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Data View serves as the command center for Particle Flow Tools: Box#3 Pro. Like Particle View, you build your data flow with an easy-to-use graphical user interface, and it works essentially the same way. You add components (suboperators) by dragging them into the workspace from the depot area, set parameters on the Data View command panel, and wire suboperators together by dragging between inputs and outputs. Your data flow can be as simple as a couple of suboperators wired together, or as large and complex as the one found in the Random Walk data preset.
One difference is that each suboperator can have multiple connections; how you configure the suboperator determines the quantity and types. Also, connectors are color- and letter-coded to indicate the data type. If you wire two connectors of different but compatible data types, a conversion suboperator is automatically inserted and appropriately configured.
But linking suboperators in Data View goes beyond simply wiring them together; they can also be logically connected via Channel buttons. This lets you create sophisticated, powerful systems that would be impossible otherwise. In addition, each suboperator has a filter input that accepts Boolean data and allows the component to process only certain data based on conditions you specify.
Because the concept of Events, so integral to Particle Flow, doesn't apply to Data View, you have two other ways of combining components. First is data blocks, which you create simply by dragging two or more linked components together, resulting in a "black box." The second is groups, by which you can combine any arbitrary subset of suboperators. You can label groups to describe their members' functionality. You can also make them transparent, change their background color, lock and unlock them, and more.
Each Data operator has its own data flow: You can open several Data View windows, compare their contents, and copy/paste single suboperators, selected sets, or whole data flows between Data operators. Data flow represents a deeper, more flexible level of particle data manipulation in Particle Flow. Effective use of this level means you can create an effect with fewer events.
