[Bf-funboard] Toolbox design
Thorsten Wilms
bf-funboard@blender.org
Thu, 2 Oct 2003 17:21:29 +0200
Hi!
I would like to present the current state of my work for the toolbox
(work on the icons hasn't been so fruitful up to now).
http://wrstud.urz.uni-wuppertal.de/~ka0394/en/blender_ui/
-----
About organization:
I can think of three different ways to categorize everything that
could go into any menu.
1. Context-Layers or maybe Levels
- Application (Prefs and Quit, can all belong to the next one)
- File
- Scene
- Screen
- Active window
- Active Object
- Selection
- 3D Cursor (belongs here mainly for ADDing things)
There can be no selection and no (truly) active object, but at any
time your in an active window in a screen and in a scene in a file
in the application blender. Therefore you have selections on all
these levels allowing to operate on them.
2. Basic Operations
- Add
- Remove (Delete, Clear)
- Change (Transform, Edit)
to expand a little bit:
- Select
- Copy
In a hierarchy starting with these, the Snap-Menu should be
top-level, because it' entries belong together, but don't fit
well under one of the other top-levels.
3. Modality / Mode of Operation (short: MoO! ;-)
- Commands
Single gesture (click or keypress), therefore nonmodal.
Example: "Select All".
Mode of Operation: straight execution.
- Tools
Temporary modal things like Border-Select.
Mode of operation in the sende of a menu: Start.
- Modes
Explicit modes like Proportional Vertex Editing.
Mode of Operation: Toggle!
Boolean Options belong here as well
- Mode-Selections
different to the above in that it's not a boolean thing, but
a selection from a list of possibilities.
Mode of Operation: Selection.
All of these categorizations can be used to sort items inside a
hierarchy starting from another one. For example entries that refer
to addition, deletion or editing could go in the same order everywhere.
For providing extra consistency.
-----
Autocomplete semi-commandline
Like mentioned before in some post of mine, there could be a textfield
somewhere on the toolbox menu. Starting with the first key entered,
possible completions would be shown in a list next to the field.
Like "Add" "Append" "Apply Size/Rot" for "A".
Now what about making _all_ blender functionality accessible through
this way?
Example: Setting OSA to 16:
- Hit spacebar
- Enter "osa"
- Below the textfiled a line reading "OSA" and the current value appears.
- Complete entry "osa 16" and hit enter.
Example: Adjusting the red value of the material applied to the active
object.
- Hit spacebar
- Enter "red"
- All red-values that could be meant appear in form of sliders (just like
in the buttons-window)
...
This would fit well with button-panels, because those could be called by
name.
---
Thorsten