User Manual

Swapping Node Inputs
For multiple-input nodes such as the Merge, Merge 3D, and Dissolve nodes, there’s a quick
method of swapping the Primary and Secondary inputs, such as the foreground and
background inputs of a Merge tool, when you find you’ve accidentally connected them in the
wrong order. If a node has more than two of its inputs connected, only the foreground and
background inputs will be swapped.
To swap the primary inputs of a multi-input node, do one of the following:
 Select a node and press Command-T to reverse its inputs.
 Right-click a node and choose Swap Inputs from the contextual menu.
Before swapping node inputs (left), and after swapping node inputs (right), the connections don’t move but the
colors change.
Inputs can move freely around the node, so swapping two inputs doesn’t move the connection
lines; instead, the inputs change color to indicate you’ve reversed the background (orange) and
foreground (green) connections.
Extracting and Inserting Nodes
When building a composition, you’ll often find that you need to rearrange nodes that you’ve
already added, in order to connect them in different ways to obtain a better result. Happily, this
is easy to do by extracting one or more nodes from one part of a node tree and inserting them
at another part of the node tree.
To extract one or more nodes from their position in the node tree:
 To extract a single node: Hold down the Shift key, drag a node from the node tree
up or down to disconnect it, and then drop the node before releasing the Shift key.
That node is now detached, and the output of the next upstream node is automatically
connected to the input of the next downstream node to fill the gap in the node tree.
 To extract multiple nodes: Select the nodes you want to extract, hold down the Shift
key, drag one of the selected nodes up or down to disconnect them, and then drop
the node before releasing the Shift key. Those nodes are now detached (although
they remain connected to one another), and the output of the next upstream node is
automatically connected to the input of the next downstream node to fill the gap in the
node tree.
Before extracting a pair of nodes (left), and after extracting a pair of nodes (right).
Chapter – 56 Working in the Node Editor 1091