Inserting and Manipulating Nodes

You can insert a node in the Node Graph panel by using the Nodes toolbar, the TAB menu, the shortcut menu, or shortcut keys. All these methods are discussed next.

Inserting Nodes Using the Nodes Toolbar
To insert a node using the Nodes toolbar, choose the required category button from it and then choose the node from the menu displayed. Figure 1 shows the nodes available in the Image menu. The chosen node will be inserted in the Node Graph panel, refer to Figure 2. You will notice that whenever you insert a new node in the Node Graph panel, its properties panel will be displayed in the Properties Bin, refer to Figure 3.

Tip: You can insert the last chosen node from the Nodes toolbar by pressing the middle mouse button on the category button.

Figure 1 The Image menu displayed on choosing the Image button

Figure 2  The Constant1 node inserted in the Node Graph panel on choosing Constant from the Image menu

Figure 3 The Constant1 node properties panel displayed on inserting the Constant1 node in the Node Graph panel

Figure 4 The Constant1 node connected to the port 1 of the Viewer1 node

Inserting Nodes Using the Shortcut Menu
To insert a node using the shortcut menu, right-click on the Node Graph panel; a shortcut menu will be displayed. Choose the required category from it; a cascading menu will be displayed, refer to Figure 5. Choose the node from the cascading menu as required to insert it in the Node Graph panel.

Figure 5  Partial view of the Draw cascading menu

Note: If a node is selected in the Node Graph panel then on adding a new node, it will be automatically connected to the selected node, else it will be a free floating node.

Inserting Nodes Using the TAB Menu
To insert a node using the TAB menu, hover the cursor over the Node Graph panel and then press TAB; the TAB menu will be displayed. Next, type the first few characters of the name of the node to be inserted in the TAB field; NukeX will display all the nodes whose names begin with the typed characters. You can use the UP or DOWN arrow key to navigate through the menu. Next, select the required node in the TAB menu and then press ENTER; the selected node will be inserted in the Node Graph panel.

Tip: To reinsert the last node from the TAB menu, press TAB followed by ENTER.

Inserting Nodes Using the Shortcut Keys
To insert a node using the shortcut keys, click on the Node Graph panel to make it active and then press the shortcut key corresponding to the node that you need to add. The shortcut keys corresponding to the nodes are displayed in the category menus. These menus are displayed when you choose the category button from the Nodes toolbar.

This article is taken from the Nuke Book: The Foundry Nuke 7 for Compositors.