I guess this makes sense when workspace is configured, but I found process of configuration a bit confusing. I haven't realized that in small previews switch is button and channel number is channel selector. After that it was quite obvious.

Some issues:

• When in one of small previews you accidentally set channel to 0, the button dissappears and you have to open side panel.
• You can set channel to one above multicam and switching obviously doesn't work.
• Edge cases with a lot of channels can be chosen don't work very well, because there isn't space in header. This works well in panel.

In D10521#266680, @Richard Antalik (ISS) wrote:

I guess this makes sense when workspace is configured, but I found process of configuration a bit confusing. I haven't realized that in small previews switch is button and channel number is channel selector. After that it was quite obvious.

As Multicam currently is, it is super confusing to users, where you would basically have to remember what channel, what material is, while you're editing the material. I guess the optimal solution would be to add a button to split the preview into a preview for each channel. Or a function to add multiple previews in the main preview and you can click on them, would simplify things. But this is way beyond the scope of this patch.

As the feature currently is, you would have to read up on it or view a tutorial, and you would properly still have to do this after this patch, but while editing, having added previews, the actual editing process will be much more intuitive.

In D10521#266680, @Richard Antalik (ISS) wrote:

Some issues:

• When in one of small previews you accidentally set channel to 0, the button disappears and you have to open side panel.

If you set the preview channel to 0, you'll see the switch options of all channels. Any other channel number will let you see the switch button and the channel preview number in the header.
So the part in the manual would be concerning manually adding previews for each channel and use the sidebar to set the preview channel.

• You can set channel to one above multicam and switching obviously doesn't work.

This is unrelated to this patch. It has always been like this. But the switch button properly should be removed in this case.

• Edge cases with a lot of channels can be chosen don't work very well, because there isn't space in header. This works well in panel.

Should we set a limit to how many channels should be visible in the header, or let users adjust their ui accordingly, like it currently is custom in Blender?

In D10521#266791, @Peter Fog (tintwotin) wrote:

In D10521#266680, @Richard Antalik (ISS) wrote:

I guess this makes sense when workspace is configured, but I found process of configuration a bit confusing. I haven't realized that in small previews switch is button and channel number is channel selector. After that it was quite obvious.

As Multicam currently is, it is super confusing to users, where you would basically have to remember what channel, what material is, while you're editing the material. I guess the optimal solution would be to add a button to split the preview into a preview for each channel. Or a function to add multiple previews in the main preview and you can click on them, would simplify things. But this is way beyond the scope of this patch.

As the feature currently is, you would have to read up on it or view a tutorial, and you would properly still have to do this after this patch, but while editing, having added previews, the actual editing process will be much more intuitive.

There could be separate pre-configured workspace for multicam editing, but I would definitely consult this with UI guys, I really can't review that. Also question is, for how many cameras? Possibly 4 are enough to give an idea to customize workspace for more or less if needed?

In any case pre-defined workspace is best solution IMO.

In D10521#266680, @Richard Antalik (ISS) wrote:

Some issues:

• When in one of small previews you accidentally set channel to 0, the button disappears and you have to open side panel.

If you set the preview channel to 0, you'll see the switch options of all channels. Any other channel number will let you see the switch button and the channel preview number in the header.
So the part in the manual would be concerning manually adding previews for each channel and use the sidebar to set the preview channel.

I have talked recently with francesco, he commented on channel property in side panel, that he would rather move it somewhere where it's not that prominent.
How about overlay popover? it would be quickly accessible, with no need to access side panel on such small preview.

Also absolute best (I think at least) would be if clicking on preview would do the switching. Biggest possible clickable area + no need to cram things in very small header. Quite easy to modify current tool as well, but again this may be not acceptable like this, as this is tool action and there is some expected behavior...

• You can set channel to one above multicam and switching obviously doesn't work.

This is unrelated to this patch. It has always been like this. But the switch button properly should be removed in this case.

Yes unrelated, but adding button that can do nothing is not great.

• Edge cases with a lot of channels can be chosen don't work very well, because there isn't space in header. This works well in panel.

Should we set a limit to how many channels should be visible in the header, or let users adjust their ui accordingly, like it currently is custom in Blender?

Not sure what to do here. Question is, if previews were clickable and this was communicated well somehow would you need these buttons in preview?
I was thinking about having these in panel with region overlap, but not great IMO. In panel, 4xn configuration of buttons is quite ideal though. It's just quite far from actual image.
Actually keyboard shortcuts are ideal, but that's besides the point.

In any case I am talking UI design here, which I can't decide on, so I will wait for UI module to accept first.

In UI design there is a great difference between an "existing feature", a "user friendly feature" and a "perfectly implemented" feature.

Imo, most of the VSE features are at the level of "existing features", what I'm trying to do is to make them at least a bit more "user friendly", if they should become "perfect", they would demand major rewrites, which the current VSE 2.0 plan doesn't leave room for the next year or so, and I'll not be able to code it.

Multicam, in its current state is pretty much impossible to figure out how to use, without looking up a tutorial video on youtube(if that exists at all). When the Channel Preview selector was moved from the header into the sidebar(in 2.80) it got even worse, because then you will not notice it, and therefore will not get the idea to add more previews and set them up to view different channels.

As mentioned my attempt it to make it more "user friendly". Auto-splitting the preview region into several regions is not endorsed in Blender at all. I'm not even sure it is possible to split and merge regions from code alone anymore - mouse interaction is needed. So with these limitations adding the Switch buttons is imo the best compromise. They will only show up when selecting a multicam strip and not interfere in any other situation.

For the "perfect" implementation, the preview should be divided into several(picture-in-picture) like in this following gif, and make them selectable, but as mentioned, imo, this is not going to happen for the next several releases of Blender. So the question is, should multicam just keep sucking(or sucking even worse if Channel Preview number is even more hidden), or should it suck less until there is time for implementing a perfect solution? And if the answer is: keep it sucking, until in 20 years time, there will be time for implementing the "perfect" solution, then I might as well abandon most of the patches I worked full-time on for several months now.

Here's the gif for the "perfect" implementation, which I'm not able to implement:

This patch didn't make it into 2.93. As I do not have anymore time or motivation for a continued investment in the Blender project, I'm giving up on this patch for now.

Example, combined with auto select under playhead(not included):