Compound Nodes

Compounds are nodes that contain subgraphs consisting of other nodes, possibly including other compounds. They can be used to organize and simplify large graphs for better readability.

Rendering > Material Editor > Slate Material Editor > General > Compound

Create a compound

To create a compound in the active view:

1. Select one or more nodes in a graph or within another editable compound.
2. Open the right-click menu > Package Nodes in Compound.

The selected nodes are included in the new compound, and any existing connections become ports.

Creating a compound in the active view.

Edit a compound

You can edit a compound in the following ways:

• Double-click the compound to enter it and edit its internal sub-graph.
• Right-click the compound to rename it.

Promote attributes in a compound

To promote key attributes to the top level of a compound:

1. Double-click a compound to enter it.
2. Find the attribute port you want to promote.
3. Drag out and let go of the connection line for the desired attribute port.
4. Select Expose as Input/Output parameter.

Note: Input and Output ports can both be promoted to the top level of a compound.

To rename a promoted attribute, right-click the promoted attribute within the compound and select Rename.

Promoting an attribute in a compound.

Unpack a compound

Unpacking a compound is the opposite of creating one. Unpacking a compound "unwraps" its contents one level deep. All connections are kept intact. To unpack a compound:

• Right-click the compound > Unpackage Compound.

Save a compound

You can save compounds to the material library to be re-used:

• Right-click the compound > Add to Material Library.