Inconsistent display of active filters for file import/export file dialogs. #90159

New Issue

Leon Zandman · 2021-07-26T10:49:28+02:00

Leon Zandman commented

2021-07-26 10:49:28 +02:00

System Information
Operating system: macOS-11.5-x86_64-i386-64bit 64 Bits
Graphics card: Apple M1 Apple 4.1 Metal - 71.7.1

Blender Version
Broken: version: 2.93.1, branch: master, commit date: 2021-06-22 05:57, hash: 1b8d33b18c
Worked: -

During a review of the upcoming USD Import feature (D10700) I noticed some conflicting behaviour in Blender's file import and export dialogs. As this behaviour isn't specific to the USD branch's code, it seems better to track this issue in this separate task.

Short description of error
Blender's file dialogs support setting filters for certain files, based on filename extensions. The dialogs used for Blender's file import and export features all use this and are instanced using a filter that corresponds to the file type(s) that the particular import or export feature supports. So when you do File -> Import -> Alembic (.abc) you get, as the menu item implies, a file dialog that only shows folders and files that have the .abc filename extension.

However, the active filter isn't always clear to the end user. Some dialogs clearly show the active filter, while others don't. The filter sections for both the Collada and Alembic import dialogs look like this, even though they filter for different filename extensions:

As you can see, nowhere the currently active filename extension filters (.dae for Collada or .abc for Alembic) are shown.

And here are the filter sections for the FBX and glTF 2.0 import dialogs:

I'd say the latter two are more clear to the end user. I personally think a file dialog should always indicate the currently active filters and clearly specify them.

It seems the import/export dialogs that do display the currently active filter are all originating from Python add-on code, while the "wrong" ones are from built-in, native C++ features.

Step to Reproduce

Open Default scene
File -> Import/Export -> Collada -> Filter Settings (current active extension is not displayed in dropdown)
File -> Import/Export -> FBX -> Filter Settings (current active extension is displayed in dropdown)

**System Information** Operating system: macOS-11.5-x86_64-i386-64bit 64 Bits Graphics card: Apple M1 Apple 4.1 Metal - 71.7.1 **Blender Version** Broken: version: 2.93.1, branch: master, commit date: 2021-06-22 05:57, hash: `1b8d33b18c` Worked: - During a review of the upcoming USD Import feature ([D10700](https://archive.blender.org/developer/D10700)) I noticed some conflicting behaviour in Blender's file import and export dialogs. As this behaviour isn't specific to the USD branch's code, it seems better to track this issue in this separate task. **Short description of error** Blender's file dialogs support setting filters for certain files, based on filename extensions. The dialogs used for Blender's file import and export features all use this and are instanced using a filter that corresponds to the file type(s) that the particular import or export feature supports. So when you do `File -> Import -> Alembic (.abc)` you get, as the menu item implies, a file dialog that only shows folders and files that have the `.abc` filename extension. However, the active filter isn't always clear to the end user. Some dialogs clearly show the active filter, while others don't. The filter sections for both the Collada and Alembic import dialogs look like this, even though they filter for different filename extensions: ![USD_Filter.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F10228600/USD_Filter.png) As you can see, nowhere the currently active filename extension filters (`.dae` for Collada or `.abc` for Alembic) are shown. And here are the filter sections for the FBX and glTF 2.0 import dialogs: ![FBX_Filter.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F10228587/FBX_Filter.png) ![glTF_Filter.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F10228590/glTF_Filter.png) I'd say the latter two are more clear to the end user. I personally think a file dialog should always indicate the currently active filters and clearly specify them. It seems the import/export dialogs that do display the currently active filter are all originating from Python add-on code, while the "wrong" ones are from built-in, native C++ features. **Step to Reproduce** - Open Default scene - File -> Import/Export -> Collada -> Filter Settings (current active extension is not displayed in dropdown) - File -> Import/Export -> FBX -> Filter Settings (current active extension is displayed in dropdown)

Leon Zandman commented

2021-07-26 10:49:28 +02:00

Added subscriber: @Zandman