UI Improvement on FB

[caypiranha]

Hi there,

I found sometimes - and especially under time-pressure conditions - that I forgot to switch off some or any of these buttons when batch rendering, or uploading them on a farm.
It would be definitely a benefit and more user-friendliness, active buttons should be more cleared out if they are still active or not...
Your mood will be in a way better condition if you don´t find your rendering sequence only rendered, where you left your last region render or got stuck by half-resolution - even you found, that the resolution was right in the Render Settings.

I can´t believe, that it would be only me getting trapped from time to time by this "issue" ... =)

(the contrast around the progression bar might also be a bit decreased for better readability.)

[caypiranha]

Someone else who got traped with this issue:
https://forums.chaos.com/forum/v-ray...olution-solved

[^Lele^]

That's your use case, and admittedly out of a distraction.
Others may well want the button pressed, and the sequence sent to render that way.

If you are sure to not want it active, you can simply put this line in the prerender script of your scene, and the test resolution button will be toggled off.

vfbcontrol #testresolution off

[caypiranha]

Yes, definitely admittedly out of distraction, caused by time pressure as an instance (or being unconcentrated, caused by to long working hours).
Look at the problem of the guy on the other thread mentioned here - he had the same problem. I also define the UI color of active things in 3D Max with a brighter color, just because eyes are catching it more easily.
And this is where a good UX comes in-game: It supports the User under those possible conditions.

If others like the buttons kept pressed or not because they like to render under this condition is something written on a different piece of paper and has actually nothing to do with my intention.
That's a question, of personal workflow... UX cant help here
(I hope my English wasn´t that bad that made you feel, I´d wanted to intend this) =)

So if Developers are not only interested in good working tools, as well as using these tools well - it´s definitely something to have an eye on.

and thanks for the code! I will try that! =)

Kay

[^Lele^]

I find the buttons and ui perfectly functional and clear, without being on my nose, personally.
Characterising us as "uninterested in good working tools" because of your own tastes and working practices is mildly overstretching it: the same VFB covers a number of integrations (from Maya to SU, along with everything in between), and it ought to play well, and distinctively, with them all.
Before you ask: we don't have the resources to entertain a different looking VFB per application, at the moment, or a skinnable one.

Feel free to use any type of sanity check on your scenes to catch potential trouble before sending a scene to render.
Deadline -free for single users- has a very easily extendable sanity checker you may want to look into, for example.
Single lines of script, nearly in natural language, can take you a very long way.

All this said, UI work is always ongoing, so we'll take the criticism and see what can be done about it without flipping the VFB head over heels for everyone else.

[caypiranha]

Sorry, characterizing chaos as "being not interested in good working tools" wasn´t my intention (right, although it reads really a bit like this). But I experienced sometimes of "UI Fails", which have been fallen to victim just because of a better-looking Interface. For example, the Outliner/Sceneexplorer in 3D Max has become with the new UI (2015/2016? don't know exactly anymore) way more pleasant-looking UI, but here e.g. all the classes in the explorer are all grey and don't stay visually out from each other anymore. If they only color them a bit more differently corresponding to the color palette they use, it would be a great benefit for the user. I once was able to scroll all way down and got quickly whats inside of it.
Now I need to use the filter options more and more, which once was only necessary when opening big and foreign scenes etc. whatever so far.

Working on several things, being" multitasked", frequently switching windows, working on a couple of tasks / Programmes at the same time, your eyes are happy for every signal that gives you feedback within the blink of an eye about any status that's going on over your screen
The UI of the frame buffer has become really good and nice-looking, that's for sure. Buttons are well modernized and the active buttons don't need to be colored Red of course - even there is a reason, why emergency Buttons, for example, are made so. A bit more optical standout might be already fine - of course it´s also here just my opinion.

So thanks for the hint of Deadline - I will have a closer look on that. Some other things can be done there elseway I read. So long I never got "live" in touch with Deadline.

best regards, and never mind plz =)

[rifkin]

+1 for the original post.

"I find the buttons and ui perfectly functional and clear" - ummm easy to say as the developer The first time I loaded VRay 5 I was completely vexed as to why my renders were coming out at 50%. Toggling between dark grey and black is hardly noticeable. There is inconsistency in what is a toggle, what is a pull-down, what pops out a new dialogue.

Granted it works fine once you get used to it and I would generally err on the side of subtlety vs catering to new users, but perhaps there are some improvements that could be looked at.

[^Lele^]

+1 for the original post.

"I find the buttons and ui perfectly functional and clear" - ummm easy to say as the developer

I'm not a developer, i'm a user that can script.

The first time I loaded VRay 5 I was completely vexed as to why my renders were coming out at 50%. Toggling between dark grey and black is hardly noticeable.[...]
Granted it works fine once you get used to it and I would generally err on the side of subtlety vs catering to new users, but perhaps there are some improvements that could be looked at.

Isn't this the normal process when facing unknown UIs?
Making a button red doesn't help if you have no memory of having clicked it ten seconds earlier: you'll first need to have a clear idea of what the application defaults are, to know red is "bad" (f.e. max uses red for autokey. Not bad at all. Or very bad. it depends on what one's doing with it.).

There is inconsistency in what is a toggle, what is a pull-down, what pops out a new dialogue.

Can you be more specific?
Once again, it is fairly consistent for me, and it uses exceptionally old and established workflow items too (Think Caligari Truespace for flyout buttons, f.e.).
For example, I expect that "clear image" is a fire and forget command, and that the button next to it "follow mouse" is a toggle.
I can't tell from the button alone, i need to read the tooltip, and know what each is, and for that i have the documentation.

All this said, UI work is always ongoing, so we'll take the criticism and see what can be done about it without flipping the VFB head over heels for everyone else.

Would making the crop and test resolution button background a different color (say, an orange or blue) work?
I very much doubt it will make any impact at all on the kind of mistakes we're talking about here (one's got the test res or render region active and the VFB closed, and sends to render to the farm.), but that's likely a change we can make easily enough.

[caypiranha]

remember my words. if you are under this condition:

Working on several things, being" multitasked", frequently switching windows, working on a couple of tasks / Programmes at the same time, your eyes are happy for every signal that gives you feedback within the blink of an eye about any status that's going on over your screen

Well,

Making a button red doesn't help if you have no memory of having clicked it ten seconds earlier: you'll first need to have a clear idea of what the application defaults are, to know red is "bad" (f.e. max uses red for autokey. Not bad at all. Or very bad. it depends on what one's doing with it.).

I might bring up memory for 10 Seconds to remember, but this is mostly far from practical use. And UI should to be prepared for those situations as well. In my case, I am not so good in remembering such things.
Chilling in front of a renderbuffer, watching bucked going along with a coffee in your Hand is - in my case sometimes only a dream. Plz have this in Mind.... =)

But it is also right, you have to become familiar with a new UI. That is the reason, why I now avoid the " resize %" BUtton and just use the preset button in the render settings. So in my mind th render settings are ruling of the most top, when it comes to preparing a render scene. Then I am having here an overlook over everything I don't need to mind about something, I forgot to reverse-

But it's also for sure, that everybody should be able to condition yourself having things in your mind, that drove you once in trouble. Create rules for yourself: "...if you leave the FB, make everything right again.!"
And in relation to human fallibility, it is sometimes advisable to paint a little red. You never know! Nobody is perfect. Be prepared just in case. Stay waterproof as well as possible.

and I am not the only one -pretty much for sure.

=)

[^Lele^]

You could do worse than learn scripting, and then you'd find your custom way out of your custom issues in no time, and without asking anything to anyone.

As it is now, i won't be able to give you confirmation of a change in UI look or behaviour for at the least another two weeks.
That's because we neither have the luxury of "chilling out" in front of our monitors, and that's the earliest -tentatively!- we can slot a free dev to work on whatever suggestion the UX team will have.

Also, i *have* given you a solution to this at post #3.
What you are after, right now, escapes me.

EDIT: Here, i made you the sanity checker for the test resolution. Put it in the prerender scripts, it'll pop you a dialog when the scene renders.
Notice you should check the box for local eval only if you plan on farm rendering.

[caypiranha]

Having another idea of that might be not too bad having it in the FB. When changing from fixed to a flexible cam or changing a fixed cam, find it annoying, that render settings takes 2-3 Secs to open.

@ Nele: late thanks for the Script! And I tried to learn to script... but: I recognized, that I have definitely no time for that at all... But I made an extra button now that indicates here that renderregion is on Doesn´t hurt the UI design so much at all, or? But you see, that it catches your eyes and let quickly the alarmbell ring...

[vladimir.nedev]

Not sure how this thread ended up in the Vantage sub-forum ...

[caypiranha]

Not sure how this thread ended up in the Vantage sub-forum ...

... that´s for sure...

All I did was open my "recent post" (or something like this) - looking for "UI Improvement on FB"and reopened my thread adding this last post, adding my last post...
pretty sure it never was there before. Even don´t know how to transfer from one Sub to another. Might be only possible by admins' privileges?