frame editor rqt-plugin

• This repository contains the frame editor rqt-plugin.

• Frame-editor helps you creating and arranging tf-frames.

• You can arrange your frames by copying full poses or selected positions or orientations from other existing tf-frames. Of course you can manually type-in your wanted values or even use an interactive marker within rviz to arrange your frame.

• Additionally you may attach a mesh to your frame. The mesh is also visible within rviz (by published marker topic). The frame-editor provides some basic shapes or you may use your own stl file.

• Save your configuration and load it again.

• Most features are also available via ros services, if you want to use the functions but not the interface.

• Feature: Moving frames

• Feature: Add Frames and Change their respective parents

• Feature: Filter and Delete Frames

Additional features:

• Group frames: You can group frames by adding a “group” entry in the yaml file. Frames with the same “group” entry will grouped.

Installation:

Clone this repository into your colcon workspace.

git clone https://github.com/ipa320/rqt_frame_editor_plugin.git

Update your colcon workspace, e.g.

colcon build --symlink-install

Refresh rqt

rqt --force-discover

Usage:

You may just start rqt and select the frame-editor plugin.

rqt

To be able to use the interactive marker to move frames around you have to add the InteractiveMarkers-plugin to rviz and select the topic ‘/frame_editor_interactive/update’

• The frame to be manipulated must be selected in the frame-editor.

To see the configured shapes you have to add the Marker plugin in rviz and select the topic ‘/frame_editor_marker’

• Shapes are not published too often and it may take some seconds for your shape to appear. However, appeared once it will be attached to its tf-frame and not lag behind if the frame moves.

You can also run it standalone, look into the given launch file.

ros2 launch frame_editor frame_editor_launch.py

Known issues:

Starting the plugin twice

When starting the rqt plugin twice, you will receive a long error message with these last lines:

  [...] 
  File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/rospy/service.py", line 116, in register 
    raise ServiceException(err) 
ServiceException: service [/align_frame] already registered 

• Note that rqt automatically starts in the last configuration, so the plugin may already be running, possibly minimized. You can check the “Running” entry in the header menu to see whether the plugin is already active.
• Hidden plugins can be recovered by rightclicking in the empty space and selecting the plugin (so far only called “Form”)
• Closing and starting the plugin doesn’t seem to work, so:
• The best way is to restart rqt.
• If the plugin is not found in rqt, try ‘rqt –force-discover’ to make rqt search for new plugins
• You can reset your rqt configuration, try ‘rqt –clear-config’ to make rqt reset saved configurations

Cannot use the interactive marker when its behind a semitransparent mesh.

Rviz is not giving your mouse event to the interactive marker. Disable the marker plugin and the you can touch the interactive marker.

Acknowledgements:

Updates from 2024 on (including ROS2 port) are part of RIG (Robotics Institute Germany) project.

Logo	Project	Runtime
	Robotics Institute Germany	01.07.2024 – 30.06.2028
	Lean Automation (LIAA) Grant: 608604	02.09.2013 – 31.08.2017
	European Commission	—

Changelog for package frame_editor

2.0.2 (2025-06-02)

• First Port to ROS 2
• Feature: Grouping Option is now available from the GUI
• Feature: Pinning a frame to another in the gui is now possible
• Contributors: Daniel Bargmann

1.2.0 (2025-05-02)

• Bug fix: Deleted Frames not beeing able to be reused
• Feature: Clear Frame Buffer and Added loading animation for tf frame list when pressing either refresh button or deleting frames
• Feature: Automatically Update TF Frame List when adding/duplicating frames (without clearing the frame buffer)
• Chore: Moved from prints to rospy logging
• Feature: Added search bar for both tf and frame list (style: [grey]{.title-ref} out or [hide]{.title-ref} frames with argument [--filter_style]{.title-ref})
• Feature: Add Grouping Option for frames by setting the [group]{.title-ref} attribute in the yaml file
• Feature: TF Frame list is automatically grouped by self-defined ([Frames]{.title-ref}) and external frames ([Other]{.title-ref})
• Feature: Autosave Functionality
• Performance: Use Static Transform Publisher instead of Dynamic.
• Contributors: Jan Krieglstein, Daniel Bargmann

1.1.1 (2022-05-19)

• Bug fix: Empty frame list on noetic now gets displayed
• Add some more Python -> Python3 conversions
• Contributors: Martin Günther, Philipp Tenbrock

1.1.0 (2022-03-15)

• Added argparse option to change publishing rate
• frame_editor is now compatible to Python 3 (ROS Noetic)
• Use the previous file name and parent frame as defaults for save_yaml and the set_frame service
• Contributors: Daniel Bargmann, Martin Günther, Philipp Tenbrock

1.0.4 (2019-01-31)

• Query if to add frames or update the whole list
• Fixed static initialisation of tf broadcaster
• Show current file name in label instead of window title
• Disabled menu
• Add load and save yaml service
• remember last opened folder
• Contributors: Lorenz Halt, ipa-lth, ipa-pgt

1.0.3 (2018.05.15)

• namespacing ROS services
• wait for transform for 1 sec
• Contributors: Witalij Siebert, ipa-frn

1.0.2 (2017-09-27)

• Fix: import rospkg Add rviz view to headless demo launch
• headless version
• during close, save_as proposes to save as current yaml
• added Duplicate Frame button
• Installing tags for frameeditor
• package.xml v2
• Ask for automatic mesh version path update if possible.
• fix legacy yaml loading, if you want to change to rospackages+path you have to reselect your mesh and save again
• Warning Widget if saved with absolute pathes
• resolve mesh pathes with rospackages if possible, fall back to absolute pathes if not possible.
• ugly qt5-slots workaround to make meshes and forms work
• Contributors: ipa-frn, ipa-lth, ipa-pgt