Straighten Nodes Shortcut
Select connected nodes and press Q to straighten the wires between them.
You can easily straighten the wires within your graph by selecting the connected nodes and pressing the Q key. This is the Straighten Connection(s) command, and it works for all graph types where the nodes are connected by wires, such as Blueprints, Materials, Niagara, and Control Rig.
How does straightening move my nodes?
Straightening only moves nodes vertically. Each node shifts up or down so its pins line up with the pins they’re wired to, which makes the wires horizontal.
Selection order doesn’t matter. One of the selected nodes stays in place, and the rest move to line up with it. When two nodes are joined by more than one wire, the moved node lines up with the average of those pin offsets.
Only wires between selected nodes count, so wires to unselected nodes stay as they are.
Can I straighten a single wire?
Yes, there are two ways:
- With no connected nodes selected, hover over a pin or wire and press
Qto straighten that single connection. - Right-click a pin and open Straighten Connection… to straighten all of that pin’s wires, or pick one specific connection from the list. The node you right-clicked stays put.
Frequently asked questions
Where else can I find this command?
Straighten Connection(s) also sits in the node context menu under Alignment, next to the align commands.
Can I change the shortcut?
Yes. You can rebind Q in Editor Preferences > General > Keyboard Shortcuts, under Graph Editor.
How do I line nodes up by their edges instead?
Use the align shortcuts, which line nodes up by their edges or centers instead of their pins. For example, SHIFT + W is Align Top.
Links
Check out the following resources to learn more about the subject.
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