Outliner Context Menu Cleanup #77770

New Issue

Nathan Craddock · 2020-06-11T17:43:12+02:00

Nathan Craddock commented

2020-06-11 17:43:12 +02:00

The outliner context menu needs an extensive cleanup.

Many of the tools are implemented as "multi" operators that combine multiple similar operators into one. This has caused issues in the past (e.g. undo 121b2c0424).
The combined operators also cause the "Undocumented Operator" title and description for most of the context menu entries
Some operators do not work; a report is sent saying "Not yet implemented" to the user. This has been the case for a long time.
The context menu options are based on the selection. For example, a right click on a modifier properly brings up the context menu to delete the modifier. But if any other items are selected, a Delete entry is still shown, but it is mapped to delete objects and not modifiers.

A refactoring of most (all?) of the outliner operators and related code is needed to address these issues. Some work has already started with D7558: Outliner: Add new delete operator by combining the object and collection delete operators into a separate operator.

The proposed behavior of the new context menu:

Entries in the context menu are shown based on the target of the right-click rather than the selection. In the above example about modifier delete, the right click on the modifier would still show the delete modifier option because the modifier was the target of the right-click.
If selection exists, but the right-click target is outside of the selection, the target will replace the selection If the target is already selected, no selection will be modified
The object_operation, id_operation, etc. operators will be split up into smaller, more focused operators.
** One benefit of the current combined operators is that they can share logic (like loops over the outliner tree). A function to iterate through the tree returning only the objects supported for the operation can be created to be used in each operator.
As much as possible, and where logical, support the operator for the entire selection (supported items).
Rely on synced selection. For example, we currently have Object Select Hierarchy and Collection Select Objects operators to select child objects. The behavior of these are essentially the same; select the objects in the tree beneath the selected object. In this case, synced selection of object makes this a very easy operator to implement: recursively select the objects in the tree. This will remove similar/duplicated code. An additional benefit is that these operators will work when synced selection is disabled by selecting the outliner elements and then syncing to objects if syncing is enabled.
Remove unnecessary operators to focus the outliner. For example, Object Select and Object Deselect don't make much sense in a context menu when those are supported now by synced selection.

Overall there are two targets:

Cleaner and updated code.
Better user experience. (Operate on right-click target and cleaner context menu entries. Menu entry tooltips)

The outliner context menu needs an extensive cleanup. * Many of the tools are implemented as "multi" operators that combine multiple similar operators into one. This has caused issues in the past (e.g. undo 121b2c0424). * The combined operators also cause the "Undocumented Operator" title and description for most of the context menu entries * Some operators do not work; a report is sent saying "Not yet implemented" to the user. This has been the case for a long time. * The context menu options are based on the selection. For example, a right click on a modifier properly brings up the context menu to delete the modifier. But if any other items are selected, a `Delete` entry is still shown, but it is mapped to delete objects and not modifiers. A refactoring of most (all?) of the outliner operators and related code is needed to address these issues. Some work has already started with [D7558: Outliner: Add new delete operator](https://archive.blender.org/developer/D7558) by combining the object and collection delete operators into a separate operator. The proposed behavior of the new context menu: 1. Entries in the context menu are shown based on the *target* of the right-click rather than the selection. In the above example about modifier delete, the right click on the modifier would still show the delete modifier option because the modifier was the target of the right-click. **If selection exists, but the right-click target is outside of the selection, the target will replace the selection** If the target is already selected, no selection will be modified 2. The `object_operation`, `id_operation`, etc. operators will be split up into smaller, more focused operators. ** One benefit of the current combined operators is that they can share logic (like loops over the outliner tree). A function to iterate through the tree returning only the objects supported for the operation can be created to be used in each operator. 3. As much as possible, and where logical, support the operator for the entire selection (supported items). 4. Rely on synced selection. For example, we currently have `Object Select Hierarchy` and `Collection Select Objects` operators to select child objects. The behavior of these are essentially the same; select the objects in the tree beneath the selected object. In this case, synced selection of object makes this a very easy operator to implement: recursively select the objects in the tree. This will remove similar/duplicated code. An additional benefit is that these operators will work when synced selection is disabled by selecting the outliner elements and then syncing to objects if syncing is enabled. 5. Remove unnecessary operators to focus the outliner. For example, `Object Select` and `Object Deselect` don't make much sense in a context menu when those are supported now by synced selection. Overall there are two targets: 1. Cleaner and updated code. 2. Better user experience. (Operate on right-click target and cleaner context menu entries. Menu entry tooltips)

Nathan Craddock self-assigned this 2020-06-11 17:43:12 +02:00

Nathan Craddock commented

2020-06-11 17:43:12 +02:00

Changed status from 'Needs Triage' to: 'Confirmed'