Presets & ID browser. Move + and x into the menu #38082

New Issue

William Reynish · 2014-01-05T20:55:31+01:00

William Reynish commented

2014-01-05 20:55:31 +01:00

In Blender, there are several menus that allow you to add/removed items from it.
For each of these menus, we currently place a + and an x button next to it to add or remove items from the menu.

The issue
The problem with this is that it adds considerable clutter in the UI. While a menu is conceptually one thing, the + and x makes it seem like many things. Was this only in one menu it could be ok, but these menus appear many places throughout the UI, and the net effect is loads of these tiny + and x buttons. Also, when hitting the X, it's not so clear that the item is removed, because you have no overview of the list when hitting the X.

Proposed solution

Move + and x buttons inside the menus.

Advantages

Much less clutter throughout the UI
Saves space
It's faster to delete specific items, because you don't need to switch to it first
It's clearer that the + buttons adds a new item, because you can see it immediately in the list
Removing items is also clearer. When hitting the X inside the menu, you see the item being removed from the list

To clarify the effect of hitting the plus or minus icons, we could add colours on rollover, like so:

Moving Example:
(click to view)

In Blender, there are several menus that allow you to add/removed items from it. For each of these menus, we currently place a + and an x button next to it to add or remove items from the menu. **The issue** The problem with this is that it adds considerable clutter in the UI. While a menu is conceptually *one thing*, the + and x makes it seem like *many things*. Was this only in one menu it could be ok, but these menus appear many places throughout the UI, and the net effect is loads of these tiny + and x buttons. Also, when hitting the X, it's not so clear that the item is removed, because you have no overview of the list when hitting the X. **Proposed solution** Move + and x buttons inside the menus. **Advantages** - Much less clutter throughout the UI - Saves space - It's faster to delete specific items, because you don't need to switch to it first - It's clearer that the + buttons adds a new item, because you can see it immediately in the list - Removing items is also clearer. When hitting the X inside the menu, you see the item being removed from the list ![Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_23.28.24.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F62502/Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_23.28.24.png) ![Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_23.28.47.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F62504/Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_23.28.47.png) ![Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_20.40.42.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F62431/Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_20.40.42.png) To clarify the effect of hitting the plus or minus icons, we could add colours on rollover, like so: ![Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_21.18.26.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F62440/Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_21.18.26.png) Moving Example: (click to view) ![menu_new.gif](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F62948/menu_new.gif)

William Reynish commented

2014-01-05 20:55:31 +01:00

Changed status to: 'Open'

William Reynish commented

2014-01-05 20:55:31 +01:00

Added subscriber: @billrey

Thomas Dinges commented

2014-01-05 21:10:02 +01:00

Added subscriber: @ThomasDinges

Thomas Dinges commented

2014-01-05 21:10:02 +01:00

I agree, this is a good idea.

For a fast workflow it would be cool though, if we can have a "+" short cut when the mouse is above the ID Template.
For things like Scenes/Screens this is not a common operation, but for Materials for example, this would add some overhead otherwise.
1 Click would become: 1 Click -> Move Mouse -> 1 Click.

I agree, this is a good idea. For a fast workflow it would be cool though, if we can have a "+" short cut when the mouse is above the ID Template. For things like Scenes/Screens this is not a common operation, but for Materials for example, this would add some overhead otherwise. 1 Click would become: 1 Click -> Move Mouse -> 1 Click.

William Reynish commented

2014-01-05 21:13:31 +01:00

@ThomasDinges: Yes that might be a good idea. Alternatively, we could place the plus at the top of the menu rather than the bottom. That way it would not move down with the list, so you could keep clicking + + + + + + + quickly to add seven items.

Like so:

@ThomasDinges: Yes that might be a good idea. Alternatively, we could place the plus at the top of the menu rather than the bottom. That way it would not move down with the list, so you could keep clicking + + + + + + + quickly to add seven items. Like so: ![Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_21.18.26.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F62440/Screen_Shot_2014-01-05_at_21.18.26.png)

Thomas Dinges commented

2014-01-05 23:03:35 +01:00

Yes, that looks better.

William Reynish commented

2014-01-06 00:21:15 +01:00

Moving example:

Moving example: ![menu_new.gif](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F62950/menu_new.gif)

Brecht Van Lommel commented

2014-01-08 20:54:27 +01:00

Added subscribers: @JonathanWilliamson, @brecht

Matjaž Lamut commented

2014-01-13 17:39:11 +01:00

Added subscriber: @lamoot

Matjaž Lamut commented

2014-01-13 17:39:11 +01:00

I like this idea, it's a very elegant solution to the current problem.

Are there plans to tackle other buttons beside the + and x? There are menus in Blender that have more than + and x buttons next to them, such as F (fake user) and the button showing current datablock's users. I think these share the same problems + and x have, namely being disconnected from the menu. Even with only + and x moved it will already be an improvement, but it won't completely solve the UI clutter with some of the other menus.

I like this idea, it's a very elegant solution to the current problem. Are there plans to tackle other buttons beside the + and x? There are menus in Blender that have more than + and x buttons next to them, such as F (fake user) and the button showing current datablock's users. I think these share the same problems + and x have, namely being disconnected from the menu. Even with only + and x moved it will already be an improvement, but it won't completely solve the UI clutter with some of the other menus. ![Menu_buttons.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F67888/Menu_buttons.png)

Bartosz Moniewski commented

2014-03-26 10:18:34 +01:00

Added subscriber: @BartekMoniewski

Bartosz Moniewski commented

2014-03-26 10:34:07 +01:00

This looks great! Even if it require one more click to add item to list it looks far more intuitive and clean. For me this is fair trade off.

I got one small concern. Clicking plus icon right now copy current selected item and create new with same settings (in materials for example). We need somehow tell user that clicking plus do this action instead of just adding new item with default settings. Not sure "Copy" text will be good for that because it can be mistaken with item names. Maybye tooltip can solve this. Something like "Add copy of selected [item type]" will be clear enough.

By the way, current tooltip for plus icon tells "Add a new material" which is not exactly true because it copy selected material.

This looks great! Even if it require one more click to add item to list it looks far more intuitive and clean. For me this is fair trade off. I got one small concern. Clicking plus icon right now copy current selected item and create new with same settings (in materials for example). We need somehow tell user that clicking plus do this action instead of just adding new item with default settings. Not sure "Copy" text will be good for that because it can be mistaken with item names. Maybye tooltip can solve this. Something like "Add copy of selected [item type]" will be clear enough. By the way, current tooltip for plus icon tells "Add a new material" which is not exactly true because it copy selected material.

Bastien Montagne commented

2014-05-20 16:22:17 +02:00

Added subscriber: @mont29

Campbell Barton commented

2016-03-10 06:36:39 +01:00

Added subscriber: @ideasman42

Campbell Barton commented

2016-03-10 06:36:39 +01:00

Changed status from 'Open' to: 'Archived'

Campbell Barton closed this issue

2016-03-10 06:36:39 +01:00

Campbell Barton self-assigned this 2016-03-10 06:36:39 +01:00

Campbell Barton commented

2016-03-10 06:36:39 +01:00

No resolution or activity in over 3 months,
archiving, listed in the wiki .
Can re-open when we have time to handle this one.

No resolution or activity in over 3 months, archiving, listed in [the wiki ](http://wiki.blender.org/index.php?title=Dev:Source/Development/Todo/UserInterface#Archived_Design_Tasks). Can re-open when we have time to handle this one.

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Presets & ID browser. Move + and x into the menu #38082