a target object.

This is one of the most important blocks for scene interactivity because it bridges the graph to visible scene changes.

Scene Assets And Structured Data

GetAsset

Use GetAsset when you want to pick a named asset from the loaded scene. The specialized property editor makes this much easier than entering identifiers manually.

JsonPointerParser

Use JsonPointerParser when you need to extract a value from structured data using a JSON pointer path.

This is useful for event payloads or data-driven graphs that consume structured inputs.

Indexed And Case-Based Data Access

ArrayIndex

Use ArrayIndex to retrieve a value from a collection by index.

IndexOf

Use IndexOf to locate an item's position within a collection.

DataSwitch

Use DataSwitch when you want to select among multiple data inputs based on a case value rather than route execution flow.

This makes it a data-oriented complement to the execution-oriented Switch block.

Choosing The Right Block

• Use Constant to seed values quickly.
• Use GetVariable and SetVariable for graph state.
• Use GetProperty and SetProperty to interact with object state.
• Use GetAsset when the value should come from the currently loaded scene.
• Use JsonPointerParser for structured payloads.
• Use ArrayIndex, IndexOf, and DataSwitch for collections and data selection logic.

Further reading