Houdini 20.5 Networks and parameters

Network editor shortcuts

A quick reference for hotkeys and user interface shortcuts in the network editor.

On this page

Tip

Look through the menus to discover network editor functionality and keyboard equivalents.

View keys

More info

Key

Alternate

Description

Space +

Pan

Space +

Zoom

H

Pan and zoom to show all nodes

G

Pan and zoom to show the selected nodes

Adding to the network

More info

Key

Description

⇥ Tab

Add a node to the current network from a menu.

=

Add a File node (if available in the current network).

⇧ Shift + O

Add a network box to the current network. If any nodes are selected, they are added to the box.

⇧ Shift + P

Add a sticky note to the current network.

Wiring

More info

Key

Description

on connector

Drag between two connectors, or click one connector and then the other, to wire nodes together.

on connector

Insert a new node before any currently connected nodes.

on connector

Branch a new node off the connector.

Alt + on node

Show a menu of connectors to start wiring from. This can be useful when you're too zoomed out to hit the connectors.

Y

Hold Y and drag across wires to cut (disconnect) them.

Shake node

Disconnect from any wires.

Alt + on wire

Add dot.

You can also Alt-click while drawing a wire to insert a dot “on the fly”.

Alt + on dot

Pin/unpin the dot.

You can also ⌃ Ctrl + Alt-click while drawing a wire to insert a pinned dot “on the fly”.

8 while dropping node

Holding 8 temporarily disables wiring the node in if you drop the node on a wire. This lets you drop a node without worrying about accidentally rewiring it if there is an existing wire in the same area.

If you've turned off Tools ▸ Allow dropping nodes on wires, then holding 8 temporarily enables dropping a node onto a wire to wire it in.

Tools

Key

Description

P

Toggle a floating parameter editor pane in the top right corner of the network.

⇧ Shift + W

Toggle a tree view of the complete network hierarchy on the left of the network.

O

Toggle the network overview in the bottom left corner of the network.

C

Toggle the color palette in the bottom right corner of the network.

Z

Toggle the shape palette in the bottom right corner of the network.

Working with nodes

More info

Key

Description

Press on a node to show the node info window while you hold the button down. This is a quick way to glance at the information in the info window.

⇧ Shift +

Press ⇧ Shift + on a node to show the node info window without cooking the node. This may be useful for nodes that take a long time to cook.

Alt + drag node

Create a copy of the node.

S + drag box selection

Holding S locks the drag to be a selection. This can be useful if there’s not enough “empty” space to start a box selection without hitting something else.

Laying out nodes

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More info

Key

Description

Drag node + Space

When dragging a node, hold Space to lock the mouse pointer inside the network view. This lets you autoscroll long distances without worrying about the mouse pointer going outside the pane.

A

Hold A and drag up/left on a node to automatically lay out the upstream nodes. Drag down/right to lay out the downstream nodes. If some nodes are selected, only those nodes are moved.

⇧ Shift + A

Select the nodes to align, then hold ⇧ Shift + A and drag on the node to align to. Drag left/right to align horizontally, or up/down to align vertically.

Alt + A

Select the nodes to move, then hold Alt + A and drag left/right on a node. Drag left/right to distribute horizontally, or up/down to distribute vertically.

:include flags#keys:

Clicks and drags

Action

Description

Select.

⇧ Shift +

Add to selection.

⌃ Ctrl +

Remove from selection.

Alt +

Start wiring from a node.

Alt + ⇧ Shift +

Select node and all its inputs.

Alt + ⌃ Ctrl +

Select node and all its outputs.

Alt + ⇧ Shift + ⌃ Ctrl +

Select node and all inputs and outputs.

Drag

Move.

Drag ⇧ Shift +

Move node and all its inputs.

Drag ⌃ Ctrl +

Move node and all its outputs.

Drag Alt +

Drag out a copy of selected node(s).

Drag Alt + ⇧ Shift +

Drag out a copy of the selected node(s) and all inputs.

Drag Alt + ⌃ Ctrl +

Drag out a copy of the selected node(s) and all outputs.

Drag Alt + ⌃ Ctrl + ⇧ Shift +

Drag out a reference copy of the selected node(s).

Notes and network boxes

More info

Key

Description

⇧ Shift + P

Add a sticky note.

⇧ Shift + O

Put selected items in a network box.

⇧ Shift + J

Minimize any selected notes and/or boxes.

⇧ Shift + K

De-minimize any selected notes and/or boxes.

⇧ Shift + M

Shrink the selected network box to fit its contents.

Finding nodes

Key

Alternate

Description

⌃ Ctrl + F

/

Open the find dialog.

⌃ Ctrl + G

>

Select next match in the last search results.

⇧ Shift + ⌃ Ctrl + G

<

Select previous match in the last search results.

Networks and parameters

Networks

  • Network editor

    How to create, move, copy, and edit nodes.

  • Network navigation

    How to move around the networks and move between networks.

  • Connecting (wiring) nodes

    How to connect nodes to each other to make them work together.

  • Network types and node flags

    Flags represent some state information on the node, such as which node represents the output of the network. Different network types have different flags.

  • Badges

    Badges indicate some status information about a node. They usually appear as a row of icons below the name of the node.

  • Node Info

    The node info window shows a quick overview of statistics and information about a particular node.

  • Find nodes in a network

    How to use the Find dialog to find nodes based on various criteria.

Editing parameters

Next steps

Expressions

Guru level

Reference