Geometry Nodes: reorganize panels in modifier #117170

Jacques Lucke · 2024-01-16T15:04:58+01:00

Jacques Lucke commented

2024-01-16 15:04:58 +01:00

The goal is to simplify the interface of the geometry nodes modifier while also making it more scalable. This allows creating better looking modifiers which feel more built-in. No functionality is removed by this patch.

The following changes are done:

The Output Attributes panel is hidden when there are no output attributes.
The Internal Dependencies panel is replaced by a new Manage panel that contains all the stuff that is common to all geometry nodes modifiers. It contains new Bake and Named Attributes panels for now.

Potential next steps:

Merge Output Attributes panel with the rest of the input list.
Support hiding the Manage panel under some circumstances.

The goal is to simplify the interface of the geometry nodes modifier while also making it more scalable. This allows creating better looking modifiers which feel more built-in. No functionality is removed by this patch. The following changes are done: * The `Output Attributes` panel is hidden when there are no output attributes. * The `Internal Dependencies` panel is replaced by a new `Manage` panel that contains all the stuff that is common to all geometry nodes modifiers. It contains new `Bake` and `Named Attributes` panels for now. Potential next steps: * Merge `Output Attributes` panel with the rest of the input list. * Support hiding the `Manage` panel under some circumstances. ![image](/attachments/e52caed8-8640-4167-b471-7b6ab206ad24) ![image](/attachments/897d1fc9-96e3-44d4-851e-8a621a505671) ![image](/attachments/62fdd98c-44fa-4acb-92bb-ecd5f42aa9c0)

60 KiB

81 KiB

59 KiB

55 KiB

image.png

48 KiB

image.png

57 KiB

image.png

52 KiB

❤️ 3

Jacques Lucke added 2 commits 2024-01-16 15:05:10 +01:00

1d8fb1eab3 show output attributes as normal inputs

aac4b6458a add manage panel

Jacques Lucke requested review from Simon Thommes 2024-01-16 15:18:22 +01:00

Jacques Lucke requested review from Hans Goudey 2024-01-16 15:18:23 +01:00

Simon Thommes commented

2024-01-16 16:09:19 +01:00

Couple things first:

Did you consider other names for the panel than Manage? I don't have a better suggestion off the top of my head, but I'm wondering what your choices were.
In your screenshots it looks like the name field in the modifier header disappeared. Is that an oversight?

To your questions:

Should we show some extra icon next to output attributes to make it more obvious that those correspond to outputs of the node group?

Intuitively I want to say yes. I'm not sure how much this comes from being used to having inputs and outputs strictly separated in the modifier UI though. Would be good to try it out and look at a few example files. The hair nodes might be a good start to look at.

Should the node group selector be moved to the Manage panel? Maybe that could allow us to remove the Show Node Group checkbox.

Generally sounds reasonable but there are some details why we shouldn't do this in my opinion. Since the nodegroup data-block is so integral to the modifier that it defines all of the remaining content of the modifier UI it reads a lot cleaner when it is at the top and not within a panel. Also for the workflow of creating a new modifier and node-tree it feels off to me to create the data that defines the content of the modifier in some panel. And additionally this ties in to your last point of hiding the manage panel.

Do we need the ability to hide the Manage panel? For now that seems unnecessary. It is already way less intrusive than the panels we had before.

While it is true that this already improves the UI in cases that don't require these panels, I still think it would be great to automatically hide the whole panel, when there is no information to be found. To me this panel is really just about additional data/information that depends on the context of the node-tree, so the fact whether it is shown or not should just as well depend on whether it is necessary.
As an example: the smooth by angle modifier really has no good reason to show this panel at all.

The same btw for user defined panels, which, for whatever reason, don't show any content in the UI:

Couple things first: - Did you consider other names for the panel than `Manage`? I don't have a better suggestion off the top of my head, but I'm wondering what your choices were. - In your screenshots it looks like the name field in the modifier header disappeared. Is that an oversight? To your questions: > Should we show some extra icon next to output attributes to make it more obvious that those correspond to outputs of the node group? Intuitively I want to say yes. I'm not sure how much this comes from being used to having inputs and outputs strictly separated in the modifier UI though. Would be good to try it out and look at a few example files. The hair nodes might be a good start to look at. > Should the node group selector be moved to the Manage panel? Maybe that could allow us to remove the Show Node Group checkbox. Generally sounds reasonable but there are some details why we shouldn't do this in my opinion. Since the nodegroup data-block is so integral to the modifier that it defines all of the remaining content of the modifier UI it reads a lot cleaner when it is at the top and not within a panel. Also for the workflow of creating a new modifier and node-tree it feels off to me to create the data that defines the content of the modifier in some panel. And additionally this ties in to your last point of hiding the manage panel. > Do we need the ability to hide the Manage panel? For now that seems unnecessary. It is already way less intrusive than the panels we had before. While it is true that this already improves the UI in cases that don't require these panels, I still think it would be great to automatically hide the whole panel, when there is no information to be found. To me this panel is really just about additional data/information that depends on the context of the node-tree, so the fact whether it is shown or not should just as well depend on whether it is necessary. As an example: the `smooth by angle` modifier really has no good reason to show this panel at all. The same btw for user defined panels, which, for whatever reason, don't show any content in the UI: ![image](/attachments/214c16f2-b24a-4820-8e66-bb38b3191cdd)

image.png

9.4 KiB

Jacques Lucke commented

2024-01-16 16:29:55 +01:00

Did you consider other names for the panel than Manage? I don't have a better suggestion off the top of my head, but I'm wondering what your choices were.

I was looking for some alternatives, but haven't really found any strong contender yet. I'm open to suggestions.

In your screenshots it looks like the name field in the modifier header disappeared. Is that an oversight?

Didn't notice that when taking the screenshots. Looks like that happened because the region was too thin. Never noticed that the name would be hidden in this case before, but it's the same in main.

Generally sounds reasonable but there are some details why we shouldn't do this in my opinion. Since the nodegroup data-block is so integral to the modifier that it defines all of the remaining content of the modifier UI it reads a lot cleaner when it is at the top and not within a panel. Also for the workflow of creating a new modifier and node-tree it feels off to me to create the data that defines the content of the modifier in some panel. And additionally this ties in to your last point of hiding the manage panel.

We could also consider moving the Manage panel to the top. Maybe then it would be less bad to add the data block selector into it. Maybe I'm biased because I haven't used that selector in a long time. Don't have a strong opinion here. Can also just be kept as is for now.

While it is true that this already improves the UI in cases that don't require these panels, I still think it would be great to automatically hide the whole panel, when there is no information to be found. To me this panel is really just about additional data/information that depends on the context of the node-tree, so the fact whether it is shown or not should just as well depend on whether it is necessary.
As an example: the smooth by angle modifier really has no good reason to show this panel at all.

I don't really like hiding and showing panels based on some heuristic. "No information" could mean different things. Even for the Smooth by Angle modifier it shows the information that no named attributes are used. I'd rather have a more explicit way to allow asset authors to hide the panel. That's also something that could be independently of this patch though.

The same btw for user defined panels, which, for whatever reason, don't show any content in the UI

That can also be solved independently of this patch.

> Did you consider other names for the panel than Manage? I don't have a better suggestion off the top of my head, but I'm wondering what your choices were. I was looking for some alternatives, but haven't really found any strong contender yet. I'm open to suggestions. > In your screenshots it looks like the name field in the modifier header disappeared. Is that an oversight? Didn't notice that when taking the screenshots. Looks like that happened because the region was too thin. Never noticed that the name would be hidden in this case before, but it's the same in `main`. > Generally sounds reasonable but there are some details why we shouldn't do this in my opinion. Since the nodegroup data-block is so integral to the modifier that it defines all of the remaining content of the modifier UI it reads a lot cleaner when it is at the top and not within a panel. Also for the workflow of creating a new modifier and node-tree it feels off to me to create the data that defines the content of the modifier in some panel. And additionally this ties in to your last point of hiding the manage panel. We could also consider moving the `Manage` panel to the top. Maybe then it would be less bad to add the data block selector into it. Maybe I'm biased because I haven't used that selector in a long time. Don't have a strong opinion here. Can also just be kept as is for now. > While it is true that this already improves the UI in cases that don't require these panels, I still think it would be great to automatically hide the whole panel, when there is no information to be found. To me this panel is really just about additional data/information that depends on the context of the node-tree, so the fact whether it is shown or not should just as well depend on whether it is necessary. As an example: the smooth by angle modifier really has no good reason to show this panel at all. I don't really like hiding and showing panels based on some heuristic. "No information" could mean different things. Even for the `Smooth by Angle` modifier it shows the information that no named attributes are used. I'd rather have a more explicit way to allow asset authors to hide the panel. That's also something that could be independently of this patch though. > The same btw for user defined panels, which, for whatever reason, don't show any content in the UI That can also be solved independently of this patch.

👍 1

Hans Goudey approved these changes 2024-01-16 16:37:16 +01:00

Hans Goudey left a comment

Should we show some extra icon next to output attributes to make it more obvious that those correspond to outputs of the node group?

I'd skip that for now, hopefully context and good output naming will make that unnecessary. In the future we could consider adding to the tooltip as well.

Should the node group selector be moved to the Manage panel? Maybe that could allow us to remove the Show Node Group checkbox.

That would work nicely except for when you create a new geometry nodes modifier that doesn't have a node group assigned. Maybe we can consider changing the workflow more to avoid that situation in the future, but I'd suggest not doing that now.

Do we need the ability to hide the Manage panel? For now that seems unnecessary. It is already way less intrusive than the panels we had before.

IMO, not necessary right now, since this already makes the modifier look much quieter.

> * Should we show some extra icon next to output attributes to make it more obvious that those correspond to outputs of the node group? I'd skip that for now, hopefully context and good output naming will make that unnecessary. In the future we could consider adding to the tooltip as well. > * Should the node group selector be moved to the `Manage` panel? Maybe that could allow us to remove the `Show Node Group` checkbox. That would work nicely except for when you create a new geometry nodes modifier that doesn't have a node group assigned. Maybe we can consider changing the workflow more to avoid that situation in the future, but I'd suggest not doing that now. > * Do we need the ability to hide the `Manage` panel? For now that seems unnecessary. It is already way less intrusive than the panels we had before. IMO, not necessary right now, since this already makes the modifier look much quieter.

Jacques Lucke added 4 commits 2024-01-17 12:14:41 +01:00

e6900a718d Merge branch 'main' into panel-reorganization

f3391b4365 Merge branch 'main' into panel-reorganization

71760ac70c bring back output attributes panel, needs more discussion

buildbot/vexp-code-patch-darwin-arm64 Build done. Details

buildbot/vexp-code-patch-darwin-x86_64 Build done. Details

buildbot/vexp-code-patch-windows-amd64 Build done. Details

buildbot/vexp-code-patch-linux-x86_64 Build done. Details

buildbot/vexp-code-patch-lint Build done. Details

buildbot/vexp-code-patch-coordinator Build done. Details

ea05bfeadd hide output attributes panel if it's empty

Jacques Lucke commented

2024-01-17 12:25:13 +01:00

I talked a bit more with Simon and we decided to keep the Output Attributes in a separate panel for now, because more discussion is necessary before we can interleave them with other inputs.

This patch still changes it so that the panel is hidden when there are no output attributes though.

I talked a bit more with Simon and we decided to keep the Output Attributes in a separate panel for now, because more discussion is necessary before we can interleave them with other inputs. This patch still changes it so that the panel is hidden when there are no output attributes though.

Jacques Lucke commented

2024-01-17 12:25:53 +01:00

@blender-bot build

Simon Thommes approved these changes 2024-01-17 12:54:14 +01:00

Simon Thommes left a comment

Looks good to me! I'm a lot more comfortable with splitting these into separate tasks.

I tried thinking of another name than 'Manage' but couldn't come up with anything better.

Looks good to me! I'm a lot more comfortable with splitting these into separate tasks. I tried thinking of another name than 'Manage' but couldn't come up with anything better.

Jacques Lucke merged commit 9df4ffc0c2 into main

2024-01-17 13:40:38 +01:00

Jacques Lucke referenced this issue from a commit

2024-01-17 13:40:39 +01:00

Geometry Nodes: reorganize panels in modifier

Jacques Lucke deleted branch panel-reorganization

2024-01-17 13:40:40 +01:00

thorn-neverwake commented

2024-01-17 14:49:41 +01:00

First-time contributor

Hiding Output Attributes when there are none present, makes it more difficult for a user to know they exist as an option and can be used in the first place.
Removing the title of "Internal Dependencies" means the user must now just "know" that things in the list are indeed Internal Dependencies. This might be fine, or not.

- Hiding Output Attributes when there are none present, makes it more difficult for a user to know they exist as an option and can be used in the first place. - Removing the title of "Internal Dependencies" means the user must now just "know" that things in the list are indeed Internal Dependencies. This might be fine, or not.

👍 1

Hans Goudey referenced this issue from a commit

2024-01-17 16:39:23 +01:00

Geometry Nodes: reorganize panels in modifier

Arye Ramaty referenced this issue from a commit

2024-01-21 15:37:42 +01:00

Geometry Nodes: reorganize panels in modifier

Jonas Dichelle referenced this issue from a commit

2024-02-08 17:29:03 +01:00

Geometry Nodes: reorganize panels in modifier

Sign in to join this conversation.

No reviewers