[Bf-funboard] Feature Req: Nodes auto connect

[Alex Fraser]

On Wed, 2006-11-15 at 19:43 -0500, trip somewhere wrote: 
> Another way that could help is that the dots gett larger when near or
> over them Kinda like a zoom.

I like the zoom idea.

I think Maya does it two ways depending on the mouse button used. One
way connects it to some default, the other pops up a window to set the
connection manually (select output; select input). Maya doesn't have the
connection dots that Blender does, tho.

I love the dots! It's such a cool way to connect nodes. I like the way
the connection snaps to them, too.

The trouble with zooming when the mouse comes near is that you may not
end up with any more precision. For example, the OSX dock makes the
icons larger but doesn't change the clickable area. As you move the
mouse, the next icon grows to replace it. That's the impression I get,
anyway.

I think a workable solution would be to use a timeout: if you hover the
mouse over a node for more than a couple of seconds, the connection
points are enlarged. After the connection is made it shrinks back to its
normal size. It should revert when the mouse moves away too, like popup
menus do already. The timeout could be adjustable, and for the power
users, a hotkey could exist to zoom instantly.

Alternatively, how about hotkey that snaps to the nearest connection
point? E.G. you're dragging a connection, and the cursor is somewhere to
the left of a node. Holding control makes the connection snap to the
nearest input, regardless of how far away it is. This behaviour can be
seen in the Metacity window manager in GNOME: hold down shift and your
window snaps to the screen edges. Unfortunately this doesn't solve the
problem of selecting the first point of the connection.

Cheers,
Alex