Node Editors

Header

The Header contains various menus, buttons and options, partially based on the current node tree type.

Common node editor header options.

View

This menu changes your view of the editor.

Select

This menu allows you to select a node or groups of nodes.

Add

This menu allows you to add nodes.

Node

This menu allows you to do things with selected nodes.

Pinned

When enabled, the editor always displays the currently selected node tree, regardless of changes in the active object or scene. This allows you to edit a material, texture, or compositor node tree independently of what is selected in the 3D Viewport or which scene is active. Useful when working across multiple objects or scenes but wanting to keep the editor focused on one specific node tree.

Parent Node Tree

Leaves the current node group and returns to the parent node group/tree.

Snapping

Change options for snapping node positions to achieve a cleaner node tree layout. See Arranging Nodes.

Overlays

Overlays are information that is displayed on top of the nodes and node trees. There is a toggle to show or hide all overlays for the node editor next to the overlay popover.

Wire Colors

Color node links based on their connected sockets.

Reroute Auto Labels

Label Reroute Nodes based on the label of connected reroute nodes.

Context Path

Display breadcrumbs in the upper left corner indicating the hierarchy location of the node tree/group that’s currently being displayed.

Annotations

Displays Annotations in the preview region.

Previews

Display each node’s Preview if the node’s preview is also toggled.

Timings

Display each node’s last execution time. This option is only available for compositing and geometry nodes.

In the context of geometry nodes, see Node Timings Overlay.

Toolbar

The Toolbar contains a set of tools that can be used in the node editor.

Select

Select or move nodes and links.

Select Box

Select nodes or links by dragging a box around them.

Select Circle

Select nodes or links by clicking or dragging with a circular brush.

Select Lasso

Select nodes or links by drawing a free-form lasso.

Annotate

Draw free-hand annotation.

Annotate Line

Draw straight line annotation.

Annotate Polygon

Draw a polygon annotation.

Annotate Eraser

Erase previous drawn annotations.

Link Cuts

Delete connections between nodes by drawing a line across the links. See Cut Links for more information.

Mute Links

Mute connections between nodes by drawing a line across the links. Muted links are kept in place but ignored in evaluation. See Mute Links for more information.

Add Reroute

Insert a Reroute Node point on links by drawing a line across them. Reroute nodes help organize complex node trees by redirecting connections.

Sidebar

The Sidebar region contains properties for the currently selected node as well as node editor-specific settings.

Node

Reference

Panel:

Sidebar ‣ Node

Node tab with a compositing Render Layers node selected.

Node

Name

A unique node identifier inside this node tree.

Label

Nodes can be given a title by modifying the text field.

Warning Propagation

Controls which warnings in this node will be propagated to the parent node group or modifier. This only exists for Geometry Nodes.

Color

By default, the node’s background color is defined by the user theme. This color can be overridden by selecting a custom color in this panel. Custom node colors can be used to provide a visual cue to help distinguish some nodes from others. The button to the right of the checkbox lets you save colors as presets for reusing later on (much like a palette).

Color

Color of the node background.

Node Color Specials

This menu contains Operators for working with nodes with custom colors.

Copy Color

Copies the color of the Active node and applies it to all selected nodes.

Properties

The properties that are shown depend on the type of node selected, e.g. a Mix node has different properties than a Mask node.

Custom Properties

Create and manage your own properties to store data in the active node. See the Custom Properties page for more information.

Tool

Reference

Panel:

Sidebar region ‣ Tool

Active Tool

The info in this panel changes with the selected tool.

View

Reference

Panel:

Sidebar region ‣ View

Annotations

You can select the Annotate tool in the Toolbar to make annotations in the node editor. See Annotate Tool for more info.

Navigating

Navigating the node editors is done with the use of both mouse movement and keyboard shortcuts.

Pan MMB

Move the view up, down, left and right.

Zoom Ctrl-MMB, Wheel

Move the camera forwards and backwards.

Frame Selected NumpadPeriod

Adjusts the zooms to fit only the selected nodes in the view.

Frame All Home

Adjusts the zoom to fit all nodes in the view.

Adding Nodes

Reference

Menu:

Add

Shortcut:

Shift-A

Nodes are added via the Add menu in the editor’s header or using a keyboard shortcut.

Nodes can also be added by dragging a connection from an existing node’s input or output socket and dropping the connection above an empty space instead of connecting to another socket. This action will open a search menu with a list of compatible nodes and their sockets that can be added and connected to the existing node. Confirming the menu selection will add the node which can then be moved and placed.