Hi Rana,

Thanks for your question! The path mapper is a nifty component for more advanced data management operations. In 95% of the cases, you won't need this component, and rearranging branch numbering can be achieved through other means.

I give a quick example where the path mapper comes in handy here: https://www.thinkparametric.com/courses/grasshopper-certification-course-master-parametric-design/lesson/981

This is one of the operations where the component comes in handy. Here we want to flip a data structure with a bigger branch structure depth than 1. Normally the "Flip Matrix"-component would do the trick, but in this case the pathmapper had to step in. The issue with the path mapper (and also why I try to avoid using it) is that it's not possible currently to dynamically change the branch structure in the component. You always have to manually do it. This causes definitions to be less robust as data structures change all the time.

David Rutten has a more in-depth video on this topic here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0MYZR8VIW8

Best,

Arie