### Plug-in Classes LightWave® plug-ins are divided into categories called classes. For those familiar with the formal classes supported by object-oriented programming languages, this term may have unintended implications. The class of a plug-in simply defines what kind of plug-in it is, what it does, and how it interacts with LightWave®.
Class Index
AnimLoaderHandler AnimSaverHandler AnimUV CameraHandler ChannelHandler ColorPicker CommandSequence CustomObjHandler DisplacementHandler EnvironmentHandler ExtRendererHandler | FileRequester FrameBufferHandler Global ImageFilterHandler ImageLoader ImageSaver ItemMotionHandler LayoutGeneric LayoutTool LightHandler MasterHandler | MeshDataEdit MeshEditTool NodeHandler ObjectLoader ObjReplacementHandler PixelFilterHandler PolygonHandler ProceduralTextureHandler SceneConverter ShaderHandler VolumetricHandler
Thumbnail Descriptions AnimLoaderHandler AnimSaverHandler Load and save files containing animation streams, e.g. MPEG, QuickTime and AVI files. AnimUV Provides the ability to animate UV texture coordinates. CameraHandler Camera handlers provide Lens and Camera access and functionality. ChannelHandler Channel handlers can be applied to any animation parameter that can vary over time. They modify or replace the value of the parameter. ColorPicker Provide a user interface for selecting colors. CommandSequence Modeler plug-ins that can do almost anything the user can do through the interface. CustomObjHandler Layout plug-ins that add custom drawing to an object in Layout's interface. These are often used to add visual feedback for the parameters controlled by null objects, but they can be used with any object. DisplacementHandler Deform an object during animation by moving its points. EnvironmentHandler Replace the render backdrop, for procedural sky and ground rendering, for example. FileRequester Provide a user interface for selecting files (an alternative to the host system's default file dialog). FrameBufferHandler Provide a display or a device interface for rendered frames. Global Provide services to other plug-ins. See the globals section for information about LightWave®'s built-in globals. ImageFilterHandler Image post-processing of rendered frames. ImageLoader ImageSaver Load and save files containing still images. Support for a number of image file formats is provided through plug-ins of these classes. ItemMotionHandler Animate the position, size and scale of an item. LayoutGeneric Miscellaneous utilities, Layout commands. LayoutTool Interactive custom tools in Layout. LightHandler Implements different types of light. MasterHandler These receive event notifications from Layout and can control the behavior of other plug-ins based on those events. MeshDataEdit Modeler plug-ins that create and modify geometry at the point and polygon level. MeshEditTool Mesh editing with full user interactivity. NodeHandler Node based texturing/image based/procedural/gradient. ObjectLoader Load the 3D geometry data in non-LightWave® object files. ObjReplacementHandler Replace the geometry of an object during animation. PixelFilterHandler Modify or replace the value of each pixel sample during rendering. PolygonHandler Allows plug-ins to generate custom polygonal mesh data in real time. ProceduralTextureHandler Procedural textures are just functions, like fractal noise, useful for adding detail to the appearance of an object or for modulating an item's motion. SceneConverter Loads the animation data in non-LightWave® scene files. ShaderHandler Modifies the appearance of an object's surface. VolumetricHandler Creates volumetric rendering effects, including transmission and scattering through transparent media, and hypertexturing.