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How to navigate between connected nodes

Canvas Chat allows you to quickly move between parent and child nodes using keyboard shortcuts or navigation buttons.

Using keyboard shortcuts

When a node is selected:

  1. Press Arrow Up to navigate to a parent node
  2. Press Arrow Down to navigate to a child node

Single connection

If there's only one parent or child, you'll navigate directly to that node.

Multiple connections

If there are multiple parents or children, a selection menu appears:

  1. Use Arrow Up/Down to highlight different options
  2. Press Enter to navigate to the highlighted node
  3. Press Esc to close the menu without navigating

No connections

If the node has no parents (root node) or no children (leaf node), a brief message appears indicating there are no nodes to navigate to.

Using navigation buttons

You can also use the mouse:

  1. Hover over a node to reveal the navigation buttons (↑ ↓) in the header
  2. Click ↑ to go to parent(s) or ↓ to go to child(ren)
  3. If multiple connections exist, click an option from the menu

Graph context breadcrumb

When exactly one node is selected, a single-row breadcrumb appears below the toolbar:

[ parent context ] › [ current node ] › [ child context ]

  • Current node (center): type icon, type label, and truncated title—shows what you are focused on; not clickable.
  • One parent or one child: that neighbor appears as a button with the same icon, type, and summary style as the navigation popover. Click to go there (same as ↑/↓ with a single target). Hover briefly to see a text tooltip and a gold highlight on that node on the canvas (preview before you navigate).
  • Several parents or children: a Parents (N) or Children (N) button opens the same list menu as the header ↑/↓. Hovering a row in that menu also shows the tooltip and canvas highlight.
  • If there are no parents (or no children), that side of the breadcrumb is omitted (no empty labels).

Neighbor lists use the same navigable parent/child logic as the header (↑/↓), including visibility and collapsed-node behavior.

For keyboard traversal, use Arrow Up / Arrow Down (or j / k) as in the rest of the app; the breadcrumb does not add separate shortcuts.

Tips

  • Quick traversal: Press Arrow Down repeatedly to walk down a conversation thread
  • Backtracking: Press Arrow Up to go back up the conversation tree
  • Works with selection: After navigating, press R to reply to the new node

See also