# Matrix and Heatmap Editor

The Matrix and Heatmap view is Tensormorph's 2D view family - the tool for reading a specific 2D slice of a tensor precisely, at the cost of the whole-tensor spatial overview the [Tensor Volume view](/docs/editors/tensor-volume-editor) gives you instead.

## Shading modes

A single 2D grid, with the shading mode determining what each cell's color means:

| Mode         | Shows                                                                                                                                                  |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Signed       | Value with sign - positive/negative distinguished by color, not just magnitude                                                                         |
| Magnitude    | Absolute value only                                                                                                                                    |
| Sparsity     | The sparsity mask - see [Sparsity](/docs/inspect-and-analyze/sparsity)                                                                                 |
| Quantization | Quantization granularity groups - see [Dtype and Quantization](/docs/core-concepts/dtype-and-quantization)                                             |
| Diff         | `\|A − B\|` between two aligned tensors - see [Weight Diff](/docs/compare-and-morph/weight-diff)                                                       |
| Correlation  | Pairwise correlation, e.g. between experts - see [Expert Similarity](/docs/inspect-and-analyze/expert-similarity)                                      |
| SVD          | Rank-truncated reconstruction or singular-value contribution - see [SVD, PCA and Effective Rank](/docs/inspect-and-analyze/svd-pca-and-effective-rank) |
| Outlier      | Deviation from a local statistical baseline - see [Outliers and Anomalies](/docs/inspect-and-analyze/outliers-and-anomalies)                           |

## The diverging color convention

Wherever a shading mode has a natural positive/negative or above/below-baseline meaning (Signed, Diff), Tensormorph uses one consistent diverging palette: cyan for positive, red for negative, dark for unchanged/zero. This convention holds across every view that shows signed data, not just this one.

Consistency here matters specifically because you regularly compare a Matrix/Heatmap panel against the Architecture view's magnitude shading or the Distribution view's mean marker in the same session - a color meaning something different in each would defeat the point of shading anything at all.

## Cell-level precision

Unlike the Tensor Volume view, hovering a cell here shows its exact value immediately (not just an approximate color read), and clicking opens it in the [Scalar Inspector](/docs/editors/scalar-inspector) for the full metadata. Zooming further subdivides the grid rather than blending cells together, so precision doesn't degrade as you zoom in - only the visible extent shrinks.

## Related resources

-   [Tensor Volume Editor](/docs/editors/tensor-volume-editor) - the whole-tensor spatial counterpart to this precise 2D view.
-   [Weight Diff](/docs/compare-and-morph/weight-diff) - the Diff shading mode in full detail.
-   [Signal and Distribution Editor](/docs/editors/signal-and-distribution-editor) - the 1D counterpart for a single row, column, or channel.