Groups, backdrops, and pop-out view

Groups make a graph region reusable; backdrops organize without changing processing; pop-out view gives the graph its own window.

Groups

Select two or more nodes and choose Save selection as group…. Enter a name and description. The group becomes one card with internal image and mask connections preserved.

Double-click a group to open it. Its internal nodes and wires replace the outer graph until you click the leave-group control. Published parameters remain available from the outer Inspector, while the full controls remain inside.

The Finish layer stack is itself a group. Opening it reveals the compositing nodes created by layers, masks, clipping, and effects.

Press Ctrl/Command+G where bound to group the current selection through the standard group flow.

Backdrops

Choose Add backdrop to place a labeled colored rectangle around selected nodes or at the pointer. Drag or resize it to organize a branch. Cycle its color or delete it with the controls on the backdrop. A backdrop does not connect nodes or change rendering.

Use backdrops for stages, alternatives, notes, or ownership. Use groups when the structure should collapse, move as a reusable operation, or expose published controls.

Auto-arrange

Auto-arrange lays nodes from left to right so wires do not double back. It changes graph positions, not the image result or connections. It is useful after inserting recipes or opening an older graph with crowded nodes.

Pop out and return

Click the pop-out icon at the bottom of the graph's left toolbar. The node canvas opens in a separate window and the main window gives the released space to the image viewport. Every popped-out window, the graph, the spectrums, Color Bend and the tool windows, carries the same dock icon, an arrow coming home into a window; click it to put the contents back in the main window.

The Inspector can live in either window. Its narrow rail marks the window that does not currently own it. Returning the graph or Inspector preserves graph selection, open group, positions, and viewport state.