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Understanding nodes

Janne Brönner
  • Updated

What are nodes?

A node is a modular unit of functionality:

  • It can take inputs, perform a process, and produce outputs.
  • Nodes are connected to form a graph or flow, representing the logic and structure of the template.
  • Each node has input ports on the left and output ports on the right. 

You can connect nodes using these ports to define the flow of your template. Depending on the flow type, ports may appear as circles with green connections or squares with blue connections. For more details, refer to the article Connect nodes: Execution Flow and Data Flow.

Screenshot: Section of a graph with five connected nodes. Some are connected with blue lines, some with green lines.

Add nodes

Add nodes to the template to define processing steps:

  1. Drag a node from the Node Library task pane and 
  2. drop it into the Template View. 

To select shapes in your document and use them as inputs for other nodes, start by adding the Select Shapes node.

Configure node properties

Configure the settings of each node to control its behavior and output:

  1. Click a node to select it.
  2. Edit its properties in the Node Properties task pane. To write expressions, refer to the articles on the axesFlip Expression Language.

For detailed information, refer to the articles dedicated to individual nodes in the axesFlip Nodes section.

Tip: shortcut to node documentation

Select a node in axesFlip Designer and press the F1 key to instantly open the documentation page for that node type in your browser.

Delete nodes

Remove nodes that are no longer needed:

  1. Select a node in the Template View.
  2. Press the Delete key.

Connect nodes

Please read Connect nodes: Execution Flow and Data Flow to understand the two different flow types (Execution Flow and Data Flow) and learn how to connect nodes.

Check node results

Use the following steps to check the results of a node:

  1. Select a node in the template view.
  2. The Node Result task pane shows the node’s output, based on the currently open PDF. The corresponding elements are highlighted in blue in the document view, with arrows indicating the order in which they are output. This helps you verify whether the node’s output is correct.
  3. Click elements in the result tree within the Node Result task pane to highlight them with a red frame in the Document view, making it easier to inspect and validate the results.

For detailed info, refer to the articles dedicated to individual nodes in the axesFlip Nodes section.

Define a start node

To run a template on a PDF, you must define a start node:

  1. Hold the Ctrl key and right-click the node you want to set as the start node. Alternatively select the node, open Edit in the menu and choose Set Start Node.
  2. It will be highlighted with a red border.
  3. The start node must be part of the Execution Flow—ideally positioned as the first node—and all other nodes must connect to it, either directly or indirectly.