Connecting nodes
How wires carry data left to right through a graph into the single Output node.
Nodes connect through sockets: outputs on the right of a node, inputs on the left. A wire carries a value from an output to an input. The graph reads left to right, from the nodes where values enter to the single Output node where the result leaves. For the rule about which sockets can connect, see Data types.
Draw a wire
Press on an output socket and drag to an input socket on another node, then release. Spectralite completes the wire only when the two sockets carry the same data type. You can also start from the input socket and drag back to an output.
To move between types, place a conversion node in the path. Data types lists every conversion and the node that performs it.
Add a node while wiring
To place a new node, press Shift+A to open the add-node search at the cursor. You can also right-click the canvas for the same list, grouped by category. Both let you filter by name and drop the node where you clicked. Enum sockets never take a wire. You set them from a dropdown on the node.
Fan out and replace
An output socket can feed any number of inputs. If you wire it to several downstream nodes, each one receives the same value. One source, such as a time value or a fixture position, can thus drive many branches of an effect.
An input socket holds one wire at a time. If you drag a new wire onto an input that already has one, the new connection replaces the old. Use this to move a downstream node onto a different source.
Remove a wire
Click a wire to select it, then press Delete or Backspace to remove it. The same keys remove a selected node.
Data flow and order
The graph is directed and runs left to right. A node computes only after the nodes that feed its inputs finish. When it compiles the graph, Spectralite orders evaluation by dependency, starting with source nodes and ending at Output.
Every graph resolves to exactly one Output node, which writes the final color, and any pan, tilt or other channel values, to the fixture. Spectralite leaves a node with no path to Output out of the compiled effect. A node thus takes effect only after you wire it into Output, directly or through other nodes. A graph with no Output node lights nothing.
Cycles are not allowed
A wire cannot loop back to a node that already feeds it, directly or through a chain of other nodes. Spectralite blocks any connection that would create a cycle. For iteration, use the Repeat Zone in the Utility category. It runs a bounded loop with feedback between passes.