Geometry Nodes: viewport preview

This adds support for showing geometry passed to the Viewer in the 3d
viewport (instead of just in the spreadsheet). The "viewer geometry"
bypasses the group output. So it is not necessary to change the final
output of the node group to be able to see the intermediate geometry.

**Activation and deactivation of a viewer node**
* A viewer node is activated by clicking on it.
* Ctrl+shift+click on any node/socket connects it to the viewer and
  makes it active.
* Ctrl+shift+click in empty space deactivates the active viewer.
* When the active viewer is not visible anymore (e.g. another object
  is selected, or the current node group is exit), it is deactivated.
* Clicking on the icon in the header of the Viewer node toggles whether
  its active or not.

**Pinning**
* The spreadsheet still allows pinning the active viewer as before.
  When pinned, the spreadsheet still references the viewer node even
  when it becomes inactive.
* The viewport does not support pinning at the moment. It always shows
  the active viewer.

**Attribute**
* When a field is linked to the second input of the viewer node it is
  displayed as an overlay in the viewport.
* When possible the correct domain for the attribute is determined
  automatically. This does not work in all cases. It falls back to the
  face corner domain on meshes and the point domain on curves. When
  necessary, the domain can be picked manually.
* The spreadsheet now only shows the "Viewer" column for the domain
  that is selected in the Viewer node.
* Instance attributes are visualized as a constant color per instance.

**Viewport Options**
* The attribute overlay opacity can be controlled with the "Viewer Node"
  setting in the overlays popover.
* A viewport can be configured not to show intermediate viewer-geometry
  by disabling the "Viewer Node" option in the "View" menu.

**Implementation Details**
* The "spreadsheet context path" was generalized to a "viewer path" that
  is used in more places now.
* The viewer node itself determines the attribute domain, evaluates the
  field and stores the result in a `.viewer` attribute.
* A new "viewer attribute' overlay displays the data from the `.viewer`
  attribute.
* The ground truth for the active viewer node is stored in the workspace
  now. Node editors, spreadsheets and viewports retrieve the active
  viewer from there unless they are pinned.
* The depsgraph object iterator has a new "viewer path" setting. When set,
  the viewed geometry of the corresponding object is part of the iterator
  instead of the final evaluated geometry.
* To support the instance attribute overlay `DupliObject` was extended
  to contain the information necessary for drawing the overlay.
* The ctrl+shift+click operator has been refactored so that it can make
  existing links to viewers active again.
* The auto-domain-detection in the Viewer node works by checking the
  "preferred domain" for every field input. If there is not exactly one
  preferred domain, the fallback is used.

Known limitations:
* Loose edges of meshes don't have the attribute overlay. This could be
  added separately if necessary.
* Some attributes are hard to visualize as a color directly. For example,
  the values might have to be normalized or some should be drawn as arrays.
  For now, we encourage users to build node groups that generate appropriate
  viewer-geometry. We might include some of that functionality in future versions.
  Support for displaying attribute values as text in the viewport is planned as well.
* There seems to be an issue with the attribute overlay for pointclouds on
  nvidia gpus, to be investigated.

Differential Revision: https://developer.blender.org/D15954

7 files changed, 240 insertions, 121 deletions

diff --git a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_draw.cc b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_draw.cc
index 8f72d292740..29dad103dc3 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_draw.cc
+++ b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_draw.cc
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
 #include "ED_node.h"
 #include "ED_screen.h"
 #include "ED_space_api.h"
+#include "ED_viewer_path.hh"
 
 #include "UI_interface.hh"
 #include "UI_resources.h"
@@ -95,6 +96,14 @@ extern void ui_draw_dropshadow(
  */
 struct TreeDrawContext {
   /**
+   * Whether a viewer node is active in geometry nodes can not be determined by a flag on the node
+   * alone. That's because if the node group with the viewer is used multiple times, it's only
+   * active in one of these cases.
+   * The active node is cached here to avoid doing the more expensive check for every viewer node
+   * in the tree.
+   */
+  const bNode *active_geometry_nodes_viewer = nullptr;
+  /**
    * Geometry nodes logs various data during execution. The logged data that corresponds to the
    * currently drawn node tree can be retrieved from the log below.
    */
@@ -639,15 +648,19 @@ static void node_update_hidden(bNode &node, uiBlock &block)
                                node.totr.ymax);
 }
 
-static int node_get_colorid(const bNode &node)
+static int node_get_colorid(TreeDrawContext &tree_draw_ctx, const bNode &node)
 {
   const int nclass = (node.typeinfo->ui_class == nullptr) ? node.typeinfo->nclass :
                                                             node.typeinfo->ui_class(&node);
   switch (nclass) {
     case NODE_CLASS_INPUT:
       return TH_NODE_INPUT;
-    case NODE_CLASS_OUTPUT:
+    case NODE_CLASS_OUTPUT: {
+      if (node.type == GEO_NODE_VIEWER) {
+        return &node == tree_draw_ctx.active_geometry_nodes_viewer ? TH_NODE_OUTPUT : TH_NODE;
+      }
       return (node.flag & NODE_DO_OUTPUT) ? TH_NODE_OUTPUT : TH_NODE;
+    }
     case NODE_CLASS_CONVERTER:
       return TH_NODE_CONVERTER;
     case NODE_CLASS_OP_COLOR:
@@ -2055,7 +2068,7 @@ static void node_draw_basis(const bContext &C,
 
   const rctf &rct = node.totr;
   float color[4];
-  int color_id = node_get_colorid(node);
+  int color_id = node_get_colorid(tree_draw_ctx, node);
 
   GPU_line_width(1.0f);
 
@@ -2153,6 +2166,29 @@ static void node_draw_basis(const bContext &C,
                  "");
     UI_block_emboss_set(&block, UI_EMBOSS);
   }
+  if (node.type == GEO_NODE_VIEWER) {
+    const bool is_active = &node == tree_draw_ctx.active_geometry_nodes_viewer;
+    iconofs -= iconbutw;
+    UI_block_emboss_set(&block, UI_EMBOSS_NONE);
+    uiBut *but = uiDefIconBut(&block,
+                              UI_BTYPE_BUT,
+                              0,
+                              is_active ? ICON_HIDE_OFF : ICON_HIDE_ON,
+                              iconofs,
+                              rct.ymax - NODE_DY,
+                              iconbutw,
+                              UI_UNIT_Y,
+                              nullptr,
+                              0,
+                              0,
+                              0,
+                              0,
+                              "");
+    /* Selection implicitly activates the node. */
+    const char *operator_idname = is_active ? "NODE_OT_deactivate_viewer" : "NODE_OT_select";
+    UI_but_func_set(but, node_toggle_button_cb, &node, (void *)operator_idname);
+    UI_block_emboss_set(&block, UI_EMBOSS);
+  }
 
   node_add_error_message_button(tree_draw_ctx, node, block, rct, iconofs);
 
@@ -2341,7 +2377,7 @@ static void node_draw_hidden(const bContext &C,
   float scale;
   UI_view2d_scale_get(&v2d, &scale, nullptr);
 
-  const int color_id = node_get_colorid(node);
+  const int color_id = node_get_colorid(tree_draw_ctx, node);
 
   node_draw_extra_info_panel(tree_draw_ctx, snode, node, block);
 
@@ -2698,7 +2734,8 @@ static void node_update_nodetree(const bContext &C,
   }
 }
 
-static void frame_node_draw_label(const bNodeTree &ntree,
+static void frame_node_draw_label(TreeDrawContext &tree_draw_ctx,
+                                  const bNodeTree &ntree,
                                   const bNode &node,
                                   const SpaceNode &snode)
 {
@@ -2717,7 +2754,7 @@ static void frame_node_draw_label(const bNodeTree &ntree,
   BLF_size(fontid, MIN2(24.0f, font_size) * U.dpi_fac);
 
   /* title color */
-  int color_id = node_get_colorid(node);
+  int color_id = node_get_colorid(tree_draw_ctx, node);
   uchar color[3];
   UI_GetThemeColorBlendShade3ubv(TH_TEXT, color_id, 0.4f, 10, color);
   BLF_color3ubv(fontid, color);
@@ -2831,7 +2868,7 @@ static void frame_node_draw(const bContext &C,
   }
 
   /* label and text */
-  frame_node_draw_label(ntree, node, snode);
+  frame_node_draw_label(tree_draw_ctx, ntree, node, snode);
 
   node_draw_extra_info_panel(tree_draw_ctx, snode, node, block);
 
@@ -3036,6 +3073,9 @@ static void draw_nodetree(const bContext &C,
       tree_draw_ctx.geo_tree_log->ensure_node_warnings();
       tree_draw_ctx.geo_tree_log->ensure_node_run_time();
     }
+    WorkSpace *workspace = CTX_wm_workspace(&C);
+    tree_draw_ctx.active_geometry_nodes_viewer = viewer_path::find_geometry_nodes_viewer(
+        workspace->viewer_path, *snode);
   }
 
   node_update_nodetree(C, tree_draw_ctx, ntree, nodes, blocks);
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_edit.cc b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_edit.cc
index e446d5421e7..8135369f271 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_edit.cc
+++ b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_edit.cc
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
 #include "ED_render.h"
 #include "ED_screen.h"
 #include "ED_select_utils.h"
-#include "ED_spreadsheet.h"
+#include "ED_viewer_path.hh"
 
 #include "RNA_access.h"
 #include "RNA_define.h"
@@ -821,8 +821,8 @@ void ED_node_set_active(
             }
           }
           node->flag |= NODE_DO_OUTPUT;
-          ED_spreadsheet_context_paths_set_geometry_node(bmain, snode, node);
         }
+        blender::ed::viewer_path::activate_geometry_node(*bmain, *snode, *node);
       }
     }
   }
@@ -1700,6 +1700,46 @@ void NODE_OT_preview_toggle(wmOperatorType *ot)
   ot->flag = OPTYPE_REGISTER | OPTYPE_UNDO;
 }
 
+static int node_deactivate_viewer_exec(bContext *C, wmOperator *UNUSED(op))
+{
+  SpaceNode &snode = *CTX_wm_space_node(C);
+  WorkSpace &workspace = *CTX_wm_workspace(C);
+
+  bNode *active_viewer = viewer_path::find_geometry_nodes_viewer(workspace.viewer_path, snode);
+
+  LISTBASE_FOREACH (bNode *, node, &snode.edittree->nodes) {
+    if (node->type != GEO_NODE_VIEWER) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (!(node->flag & SELECT)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (node == active_viewer) {
+      node->flag &= ~NODE_DO_OUTPUT;
+      BKE_ntree_update_tag_node_property(snode.edittree, node);
+    }
+  }
+
+  ED_node_tree_propagate_change(C, CTX_data_main(C), snode.edittree);
+
+  return OPERATOR_FINISHED;
+}
+
+void NODE_OT_deactivate_viewer(wmOperatorType *ot)
+{
+  /* identifiers */
+  ot->name = "Deactivate Viewer Node";
+  ot->description = "Deactivate selected viewer node in geometry nodes";
+  ot->idname = __func__;
+
+  /* callbacks */
+  ot->exec = node_deactivate_viewer_exec;
+  ot->poll = ED_operator_node_active;
+
+  /* flags */
+  ot->flag = OPTYPE_REGISTER | OPTYPE_UNDO;
+}
+
 static int node_options_toggle_exec(bContext *C, wmOperator *UNUSED(op))
 {
   SpaceNode *snode = CTX_wm_space_node(C);
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_intern.hh b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_intern.hh
index 70ac0e48d01..50c03489027 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_intern.hh
+++ b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_intern.hh
@@ -322,6 +322,7 @@ void NODE_OT_hide_socket_toggle(wmOperatorType *ot);
 void NODE_OT_preview_toggle(wmOperatorType *ot);
 void NODE_OT_options_toggle(wmOperatorType *ot);
 void NODE_OT_node_copy_color(wmOperatorType *ot);
+void NODE_OT_deactivate_viewer(wmOperatorType *ot);
 
 void NODE_OT_read_viewlayers(wmOperatorType *ot);
 void NODE_OT_render_changed(wmOperatorType *ot);
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_ops.cc b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_ops.cc
index f02c019359d..6c52dae5b86 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_ops.cc
+++ b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_ops.cc
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ void node_operatortypes()
   WM_operatortype_append(NODE_OT_options_toggle);
   WM_operatortype_append(NODE_OT_hide_socket_toggle);
   WM_operatortype_append(NODE_OT_node_copy_color);
+  WM_operatortype_append(NODE_OT_deactivate_viewer);
 
   WM_operatortype_append(NODE_OT_duplicate);
   WM_operatortype_append(NODE_OT_delete);
@@ -135,6 +136,7 @@ void ED_operatormacros_node()
   mot = WM_operatortype_macro_define(ot, "NODE_OT_select");
   RNA_boolean_set(mot->ptr, "extend", false);
   RNA_boolean_set(mot->ptr, "socket_select", true);
+  RNA_boolean_set(mot->ptr, "clear_viewer", true);
   WM_operatortype_macro_define(ot, "NODE_OT_link_viewer");
 
   ot = WM_operatortype_append_macro("NODE_OT_translate_attach",
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_relationships.cc b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_relationships.cc
index f597bf20b55..84cef798907 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_relationships.cc
+++ b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_relationships.cc
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@
 #include "ED_render.h"
 #include "ED_screen.h"
 #include "ED_space_api.h"
-#include "ED_spreadsheet.h"
 #include "ED_util.h"
+#include "ED_viewer_path.hh"
 
 #include "RNA_access.h"
 #include "RNA_define.h"
@@ -495,17 +495,6 @@ static bool is_viewer_node(const bNode &node)
   return ELEM(node.type, CMP_NODE_VIEWER, CMP_NODE_SPLITVIEWER, GEO_NODE_VIEWER);
 }
 
-static Vector<const bNode *> find_viewer_nodes(const bNodeTree &tree)
-{
-  Vector<const bNode *> viewer_nodes;
-  for (const bNode *node : tree.all_nodes()) {
-    if (is_viewer_node(*node)) {
-      viewer_nodes.append(node);
-    }
-  }
-  return viewer_nodes;
-}
-
 static bool is_viewer_socket_in_viewer(const bNodeSocket &socket)
 {
   const bNode &node = socket.owner_node();
@@ -516,18 +505,10 @@ static bool is_viewer_socket_in_viewer(const bNodeSocket &socket)
   return socket.index() == 0;
 }
 
-static bool is_linked_to_viewer(const bNodeSocket &socket, const bNode &viewer_node)
+static bool is_viewer_socket(const bNodeSocket &socket)
 {
-  for (const bNodeSocket *target_socket : socket.directly_linked_sockets()) {
-    if (&target_socket->owner_node() != &viewer_node) {
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (!target_socket->is_available()) {
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (is_viewer_socket_in_viewer(*target_socket)) {
-      return true;
-    }
+  if (is_viewer_node(socket.owner_node())) {
+    return is_viewer_socket_in_viewer(socket);
   }
   return false;
 }
@@ -549,137 +530,165 @@ static void remove_links_to_unavailable_viewer_sockets(bNodeTree &btree, bNode &
   }
 }
 
-static const bNode *get_existing_viewer(const bNodeTree &tree)
+static bNodeSocket *determine_socket_to_view(bNode &node_to_view)
 {
-  Vector<const bNode *> viewer_nodes = find_viewer_nodes(tree);
-
-  /* Check if there is already an active viewer node that should be used. */
-  for (const bNode *viewer_node : viewer_nodes) {
-    if (viewer_node->flag & NODE_DO_OUTPUT) {
-      return viewer_node;
+  int last_linked_socket_index = -1;
+  for (bNodeSocket *socket : node_to_view.output_sockets()) {
+    if (!socket_can_be_viewed(*socket)) {
+      continue;
     }
-  }
-
-  /* If no active but non-active viewers exist, make one active. */
-  if (!viewer_nodes.is_empty()) {
-    const_cast<bNode *>(viewer_nodes[0])->flag |= NODE_DO_OUTPUT;
-    return viewer_nodes[0];
-  }
-  return nullptr;
-}
-
-static const bNodeSocket *find_output_socket_to_be_viewed(const bNode *active_viewer_node,
-                                                          const bNode &node_to_view)
-{
-  /* Check if any of the output sockets is selected, which is the case when the user just clicked
-   * on the socket. */
-  for (const bNodeSocket *output_socket : node_to_view.output_sockets()) {
-    if (output_socket->flag & SELECT) {
-      return output_socket;
+    for (bNodeLink *link : socket->directly_linked_links()) {
+      bNodeSocket &target_socket = *link->tosock;
+      bNode &target_node = *link->tonode;
+      if (is_viewer_socket(target_socket)) {
+        if (link->is_muted() || !(target_node.flag & NODE_DO_OUTPUT)) {
+          /* This socket is linked to a deactivated viewer, the viewer should be activated. */
+          return socket;
+        }
+        last_linked_socket_index = socket->index();
+      }
     }
   }
 
-  const bNodeSocket *last_socket_linked_to_viewer = nullptr;
-  if (active_viewer_node != nullptr) {
-    for (const bNodeSocket *output_socket : node_to_view.output_sockets()) {
-      if (!socket_can_be_viewed(*output_socket)) {
-        continue;
-      }
-      if (is_linked_to_viewer(*output_socket, *active_viewer_node)) {
-        last_socket_linked_to_viewer = output_socket;
+  if (last_linked_socket_index == -1) {
+    /* Returnt he first socket that can be viewed. */
+    for (bNodeSocket *socket : node_to_view.output_sockets()) {
+      if (socket_can_be_viewed(*socket)) {
+        return socket;
       }
     }
+    return nullptr;
   }
-  if (last_socket_linked_to_viewer == nullptr) {
-    /* If no output is connected to a viewer, use the first output that can be viewed. */
-    for (const bNodeSocket *output_socket : node_to_view.output_sockets()) {
-      if (socket_can_be_viewed(*output_socket)) {
-        return output_socket;
-      }
+
+  /* Pick the next socket to be linked to the viewer. */
+  const int tot_outputs = node_to_view.output_sockets().size();
+  for (const int offset : IndexRange(1, tot_outputs)) {
+    const int index = (last_linked_socket_index + offset) % tot_outputs;
+    bNodeSocket &output_socket = node_to_view.output_socket(index);
+    if (!socket_can_be_viewed(output_socket)) {
+      continue;
     }
-  }
-  else {
-    /* Pick the next socket to be linked to the viewer. */
-    const int tot_outputs = node_to_view.output_sockets().size();
-    for (const int offset : IndexRange(1, tot_outputs - 1)) {
-      const int index = (last_socket_linked_to_viewer->index() + offset) % tot_outputs;
-      const bNodeSocket &output_socket = node_to_view.output_socket(index);
-      if (!socket_can_be_viewed(output_socket)) {
+    bool is_currently_viewed = false;
+    for (const bNodeLink *link : output_socket.directly_linked_links()) {
+      bNodeSocket &target_socket = *link->tosock;
+      bNode &target_node = *link->tonode;
+      if (!is_viewer_socket(target_socket)) {
         continue;
       }
-      if (is_linked_to_viewer(output_socket, *active_viewer_node)) {
+      if (link->is_muted()) {
         continue;
       }
-      return &output_socket;
+      if (!(target_node.flag & NODE_DO_OUTPUT)) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      is_currently_viewed = true;
+      break;
     }
+    if (is_currently_viewed) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    return &output_socket;
   }
   return nullptr;
 }
 
-static int link_socket_to_viewer(const bContext &C,
-                                 bNode *viewer_bnode,
-                                 bNode &bnode_to_view,
-                                 bNodeSocket &bsocket_to_view)
+static void finalize_viewer_link(const bContext &C,
+                                 SpaceNode &snode,
+                                 bNode &viewer_node,
+                                 bNodeLink &viewer_link)
 {
-  SpaceNode &snode = *CTX_wm_space_node(&C);
-  bNodeTree &btree = *snode.edittree;
+  Main *bmain = CTX_data_main(&C);
+  remove_links_to_unavailable_viewer_sockets(*snode.edittree, viewer_node);
+  viewer_link.flag &= ~NODE_LINK_MUTED;
+  viewer_node.flag &= ~NODE_MUTED;
+  viewer_node.flag |= NODE_DO_OUTPUT;
+  if (snode.edittree->type == NTREE_GEOMETRY) {
+    viewer_path::activate_geometry_node(*bmain, snode, viewer_node);
+  }
+  ED_node_tree_propagate_change(&C, bmain, snode.edittree);
+}
+
+static int view_socket(const bContext &C,
+                       SpaceNode &snode,
+                       bNodeTree &btree,
+                       bNode &bnode_to_view,
+                       bNodeSocket &bsocket_to_view)
+{
+  bNode *viewer_node = nullptr;
+  /* Try to find a viewer that is already active. */
+  LISTBASE_FOREACH (bNode *, node, &btree.nodes) {
+    if (is_viewer_node(*node)) {
+      if (node->flag & NODE_DO_OUTPUT) {
+        viewer_node = node;
+        break;
+      }
+    }
+  }
 
-  if (viewer_bnode == nullptr) {
-    /* Create a new viewer node if none exists. */
+  /* Try to reactivate existing viewer connection. */
+  for (bNodeLink *link : bsocket_to_view.directly_linked_links()) {
+    bNodeSocket &target_socket = *link->tosock;
+    bNode &target_node = *link->tonode;
+    if (is_viewer_socket(target_socket) && ELEM(viewer_node, nullptr, &target_node)) {
+      finalize_viewer_link(C, snode, target_node, *link);
+      return OPERATOR_FINISHED;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (viewer_node == nullptr) {
+    LISTBASE_FOREACH (bNode *, node, &btree.nodes) {
+      if (is_viewer_node(*node)) {
+        viewer_node = node;
+        break;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  if (viewer_node == nullptr) {
     const int viewer_type = get_default_viewer_type(&C);
     const float2 location{bsocket_to_view.locx / UI_DPI_FAC + 100,
                           bsocket_to_view.locy / UI_DPI_FAC};
-    viewer_bnode = add_static_node(C, viewer_type, location);
-    if (viewer_bnode == nullptr) {
-      return OPERATOR_CANCELLED;
-    }
+    viewer_node = add_static_node(C, viewer_type, location);
   }
 
-  bNodeSocket *viewer_bsocket = node_link_viewer_get_socket(btree, *viewer_bnode, bsocket_to_view);
+  bNodeSocket *viewer_bsocket = node_link_viewer_get_socket(btree, *viewer_node, bsocket_to_view);
   if (viewer_bsocket == nullptr) {
     return OPERATOR_CANCELLED;
   }
-
-  bNodeLink *link_to_change = nullptr;
-  LISTBASE_FOREACH (bNodeLink *, link, &btree.links) {
+  bNodeLink *viewer_link = nullptr;
+  LISTBASE_FOREACH_MUTABLE (bNodeLink *, link, &btree.links) {
     if (link->tosock == viewer_bsocket) {
-      link_to_change = link;
+      viewer_link = link;
       break;
     }
   }
-
-  if (link_to_change == nullptr) {
-    nodeAddLink(&btree, &bnode_to_view, &bsocket_to_view, viewer_bnode, viewer_bsocket);
+  if (viewer_link == nullptr) {
+    viewer_link = nodeAddLink(
+        &btree, &bnode_to_view, &bsocket_to_view, viewer_node, viewer_bsocket);
   }
   else {
-    link_to_change->fromnode = &bnode_to_view;
-    link_to_change->fromsock = &bsocket_to_view;
+    viewer_link->fromnode = &bnode_to_view;
+    viewer_link->fromsock = &bsocket_to_view;
     BKE_ntree_update_tag_link_changed(&btree);
   }
-
-  remove_links_to_unavailable_viewer_sockets(btree, *viewer_bnode);
-
-  if (btree.type == NTREE_GEOMETRY) {
-    ED_spreadsheet_context_paths_set_geometry_node(CTX_data_main(&C), &snode, viewer_bnode);
-  }
-
-  ED_node_tree_propagate_change(&C, CTX_data_main(&C), &btree);
-  return OPERATOR_FINISHED;
+  finalize_viewer_link(C, snode, *viewer_node, *viewer_link);
+  return OPERATOR_CANCELLED;
 }
 
-static int node_link_viewer(const bContext &C, bNode &bnode_to_view)
+static int node_link_viewer(const bContext &C, bNode &bnode_to_view, bNodeSocket *bsocket_to_view)
 {
   SpaceNode &snode = *CTX_wm_space_node(&C);
   bNodeTree *btree = snode.edittree;
   btree->ensure_topology_cache();
 
-  bNode *active_viewer_bnode = const_cast<bNode *>(get_existing_viewer(*btree));
-  bNodeSocket *bsocket_to_view = const_cast<bNodeSocket *>(
-      find_output_socket_to_be_viewed(active_viewer_bnode, bnode_to_view));
   if (bsocket_to_view == nullptr) {
-    return OPERATOR_FINISHED;
+    bsocket_to_view = determine_socket_to_view(bnode_to_view);
   }
-  return link_socket_to_viewer(C, active_viewer_bnode, bnode_to_view, *bsocket_to_view);
+
+  if (bsocket_to_view == nullptr) {
+    return OPERATOR_CANCELLED;
+  }
+
+  return view_socket(C, snode, *btree, bnode_to_view, *bsocket_to_view);
 }
 
 /** \} */
@@ -701,7 +710,15 @@ static int node_active_link_viewer_exec(bContext *C, wmOperator *UNUSED(op))
 
   ED_preview_kill_jobs(CTX_wm_manager(C), CTX_data_main(C));
 
-  if (viewer_linking::node_link_viewer(*C, *node) == OPERATOR_CANCELLED) {
+  bNodeSocket *socket_to_view = nullptr;
+  LISTBASE_FOREACH (bNodeSocket *, socket, &node->outputs) {
+    if (socket->flag & SELECT) {
+      socket_to_view = socket;
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (viewer_linking::node_link_viewer(*C, *node, socket_to_view) == OPERATOR_CANCELLED) {
     return OPERATOR_CANCELLED;
   }
 
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_select.cc b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_select.cc
index 1b47316ebd0..c11ae323115 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_select.cc
+++ b/source/blender/editors/space_node/node_select.cc
@@ -23,13 +23,14 @@
 #include "BKE_main.h"
 #include "BKE_node.h"
 #include "BKE_node_runtime.hh"
+#include "BKE_node_tree_update.h"
 #include "BKE_workspace.h"
 
 #include "ED_node.h" /* own include */
 #include "ED_screen.h"
 #include "ED_select_utils.h"
-#include "ED_spreadsheet.h"
 #include "ED_view3d.h"
+#include "ED_viewer_path.hh"
 
 #include "RNA_access.h"
 #include "RNA_define.h"
@@ -644,6 +645,15 @@ static bool node_mouse_select(bContext *C,
     }
   }
 
+  if (RNA_boolean_get(op->ptr, "clear_viewer")) {
+    if (node == nullptr) {
+      /* Disable existing active viewer. */
+      WorkSpace *workspace = CTX_wm_workspace(C);
+      BKE_viewer_path_clear(&workspace->viewer_path);
+      WM_event_add_notifier(C, NC_VIEWER_PATH, nullptr);
+    }
+  }
+
   if (!(changed || found)) {
     return false;
   }
@@ -655,7 +665,7 @@ static bool node_mouse_select(bContext *C,
     ED_node_set_active(&bmain, &snode, snode.edittree, node, &active_texture_changed);
   }
   else if (node != nullptr && node->type == GEO_NODE_VIEWER) {
-    ED_spreadsheet_context_paths_set_geometry_node(&bmain, &snode, node);
+    viewer_path::activate_geometry_node(bmain, snode, *node);
   }
   ED_node_set_active_viewer_key(&snode);
   node_sort(*snode.edittree);
@@ -731,6 +741,12 @@ void NODE_OT_select(wmOperatorType *ot)
   RNA_def_property_flag(prop, PROP_HIDDEN);
 
   RNA_def_boolean(ot->srna, "socket_select", false, "Socket Select", "");
+
+  RNA_def_boolean(ot->srna,
+                  "clear_viewer",
+                  false,
+                  "Clear Viewer",
+                  "Deactivate geometry nodes viewer when clicking in empty space");
 }
 
 /** \} */
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/space_node/space_node.cc b/source/blender/editors/space_node/space_node.cc
index ea551b7488a..3e5cbf88e15 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/space_node/space_node.cc
+++ b/source/blender/editors/space_node/space_node.cc
@@ -823,6 +823,9 @@ static void node_region_listener(const wmRegionListenerParams *params)
         ED_region_tag_redraw(region);
       }
       break;
+    case NC_VIEWER_PATH:
+      ED_region_tag_redraw(region);
+      break;
   }
 }