Selecting and Positioning Nodes

The main functions of node's selection and positioning are available via the Positioning panel.

All available controls for selecting and positioning nodes can be found on the Nodes tab of the Editor Hotkeys settings.

By default, selection is available for all nodes in the viewport. However, you can manage that with the Selection flag - toggle it on and off in the World Nodes or Parameters window to specify which nodes can be selected.

Selection Flags in World Nodes Window	Selection Flag in Parameters Window

To select a single node in the scene, choose on the Positioning panel (or press Q) and click the left mouse button on this node. In this case, only the mesh surface you have clicked is selected. To select several mesh surfaces, hold Shift and click required surfaces.

To select several nodes, do either of the following:

• Use the selection box: click and hold the left mouse button, drag the mouse to select the required nodes. In this case, all surfaces of each mesh (if they exist) are selected.

  

  Select using Selection Box

• Select one of the nodes, press and hold Shift to add nodes to the selection and Ctrl to remove.

  

  Add and remove nodes from selection

The viewport window has the Selection Filter dropdown that allows defining which types of objects are to be selected by a selection frame and if icons should be used instead bounds for selection (the Use Icons For Frame Selection option).

When the node is selected, the following is shown:

• Wireframe of the node
• Bounding box of the node
• Bounding box of the selected surface (or surfaces)

The total number of currently selected nodes is displayed in the Parameters window.

To remove nodes from the selection (deselect), press and hold Ctrl and click the left mouse button on the required nodes.

To deselect all selected nodes, press Esc or Ctrl+Shift+A.

The selected nodes can be positioned in the world by using one of the ways described below.

Inverse Selection#

To transform nodes, choose the required transformation mode (manipulator) on the Positioning panel of the Toolbar.

By default, any node in the world can be transformed. However, you can toggle transformations of specific nodes on and off using the Transformation flag in the World Nodes or Parameters window.

Transformation Flags in World Nodes Window	Transformation Flag in Parameters Window

Move Nodes#

Rotate Nodes#

Scale Nodes#

To clone a node:

1. Select the node.

2. Press Ctrl+D (or Edit -> Clone).

   Notice

   The cloned node will have the same position as the source node.

To clone and transform a node:

1. Select the node.
2. Choose , , or on the Positioning panel (or press W, E, or R).
3. Press and hold Shift and transform the node.
4. Press Shift + D as many times as required (or press and hold this combination) to create more clones. Every next clone will use the last applied transformation.

To clone a node with snapping and manual positioning:

1. Enable Snapping By Grid and set the required step value. Step can be set either by direct input of digits or using the box as a slider.

   

2. Select an object to be cloned in the world.
3. Choose the Move manipulator.
4. Press and hold Shift + Alt while dragging an object with the mouse or using arrows on the keyboard. A new clone is created every step.

You can also clone the node holding Shift and using the arrow keys. The direction of cloning is projection-dependent:

To delete a node, select it and press Delete (or click Edit -> Delete Object).

Transformations of the node are relative to the pivot point. The pivot point is used to control the way nodes rotate and scale.

To rotate or scale several nodes, select them, choose the required manipulator, and specify the position of its pivot point by using the pivot point toggle.

• If the button is active, the pivot point is set to the center of selection.
• If the button is active, the pivot point is set to the center of the last selected node.

For example:

• If you select several nodes, set the pivot point toggle to Center, and rotate these nodes, they rotate around the center of selection as follows:

  

  Pivot point in the center of selection
  Notice

  If you scale the nodes, they are scaled out from or in toward the center of selection.

• If you set the pivot point toggle to Pivot and rotate the selected nodes, each node will rotate around its center as follows:

  

  Pivot point coincides with the center of the last selected node
  Notice

  If you scale nodes, each node is scaled relative to its center.

The basis of the manipulator pivot point can be toggled as follows:

• If the button is active, the world space orientation is used for the manipulator pivot point.

  For example, if you set the combination for the selected nodes and rotate them around the Y axis, you will get the following:

  Before rotation:	After rotation:
  Pivot point is oriented by the world space	Nodes have been rotated by 45 degrees around the Y axis

• If the button is active, the coordinate system of the parent node is used for the pivot point orientation.

  For example, if you set the combination for the selected nodes and rotate them around the Y axis, you will get the following:

  Before rotation:	After rotation:
  Pivot point is oriented by the local basis of the parent node (the red cube)	Nodes have been rotated by 45 degrees around the Y axis

• If the button is active, the pivot point is oriented by the local coordinate system of the node. It means that its orientation does not depend on the parent node orientation.

  For example, if you set the combination for the selected nodes and rotate them around the Y axis, you will get the following:

  Before rotation:	After rotation:
  The pivot point is oriented by the local basis of the last selected node (the green cube)	The nodes have been rotated by 45 degrees around the Y axis

To perform positioning, rotation, and scaling manipulations with a higher precision, the Positioning panel provides tools that allow defining a manipulation step.

Snapping Nodes by Grid#

Snapping Nodes by Angle#

Snapping Nodes by Scale#

Snapping a node to a surface of another node provides pixel-perfect positioning of the nodes relative to each other.

To snap a node to the surface:

1. Select a node that should be snapped.
2. Choose on the Positioning panel (or press Alt+W).

3. Specify snapping settings via the following panel:

   

   Option	Description
   Offset from Surface	Specifies the distance from the node's pivot point to the surface (in units). Notice To increase/decrease the distance to the surface, use the WHEEL UP/WHEEL DOWN hotkeys. To reset the distance to the surface, use the MIDDLE CLICK hotkey.
   Orient by Normal	Specifies whether the node should be oriented by the surface normal. Notice The hotkey is RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON.
   Take Intersection Into Account	If enabled, the node interacts only with the surfaces that have the Intersection option enabled.

4. Move the node until the red stripe intersects the required surface of the other node. Click the left mouse button to place the node.

   Notice

   To abort placement, press ESC.

The node will follow the mouse as on the image below:

Node is oriented by normal

Node is not oriented by normal

Dropping a node to the ground means positioning a selected node to the surface below or above this node.

To drop a node to the surface:

1. Select a node (or several nodes) that should be dropped.

2. On the Positioning panel, find and specify the required settings in the drop-down window:

   

   Option	Description
   Direction	Specifies the direction of dropping: Up — find the closest surface above the object. Down — find the closest surface below the object. Up And Down — find the closest surface below the object and above it.
   Offset from Surface	Specifies the distance from the node's pivot point to the surface (in units).
   Orient by Normal	Specifies whether the node should be oriented by the surface normal.
   Intersection Mask	Sets an intersection mask that defines whether a node (or nodes) will be positioned on a surface to which it is dropped. A node will be positioned on a surface if they both have matching intersection masks. Otherwise, the node will penetrate the surface.
   Take Intersection Into Account	If enabled, the node interacts only with the surfaces that have the Intersection option enabled.

3. Click to drop a node (nodes).

   Initial position of a node	Node dropped to surface (default settings)

You can quickly replace the source node of Node Reference with another one stored in the same folder. To do that, select a Node Reference in the World Nodes hierarchy window or the Viewport, hold Shift and use the mouse wheel or the Page Up and Page Down buttons.