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Customizer

add_parameter

Add a parameter that appears in the PythonSCAD Customizer GUI. Users can modify these parameters through the GUI without editing code.

Syntax:

value = add_parameter(name, default, description="", group="Parameters",
                      range=None, step=None, max_length=None, options=None)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Default Description
name string — Parameter name (displayed in the GUI)
default any — Default value (type determines the widget: int, float, bool, string, list)
description string "" Help text shown in the customizer
group string "Parameters" Tab name for organizing parameters
range range or tuple None Min/max for slider widgets
step float None Step increment for spinbox widgets
max_length int None Maximum string length
options list or dict None Dropdown menu options

Returns: The current value of the parameter (either the default or the user-modified value).

Basic Usage

The parameter type is inferred from the default value:

from openscad import *

width = add_parameter("width", 10)          # integer
scale = add_parameter("scale", 1.5)         # float
name = add_parameter("name", "default")     # string
enabled = add_parameter("enabled", True)    # boolean (checkbox)

cube([width, width, width]).show()

Slider

Use range to create a slider widget:

from openscad import *

# Integer slider (range() is exclusive, so use 101 for max 100)
quality = add_parameter("quality", 50, range=range(0, 101, 5))

# Float slider using tuple (min, max) or (min, max, step)
scale = add_parameter("scale", 1.0, range=(0.1, 10.0, 0.1))

Step (Spinbox)

Use step for a spinbox without a slider:

from openscad import *

angle = add_parameter("angle", 45.0, step=0.5)

Use options for a dropdown menu:

from openscad import *

# Simple list
color = add_parameter("color", "red", options=["red", "green", "blue"])

# Labeled options (value: label)
quality = add_parameter("quality", 10, options={10: "Low", 20: "Medium", 30: "High"})

Groups

Organize parameters into tabs using group:

from openscad import *

width = add_parameter("width", 10, group="Dimensions")
height = add_parameter("height", 20, group="Dimensions")
color = add_parameter("color", "red", group="Appearance")

# Special groups
debug = add_parameter("debug", False, group="Hidden")    # not shown in UI
units = add_parameter("units", "mm", group="Global")     # appears on all tabs

Description

Add help text with description:

from openscad import *

width = add_parameter("width", 10,
    description="Width of the model in mm",
    group="Dimensions")

max_length

Limit string input length:

from openscad import *

name = add_parameter("name", "hello", max_length=20)

Vectors

Vector parameters (lists) support constraints applied to all elements:

from openscad import *

size = add_parameter("size", [10, 20, 30], range=(1, 100, 1))