Procedural Compositing with ConnectFX >

# About the ConnectFX Process Tree

Use ConnectFX to assemble a series of tasks using nodes. Each node represents a specific Smoke function. You connect clips with nodes and use the result of one node as the source for the next node. As you assemble this arrangement in the ConnectFX schematic, you are building a process tree from left to right, that processes as many output clips as you want.

A process tree begins with a clip, contains at least one node, and ends with a CFX Output node.

Once you are working in ConnectFX, it is easy to add more clips and nodes to achieve your desired result. Large schematic pipelines are common, so you can group nodes or add notes to nodes to help you manage clutter.

## About Nodes

Nodes have one or more colour-coded input and output points (also called tabs) used for connecting to clips and to other nodes. All nodes have an output tab. For example, a Colour Correct node can accept a Front, Matte, and Back connection, whereas an Auto Matte node accepts a Front input.

As you add nodes, you connect them to the process tree by linking the result from one node and using it as a source (front, matte, or back) for the next node in the process tree. You can also connect by linking backward from the source of one node to the output of another (to reuse a node’s output).

To connect nodes, you use the coloured tabs on the node's left side; these tabs are called source tabs. The colours of the source tabs represent different input types. The yellow tab on the node’s right side is called the Result tab (for some nodes, a blue tab is also present on the right side, this is the OutMatte tab). You use the Result tab of a node to connect its result to the front, back, or matte tab of another node.

This is a typical node tab configuration. Some nodes have specific tabs related to their function (such as the forward vector tab on the Pixel Spread node).

(a) Matte tab(b) Back tab(c) Front tab(d) Warning tab(e) Result tab

If auto display of tooltips is enabled in the Preferences menu, hover over a tab to see the name of the tab.

Tab | Colour | Description
--- | --- | ---
Front | Red | Connects a front clip to a node.
Back | Green | Connects a back clip to a node.
Matte | Blue | Connects a matte clip to a node.
Result | Yellow | Connects the result of a node to other nodes.
Output Matte | Blue | Connects the output matte of a node to other nodes.
Warning | Red circle | Warns that clip input to this node is unconnected or is missing media, or clips parented to this node do not share the same resolution or a compatible bit-depth.

The available source tabs depend on the node. If the node accepts a front, back, and matte clip, all coloured source tabs are available. If the node only accepts a front clip, the red source tab is available and the other source tabs are grey. When a source tab or Result tab is not connected to a clip or to another node, the coloured tabs are dimmed.