Organizational Tools

These have probably been mentioned many times before, but implementing them would increase the workflow of FF greatly.

1. Grouping nodes

Imagine if you have 100 nodes in a filter. Even looking at the node structure will instantly be daunting, let alone another user trying to understand it. Imagine if you have 20 nodes that are only creating a painterly effect. Simply drag and select those nodes, right click and choose "Group" or Ctrl+G, and those nodes pop into a "group node" which you name "painterly effect." Then you can click on "+" on the group object, and it will pop open all the nodes instantly, which you can edit, then clck "-" and it will close again. Grouping will instantly give FF a a flexible and organized workflow. It doesn't seem too hard to implement either, you don't need to expand the entire window or create a new window, it can simply be a box of grouped nodes.

2. User Comments or Sticky Notes

User notes or comments are an essential part of any workflow, whether it is programming, 3d, film, design, or any digital media. Adding a simple comment box or sticky note node will allow the creator to have a more fluid workflow and allow users to understand how a filter works much easier. Imagine trying to figure out how a website works without allowing blocked out comments on the CSS or HTML. I know filter forge uses nodes, which is visual and pretty simple, but with dozens of nodes it gets very confusing. Some users already use the scripting node for this, but that's really just a work-around and not meant just for simple notes. When you use a scripting node, the text is not visible, and it just clutters up the node structure. For example, you have to first find the node named "curve (or map) script", click on it, and click script, and then you can finally see the text, and you'd have to repeat this for every instruction you want to add, so you'd end up having multiple script nodes with script errors which might slow down the filter. Imagine being able to add a "comment" node or "sticky note" and just type in a sentence, and have it next to your bundle of confusing nodes.

3. Search Components

All the component window needs to be perfect is a simple search bar. Some categories cross-over and sometimes it can be hard to find the component you're looking for. Also, starting to type it in will only find the first letter of the category, and not component itself.

oh, and preset notes and control lock fields, cough.

The original message is from 2011

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There is a good workaround: use the Map Script component and rename it to Comments or whatever.

In the editor this is good, but regarding notes for usage, I'm suggesting that the about tab, or something like it, can be torn off or windowized so that I can see notes while toggling controls as a user.

The new folder system is a great improvement, being able to drag and drop filters into folders, but what about adding copy buffer awareness to the filter thumbnail to move it between applications? I'm using a program called Journler to make notes about all the filters I create, and it would be very nice to be able to click hold drag the FF Filter thumbnail and/or text out to Journler for a visual reference too.