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+--- Thread: Hide input option (same as in nuke) to reduce clutter of connection lines (/thread-2982.html)
Hide input option (same as in nuke) to reduce clutter of connection lines - Alexx31 - 03-05-2022
There is a simple check box in Nuke for each node:
"Hide Input".
So simple but so powerful for organizing node graphs...
Attached screenshots with explanation
This feature allows to connect multiple nodes/operators/events without getting node lines clutter (often also called "spaghetti" nodes).
The lines become temporarily visible as soon as any of the connected nodes is selected.
It enables to work with such advanced networks, which would otherwise be a nightmare.
It's definitely a worse solution to duplicate an event 8 times, only to get the graph cleaner
(for privacy reasons I have greyed out some parts of the screenshot)
in tyflow it looks like without that feature currently this:
I would even connect more, but I stopped, because it makes the node graph at some point unreadable.
RE: Hide input option (same as in nuke) to reduce clutter of connection lines - tyFlow - 03-06-2022
That's an interesting option and something I hadn't thought of implementing before. So the connections would become visible again after selecting an event or operator?
On one hand it would make the grid appear cleaner, but on the other hand doesn't it get confusing when you can't see the flow of the graph at-a-glance?
RE: Hide input option (same as in nuke) to reduce clutter of connection lines - Alexx31 - 03-06-2022
Hi,
yes, as soon as any member of the network is selected, all the lines of this network become visible.
I could send you a screen recording.
This is of course something you use very rare and it keeps the graph very tidy:
A typical case is to collect everything in one event after processing from different parts of the graph.
(to collect it somewhere where it is e.g. scaled smaller and deleted or fractured or whatever...
or another example: a Surface test: everything from everywhere in the scene, that enters a box should be processed in a certain new flow)
And because you would use it only very rarely, you have that in mind (in the same way you remember a lot of other things in the flow).
If you want to see the lines, you will just select one of the inputs or the output and can see them all at a glance.
You could also mark output connections with a small asterisk "*", that is at showing that there is a hidden connection.
The only difference between Nuke and Tyflow is, that you have in Tyflow events and operators, while Nuke only has operators.
So you could give a choice:
- show lines even when events are selected
- show lines only when one of the directly connected members is selected (which is much more seldom the case and maybe better default)
The latter would show the lines only when the output operator is selected or the input event (inputs only for operators don't exist in Tyflow).
And then the whole network that is related to input and output becomes visible, not only the pair.
Another (less important) feature - just to mention here - in Nuke is the ability to create a kind of "alias node".
It is similar to an "instance", but much simpler because it's only an input without any further ability to work on it and so it's very small, which you can place and duplicate anywhere in the node graph.
It has a dashed connection line, to show to which input it is leading. And this is often combinded with the "hide input", so that the dashed line only becomes visible when you select it to check it.