Issue with discoverability of replacement for auto-smooth option #114794

New Issue

Simon Thommes · 2023-11-13T15:02:14+01:00

Simon Thommes commented

2023-11-13 15:02:14 +01:00

System Information
Operating system: Linux-6.5.7-gentoo-x86_64-AMD_Ryzen_9_5950X_16-Core_Processor-with-glibc2.37 64 Bits, X11 UI
Graphics card: NVIDIA RTX A6000/PCIe/SSE2 NVIDIA Corporation 4.6.0 NVIDIA 535.113.01

Blender Version
Broken: version: 4.1.0 Alpha, branch: main, commit date: 2023-11-12 15:36, hash: 3816fcd8611b
Worked: (newest version of Blender that worked as expected)

Short description of error
I chatted about this with @HooglyBoogly and we agreed I'd make an issue to explore solutions and track this issue.

Since the Auto Smooth option from the mesh datablock went away to be replaced by a Geometry Nodes setup the replacement is not entirely intuitive for returning users. To me the fact that the versioning code adds a different modifier than the one that replaces it, combined with the fact that searching for Auto Smooth does not return the replacement modifier turns this into too big of a jump between 2 Blender versions and creates a discoverability problem.

One option would be to add '(Auto Smooth)' to the name of the modifier asset to make the connection clear.

**System Information** Operating system: Linux-6.5.7-gentoo-x86_64-AMD_Ryzen_9_5950X_16-Core_Processor-with-glibc2.37 64 Bits, X11 UI Graphics card: NVIDIA RTX A6000/PCIe/SSE2 NVIDIA Corporation 4.6.0 NVIDIA 535.113.01 **Blender Version** Broken: version: 4.1.0 Alpha, branch: main, commit date: 2023-11-12 15:36, hash: `3816fcd8611b` Worked: (newest version of Blender that worked as expected) **Short description of error** I chatted about this with @HooglyBoogly and we agreed I'd make an issue to explore solutions and track this issue. Since the `Auto Smooth` option from the mesh datablock went away to be replaced by a Geometry Nodes setup the replacement is not entirely intuitive for returning users. To me the fact that the versioning code adds a different modifier than the one that replaces it, combined with the fact that searching for `Auto Smooth` does not return the replacement modifier turns this into too big of a jump between 2 Blender versions and creates a discoverability problem. One option would be to add '(Auto Smooth)' to the name of the modifier asset to make the connection clear.

Simon Thommes added the

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Hans Goudey added

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Hans Goudey self-assigned this 2023-11-13 15:05:18 +01:00

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Nodes & Physics

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Hans Goudey removed their assignment 2023-11-13 16:05:13 +01:00

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Hans Goudey added this to the Nodes & Physics project 2023-11-13 16:05:30 +01:00

Hans Goudey commented

2023-11-13 16:06:16 +01:00

So far the option I like most is renaming the versioning node group into Smooth by Angle, the same as the new asset. That's nicer since it's more obvious this is the replacement (at least it's an easier thing to learn), and that shows you where to look in the menu.

So far the option I like most is renaming the versioning node group into `Smooth by Angle`, the same as the new asset. That's nicer since it's more obvious this is the replacement (at least it's an easier thing to learn), and that shows you where to look in the menu.

Hans Goudey added this to the 4.1 milestone 2023-11-13 16:06:28 +01:00

Nika Kutsniashvili commented

2023-11-14 10:34:44 +01:00

When clicking on Smooth by Angle in context menu, why not add a modifier? I don't understand what is the benefit of changing smoothing as one-time operator? When will that ever be useful? I've never wanted my meshes to NOT update automatically when I edit them, and I doubt any 3D artist ever wished that.

❤️ 4

Pratik Borhade commented

2024-02-12 10:07:20 +01:00

When clicking on Smooth by Angle in context menu, why not add a modifier?

yes, make sense to add modifier instead. Otherwise one would need to apply the operator after each change.
Can we add this prior to 4.1 release? Else we would get lot of reports about this behavior.

> When clicking on Smooth by Angle in context menu, why not add a modifier? yes, make sense to add modifier instead. Otherwise one would need to apply the operator after each change. Can we add this prior to 4.1 release? Else we would get lot of reports about this behavior.

👍 1

Hans Goudey removed this from the 4.1 milestone 2024-03-14 17:48:20 +01:00

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Issue with discoverability of replacement for auto-smooth option #114794