To open this menu, 
right-click the work area of the ShaderFX editor.
- Hw Shader Nodes
- Create new nodes from this menu. You can select among texture nodes, math nodes, lighting nodes, and so forth. If you select Toggle Advanced Mode to toggle on the advanced mode, a larger selection of nodes is available to you; for example, advanced math nodes and Graph Nodes.
Tools
Provides options for managing the ShaderFX editor.
- Toggle Advanced Mode
- Choose this menu item to toggle on and off advanced mode. In advanced mode, a larger selection of nodes is available to you for creation. In addition, you can perform tasks such as replacing the default material (by deleting the default TraditionalGameSurfaceShader node and Material node, and creating your own). Note: While Advanced Mode is active, the parameters for some nodes shown on the Properties panel include a checkbox called Expose As Setting. The state of Expose As Setting has no effect in 3ds Max.
- Toggle Connection Draw Style
- Choose this option to toggle between drawing your connection line as solid or dashed. Having different style connection lines can help organize a larger node network. For more information regarding customizing your connection lines, see Customizing the Look of Your Graph.
- Reset Connection
- Choose this option to revert back to the default connection draw style. You can create a rectilinear connection line by
+ 
+ dragging on a connection line. To revert back to the default curved style, select the line and then select this option. For more information on customizing connection lines, see Customizing the Look of Your Graph. - Save Selected Swatches to Files
- Select your node, then choose this option to bake your preview swatch to a 2K x 2K texture. A tooltip appears in the ShaderFX editor, indicating the location to which your swatches are saved. You can also select multiple nodes and save their swatches simultaneously.