{"id":13985,"date":"2026-05-14T05:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T05:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/?post_type=manual_documentation&#038;p=13985"},"modified":"2026-05-16T04:28:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:28:49","slug":"node-object-inspectors","status":"publish","type":"manual_documentation","link":"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/manual\/nodesystem\/node-object-inspectors\/","title":{"rendered":"Node &amp; Object Inspectors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"user-guide-inspectors-and-properties-in-3dcoat-node--object-inspectors\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 3DCoat, the node system offers two main inspector windows for adjusting parameters:&nbsp;<strong>Node Inspector<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Object Inspector<\/strong>. They work in tandem, allowing you to both deeply dive into the settings of individual blocks and create convenient &#8220;control panels&#8221; for the entire material or object.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"685\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Inspectors.png?wsr\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Inspectors.png 685w, https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Inspectors-300x242.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 685px) 100vw, 685px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"1-node-inspector\">1. Node Inspector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<strong>Node Inspector<\/strong>&nbsp;is a panel that detailedly displays the properties of&nbsp;<strong>one specifically selected node<\/strong>&nbsp;in your graph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"core-features\">Core Features:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pinpoint Adjustments:<\/strong>&nbsp;Color selection, entering numerical values (Float, Vectors), adjusting curves and textures for the selected block.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Visibility Management (Visibility Level):<\/strong>&nbsp;This is the most important feature of the inspector. Not all node parameters are needed constantly. To the left of many parameters, there is a special button (an eye icon, a gear, etc.). By clicking on it, you change the &#8220;visibility level&#8221; of this parameter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exporting Parameters:<\/strong>&nbsp;By increasing the visibility level of a parameter in the Node Inspector, you &#8220;publish&#8221; it to the global Object Inspector.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"2-object-inspector\">2. Object Inspector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<strong>Object Inspector<\/strong>&nbsp;is a higher-level panel. It displays the parameters of the&nbsp;<strong>entire object<\/strong>, which can contain many complex node schemes (graphs) and layers within itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-does-this-help-the-artist\">How does this help the artist?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of searching for the needed node in a huge scheme every time you want to change the base color or roughness of a material, you simply mark these parameters as &#8220;visible&#8221; in the Node Inspector.<br \/>After that, they appear in the&nbsp;<strong>Object Inspector<\/strong>. Thus, you create a clean, understandable &#8220;control panel&#8221; for the material, where only the most important sliders and settings are gathered. This is especially useful when creating material presets for other artists on the team or for reuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3-parameter-settings-properties\">3. Parameter Settings (Properties)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In both inspectors, parameters are displayed as a list. Depending on the data type (Color, Number, Vector), you will see different interface elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sliders and Fields (x, y, z, w \/ Alpha):<\/strong>&nbsp;For changing numerical values and vectors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Color Field:<\/strong>&nbsp;Clicking on it opens the standard 3DCoat color palette.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Links:<\/strong>&nbsp;You can see if a parameter is connected to another node. You can open (expand) or collapse nested connections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expressions:<\/strong>&nbsp;The list icon (<code>view_list<\/code>) opens the mathematical expression editor, where you can define the behavior of the parameter with a formula. (If the expression contains an error, the parameter will be highlighted in red with an&nbsp;<code>[EXP. ERROR]<\/code>&nbsp;mark).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Invert:<\/strong>&nbsp;A button for quickly inverting a value or curve.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4-curve-and-gradient-editor-property-ramp--curve-editor\">4. Curve and Gradient Editor (Property Ramp \/ Curve Editor)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some parameters use curves (Ramps) for more complex control, for example, for setting up gradients, transition profiles, or levels. By clicking the curve edit button (<code>edit_curves<\/code>), you activate a powerful editor that has several operating modes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"curve--gradient-mode\">Curve \/ Gradient Mode<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Allows you to draw flexible graphs and create multi-color gradients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Adding Points:<\/strong>&nbsp;Click on the curve line to add a new control point.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Moving:<\/strong>&nbsp;Grab a point with LMB and drag.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Snapping:<\/strong>&nbsp;Hold the&nbsp;<strong>Shift<\/strong>&nbsp;key while dragging a point to make it smoothly snap to grid steps.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Deleting Points:<\/strong>&nbsp;Select a point and press the&nbsp;<strong>Delete<\/strong>&nbsp;key on the keyboard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"simple-mode\">Simple Mode<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the node supports it or you switched it to simple mode, the curve turns into a slider with two markers:&nbsp;<strong>Black<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>White<\/strong>. This is ideal for simple value clipping or contrast adjustment without having to draw complex curves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"levels-mode\">Levels Mode<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similar to the &#8220;Levels&#8221; tool in popular 2D editors. Uses three markers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Black Point:<\/strong>&nbsp;Sets the black color threshold.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>White Point:<\/strong>&nbsp;Sets the white color threshold.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gamma (Midpoint):<\/strong>&nbsp;Allows you to smoothly lighten or darken midtones (gamma correction) without changing the darkest and lightest areas.<br \/><em>(Note: Holding the&nbsp;<strong>Ctrl<\/strong>&nbsp;key while dragging markers in Simple and Levels modes activates a special mode for precise or symmetrical adjustment)<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":13980,"menu_order":0,"template":"","manualdocumentationcategory":[9,193],"manual_doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-13985","manual_documentation","type-manual_documentation","status-publish","hentry","manualdocumentationcategory-manual","manualdocumentationcategory-nodes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Node &amp; 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