[Bf-funboard] Mouse versus hot keys

[joe]

On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 5:28 PM, Roger <hovergo at net-tech.com.au> wrote:
> I don't understand how any of the previous discussion relates to slowing
> Blender nor where so called trade offs come into the equation.
>
> Please would you explain how a couple of mouse clicks is slower or worse than
> the existing way.
> Suggestions relate to speeding up and making the work flow more linear, so I
> would greatly appreciate some detail, in how these are seen as slowing.

You're right in spirit, if not in this specific point.  We should
explore all workflow options for the UI (and in fact people actually
do).  It's not like the traditional exclusively-hotkey design is
framed over ton's desk or something.

Anyway, a "couple of mouse clicks" does make quite a difference.  I've
personally found this to be the case in maya, for example.  Of course
if there's less mouse clicks then hotkeys, and you don't have to aim
with precision, it's easier.  Having to aim with precision is the bad
part (personally, I love being able to still work even while dead
tired, because of not having to constantly click on menus and icons
and stuff and actually hit them :)  blender's selection is also very
forgiving).  This is why people invented pie menus.

Personally, I'd love an option to use pie menus in blender.  They work
as well as hotkeys, iirc, we could support customizing them, etc.
This would also solve the annoyance of trying to figure out/remember
hotkeys for menus (e.g. WKEY->0KEY does  does this. . .but wait
there's more then 9 items! how to get to WKEY->10? oh there's a hotkey
for that. . .eh. . .but what is it. . .).

>
> Learning Blender never stops it  just gets easier.
> I don't understand why beginners as different from learners are considered
> another species when the only game in town is using and promoting Blender.
>
> Most of the suggestions we have made in the past are (selfishly) to improve our
> work flow, making it cleaner and are made after years of using Blender daily.
>
As I've said before, improvements to blender's UI were blocked for a
long time by the state of the code.  With the 2.5 project, you can
expect a much easier to learn blender, and more intuitive (devs
actually do care about this, it's just there wasn't anything anyone
could do for so long).

But it won't be as easy as, say, maya (which sacrifices workflow speed
for the ability to easily find things in the UI).  This is a difficult
problem, and don't expect it to be completely solved in the near
future.

> Further, as Blender IS seen, albeit by the seriously uninformed,  as a non
> serious tool then surely this is the time to eliminate those arguments.
>
> Perplexed, Roger

Joe