Locking the Node Editor view

You can lock your Node Editor view so that any new nodes you create do not appear in the graph.

Click the lock icon to lock your view. The Node Editor view is unlocked by default.

When in locked mode , you can still use the following methods to create new nodes, and they will appear in the Node Editor:

Tab key. See Create a node for more information.
a node from the Hypershade or Create Node window or Outliner to the Node Editor (drag and drop creation).

NoteYou can still perform delete and undo in locked mode.

However, nodes created in the scene view, or by clicking in the Create Bar in the Hypershade and Create Node window (in other words, not drag and drop creation), do not appear in the Node Editor.

TipYou can also lock the view by disabling the Options > Add to Graph on Create option under the Node Editor Options menu or from the Node Editor work area marking menu. See Node Editor Options menu and Node Editor marking menus for more information.