# Wildcards

## Overview

Wildcards serve to dynamically alter the behavior of nodes within the stream. This approach eliminates the need for creating new nodes for each condition, as a placeholder can be chosen for the condition, simplifying the process to a single node.

## Examples:

### Example 1

To guide the flow of a stream triggered by the "create project" trigger based on a condition that evaluates to true for a specific user and false for another, you can employ the {user.name} wildcard within the "wildcard condition" node. This "placeholder" dynamically replaces itself with the username that initiated the stream, allowing for a direct comparison against the desired value.

### Example 2

A practical application of predefined paths in Helmut4 can be found in the [Helmut4 preferences](/helmut4-releases/helmut4-components/helmutfx/preferences.md).

The {helmut.projects} placeholder, when used within a node, always corresponds to the path for projects. This simplifies and enhances flexibility in configurations. 

### Example 3

In the screenshot below, the value-checking field is populated with a wildcard, extracting its value from a [helmut variable](/helmut4-releases/helmut4-components/helmutfx/preferences/helmut-variables.md) defined in preferences named "aepx," which is set to "After Effects." 

Anywhere in the stream where "After Effects" needs to be written or utilized, the wildcard {helmut.variable.?} can be employed, replacing the question mark with the key “aepx.”.

<figure><img src="/files/6EmScrICZ1g4xVMHjOMM" alt=""><figcaption><p>Wildcard Replacement</p></figcaption></figure>


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