Here is a new UI suggestion by dante3k from #blendercoders @ irc.freenode.net. Personally I think that being able to drag the buttons/menus from the buttons window to your work space could be a very good addition for workflow with beginner users and more experienced users.
The idea of a personalisted toolbar was already mentioned (I can`t find the link to the article)
The second idea is a kind of “context menue”, which is already solved by “radial menue”
I like your suggestion. If you take a look at the buttons in the mesh tools panel today, the modeling tools that you most (loopcut, merge etc.) are missing, they are only accessible through hotkeys or from the mesh menu. And from what I can see there really no logic behind which buttons are are in the panels and not. Blender need to be more consistent and logical when it comes this. I belive Broken is working on a button reorganization to 2.5 =).
A problem of having a button for every single tool is that the space is limited. But I belive this can be solved in a good way (sub tabs, scrollable panels, smaller buttons etc.)
One thing that I like to see in blender are overlapping windows, I know that this is against the non-overlapping UI concept, but I think it ok for settings etc. And by this we can hide thing that we normaly don’t use. (btw we already have overlapping windows: view propertis, background image, scuplt properties)
Proof of concept article: http://mke3.net/weblog/blender-toolbar/ . Hopefully this will be possible to do properly and easily after the tool api/event refactor work, planned for 2.5.
One of the nice things about Blender is the ability to organize the workspace as I want it. I used to be able to place the buttons window either horizontally or vertically. The proposed Mesh Tools panel above would only work vertically, reducing this flexibility. Already the extra buttons on the mesh tools panel waste a lot of screen real estate when used horizontally. I, for one, would like to see the button panels remain a standard size, to retain the positioning flexibility. Use tabs, use extra panels, whatever. Don’t force the button window to only vertical.
I read about keyboards with OLED displays on each key but will be expensive about 1300 Euro:( so to much effort to use it for blender gui for few who really will buy it and at same time a blender head.
Or i am wrong?
In my opinion Blender is mostly intended for using with hot-keys, so any other GUI modifications, which would probably occupy too much of the workspace, are useless.
Edited by Alltaken
unwarranted vainqueur.
There is nothing technically wrong with having multiple options for UI, whilst the side menu is not entirely to my liking, the radials are not either, I do like the idea of customizable tabs, I do think a few different UI options could be worked in together. So long as there, as with the radial menus, is the option to turn on or off these functions, the more the merrier.
It would be good for example, rather than having global menu options that these options could be set up for workspace viewports, so I could have radials viewport, dropdown menu layout, standard layout…ect. Personally I would set up different viewports for Edit Mode, Object mode & Scripting Mode and each would use a different interface depending on ease of use, ease of function finding.
So long as in the end I Use Less real estate for the task at hand.
m.a.
Blender is almost unusable if you don’t know any hotkeys at the moment, but it dosen’t have to be that way. The GUI should be there for a reason. And imo you should be able to work blender in a good way without knowing a single hotkey. Other 3d applications have succeeded with that so don’t see why blender can’t.
…G… Than, i think it would be nice if the individual user could decide if a UI is or not usefull… and have the choice between having a (to me VERY usefull) UI or turn it off… :rolleyes:
Personnaly Keyboarding is the most boring thing in an app, ispeak generally, because i’m a “visual” not a “technical”… But this is just my opinion (also, it’s quite a waist of time to learn shortcuts by heart, when it is so easy to recognize icons).
Helas for me (but hurray for a part) Blender is a keyboard thing :eyebrowlift2: … yet i’m about getting used to :evilgrin::yes: It is still 3000.-- Swiss Francs cheaper than Maya… worth missing a UI… :eyebrowlift:
personal work tab is a great idea, I see no reason why it shouldn’t be in the next release.