Groups
How to organize complex layouts with groups.
Groups help you organize a busy layout without turning part of it into a separate factory. A group is a visual container inside the same planner workspace.
What a group is
A group gives related nodes a shared boundary, label, and color. It helps you keep a section readable when the layout starts to spread out.
A group does not create a separate production space. The nodes inside it still belong to the same factory, use the same connections, and stay part of the same planner graph.
How to create a group
Create a group from the right-click menu on empty space, then place nodes into it as you organize the layout.
A new group starts as an empty boundary. You decide how large it should be, what it is called, and which nodes belong inside it.
What you can change on a group
A group gives you a small set of layout controls:
- rename the group by double-clicking its label
- change its color
- resize its boundary
- collapse it into a small pill
- lock or unlock it
Collapsing a group hides the items inside it from the main view until you expand it again.
Locking a group fixes its boundary. Nodes inside the group stay constrained to that area, and other top-level nodes do not slide into the locked space by accident.
Moving nodes in and out
Groups are not static boxes. You can reorganize them while you work.
If a group is unlocked, dragging a top-level node into that boundary can place it inside the group. Dragging a child node out of the boundary can remove it from the group.
Resizing also affects membership. When the group boundary changes, Ferrumium checks which node centers end up inside it. Nodes inside the new boundary stay in the group, and nodes outside it leave the group.
What a group changes and what it does not
A group changes layout structure, not production logic.
It helps with:
- visual organization
- naming a section of the factory
- keeping related nodes together
- collapsing part of a busy layout
It does not add:
- separate inputs and outputs
- its own internal planner view
- a production boundary
- a different solver scope
Group vs subfactory
This is the distinction that matters most:
| Group | Subfactory | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Visual organization inside the current planner | A factory inside another factory |
| Internal space | No separate internal workspace | Has its own internal layout |
| Inputs and outputs | None | Uses Factory Input and Factory Output |
| Planning boundary | Stays in the same planner graph | Creates a nested planning scope |
| Best for | Labeling and cleaning up a section | Breaking one large factory into smaller real parts |
If you only need a cleaner layout, use a group. If one part of the factory needs its own internal structure, use a subfactory.
How to use groups well
A few simple habits make groups more useful:
- name them after the section they describe, not after a random machine inside them
- use groups for one readable purpose at a time
- collapse groups that you are not actively editing
- use a subfactory instead of a group when the section needs its own inputs, outputs, and internal flow
A good group makes the factory easier to scan in a few seconds. If it adds another layer of confusion, it is too large or doing a job that belongs to a subfactory instead.