Working with Nodes

Nodes are the core building blocks of MNodes. This guide covers everything about adding, configuring, and managing nodes.

Adding Nodes

There are two ways to add a node: the quick right-click palette, or the Node Explorer sidebar. Use whichever fits the moment.

From the Node Palette (right-click)

• Right-click on the canvas to open the Node Palette
• Search by name (e.g., "filter", "lfo", "delay")
• Click a result to place the node at the cursor position

This is the fastest way to drop a node you already have in mind.

From the Node Explorer (sidebar)

You can also add nodes from the Node Explorer, the panel on the left of the window (toggle it with Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + E, or open its Nodes tab). The Explorer is built for browsing rather than quick searching: nodes are grouped by category, and each one shows a short description and a thumbnail preview, so you can see what a node does before you add it. Drag a node from the list onto the canvas to place it.

Use the Explorer to discover nodes you don't know yet, and the right-click palette when you already know what you want and just need it fast.

Needs: the Node Explorer sidebar (Nodes tab) showing nodes grouped by category, each with its short description and thumbnail preview.

Organised by Purpose

Both the right-click palette and the Node Explorer group nodes by what they do rather than by signal type. The groups are: Oscillators, Instruments, Samplers, Filters, Effects, Envelopes, Modulation, Sequencers, Pitch, MIDI, Math & Logic, Values, Routing, Convert, Widgets, Utilities, and Analysis.

Search is unchanged: you can still find any node by typing part of its name.

Selecting Nodes

Action	Input
Single select	Click on a node
Multi-select	Ctrl/Cmd + click
Box select	Click and drag on empty canvas
Select all	Ctrl/Cmd + A
Deselect all	Click on empty canvas

Moving & Resizing

• Move: Click and drag selected nodes
• Resize: Drag the edges or corners of resizable nodes (some nodes like widgets are resizable)

Copy, Paste, Duplicate

Action	Shortcut
Copy	Ctrl/Cmd + C
Paste	Ctrl/Cmd + V
Cut	Ctrl/Cmd + X
Duplicate	Ctrl/Cmd + D
Delete	Delete or Backspace

Pasted nodes retain their parameter values and internal state. Connections between copied nodes are preserved.

Node Parameters

Select a node to view its parameters in the Inspector panel on the right.

You can also open the Inspector straight from the node: double-click a node's header to open the Inspector on it. Double-click the same node's header again to close the Inspector for a clear view. Double-clicking a different node switches the Inspector to that node. (Subgraph, Module and Poly Module headers still dive into the subgraph on double-click, as before.)

To rename a node, double-click its title in the Inspector header. An inline editor opens over the title: press Enter (or click outside) to commit, Escape to cancel. This does the same thing as the Rename Node entry on the node's right-click menu.

Parameter Types

Type	Widget	Description
Continuous	Knob / Slider	Float values (frequency, gain, etc.)
Discrete	Dropdown	Choose from predefined options
Toggle	Button	On/off state
Trigger	Button	Fire a one-shot event
Text	Text field	String input
Color	Color picker	Choose a color
File	File browser	Select a file from disk

Type a Note Name into a Number Slider

Double-click any numeric slider (Float, Int, anything) and type a note name to set that note's frequency in Hz. For example, C3, C#5, Eb2, or A-1. Here C3 is middle C, which is 261.63 Hz.

Integer sliders round the result to the nearest whole number. Plain numbers still work exactly as before. This works on the node body and in the Inspector.

When a dropdown / choice parameter is driven from a pin, you can select an option by its label text, not just its index. Matching is case-insensitive and ignores spaces, so sending "Sin 3 dB" selects that entry directly. Sending a numeric index still works exactly as before.

Parameter Features

• Lock: Protects a parameter from the section's randomize function. The parameter can still be changed manually, via presets, or via its own individual randomize button. Only visible in the Inspector
• Expose to DAW: Make a parameter available for DAW automation (see Automation)
• Min/Max/Default: Each parameter has defined ranges
• Step size: Some parameters snap to discrete steps

Node Presets

You can save and load the state of individual nodes:

1. Select a node
2. In the Inspector, use the Node Preset picker
3. Save the current state as a node preset (.mnnpreset)
4. Load previously saved node presets
5. Set a default preset for each node type

Node presets are stored in ~/Music/MManufacturer/MNodes/Library/NodePresets/ organized by node type.

Undo / Redo

All node operations support undo/redo:

• Undo: Ctrl/Cmd + Z
• Redo: Ctrl/Cmd + Y

This includes creation, deletion, movement, resizing, and parameter changes.