Improve the Node Editor

[trevor.adams]

 (Copied from original User Voice forum)

"First of all, I do not understand why I have to click on the node such as "addDoubleLinear" three times to get to the input attributes?

Why if the attribute is already attached, it disappears from the shortcut menu??? All work in the node editor is reduced to the mad mouse clicking! 

Ideas: 
1) access to all (input or output) attributes inside of quick menu that appears when you try to connect to collapsed node 
2) possibility to copy part of graph with connections 
3) compounds

Please, do something like softimage ICE inside of maya (it was piece of art!!!!). 
I really want to see something like c++ maya API inside node editor (not current awful node editor), with arrays, math, visual debugging, ability to wrap graph in to compound and compile it in to node."

[1006138663]

It's amazing that after so many years, developers still don't care.

[maxim.2000XMP66]

The Node Editor is such an integral element of Maya, I cannot understand, how it is possible to have such unintelligent, clunky behaviour there.

Every other software with nodes I have used so far has better solutions to this.

It doesnt even need to be overly complex changes.

Just some simple stuff. Smarten it up. Make it more intelligent.

Some Examples:

I wrote a python script that takes filenodes, reads the filenames and connects recognized textures with aiRange or aiColorcorrect nodes and into a shader. One click - and your set of textures is wired up into a shader.

Stuff like that could be integrated.

Or another script I made, to merge place2d nodes of multiple filenodes into one (so you dont have to change the tiling 5 times)

Or another script, creating an aiNoise connected with a float Constant (to evenly scale it in all three axes) and an aiRange (for tweaking and clamping)

Hell, I am not very advanced in python, and I can make that stuff. Should be easy for the devs, right? Probably even smarter and faster scripts. Imagine what could be possible.

The hypershade option to duplicate entire graphs with their connections - why is it not added to the node Editor too?

Ctrl Middlemouse drag to create all the connections between place2d and filenode - now thats useful. Why doesnt this mechanic exist for more nodes?

When connecting a filenode or a procedural to an aiRange or aiColorcorrect, 99% of times I want to connect OutColor to Input. 

I really hope someone at Autodesk takes this to heart, and we see some improvements over the next few releases.

[Kranos_Orphydian]

bump to this!