2.8 UI Tools: Favourites Bar / Specials Menu Design #55027

New Issue

William Reynish · 2018-05-10T23:08:29+02:00

William Reynish commented

2018-05-10 23:08:29 +02:00

For Blender 2.8, we want to add an easy way for users to access their most often used commands.

In Blender 2.8, we are adding a new menu called Favourites. It works like this:

The user locates a command in the menus that he/she would like to save as a favourite. The user right-clicks on it and chooses 'Add to Favourites'. This adds it to a new 'Favourites' section in the N-key area for quick access. Additionally, the old Specials menu (W key) will now reflect these same commands.

This way, uses can save a handy list of a few often used commands, and either access them from the Q-menu, or from the Favourites bar.

Once items are in the Favourites list, they can be either removed by right clicking on them, or re-ordered. Favourites are stored as a preset file in the Blender config folder.

For Blender 2.8, we want to add an easy way for users to access their most often used commands. In Blender 2.8, we are adding a new menu called *Favourites*. It works like this: The user locates a command in the menus that he/she would like to save as a favourite. The user right-clicks on it and chooses 'Add to Favourites'. This adds it to a new 'Favourites' section in the N-key area for quick access. Additionally, the old Specials menu (W key) will now reflect these same commands. ![Screen Shot 2018-05-10 at 23.00.52.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F3334021/Screen_Shot_2018-05-10_at_23.00.52.png) This way, uses can save a handy list of a few often used commands, and either access them from the Q-menu, or from the Favourites bar. ![Screen Shot 2018-06-25 at 20.29.17.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F3797649/Screen_Shot_2018-06-25_at_20.29.17.png) Once items are in the Favourites list, they can be either removed by right clicking on them, or re-ordered. Favourites are stored as a preset file in the Blender config folder.

William Reynish self-assigned this 2018-05-10 23:08:29 +02:00

William Reynish commented

2018-05-10 23:08:29 +02:00

Added subscribers: @WilliamReynish, @ideasman42

Antonio Vazquez commented

2018-05-11 10:22:30 +02:00

Added subscriber: @antoniov

Antonio Vazquez commented

2018-05-11 10:22:30 +02:00

@WilliamReynish Are any plans to allow hide a panel? Of course, you would need a way to show again the hidden panels.

This is something request by some users, specially for 2D artist using grease pencil. They don't want a lot of panels that they never use. We can hide them in python checking the mode, but it would be better if the user could customize what panels hide.

@WilliamReynish Are any plans to allow hide a panel? Of course, you would need a way to show again the hidden panels. This is something request by some users, specially for 2D artist using grease pencil. They don't want a lot of panels that they never use. We can hide them in python checking the mode, but it would be better if the user could customize what panels hide.

William Reynish commented

2018-05-11 10:57:10 +02:00

Two things:

We will probably add tabs for the N-key area, so that we can group things better. This is also useful to Addons with several panels
We have also discussed a generic way to show/hide panels, although may not be quite so necessary if we have tabs anyway.

Two things: - We will probably add tabs for the N-key area, so that we can group things better. This is also useful to Addons with several panels - We have also discussed a generic way to show/hide panels, although may not be quite so necessary if we have tabs anyway.

cédric lepiller commented

2018-05-11 11:28:06 +02:00

Added subscriber: @cedriclepiller

cédric lepiller commented

2018-05-11 11:28:06 +02:00

On this task, I can imagine people asking you the possibility to group favourites to make custom menus.
Rmb on the empty part, add menu, then place the favourites in this menu with a popover to see what's inside.

Can you add the possibility to hide tabs and tools?
Depending on what we work, there is a lot of things we never use.
For example, I'm not an animator so everything related to that is not useful for me.

Maybe it will be part of Blender 101.

On this task, I can imagine people asking you the possibility to group favourites to make custom menus. Rmb on the empty part, add menu, then place the favourites in this menu with a popover to see what's inside. Can you add the possibility to hide tabs and tools? Depending on what we work, there is a lot of things we never use. For example, I'm not an animator so everything related to that is not useful for me. Maybe it will be part of Blender 101.

William Reynish commented

2018-05-11 12:16:09 +02:00

Yes, that could be very useful, but may be outside the scope, at least for now. We believe that a very simple system like this will serve most users well.

Perhaps later on down the road, we could add more advanced configuration options. I expect more advanced configuration will be relegated for addons, such as the excellent pie builder tools.

Yes, that could be very useful, but may be outside the scope, at least for now. We believe that a very simple system like this will serve most users well. Perhaps later on down the road, we could add more advanced configuration options. I expect more advanced configuration will be relegated for addons, such as the excellent pie builder tools.

Luciano Muñoz Sessarego commented

2018-05-11 12:27:54 +02:00

Added subscriber: @LucianoMunoz

Luciano Muñoz Sessarego commented

2018-05-11 12:27:54 +02:00

Would be nice if user could add any sort of command as a button without having to create an addon and go through that whole convoluted process.

William Reynish commented

2018-05-11 12:29:10 +02:00

Luciano: That's precisely what the Favourites Bar is for.

Luciano Muñoz Sessarego commented

2018-05-11 13:02:51 +02:00

great!
will you be able to add a script as a button too?, like just paste it into it and when you click the button it will run the entire script?

great! will you be able to add a script as a button too?, like just paste it into it and when you click the button it will run the entire script?

cédric lepiller commented

2018-05-11 13:28:57 +02:00

Like he said, for now, it's as simple as possible, but later let's hope that will be possible.

Erick Tukuniata commented

2018-05-11 15:10:46 +02:00

Added subscriber: @ErickNyanduKabongo

Erick Tukuniata commented

2018-05-11 15:10:46 +02:00

This is just too good to be true

{meme, src=itsawesome}

This is just too good to be true {meme, src=itsawesome}

Jorge Vásquez Pérez commented

2018-05-12 10:42:41 +02:00

Added subscriber: @yorch

Jorge Vásquez Pérez commented

2018-05-12 10:42:42 +02:00

The "Favourites" Idea sounds very interesting, pushing more and more the personalization of the workspace, in simple ways.
One thing to bear in mind if this is going to replace (or merge with) the "Specials", is that the specials were context sensitive.
It would be really useful if the "Favourites" kept this behavior, if not it could become an all-purpose bucket that gets full too easily,
and having to skim over a bunch of operators or tools that are irrelevant for the task at hand, can make it cumbersome to use.
For instance, if you're looking for an operator that works in pose-mode, it'd be counterproductive to have it in the same bucket as a bunch of modeling operators.

And by the way, SUUUPER EXCITED for all that's happening in 2.8. Thanks guys !!!

The "Favourites" Idea sounds very interesting, pushing more and more the personalization of the workspace, in simple ways. One thing to bear in mind if this is going to replace (or merge with) the "Specials", is that the specials were context sensitive. It would be really useful if the "Favourites" kept this behavior, if not it could become an all-purpose bucket that gets full too easily, and having to skim over a bunch of operators or tools that are irrelevant for the task at hand, can make it cumbersome to use. For instance, if you're looking for an operator that works in pose-mode, it'd be counterproductive to have it in the same bucket as a bunch of modeling operators. And by the way, SUUUPER EXCITED for all that's happening in 2.8. Thanks guys !!!

Dalai Felinto commented

2018-05-14 10:20:59 +02:00

Changed status from 'Open' to: 'Resolved'

Dalai Felinto closed this issue

2018-05-14 10:20:59 +02:00

William Reynish changed title from ~~Favourites Bar / Specials Menu Design~~ to 2.8 UI Tools: Favourites Bar / Specials Menu Design

2018-06-11 13:01:14 +02:00

Campbell Barton commented

2018-06-23 20:57:44 +02:00

Committed initial support for user favorites menu. 85c1e61375

Menu items are per space type and mode, they can be added & removed from the RMB menu.

Currently they can be accessed from the Q key, a panel to manage these needs to be added too (TODO).

Committed initial support for user favorites menu. 85c1e61375 Menu items are per space type and mode, they can be added & removed from the RMB menu. Currently they can be accessed from the Q key, a panel to manage these needs to be added too (TODO).

Campbell Barton commented

2018-06-23 21:40:13 +02:00

Re: "the old Specials menu (W key) will now reflect these same commands."

Is the intention still to remove the W-Key Specials context menu and only have favorites?

Also, not every space has an N-key region (user defined menus can be used in any space).

Re: *"the old Specials menu (W key) will now reflect these same commands."* Is the intention still to remove the W-Key Specials context menu and only have favorites? Also, not every space has an N-key region (user defined menus can be used in any space).

Antonio Vazquez commented

2018-06-23 22:05:24 +02:00

We could remove the W menu if there was a way to implement a default "favorites" menu by mode. I'm thinking in the current W menu I have in grease pencil (different for each mode). In this way we can provide a default and the user could customize it.

KiJeon commented

2018-06-24 11:07:34 +02:00

Added subscriber: @0o00o0oo

KiJeon commented

2018-06-24 11:14:31 +02:00

Just a quick question: Is there a plan to make the Favorites Bar optionally a floating panel?

It would make for a better UX if tools are being used in rapid succession and the Favorites Bar doesn't disappear every time.

Just a quick question: Is there a plan to make the Favorites Bar optionally a floating panel? It would make for a better UX if tools are being used in rapid succession and the Favorites Bar doesn't disappear every time.

Campbell Barton commented

2018-06-24 12:44:58 +02:00

In #55027#513160, @antoniov wrote:
We could remove the W menu if there was a way to implement a default "favorites" menu by mode.

There are some implications for this.

This means we wont have a 'default/static' context menu people can use when they sit down at any system, for tutorials etc (maybe this is OK).
While possible, it's unlikely a user defined menu will be as context sensitive as one defined in Python. - for eg, current edit-mesh context menu also checks for active vertex/edge/face modes - while we could support this it's made more complicated by some sections of the menu checking for this context, some not.
If we pre-populate user menus, it makes it less useful as an empty place for users to add their own items. Just as users are unlikely to clear an entire keymap and start from scratch, I think users would be wary of clearing all items (in case it's used in a tutorial for eg).

There are reasons we might want to have both a stock-standard context menu and a place for users to have their own custom commands.

> In #55027#513160, @antoniov wrote: > We could remove the W menu if there was a way to implement a default "favorites" menu by mode. There are some implications for this. - This means we wont have a 'default/static' context menu people can use when they sit down at any system, for tutorials etc *(maybe this is OK)*. - While possible, it's unlikely a user defined menu will be as context sensitive as one defined in Python. - for eg, current edit-mesh context menu also checks for active vertex/edge/face modes - while we could support this it's made more complicated by some sections of the menu checking for this context, some not. - If we pre-populate user menus, it makes it less useful as an empty place for users to add their own items. Just as users are unlikely to clear an entire keymap and start from scratch, I think users would be wary of clearing all items (in case it's used in a tutorial for eg). There are reasons we might want to have both a stock-standard context menu and a place for users to have their own custom commands.

Erick Tukuniata commented

2018-06-24 14:15:31 +02:00

Is the intention still to remove the W-Key Specials context menu and only have favorites?

I think, it is better to have both, just in case the favorite menu gets so long if we remove the special menu (W).

It would be good to make sure that "add to favorites menu" appears only when the operator can be added in the favorites menu e.g go to material panel -> custom property -> right click -> add to favorite menu , nothing happens. And there is places that we need "add to favorites menu" for example: snapping menu.

> Is the intention still to remove the W-Key Specials context menu and only have favorites? I think, it is better to have both, just in case the favorite menu gets so long if we remove the special menu (W). It would be good to make sure that "add to favorites menu" appears only when the operator can be added in the favorites menu e.g go to material panel -> custom property -> right click -> add to favorite menu , nothing happens. And there is places that we need "add to favorites menu" for example: snapping menu.

William Reynish commented

2018-06-25 10:22:18 +02:00

In the original concept for this, we thought of combining the 'Specials' menu with Favourites. We discarded that idea though, in favour of making the Specials menu more context sensitive, like a right-click menu.

This way, users can rely on the context (specials) menu to always be the same, while the Favourites menu can be tailored to users with specific workflows and use-cases that use more obscure tools and commands often.

The old Specials menu was trying to be both, a general contextual menu and also include some obscure commands at the same time, and the result was a random mess. With this separation, we think we can both make a more contextual, reliable, right-click-style menu, as well as a clean slate for user-defined favourite commands.

In the original concept for this, we thought of combining the 'Specials' menu with Favourites. We discarded that idea though, in favour of making the Specials menu more context sensitive, like a right-click menu. This way, users can rely on the context (specials) menu to always be the same, while the Favourites menu can be tailored to users with specific workflows and use-cases that use more obscure tools and commands often. The old Specials menu was trying to be both, a general contextual menu and also include some obscure commands at the same time, and the result was a random mess. With this separation, we think we can both make a more contextual, reliable, right-click-style menu, as well as a clean slate for user-defined favourite commands.

Gibran Kaleel commented

2018-06-25 10:57:14 +02:00

Added subscriber: @JonDoe286

Gibran Kaleel commented

2018-06-25 10:57:14 +02:00

Agreed. I too think it's a smart idea to keep both.

W as it is currently. A 'Context Sensitive' Specials Menu. Like William mentioned, a 'Right-Click Menu' of sorts.

But a bit more Cleaned-up/Streamlined, so it only contains the absolute essentials which will always remain the same. Depending on which Editor Type, Mode, Components, Etc. So new and experienced users will always have a 'Default' to fall back to.

Q has been Amazing from a workflow standpoint, giving users the 'Freedom' to customize having a 'Quick Menu' at their fingertips. Two-Thumbs-Up :) I think the only thing needed is a small editor panel or preferences window tab so users can organize their favorites even better. Re-Ordering, Delete, Add Seperators, Etc.

The biggest bonus is, both Q-W are right next to each other. And functionally, they make a great Power Couple! :D

Agreed. I too think it's a smart idea to keep both. **W** as it is currently. A 'Context Sensitive' Specials Menu. Like William mentioned, a 'Right-Click Menu' of sorts. But a bit more Cleaned-up/Streamlined, so it only contains the absolute essentials which will always remain the same. Depending on which Editor Type, Mode, Components, Etc. So new and experienced users will always have a 'Default' to fall back to. **Q** has been Amazing from a workflow standpoint, giving users the 'Freedom' to customize having a 'Quick Menu' at their fingertips. **Two-Thumbs-Up** :) I think the only thing needed is a small editor panel or preferences window tab so users can organize their favorites even better. Re-Ordering, Delete, Add Seperators, Etc. The biggest bonus is, both Q-W are right next to each other. And functionally, they make a great **Power Couple**! :D

Campbell Barton commented

2018-06-25 19:46:25 +02:00

@JonDoe286 - menu editor is planned, I've already restructured the internals so we can more easily add a menu editor a5b7f1ef53

@JonDoe286 - menu editor is planned, I've already restructured the internals so we can more easily add a menu editor a5b7f1ef53

Gibran Kaleel commented

2018-06-25 19:49:46 +02:00

@ideasman42 Cool. That's awesome to hear man. Can't wait to try it out. :)

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2.8 UI Tools: Favourites Bar / Specials Menu Design #55027