Copying and Pasting Nodes

You can copy individual nodes or sections of branches and paste them into the process tree. When you paste nodes, they can go into an existing branch, or they can become separate branches.

To copy and paste a node:

1. Select the node to be copied.
2. Choose Edit | Copy, or press Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Macintosh).
3. Do one of the following:
• Select a target node. When you paste, the copied node is pasted downstream from the target node.
• Select a target edge. When you paste, the copied node is pasted on the target edge.
• Select no target. (For example, click the gray area of the Schematic to deselect all nodes.) When you paste, the copied node is pasted as a separate branch.
• Select the node for a target layer. When you paste on the connection node for a layer, the copied node is pasted upstream from the target layer.
4. Choose Edit | Paste, or press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Command+V (Macintosh).

The copied node is pasted.

When you paste several connected nodes, the copied nodes and their edges are pasted in order. The following situations involve more than one node being copied and pasted:

• You can select one target edge and paste on it. All copied nodes are pasted in sequence on the target edge.
• You can select one target node and paste on it. All copied nodes are pasted in sequence downstream from the target node.

Note: You can paste to multiple targets nodes, but you cannot paste to multiple target edges.

• You can select several target nodes and paste on them. All copied nodes are pasted in sequence downstream from each target node.

Note: Not all nodes can be copied and pasted. For more information, see the following guidelines.

Guidelines for Copying and Pasting Nodes

Copy and paste behavior is not uniform for all nodes. Follow these guidelines when copying and pasting nodes:

• A layer node (and its connected operator nodes) can only be copied and pasted on a Composite node. A new layer is created in the composite.

Note: You cannot paste on the edge between the layer node and the Composite node.

• When a Footage node is copied and pasted on a node, or on an edge between two nodes, it replaces the Footage node for the layer. Since Footage nodes have no input, any nodes upstream are disconnected from the tree. A new branch is created with the disconnected nodes.

Note: This also applies to Composite nodes; when you select a composite (with all upstream nodes), copy it, and paste it on another node, it replaces that node.

• An output node cannot be copied and pasted.
• If one or more nodes are copied and pasted with nothing selected, the nodes are pasted as a separate branch.
• A Composite node can be copied and pasted. To copy the composite, Shift-click the Composite node to select all upstream nodes, then choose Copy from the context menu. Click an empty area of the Schematic to deselect all nodes, and paste the Composite node.

Note: When multiple nodes are selected, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Macintosh) a node to remove it from the selected nodes.

• A Composite node can be copied and pasted on a layer node. The result is similar to nesting, since a new layer is created from the output of the new composite. To paste a composite on a layer, Shift-click the Composite node to select all upstream nodes and choose Copy from the context menu. Click an empty area of the Schematic to deselect the nodes (so the composite does not paste to all selected nodes), select a layer node, and paste the Composite node.
• You can copy and paste just the Composite node (without the upstream nodes). This is useful when you want the "geometry" of the composite, but not the footage. In other words, the transforms of the composite, such as scale and rotation (and settings like transfer modes) are copied, but not the Footage or the operator nodes. In this way, you can then connect new footage to the composite, and the "geometry" is applied to the new footage.

Note: If multiple nodes are selected and copied, but only some of the nodes can be pasted, the valid nodes are pasted.

• When pasting on a node with multiple outputs, the outputs from the upstream node shift to the new node.