Hi guys, and girls!
I don’t know if this is a problem for many of you but for me is a huge paper cut! First of all the n-panel tab disposition is a nightmare (since evar. vertical text: uhhh ) when I have a couple of non standard addons and it’s very difficult to read.
My proposition is to make it come from the bottom side instead of the right. And in doing so, re position the “pop up” adjust panel to the previous place of the n-panel, allowing it to be always open.
The pros and cons are addressed in the image. So I’ll let you see it.
I dont know if any of you have this paper cut also so I’ll only post this in the dev site if gets any positive feedback. Since I know this may be not so simple in application.
Here just for showing a possible solution, I have split the window enough times so each important panel can fit in some way. Allowing your for example construct a very specialized view for some specific task.
However more people will have to try first the horizontal alignment and then figure out if it suits their needs and if they really like it. That way they can dive in.
I’m getting flashbacks to 2.4 with your concept. I think the biggest problem with this layout is that you lose so much vertical space, there is much more horizontal space.
As someone with an ultrawide monitor, I have a lot more horizontal space to spare than vertical. The current panel is fine. The only thing is it needs a solution for all the addons that eventually fill it up.
If we had icons and the posibility of multiple columns on the N panel (Whithout having to split the 3D viewport) we could have all the pros you mention way more easily.
Thats exactly the problem with the current state in my opinion. Either vertical or horizontal. The add-on panel never got much UI/UX love. So i’ll try in the coming week to make examples.
But for me the question remains. The N-panel should be what he is, a quick way of performing basic operations. Like the “item, view, tool… possibly adjust” panels do now.
The add-ons on the 3D view should have a proper display and readability. That’s why I made the horizontal 2.4 approach.
But i’ll try to give you guys a more designish approach so we can argue a bit more about this.
I’ve seen this misconception a few places. The 3D View Sidebar is not an ‘addon-panel’. It’s just the 3D View Sidebar, which many of Blender’s editors have.
Addons can register buttons and controls in almost any area of Blender. There’s nothing the limits addons to use the 3D View Sidebar.
Yeah addons definitely overuse this “N region”, and we end up with dozens of tabs because there is no way to reorganize the contents without modifying the addon code.
Dragging different panels into tabs, stack&scroll tabs instead of squash them so that their title stays readable, create tabs and rename them, etc. should be possible.
And then there’s the workspace tabs which seem to be duplicated code-wise (not drawn the same way, react to right-click, etc) -imho these two should be 1 : deduplicated and 2 : enhanced. User-made layout could be stored in workspace data.
Yeah @William, I understand completely what you are ssaying that’s why I said a bit in my statement “add-ons on the 3D view”.
But for a more thoughtful way, should I reiterate saying: We should think of a better panel/ better way in 3D view to “dump” add-on panels?
Because as I said, my problem isn’t the “N-panel” (I know its the sidebar so from know on I’ll call it that so there aren’t doubts). But the consistent misuse of add-ons in the sidebar.
If there were to be an alternative to devs I think would be a plus no?
Edit: This post is merely for me to see if there is really a problem and I can maybe spend some of my time to trying to help or is just a personal papercut.
Let’s agree that vertical text is not the best solution UX wise
Even if the sidebar is not meant to be the addon area, this is the place they occupy for the most part.
It’s definitely not urgent, but some improvements for accessibility and readibility would be appreciated when you guys have some time for the kind of “nice to have” stuffs.
I can definitely see a case for having the option, namely rotated widescreen displays. I have one as a secondary, it’s pretty sweet. But I wouldn’t want that on my main display.
As for the last operator panel, yeah, that should be in the sidebar, possibly in the same tab with the active tool.
edit: this was meant in reply to OP, accidentaly posted as reply to above post.
) when I have a couple of non standard addons and it’s very difficult to read.
I think the biggest problem with this layout is that you lose so much vertical space, there is much more horizontal space.
