The affectsState() method on SoNode^{( C++ | Java | .NET )} indicates whether a node has a net effect on the state. (For example, SoSeparator^{( C++ | Java | .NET )} changes the state, but it restores the state, so there's no net effect.) The default value for this method is TRUE, but some node classes such asSoSeparator^{( C++ | Java | .NET )}, SoShape^{( C++ | Java | .NET )}, SoArray^{( C++ | Java | .NET )}, and SoMultipleCopy^{( C++ | Java | .NET )} define it to be FALSE. When you define a new node class, you may need to redefine its affectsState() method if it differs from that of the parent class.