| On this page |
The tool palette is a side bar in the network editor that lists all of the shelf tools and gallery entries that are relevant in the current network type.
Display options ¶
The tool palette can display tools only, gallery entries only, or both. By
default, it displays both, but this can be configured by clicking the 
gear menu on the top toolbar and choosing Both Tools and Galleries, Only Tools, or Only Galleries.
The shelf tools and gallery entries are shown as leaves of a tree whose branches are the categories that the tool or entry belongs to. You can see these categories in the tool/gallery editors by 
clicking the leaf representing the tool/gallery entry and choosing Edit. In the gallery entry editor, look for the Categories field, and in the shelf tool editor, look for the TAB Submenu Path on the Context tab.
Note
Gallery entries allow only a single level of category tree branch, whereas the shelf tools can specify nested branches separated by a slash “/”. Usually, the tools specify only one level.
Opening and closing the tool palette ¶
To open and close the tool palette:
-
On the top toolbar of the network editor, click the
Show/hide tool palette icon. -
In the network editor, select Tools and toggle Show Tool Palette.
Creating new gallery/tool categories ¶
Houdini builds the tree branches based on the categories of the gallery entries and shelf tools. This means there are no empty branches since all the branches are specified by tools and galleries. You can, however, create a new empty category:
-
Click the
gear menu and select New Gallery Category or New Tool Category. -
Enter a name for the new category in the dialog box. After accepting, this category will show up in the tree.
-
Drag the node (or other entity) and drop it into the newly-created category.
Note
If you edit a gallery entry or tool, and you add a new category in the editor, Houdini will create that branch automatically and the branch will contain the entry or tool.
Dragging a node and dropping it onto the category creates a new gallery entry or tool. When the new gallery entry is instantiated or the tool is invoked, they will recreate an exact copy of the dropped node. You can select several nodes and drop them on the palette. This will either create a single shelf tool that builds all the selected nodes, or create several gallery entries, one for each dropped node.
The main purpose of the tool palette is to provide a way of creating nodes like the tab menu. Gallery entries represent operator nodes with specific values for the parameters (and their contents, if they are subnets), and shelf tools are scripts that instantiate nodes and set their parameters. The end result for both galleries and shelf tools is an instantiated node or nodes.
Searching ¶
Filter ¶
The tool palette provides a few ways to narrow down the number of gallery entries and shelf tools in the tree. A simple way to search is to use the Filter field at the bottom of the tree to search for the items that match a specific pattern.
Type-Ahead Search ¶
You can also search and instantiate nodes in the tool palette using the
type-ahead search. You can turn this on or off in the gear menu by toggling Type-Ahead Search. When turned on, the tree hotkeys are disabled and a quick search is performed as you type each letter.
Note
The mouse must be over the tool palette for the type-ahead to work.
Once you type a few letters in type-ahead mode, and the entry you are looking for is selected and highlighted, you can press Enter to instantiate it. This will create the node and reset the type-ahead search string. You can also use arrows to navigate the type-ahead search results or double-click the entries to select them. Press ⎋ Esc to clear the type-ahead string.
Keywords ¶
Another way to search is by using the menu in the upper toolbar that lists keywords. Gallery entries and shelf tools subscribe to a category using keywords found in their editors.
After selecting an entry in the keyword menu, only entities that match the keyword will show up in the tree. Selecting All in the keywords menu will show all the entities again.
