Panels & Layout
ArcBrush uses a dockable panel system. Drag panels to rearrange them, pop them out into separate OS windows for multi-monitor setups, and save custom workspace presets.
Panels
Section titled “Panels”Five panels are available:
| Panel | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Library | Browse and search all node types. Drag nodes from here onto the canvas. A Favorites section at the top shows nodes you’ve starred. |
| Node Graph | The main canvas where you build and wire your node graph. |
| Preview | Displays the output of the selected (or locked) node. See Preview Panel for details. |
| Parameters | Shows parameters for the currently selected node. |
| Application Log | Scrollable log of app events, warnings, and errors. Useful for troubleshooting. |
Rearranging Panels
Section titled “Rearranging Panels”Drag a panel’s title bar to detach it. As you drag, drop targets highlight to show where the panel will land. You can dock panels as tabs alongside other panels, or split them into their own region above, below, or beside existing panels.
Your layout saves automatically between sessions. The next time you open ArcBrush, every panel returns to where you left it.
Pop-Out Windows
Section titled “Pop-Out Windows”Pop any panel out into its own OS window by dragging it outside the main window, or by right-clicking a panel tab and choosing Pop Out. This is useful for multi-monitor setups where you want the Preview or Parameters panel on a second display.
Each popped-out window has an Always on Top toggle in its title bar menu, so you can keep a reference panel visible above other applications.
To return a popped-out panel to the main window, drag it back onto a dock target or close the pop-out window (the panel reappears in its last docked position).
Text and UI elements rescale cleanly when you move a popped-out panel between monitors with different DPI settings.
Window Menu
Section titled “Window Menu”The Window menu provides centralized layout control:
- Show/hide toggles for every panel. Hidden panels can be recalled at any time.
- Reset Layout returns all panels to the default arrangement (with a confirmation dialog).
- Lock Layout prevents accidental rearrangement. When locked, panel title bars cannot be dragged and pop-out/close actions are disabled.
Workspace Presets
Section titled “Workspace Presets”A workspace is a saved panel arrangement. Switch between workspaces to adapt your layout to different tasks.
Open Window > Workspace to access:
| Preset | Description |
|---|---|
| Default | Balanced four-panel layout for general editing. |
| Big Graph | Maximizes the Node Graph canvas for building large pipelines. |
| Vertical | Stacks panels vertically for portrait or narrow displays. |
Custom Workspaces
Section titled “Custom Workspaces”- Save Workspace As… saves the current panel arrangement under a custom name.
- Manage Workspaces… opens a dialog where you can rename or delete saved workspaces. Built-in presets (Default, Big Graph, Vertical) cannot be removed.
Workspace names can be up to 128 characters. Built-in preset names are reserved and case-insensitive.
Parameter Presets
Section titled “Parameter Presets”Every node has a gear menu in the Parameters panel header for saving and reusing its settings. The menu lets you:
- Save Preset… stores the node’s current parameter values under a name.
- Load a preset from the list of presets saved for that node type. Loading applies as a single undoable change, so one
Ctrl+Zreverts every value at once. - Reset to Defaults returns the node to its shipped values.
- Manage Presets… opens a dialog to rename, delete, share a preset as a file, or import one.
- Copy All Parameters and Paste All Parameters copy every value on a node at once and paste the matching values onto another node in one undoable step.
Presets are per-node-type: a preset saved on one Blur node is available to every Blur node, but not to other node types.
Copy and Paste Individual Values
Section titled “Copy and Paste Individual Values”Right-click any slider, numeric field, text field, or dropdown for Copy Value and Paste Value alongside Reset to Default, so you can carry a single value between two nodes. Paste is greyed out when the copied text would not fit the target field (for example, pasting text into a number), and dropdowns copy and paste by their option name.
Compact Parameters
Section titled “Compact Parameters”By default each parameter in the Parameters panel shows its label and control on one line, aligned into a tidy two-column form that keeps the panel short. Turn off Compact Parameters to stack each label above its control instead. Labels too long to fit on one line always keep their own row rather than being clipped.
Compact Parameters is on by default and toggles from the View menu.