You can create multiple groups, called instances, linked together: when you modify the contents (but not the input values) of an instanced group, all other instances are automatically updated. This is useful when you want to use the same group in multiple places in the filter tree. Instancing eliminates the hassle of manually updating each copy of the group every time you make a change to the "master group".
To create an instanced group, just copy and paste a group: by default, groups are pasted as instances. To detach a group from instancing (so that editing its internals does not affect its other copies), select the Instance box underneath the group and click the Detach button in its properties. Note that the Detach button will be disabled if you create an instance of a group inside another instance of the same group.
All instances of the same group are equal: there's no dedicated "master" among them - you can edit any of the instances to update the others.
Here's an example showing three instanced groups:
You can edit the contents of one of the groups to replace the checkerboard texture with a particle pattern, and the other two instances will update automatically. Note that all the instances retained their Color settings and other input values:
To create an instanced group, just copy and paste a group: by default, groups are pasted as instances. To detach a group from instancing (so that editing its internals does not affect its other copies), select the box titled "Instance" underneath the group, and click the Detach button in its properties.
