Node Editor

The Node Editor builds effects from nodes you place on a canvas and wire together.

Related concepts: Effects and layers and the Node Editor overview.

InterfaceCopy Anchor Link

CanvasCopy Anchor Link

The canvas holds the effect's nodes. To pan, scroll with a scroll wheel or trackpad. Zoom with a pinch gesture or Cmd-scroll. Click a node to select it, or drag on the background to draw a selection box.

Effect selectorCopy Anchor Link

The effect selector dropdown in the toolbar switches between effects, creates new ones, and imports effects from the library. To open it, click it or press Cmd+P.

ToolbarCopy Anchor Link

• Clean Up arranges the nodes automatically.
• Duplicate adds a copy of the current effect and opens it.
• Rename renames the current effect.
• Delete deletes the current effect. It is disabled while the effect is in use.
• Export saves the effect to a file.

The category dropdown next to the toolbar buttons assigns the current effect to one of four categories: Audio, Bump, Loop, or Movement. The effect browser and Layer Settings preview a Movement effect as beams that follow its Pan and Tilt.

Node browserCopy Anchor Link

To open the node browser, press Shift+A or right-click the canvas.

Working with nodesCopy Anchor Link

Adding nodesCopy Anchor Link

1. Right-click on the canvas.
2. Browse categories or search.
3. Click a node to add it.

The node appears at the cursor.

Selecting nodesCopy Anchor Link

• Click a node to select it.
• Shift-click a node to add it to the selection.
• Drag a box to select several nodes.
• Press Cmd+A to select all.

Moving nodesCopy Anchor Link

Drag selected nodes to move them.

Deleting nodesCopy Anchor Link

Select nodes and press Delete or Backspace.

ConnectionsCopy Anchor Link

Making connectionsCopy Anchor Link

1. Click an output port on the right side of a node.
2. Drag to an input port on the left side of another node.
3. Release to connect.

You can also drag from an input to an output.

Connection typesCopy Anchor Link

A connection's color shows its data type: gray for Number, purple for Vector, blue for Color, and green for Boolean.

Breaking connectionsCopy Anchor Link

• Click a connection and press Delete.
• Drag a connected input away to disconnect it.
• Right-click a connection and select Delete.

Connection validationCopy Anchor Link

You can only connect compatible types. Invalid connections show a warning.

Node typesCopy Anchor Link

Input nodesCopy Anchor Link

Input nodes give values to the effect:

• Number, a constant numeric value.
• Color, a constant color.
• Time, a value that advances with time.
• Pixel Position, the pixel's coordinates in the layout.

Processing nodesCopy Anchor Link

Processing nodes transform values:

• Arithmetic adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides.
• Color nodes manipulate colors.
• Wave nodes are oscillators and generators.
• Comparison nodes do logic operations.

Output nodeCopy Anchor Link

Every effect ends at one Output node, which sends its result to the fixtures:

• Color is the color each fixture shows. Override previous layers replaces the layers below instead of adding to them, and Override opacity ignores the layer's opacity.

• Pan and Tilt move every moving head in the layer's layout. They count in degrees from the head's manual position in the Parameters panel. Both take a wire only. The layer's opacity scales the movement. A head stops at the edge of its pan or tilt range, short of a reserved band such as a reset range.

  Unconnected, Pan and Tilt move nothing. If Override previous layers is on and nothing is wired to Pan, the layer leaves the heads to the layers below. A wired Pan or Tilt writes even when it reads 0. With Override previous layers on, it then holds the heads at their manual position over the layers below.

• Parameter outputs are extra Number outputs that you add with the + button. A layer routes them to fixture channels by hand in its Channel routing. Use them for zoom, a gobo wheel or any channel besides pan and tilt. To drive zoom from the same wave that moves pan, wire the wave into a parameter output as well as into Pan.

See Output for the full input list.

ParametersCopy Anchor Link

When you select a node, its parameters appear in the Parameters panel. Adjust them with sliders or number inputs. You can wire some parameters to other nodes. An unwired parameter uses its default value.

Keyboard shortcutsCopy Anchor Link

The Node Editor registers these shortcuts:

See Keyboard Shortcuts for the full list.

Backspace deletes the selected nodes and Cmd+Z undoes.

While no nodes are selected, Cmd+C and Cmd+V copy and paste the whole effect. They never copy single nodes. Spectralite adds a pasted effect as a new effect and opens it here. Cmd+X does nothing to an effect. To remove one, use Delete in the toolbar. See Copy and paste.

Related pagesCopy Anchor Link

• Node Categories lists every node.
• Connecting Nodes covers wiring in detail.
• Data Types explains the data types.