Outlet

Selector: [fNodeOutlet]
Class: FNodeOutletDirective

FNodeOutletDirective adds a single shared “start connection” point for a node.
It is a UX helper for creating connections — it lets users begin a drag from one place even if the node has multiple outputs.

Important: Outlet is not the final source of a persisted connection.
After creation, the connection still must be assigned to a конкретному fNodeOutput (i.e. a real output id is used in fOutputId).

Why it exists

Some nodes can have many outputs (or outputs that appear dynamically). Showing a separate draggable “port” for each output can make the UI noisy.

fNodeOutlet solves this by providing:

• one clean place to start drag-to-connect,
• optional preview behavior (draw from the outlet),
• optional target filtering (allow-list of inputs/categories).

How it works

• The outlet provides a single interaction surface to start creating a connection.
• During the drag, the library treats it as a create handle, not as a real output connector.
• When the user drops the connection on a target input:
  • the system must resolve which output this connection belongs to,
  • and the resulting connection is created with fOutputId = output id, not outlet id.

In other words: Outlet starts the action; Output owns the connection.

Quick start

A node with outlet + outputs

API

Inputs

• fOutletId: string; Outlet identifier. Default: f-node-outlet-${uniqueId++}.
• fOutletDisabled: boolean; Default: false. Disables interactions with the outlet.
• isConnectionFromOutlet: boolean; Default: false. If true, connections start from the outlet's edge.
• fCanBeConnectedInputs: string[]; List of allowed input IDs or categories.

Outputs

• No direct outputs.

Methods

• No public template API methods.

Styling

• .f-component Base class for flow primitives.
• .f-node-outlet Outlet host class.
• .f-node-outlet-disabled Applied when fOutletDisabled = true.

Notes and pitfalls

• Outlet does not replace outputs. You still need at least one fNodeOutput if you want a created connection to be attached to something real.
• fCanBeConnectedInputs affects which targets can be chosen during creation. It does not change your domain rules automatically - you still own validation/persistence.
• If isConnectionFromOutlet is enabled, users will see the line starting from the outlet visually - but the final connection still uses an output id.

Example