Node Editor preferences

You can set the following preferences in the Node Editor category of the Preferences window.

To return to the default factory settings, choose Edit > Restore Default Settings in this window. Note that this resets the preferences in every category in the Preferences window.

You can customize the following options for the Node Editor. They are applied the next time you create a Node Editor window.

Note: Many of these settings are available for the Hypershade Window in the Hypershade Preferences.

Display

Customize your graph in the Node Editor by selecting any of the provided options.

Grid

Select or deselect this option to toggle on and off the grid background.

Grid snapping

Enable this option to snap your nodes to the grid.

Shapes

Choose among the options to customize which shapes are displayed.

Transforms

Select this option to include transform nodes in your graph.

Extend to shapes

Select this option to include child shape nodes for selected transforms.

Show Namespace

Disable this option to refrain from showing the namespace of your node names. This allows you to display shorter node names, for example ...:pConeShape1 instead of Namespace1:pConeShape1.

Use Assets and Published Attributes

Enable this option so that, when you graph an object that is part of an asset, the asset is graphed instead of the node itself, and the published attribute connections are shown instead of the raw attribute connections.

Default node view mode

Simple Mode: Set the view mode of nodes to simple mode so that only the input and output master ports are shown.
Connected Mode: Set the view mode of nodes to connected mode so that the input and output master ports, as well as any connected attributes, are shown.
Full Mode: Set the view mode of nodes to full mode so that the input and output master ports, as well as primary node attributes, are shown. The set of primary attributes for a given node is based on the properties of the attributes such as whether they are keyable or dynamic.
Custom Mode: Set the view mode of nodes to custom mode so that nodes display in their custom attribute view. You can create a custom attribute view for each node by right-clicking the node and selecting Edit Custom Attribute List. See Customizing the list of node attributes for more information.
Note: If you select Custom Mode as your Default node view mode, then any node that does not have a custom attribute view saved displays in its full mode.

You can also customize these options from within the Node Editor.

You can select the All Shapes, All Shapes Except Shading Group Members, and No Shapes options from the Node Editor toolbar or from the Display menu or from the work area marking menus. See Node Editor menu bar, Node Editor toolbar, and Node Editor marking menus for more information.

You can select the Transforms and Extend to shapes options from the Display menu or from the work area marking menus. See Node Editor menu bar and Node Editor marking menus for more information.

You can select the Use Assets and Published Attributes option from the Display menu.

You can change the view mode (Simple Mode, Connected Mode, and Full Mode) for multiple nodes interactively in the Node Editor using one of these methods: from the Edit menu, via the 1, 2, 3 hotkeys, or from the toolbar. See Changing view modes for multiple nodes, Node Editor menu bar and Node Editor toolbar for more information.

Refresh Graph Defaults

Sync Node Editor/Viewport Selection: Enable this option so that if you highlight a node in the Node Editor, the same node is also selected in the scene, and vice versa. See Selection in the Node Editor for more information.
Add to Graph on Create: Enable this option so that when you create a node in the scene, it is also added to the Node Editor. If this option is disabled, only nodes that you create using the Node Editor (for example, using Tab creation or drag and drop creation; see Create a Node for more information) are shown.
Traversal Depth: Enable this option to activate a slider that lets you set a default value for the Node Editor Traversal Depth. Increasing this value is useful when you work with complex node networks and don't need to see the whole view at once.
The default is Unlimited.

Note: Restart Maya after changing this setting for it to take effect.

Note: You can also control these options from the Options menu (Add to Graph on Create only) within the Node Editor or from the Node Editor work area marking menus. See Node Editor marking menus for more information.