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Nodes Controller

The Controller node acts as a “remote control” for graph. It allows to build a custom interface composed of any input that will target specific parameters on nodes.

This is useful if you have a complex graph and you want to manage multiple parameters from a single location without hunting through dozens of individual nodes.

Other nodes reference the Controller’s values using expressions.

Tip: You can create multiple controllers. You can promote a parameter multiple times to different controllers, but the last promotion will overwrite the expression on the source node.

Parameters

ParameterDescription
LabelThe display name for the node.
ControlsList of custom parameters.

Promoting parameters

The only way to add new parameter to Controller node is to “promote” it from parameters panel on target node. This automatically creates the control, gets existing value from parameter (or default), and creates the expression link.

  1. Select any node in your graph.
  2. Right-click the parameter you want to control (like Width in the Parameters panel).
  3. Select “promote to controller”.
  4. Choose “create new controller” to generate a new node, or select an existing Controller from the list.

Note: When Controller node is selected, dashed reference lines will appear in the graph to every node that uses its values, helping to visualize dependencies. If not, enable in Nodegraph menubar: View > Show reference lines

Tip: You can do math operations expression to a linked parameter. For example, if you promote a 'Scale' parameter, you can edit the expression to '=ref('controller1', 'scale') * 2' to double the effect.

Editing and organizing

Once controls are created via promotion, you can rename them, adjust their ranges, or organize them into collapsable folders.

  1. Enter edit mode: Click icon.
  2. Organize:
    • Add folders: Click icon to create groups.
    • Reorder: Drag controls using handle to reorder them or move them into/out of folders.
  3. Configure controls:
    • Rename: Change the label of any control (rename "width" to "Master Scale").
    • Limits: For number input, set the Min, Max, and Step values to constrain the input range.
    • Delete: Remove controls that are no longer needed by clicking on icon.
  4. Exit edit mode: Click icon to save changes.

Promoting attribute randomize groups

When promoting parameters from an Attribute Randomize node (specifically the attribute list items), the Controller detects the related Min, Max, and Seed values and groups them into a single “Range” control.

This keeps interface tidy while giving you full control over the randomization boundaries.

Info: Deleting a control or folder from a Controller will automatically remove the reference expressions from any linked nodes to prevent errors. Target node(s) will revert to safe default values.

See also