Advanced Pipeline Features

Keyboard shortcuts, copy/paste, grouping, and canvas controls.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Pipeline-Level Shortcuts

Node-Level Shortcuts

Canvas Shortcuts

Copy and Paste

Copying Nodes

Select nodes to copy:

• Click to select one node
• Shift+Click to select multiple
• Drag selection rectangle to select area

Copy:

1. Select node(s)
2. Press Ctrl+C (Cmd+C)
   • OR right-click → Copy
   • OR use Edit menu → Copy

Pasting Nodes

1. Press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V)

   • OR right-click → Paste
   • OR use Edit menu → Paste

2. Nodes appear at cursor position

3. Connections to original nodes are preserved

4. New node IDs generated automatically

Duplicating Nodes

Quick duplicate:

1. Select node(s)
2. Press Ctrl+D (Cmd+D)

Result: Exact copy of selected nodes, positioned slightly offset from originals.

Use cases:

• Create similar transformation with different settings
• Copy entire pipeline section
• Experiment with variations

Grouping Nodes

Creating Groups

Group related steps:

1. Select multiple nodes:
   • Shift+Click to select
   • Or drag selection rectangle
2. Click Group button in toolbar
   • OR press Ctrl+G (Cmd+G)
3. Groups all selected nodes

Group benefits:

• Visual organization
• Collapse/expand sections
• Easier to understand complex pipelines

Managing Groups

Edit group:

• Double-click group to edit title
• Drag group to move all nodes inside
• Resize group to adjust bounds

Ungroup:

1. Select group
2. Click Ungroup button
   • OR press Ctrl+Shift+G (Cmd+Shift+G)
3. Nodes released from group

Delete group:

• Select group
• Press Delete
• ⚠️ Warning: This deletes all nodes inside!

Canvas Controls

Zoom and Pan

Zoom:

• Mouse wheel — Zoom in/out at cursor position
• Pinch gesture (touch) — Zoom in/out
• + / - buttons — Zoom in/out from center
• Fit button — Zoom to fit all nodes

Pan:

• Click and drag on empty canvas
• Space + Drag (hold Space, then drag)
• Arrow keys — Pan in arrow direction

Canvas Fit Options

Node Manipulation

Moving Nodes

Single node:

• Click and drag node to desired position

Multiple nodes:

• Select multiple nodes
• Drag any selected node — all move together

Align to grid:

• Hold Shift while dragging
• Snaps to grid (if enabled)

Auto-layout:

• Click Auto-layout button
• Arranges nodes in logical flow

Connecting Nodes

Create connection:

1. Drag from output handle (right side) of source node
2. Drop on input handle (left side) of target node
3. Connection line appears

Delete connection:

1. Click the connection line
2. Press Delete
   • OR right-click → Delete

Reconnect:

• Drag connection to different handle
• Old connection disappears

Selection Modes

Normal Selection

Click to select individual nodes Shift+Click to add/remove from selection Drag to select multiple nodes in rectangle

Lasso Selection

Future feature: Draw freeform selection area.

Configuration Panels

Right Sidebar

Tabs:

• Configure — Edit step settings
• Preview — See step output
• Info — Utility description and examples

Switching between steps:

• Click any step node to switch panel
• Panel updates to show selected step’s config

Configuration Focus

When editing configuration:

• Tab moves to next field
• Shift+Tab moves to previous field
• Enter applies changes
• Escape cancels changes

Multiple Inputs

Adding Input Nodes

Why multiple inputs?

• Utilities that need two data sources
• Examples: Deep Merge, Diff

How to add:

1. Click Add Input button
2. New Input node appears on canvas
3. Load different data into each input

Connecting Multiple Inputs

Utility with two inputs:

Input 1 ────┐
             ├──> Deep Merge ───> Output
Input 2 ────┘

Connection types:

• Primary input (solid blue ●)
• Secondary input (solid orange ●)

Which to use:

• Check utility documentation
• Primary = main data
• Secondary = data to merge/compare

Undo and Redo

Undo Stack

Tracks up to 50 changes:

• Node additions/removals
• Configuration changes
• Connection changes
• Position changes

Use it:

• Press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z) to undo
• Press Ctrl+Y (Cmd+Y) to redo
• Undo/Redo buttons in toolbar

What’s not tracked:

• Canvas pan/zoom
• Selection changes
• Tab switches

Advanced Utility Features

Conditional Execution

Future feature: Execute steps only when conditions are met.

Example:

If (data.size > 1000)
  → Sample data first
Else
  → Process all data

Looping

Future feature: Repeat steps for each item in array.

Example:

For each item in users array
  → Transform item
  → Validate item

Error Handling

Current: Pipeline stops at first error.

Future: Try/catch blocks, error recovery, fallback values.

Power User Features

Pipeline Templates

Future feature: Save pipelines as templates.

Use cases:

• Common patterns
• Starting points
• Best practices

Custom Utilities

Future feature: Create your own utilities.

Workflow:

• Define utility schema
• Implement transformation logic
• Register in system
• Use in pipelines

Pipeline Composition

Future feature: Use pipelines as utilities.

Example:

Pipeline A (clean data)
Pipeline B (transform data)
Pipeline C → [Use A] → [Use B] → Output

Tips and Tricks

Keyboard Navigation

Navigate without mouse:

1. Tab between fields
2. Arrow keys in dropdowns
3. Enter to apply
4. Escape to cancel

Quick Configuration

Duplicate similar steps:

1. Configure first step
2. Ctrl+D to duplicate
3. Change only what’s different

Canvas Organization

Keep pipelines readable:

• Use groups to organize
• Align nodes in logical flow
• Add spacing between sections
• Use consistent layout

Debugging Complex Pipelines

Isolate problems:

1. Delete downstream steps
2. Run pipeline
3. Check intermediate output
4. Add steps back one at a time

Advanced Troubleshooting

Pipeline State Issues

Pipeline appears stuck:

• Check browser console for errors
• Reload page to reset worker
• Verify data is valid

Memory issues:

• Close other tabs
• Simplify pipeline
• Reduce dataset size

Worker Issues

Worker crashed:

• Check console for worker errors
• Reload page to restart worker
• Report bug if reproducible

Next Steps

• Building Basics — Creating pipelines
• Execution — Running pipelines
• Performance — Optimization tips