If an input port doesn’t have a data-and-event cable connected to it, then it has a constant value. Rather than being replaced with new data coming in from a cable, the port’s value remains the same as the composition runs.
For many data types, the constant value is displayed alongside the input port. You can double-click on the constant value to open an input editor and edit the value.
Different data types have different kinds of input editors. Some data types aren’t editable. Double-clicking on them doesn’t open an input editor. The only way to change their value is by connecting a cable.
You can close most input editors (keeping the edits) by clicking on the canvas or pressing ↵. In input editors for Text data, since the ↵ key is taken, you can enter a linebreak with ⌥↵. You can cancel edits by pressing ⎋.
After you edit an input port’s data, the new data will take effect the next time the node executes. If there’s already a steady stream of events flowing through the node, like the Outline Image node below, the new data will naturally enter into the flow.
If events only rarely hit the node, like the Make Text Layer node below, then, in order to see the results of the new data, you’ll have to either restart the composition or fire an event into the node manually. To fire an event manually, right-click on one of the node’s input ports and select .
If you edit an input port value on a node that has a trigger port, the new data will take affect immediately. You don’t have to fire an event into the node. For example, after you edit the Seconds input port of a Fire Periodically node, the node immediately adjusts the rate at which it fires.