Power users hub

This is the place to come if you are an experienced user and want to learn more about customizing and extending LabRPS.

LabRPS is extensible by Python code that is run directly in the Python console, or that is loaded from modules at startup. This means that you can modify LabRPS without needing to recompile the program. For example, you can:

Create and modify geometry: you can create a new object type, either from scratch or by adapting an existing type.
Create custom tools and commands: add your own set of tools that run your code.
Modify the interface: create toolbars to put your tools, create special windows, panels, or interfaces for interacting with your tools.
Modify the scenegraph representation: LabRPS has separate processes for building up the geometry and displaying that geometry on screen. You have full access to the way the scene contents are displayed on screen, therefore you can modify that representation, interact with it, or add custom behaviour to it. You can also add custom screen widgets, like information, draggers, anchors or temporary entities.

If you'd like to contribute content to these pages, request a wiki account with editor permissions in the forum, and read the WikiPages for the general guidelines that you should follow. For other ways to contribute with the project, see the Help LabRPS page.

Customizing LabRPS

Interface Customization: Starting with the beginning: Toolbars and shortcuts
Working with Macros: Easily record often repeated tasks or Python code

Scripting in LabRPS

General

Scripting and Macros - A list of relevant wiki pages
Introduction to Python - See also other Python tutorials at the bottom of this page
LabRPS scripting tutorial - A general look at Python scripting in LabRPS
LabRPS Scripting Basics: Well, the basics
LabRPS Manual - Section Python Scripting: Multi-chapter introduction to Python Scripting in LabRPS
Gui Command: Adding custom commands to the GUI
Using mixed Units in LabRPS

Modules

The functionality of LabRPS is separated in Modules which deal with special data types and applications. LabRPS has built-in modules and Extension Modules (plug-ins). Once plugin modules are installed, they become availible to you as easily as the built-in modules. The modules described below are the default modules, includeed in every LabRPS installation.

API Functions

The complete API documentation of LabRPS is located at http://www.labrps.com/api/ . It contains both C++ and Python APIs, and is not totally well formatted yet, which can be confusing when looking for python-only code.

Advanced modification

Start up and Configuration: Startup and command line options
Installing on Windows: Using the windows installer
Compiling LabRPS on Windows and Compiling LabRPS on Linux

Python tutorials

These are good generic tutorials, not specific to LabRPS, that might interest you if you are totally new to python.

Python

Official python tutorial - A very complete tutorial for discovering python
Non-programmer tutorial for python - an excellent wikibook
Python for newbies - one big tutorial covering all the basics

PySide - How to create and manage LabRPS's Qt UI interface from python

PySide tutorial : A platform-agnostic tutorial showing the usage of PySide with examples
PySide/PyQt tutorial : A easy to read tutorial that covers PySide and PyQt with examples
PySide documentation : from the Qt Project (the people who wrote it all)
Using QtCreator in PySide : also from the Qt Project
PySide reference : endless detail on the minutiae of PySide and Qt, a reliable reference source
PySide code snippets : a searchable database of PySide code snippets

The following two references are PyQt specific (not PySide) but may offer some information of use:

Basic PyQt tutorial : A simple and short linux-based tutorial that will explain how to work with PyQt and Qt Designer
Programming Qt applications in python : A more in-depth tutorial covering all the process of working with qt and python