Blackmagic Forum

I'd love the ability to Cut/Copy/Paste nodes on the Color page like we can with clips in a timeline.

I know we can Copy/Paste the contents of a node. I'm talking about actually selecting the nodes themselves and Pasting them somewhere else, thus creating new nodes with the same settings.

This would require some method of defining where to Paste the Copied nodes in an already existing node tree.

Good idea!

Jim Simon wrote:This would require some method of defining where to Paste the Copied nodes in an already existing node tree.

Not necessarily. They could just be pasted into a blank space and then dragged between two nodes.

That would get the job done.

i can map the artist color's softkeys, and have copy/paste + add serial beside each other a fingertip away...

I'm looking to get this done in the software itself, Dermot. A panel should not be required.

Additionally, the feature should be able to operate on several nodes at once. Sounds like the panel feature works only one one at a time?

I may want to copy four of ten nodes in a tree, and Paste those four between nodes 6 and 7 on another clip. That's the kind of functionality I'm looking for here.

I just do this with the panel.

Marc Wielage wrote:I just do this with the panel.

Your answer to someone's suggestion to improve a $300 piece of software can't always be "Just buy a $1000 to $30,000 panel."

That shouldn't even be your reaction if it were a $2000 piece of software.

Marc Wielage wrote:I just do this with the panel.

Again, I'm looking to add this functionality to the software, so that it can be done by those without a panel.

Isn't the "node graph" dragging of a node the same mechanism?

Can you clarify, Walter? I'm not following.

Jim Simon wrote:Can you clarify, Walter? I'm not following.

Right click on a thumbnail, show mode graph, then drag a node in the other shot (mode area)

Got it. Thanks Walter.

That method presumes the existence of a Grab. Not quite what I'm asking for here.

I want to be able to select one ore more Group, Clip or Timeline nodes and then Cut/Copy/Paste them into a user-defiinable location on another Group, Clip or Timeline node tree, without additional hardware or any other via's.

Simply put, I want the nodes in a node tree to behave like clips in a timeline.

Make sense?

Mark Grgurev wrote:Your answer to someone's suggestion to improve a $300 piece of software can't always be "Just buy a $1000 to $30,000 panel."

It's the only answer I have, since it's the way I solved the problem years and years ago.

Note there are very affordable small macro keyboards that are maybe only $100-$150 that will allow a lot of these functions, even if you choose to use a very tiny panel or none at all. XKeys makes some great ones, and if you have a little more money, Elgato's Streamdeck is even better. Combine that with a 3rd-party Macro program, and this will allow you to do quite a bit.

Jim Simon wrote:That method presumes the existence of a Grab. Not quite what I'm asking for here. I want to be able to select one ore more Group, Clip or Timeline nodes and then Cut/Copy/Paste them into a user-defiinable location on another Group, Clip or Timeline node tree, without additional hardware or any other via's. Simply put, I want the nodes in a node tree to behave like clips in a timeline.

I think by design, it doesn't quite work that way. There are ways of altering your way of operating to take advantage of how the program does work.

Resolve 16 does provide much more complex choices on what gets pasted or copied and what does not get copied in a node tree. Me personally, I use Fixed Node Trees pretty heavily so I have to be very careful how and where I do this, so you can see this methodology won't work for everybody.

Marc Wielage wrote:I think by design, it doesn't quite work that way.

That's kind of why it's a Feature Request. I'm asking for the design to change so this becomes possible for those who wish to use it.

Jim Simon wrote:That's kind of why it's a Feature Request. I'm asking for the design to change so this becomes possible for those who wish to use it.

I think there are far bigger problems they have yet to address. But perhaps they'll see your message and make a note of it.

I'd like this as well. Yesterday I was pulling keys to go into a key mixer. I wanted to pull smaller, but cleaner, keys from the same starting point and just add them in the key mixer for further work.

When I pressed OPT and dragged the node I wanted to copy I actually got the little 'plus' symbol indicating that I was about to drag out a copy of the node, but when I let go nothing happened (16.1 beta).

I feel this functionality would be quick and intuitive. By OPT dragging, you can either let go in an empty space or just drag it over a line where you want to insert it.

This kind of functionality is good, because it's one of those established software concepts (opt dragging to copy/duplicate) that people almost won't have to learn because it works the same across lots of software.

Marc Wielage wrote:I think there are far bigger problems they have yet to address.

I won't argue that.

Jim Simon wrote:

Marc Wielage wrote:I think there are far bigger problems they have yet to address.

I won't argue that.

+1

If this can be implemented quickly I also +1 this. As a new user I also tried copy pasting nodes and was very surprised that this is not possible.

Plajer wrote:If this can be implemented quickly I also +1 this. As a new user I also tried copy pasting nodes and was very surprised that this is not possible.

I copy/paste nodes all the time. Choose a node, ⌘C to copy, go to another shot, select that node, ⌘V to paste. But again: I'm using a fixed node tree, so all the nodes are already built. Again, it's a question of altering your way of working -- I call it kind of a "Node Philosophy" -- to take advantage of how Resolve operates.

I see what you want: you want to just drag or copy an existing node and create an entirely new one that doesn't exist at the moment. I wouldn't have a problem with them adding that as a new feature, but my workaround gets me through the day -- and I use it a lot. I'll use any trick I can find to get through the day faster, as long as the quality of the work isn't affected.

Marc Wielage wrote:

Plajer wrote:If this can be implemented quickly I also +1 this. As a new user I also tried copy pasting nodes and was very surprised that this is not possible.

I copy/paste nodes all the time. Choose a node, ⌘C to copy, go to another shot, select that node, ⌘V to paste. But again: I'm using a fixed node tree, so all the nodes are already built. Again, it's a question of altering your way of working -- I call it kind of a "Node Philosophy" -- to take advantage of how Resolve operates.

This sounds like a reasonable workaround, I will try it next time

Marc Wielage wrote:I copy/paste nodes all the time. Choose a node

There's the design flaw. Copy a node. Singular.

This is about performing standard Cut/Copy/Paste operations on many nodes.

Imaging if you could only Copy/Paste one letter at a time in Word. Oy vey!

I would be great to have that copy/paste ability. Also copy/paste of compound node to another clip would be great.

+1 for copy/paste of compound node

I totally agree with Jim. Nodes should be able to be copy/pasted as objects, not simply metadata, and you should be able to copy/paste multiple nodes at once. It's such an obvious thing, that it constantly surprises me that Resolve still can't do this.

Another possible feature benefit to this is that you could copy node structures to the system clipboard, then paste them as plaintext in an e-mail, and send them to other editors, colorists, DITs etc, just like how you can do it with Fusion, Nuke and (my late, lamented) Shake.

Oooh, nice thought, Mel.

Jim Simon wrote:This is about performing standard Cut/Copy/Paste operations on many nodes.

I could see the need for being able to lasso multiple nodes and drag them into an existing node tree. But again, I just use a fixed node tree and work around this problem.

I get it. But...this idea is more about solving the problem, so a work around isn't needed.

You know, previously I had suggested just being able to paste the node branches into an empty part of the node graph so that you can connect it up as you see fit but I just tried to break down what behavioral issues BMD might run into that would prevent them from letting you paste a node branch directly into the active flow of the node graph.

I can't really find any large issues they would run into though.

For example, what if the node branch you copied starts has more than one input? Should Resolve assume that those two nodes should both be connected to the same node or should it leave one disconnected? If so, which would should it connect by default? Should this behavior differ depending on whether or not the copied node branch begins with mixer versus multiple corrector nodes? If the branch begins with a key mixer, should it connect assume that you want to connect the previous nodes alpha channel to it or should it connect to it's RGB output if that's all that was connected? What order should it connect previous nodes to a layer mixer node?

But really any behavior works well in this scenario. Who cares if the it connects stuff to your layer mixer in the wrong order or connects an RGB output to your layer mixer? Anything it decides to do can be fixed very quickly and it still get over the most major hurdle which is lack of being able to copy and past node branches to begin with.

Can anybody think of some scenario where it's behavior could get messy?

I'm still pretty new to Resolve and I don't know what a fixed node tree is but if this is the same problem I was just trying to solve, copy/pasting a selection of nodes from one to clip another, I worked around it using a still. In the source node, I deleted all the nodes I didn't want to copy, grabbed a still, and then undid the node deletions. After that I just selected the clips for pasting and used Append Node Graph in the still's context menu.

+1 for not having to workaround it tho.

Mark Grgurev wrote:Can anybody think of some scenario where it's behavior could get messy?

It gets messy if connection behavior is undocumented and/or undefined (random). To not reinvent the wheel, node based softwares usually connect inputs based on what the default input of a node is and everything else is let loose. Default input is the one that makes most sense for specific node to connect to if there is only one connection made.

dev_willis wrote:I worked around it...

This Request is about eliminating the need to do that.

dev_willis wrote:I'm still pretty new to Resolve and I don't know what a fixed node tree is...

This guy has a video about it:



There are some pretty good discussions on Fixed Node Structures over on MixingLight.com (and several other colorist discussion groups). My take is that it's an advanced feature and way of operating that you may not want to adapt if you're a beginner. I've also found I can't use Fixed Node Structures on commercials because they're a little too random and all over the place. I primarily use them on features and scripted dramas, and for that it works very well: nodes preset to do one thing and one thing only, preliminary nodes that set a look, later nodes that trim the levels, more nodes for Power Window presets, keys, and curves, and then nodes at the end for clips, client trims, and so on. The plus for using Fixed Node Trees is if you need to ripple one value throughout an entire segment, you can make the change, select all the clips in the project, and then choose Color -> Ripple Node Changes to Selected Clips. This is extremely useful for features and shows where you have days (even weeks) for the sessions. Not so useful for shorts, music videos, commercials and so on.

Finding a way to work with Resolve is a personal choice, and there are a lot of ways that can work. I would recommend MixingLight and Lowepost as two sites (which do charge a fee) as having information on these kind of methods.

Marc Wielage wrote:This guy has a video about it:

I learned a ton from watching that video. Thank you!

Jim Simon wrote:

dev_willis wrote:I worked around it...

This Request is about eliminating the need to do that.

Yeah, that's why I said "+1 for not having to work around it." I just thought my work-around might be helpful to someone else like me.

Mel Matsuoka wrote:I totally agree with Jim. Nodes should be able to be copy/pasted as objects, not simply metadata, and you should be able to copy/paste multiple nodes at once. It's such an obvious thing, that it constantly surprises me that Resolve still can't do this.

Another possible feature benefit to this is that you could copy node structures to the system clipboard, then paste them as plaintext in an e-mail, and send them to other editors, colorists, DITs etc, just like how you can do it with Fusion, Nuke and (my late, lamented) Shake.

+1

Mel Matsuoka wrote:Another possible feature benefit to this is that you could copy node structures to the system clipboard, then paste them as plaintext in an e-mail, and send them to other editors, colorists, DITs etc, just like how you can do it with Fusion, Nuke and (my late, lamented) Shake.

Well, you can kind of do that by grabbing the grade as a Gallery still, then exporting the still (with the companion DRX file) and then importing that into the new session.

What I do when I need to build a Powergrade usually happens when I'm in the middle of a session and I stumble upon an interesting grade or tweak that I hadn't thought of before. I create a new version, eliminate all the unnecessary nodes, keeping only the special nodes that create the desired effect. I then place a title on the edit page that says "COOL LOOK" (or whatever the Powergrade is going to be called, and I grab a still. That becomes a permanent part of my library and I can reuse it for any grade just by grabbing that isolated node (or nodes) to the existing grade. And then I go back to the original version and move on with the show.

The "Copy Grade: Preserve Number of Nodes" command might also help you. It's detailed on p. 2793 of the Resolve 16.2.6 manual. That whole chapter on Grade Management should give anybody following this thread a lot of ideas how to incorporate some fairly sophisticated methods to copy grades and work quickly and efficiently.

Thank you very much all of you!

I‘d like to be able to copy/paste a compound node. I know it‘s possible to add it via dragn drop from a still. But that creates 2 issues:

imagine the scenario:
I need to add a complex diffusion compound node to multiple shots on a specific node in the tree.
- This takes a lot of time because I have to drag the node on every shot to the specific node
- That messes up the fixed node tree numbering, as a dragged node always gets a new node number (despite the new 17 numbering setting)

Scenario B:
I have to change a complex compound node and have to fix it on a number of shots.
- same issues, I have to replace the old compound node via dragndrop but all the node numbers will change (after the replaced node number)
So I would have to dagn drop it on an empty space and manually connect it on the right place and deactivate the old node so at least the other node numbers won‘t change

Maybe this doesn‘t seem as big of a problem for some people but this is quite a time waste and discourages me to use complex compound nodes as it messes with the node numbering. And when you have clients in the room, I need to be able to change any node quickly on a number of shots simultaneously.

It just doesn‘t make any sense to not be able to copy paste them.. if there would be a different optio to sync them, like a shared node that would also be a possible fix for me, ut that is also not possible at the moment.

Thx, hope you guys see what the particular workflow issues are..

- That messes up the fixed node tree numbering, as a dragged node always gets a new node number

if you use fixed nodes structure there is a preference to keep the old way of numbering nodes and it doe not switch

waltervolpatto wrote:

- That messes up the fixed node tree numbering, as a dragged node always gets a new node number

if you use fixed nodes structure there is a preference to keep the old way of numbering nodes and it doe not switch

Yes, thank you Walter I know that. But the issue I‘m having is also with resolve 16.
Maybe I was not clear enough..

- Make a compound node and grab a still from that shot (it only has 1 node and that is the compound node
- drag the still from the gallery over a node in a node tree and paste it. The node that will be replaced has a now a new number

I know if I do it through „display node tree“, it works and the number doesnt get replaced but that will require additional clicks and time.
If I just would be able to copy paste it it would really save time when using compound nodes..

Ah, now i get it, it does not happen to me because i don't drag the still to a node tree... I see... i always open the tree....

It's just an extra step, that seems a bit unnecessary. I just like drag'n dropping the single node powergrades on to a specific node. It's just so super fast to do it that way..

Version 17 has been officially released, and man what an incredible update!

BMD can't do everything we want in the "next version", so I wanted to bump this idea, which didn't make the cut for 17.

Jim Simon wrote:Version 17 has been officially released, and man what an incredible update!

BMD can't do everything we want in the "next version", so I wanted to bump this idea, which didn't make the cut for 17.

Trey 17.1, there is something about copy of nodes

waltervolpatto wrote:Trey 17.1, there is something about copy of nodes

That's the "Always Perform copy and paste on selected nodes" option under preferences.

This reverts Resolve to the previous behavior when copy/pasting nodes (without requiring Focus).

Version 18 was just released. Not all Feature Requests can be done at once, and this one didn't make the cut.

So here it is for continued voting.

Jim Simon wrote:Version 18 was just released. Not all Feature Requests can be done at once, and this one didn't make the cut.

So here it is for continued voting.

I vote +1 Would be nice if the copy pasting behaved as with the fusion nodes

Would also be useful if after copying, one could right click a node, and there's two options "paste nodes after" and "paste nodes before".

Nice ideas, Thomas.

Version 18.1 was just released. Not all Feature Requests can be done at once, and this one didn't make the cut.

So here it is for continued voting.

Multiple nodes select, copy and paste is the most wanted feature.

Also I need a feature to copy-paste selected nodes between different groups, for example between Clip and Timeline nodes.

Of course there is a workaround solution using drag-and-drop over a Still, but it is a workaround to fix a basic feature.