Differential D4440
UI: Split Output Properties Dimensions panel Authored by Aaron Carlisle (Blendify) on Mar 3 2019, 2:45 PM.
Details I remember when we originally decided on the Dimensions panel, Now that we no longer do this, we could clarify and simplify some panels 
Diff Detail
Event TimelineComment Actions If it were not for the presets issue, I definitely think this is a clean improvement, but as it stands I'm also ok to leave it as-is. Comment Actions just an opinion of an nostalgic man. And for only one valid reason, when I work for hours on a project, I do not want to move my eyes up and down to research the various functions I need, I would prefer everything more compact, the available space well exploited, in order to optimize the speed of access to what I need ...  Attention, I am also a minimalist who tends to Zen, and loves a certain order ... but I would prefer that the tools are more contextual and predictive than splitted and distanced in a chain of panels. this is all from me. Comment Actions Looks good! As long as both Time and Image Size are open by default it's okay. Kind of offtopic: What do you think of making the rarely used Crop only show if Border is enabled. I know we only do that for enums usually but it's so rarely used and taking up precious vertical space it just makes noise. Total offtopic: Hey @Harley Acheson (harley) ! (can't find you on IRC or blender.chat) In the screenshot there's a nice example where we could use your love for pixel-perfectness :D  Comment Actions +1 from me! Comment Actions Own idea for improvement: Don't know why this didn't occur to me, but we could also make the Image Size and Time panels sub-panels of the Dimensions panel. This way we can have the presets be on the top level and still keep the sub-panels separate Comment Actions Here's the version using sub-panels instead:  The presets then correctly display in the parent header. Ok to go with this? Comment Actions I'm not sure, this just adds more space taken by UI organization elements? Sure, this is just my personal preference, and animators might disagree, but I don't see myself delibarately closing the Render Size Panel and only leaving Time open. Comment Actions I still feel a little conflicted on this myself, because if the presets problem. Setting the Image Size preset will also alter the frame rate, which I guess you wouldn't expect. Do any of you feel this is an issue? Comment Actions I'd rather go with separate panels. Like Sebastian mentioned it takes space while not adding much, and since we already have room I don't see an issue with having separate panels, we only have 5 top-level panels at the moment. To recap:
Comment Actions @Pablo Vazquez (pablovazquez) If it wasn't clear, the reason for the sub-panels, was to solve the problem with the presets. Changing the presets affect properties inside both Image Size and Time panels. Maybe we can just accept this inconsistency, but this aspect is not great. With the sub-panels solution, it is clear that the presets affect both panels. Agree with your name suggestions.
Comment Actions Sorry didn't see your last message, we wrote the answer at the same time :D Can't we just split the presets into two? I'd rather not have preset buttons from one panel affect other panels. I already don't trust them because they're Py files that can change anything, if we stick to always only change what is inside that panel then it's okay. With this in mind then people still using PAL/NTSC would have to pick presets in both panels, however with digital TV the use of those is less everyday anyway. Comment Actions Another idea: We could rename 'Image Size' to 'Format' and include Frame Rate. Then it's clear that frame rate is affected by the preset. I would then rename 'Time' to 'Frame Range' Many apps essentially do something similar. The frame rate is part of the format, and the frame range is something different. Comment Actions Not sure, 'Format' is a bit broad, since it's related to output extension, compression and so on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_file_formats Comment Actions Here's how the above concept looks in practice:  The Frame Range panel could then probably be closed by default, because you can already set this in the Timeline anyway. Comment Actions Another update: Changed name to Project Format:  This makes it clear that it's not related to the file type. Again, I would keep Frame Range closed by default and make sure the Output panel is open instead. Personally, this is probably my favourite solution thus far. Comment Actions Project Format sounds really weird. I wouldn't expect the render dimensions behind it. I would prefer Output Size. Comment Actions It doesn't really make sense for frame rate to be inside Output Size. Many video editing apps use something like Project Settings or Project Format or similar, to set the resolution and frame rate. This comment was removed by Tomas (Rusculleda). Comment Actions
I also like this solution +1 Comment Actions @Brecht Van Lommel (brecht) @Pablo Vazquez (pablovazquez) @Sebastian Koenig (sebastian_k) Do any of you have any objections to this? The current implementation is based the image from above: Comment Actions I don't think we should introduce the term "Project" here. There are long-term plans to introduce a project concept in Blender with a specific meaning, and it's different than this. I think "Format" by itself is fine as a panel title, even if it that term is also used as part of "file format". Comment Actions I agree with @Brecht Van Lommel (brecht). Let's not introduce "Project" here. Could we have an updated screenshot? The ones I see here are quite old already, the layout should look different by now. Comment Actions Probably late to this party, so maybe this has all been discussed already, "Dimensions". I've never liked this because we have dimensions for all sorts of things all over the place. I also don't like introducing "Project", nor do I like "Format" here. Would prefer a panel title of "Render Size". That has "Width" and "Height" "Frame Range". I'd rather this be "Animation Frames". And have that section also include "Frame Rate". And have "First" and "Last", rather than "Start" and "End" "Time Stretching" isn't just stretching but also compressing. I'd prefer "Framerate Remapping"  Comment Actions
I want to keep the frame rate with the resolution because I think we should avoid presets from affecting multiple panels. However, you bring up good points, and your suggestion makes a lot of sense. So if others don't mind the issue of presets I would be okay with your mockup. Comment Actions I'm fine with the patch as is, but not the changes proposed by @Harley Acheson (harley). For start/end, that is used all over Blender: physics caches, import/export, timeline, graph editor, etc. I believe start/end is more common terminology in other apps anyway, but regardless this would be a painful change. Time stretching is also known term in video editing. And I think presets applying to multiple panels should really be avoided. This comment was removed by babajan (johnsyed). Comment Actions @Aaron Carlisle (Blendify), quick reminder to make sure the image and text in the patch description is up to date when committing. | ||||||||||
