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Expanding and Collapsing Groups
A collapsed group is represented by a single “stack” node in the node tree. If you want to modify any of the nodes inside the group, you can open the group by double-clicking it or by selecting the group node and pressing Command-E.
An open group window showing the minimize button.
When you open a group, a floating window shows the nodes within that group. This floating window is its own Node Editor that can be resized, zoomed, and panned independently of the main Node Editor. Within the group window, you can select and adjust any node you want to, and even add, insert, and delete nodes while it is open. When you’re ready to collapse the group again, click the minimize button at the top left corner of the floating window, or use the keyboard shortcut (Cmd-E).
Panning and Scaling within Open Group Windows
You can pan and scale an open group window using the same mouse buttons you use to pan and scale the main Node Editor. However, when you’re working in an expanded group and simultaneously making changes to the main node tree, you may want to prevent the expanded group from being individually panned or scaled. Turning off the Position button at the right of the group title bar locks the group nodes to the size of the nodes in the rest of the overall node tree. Turning on this Position button lets you size group nodes independently of the rest of the node tree.
Ungrouping Nodes
If you decide you no longer need a particular group, or you simply find it easier to have constant access to all the nodes in the group at once, you can decompose or “ungroup” the group without deleting the nodes within it to eliminate the group but keep the contents in the Node Editor.
1 Right-click on the group.
2 Choose Ungroup from the contextual menu. The nodes inside the group are placed back in the main node tree.
Saving and Reusing Groups
One of the best features of groups is that every group and its settings can be saved for later use in other shots or projects. Groups and their settings can be recalled in various ways.
A good example of when you might want to Save and Load a group is in a studio with two or more compositing artists. A lead artist in your studio can set up the master comp and create a group