Better documentation platform

[glacierise]

Hi guys,

We're often in a situation where the documentation is scarce, and worfklows, issues and limitations are found out over forum posts and private conversations, but these don't find their way to the docs, and knowledge remains scattered or invisible. We've resorted to supporting a parallel vray houdini guide on our internal wiki, filling out these and documenting the common workflows.

If there was a more open docs platform that at least supports comments and even moderated crowdsourced content, it seems like it could be much more comprehensive.

Thanks!

[fixeighted]

Awesome idea!
Whilst the current docs do get updated, it doesn't happen often or thoroughly enough. The constant need to
spend sometimes a great deal of time scouring other sources for small fragments of information and examples is frustrating.

A perfect example would be the recent posts about motion blur on a long exposure. This single item took weeks of posting to try to get to some sort
of understanding. The docs are misleading and incomplete and could have only benefited from an approach such as you're suggesting.

[KristinIvanova]

Thank you for the suggestions, they will be considered.

Each platform space is updated upon official release and the documentation's ultimate goal is to have common workflow/use-case/example for each feature. We are working on it, while long way to go, too.

Meanwhile, if you find some information misleading or incomplete, you are always welcome to let us know in the Documentation forums. It would be very beneficial for us in order to rectify it.

Cheers,
Kristin

[glacierise]

Hi Kristin,

I'm appreciating your efforts - the docs look cool and are often very helpful. But it the stuff above would help it seems. Meanwhile I'll try posting in the docs too

[fixeighted]

Thanks for the response.

This isn't what glacierise was suggesting though; he was suggesting something that absolutely doesn't require waiting for Chaos to update the information for.
More like a substantial wiki that has more than currently the docs offer, based 'on' the docs, for sure, but able to be added to, in order to fill in the gaps and provide a more thorough
database of information more immediately and going forward, rather than an iterative update whenever you guys have the time to do it.
That way, you have less to do...Yay!....and users get a continuously, moderated/curated, update of usable data with practical examples gathered from user experience...even bigger Yay!

At least, that is how I took the suggestion's meaning

[glacierise]

Thanks for elaborating, just that! Wiki style - the moderators' work is to more curate and organize than to author everything. Doesn't need to replace the docs, but to add to them.

[JezUK]

Apologies for maybe appearing slightly off-topic, but whenever I do use the online documentation, I find my browser experience consists of a documentation screen split vertically in two - the right hand side is the documentation text itself, while the left hand side are the section headings. Good so far....

Very often though, those Section Headings are very, very, (okay I'll add one more) VERY nested.

That nesting takes up a LOT of screen estate the times I have used the online documentation such that I see much more nested section headings than actual documentation text.

Okay, I can change the split and make documentation more visible, but that nesting ?? Not a good look.....

Please can you improve that side of things as well ? Maybe a different approach.

[KristinIvanova]

Hey JezUK ,

Thanks for the feedback! Can you please share with me a screenshot and also what display and browser you use? I think it shouldn't look like that, but let me see it to confirm if I understand you correctly.

Cheers,
Kristin

[JezUK]

Hey JezUK ,

Thanks for the feedback! Can you please share with me a screenshot and also what display and browser you use? I think it shouldn't look like that, but let me see it to confirm if I understand you correctly.

Cheers,
Kristin

Google Chrome.

I'm surprised you seem unaware of this issue.

Try going to 3DS Max -> Render Elements

In my attached jpg I had to zoom out of the browser by a LOT to show you the nesting that happens...

I would also send you a GIF to show a clip - however your Forum only allows 2mb limit ??

[Neilg]

Google Chrome.

I'm surprised you seem unaware of this issue.

I've never seen that either, also chrome. 87.0.4280.141
Which version, and you have any extensions or script disabling?

[JezUK]

I've never seen that either, also chrome. 87.0.4280.141
Which version, and you have any extensions or script disabling?

Oh man, what I would give to see mine laid out like that!

I'll check my settings, I'm guessing I have the latest version of Chrome - and I'll try it in other Browsers.

I'll also disable extensions and see if that fixes things.

Many thanks.

[fixeighted]

LOL, no wonder you found it frustrating to navigate
For sure some addon is messing with it

EDIT: As a simple test, do you perhaps have the page zoomed at all?
I just played with the page and it does cascade as in your screenshot, as I incrementally zoom in/out it will pop to properly aligned and weirdly cascaded at each zoom level.
So this is what I get when zoomed to 90%...

[JezUK]

Oh man, what I would give to see mine laid out like that!

I'll check my settings, I'm guessing I have the latest version of Chrome - and I'll try it in other Browsers.

I'll also disable extensions and see if that fixes things.

Many thanks.

Okay, I've tried it on other browsers and the same thing happens in Microsoft Edge.

So that's in Chrome and Microsoft Edge that I get this weird section nesting....

(the thing is, as far as I know, I've never installed any kind of extension that I'm aware of into Microsoft Edge - unless... something like Kaspersky Internet security has?)

In Firefox it looks correct - no nesting of sections (though Kaspersky would have been in there too).

**** Update *****

In Microsoft Edge, there were only two extensions, Kaspersky and Malwarebytes and I disabled both and the a Cntrol+F5 and it is STILL nested - so it *still* doesn't work properly in Microsoft Edge. I also tried a Private Window and that still too didn't work in Microsoft Edge.

[JezUK]

EDIT: As a simple test, do you perhaps have the page zoomed at all?

No, it's correctly zoomed out at 100%.

And whether I zoom in or zoom back out, or reset the zoom - the zoom in my case makes no effect, that cascading is still always there.

[fixeighted]

Oh, then that is really weird, as you can see in my grab that zooming it recreates what you see.
I zoom with ctrl/wheel....don't know whether that makes any difference.
Also, is it the same if you access another site that uses the same format?
One more possibility - was it ever ok? If so, then looking at cache clearing or similar things to reset the basic
initial loading of the pages may work. There must be a solution hidden somewhere

This is page from the coders of the stuff https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFSERVER-59807 which seems to suggest 'an' issue...maybe related to Win 10 display scaling...not sure.