Make reordering and nesting render layers permanent

[dgruwier]

You can middle mouse drag render elements to reorder them, and you can drag them onto other render elements to nest them into groups. Works great, except it's just temporary. Next time you load the scene or even just add another render element, all the render elements are reset to the order in which they were created.

Is there any chance we can have this added as an actual feature, so we can better organize render elements? I mean, the functionality is already there in the GUI, it's just self-defeating in the most literal sense...

[vlado]

I didn't even know this was possible This functionality is built into the list control that we are using, but it is not stored as part of the settings in any way. Will see if there is something we can do with it.

Best regards,
Vlado

[jasonhuang1115]

Interesting! I didn't know one can do that (nested render elements)...But why would you want to nest render elements?

[dgruwier]

It did seem odd to have an unusable but otherwise nicely fleshed out feature like that

As for the purpose, purely organizational. If you have a ton of render layers, its nice to be able to categorize and sort them, and hide the ones you dont need to look at.

[jasonhuang1115]

It did seem odd to have an unusable but otherwise nicely fleshed out feature like that

As for the purpose, purely organizational. If you have a ton of render layers, its nice to be able to categorize and sort them, and hide the ones you dont need to look at.

Right. Are we able to create a Render Element in Maya that is basically an "empty group" and name it "special channel" (as shown in the screenshot you shared)? If not, it seems that one has to put a child render element under another actual render element..

[dgruwier]

Don't see why not, just create an extra tex or something and disable it so it's not saved with the others.

A true grouping and category system like the one in VRAYforC4D would be fantastic down the road. But for now, simply storing the state of the list would be great.

[jasonhuang1115]

Don't see why not, just create an extra tex or something and disable it so it's not saved with the others.

A true grouping and category system like the one in VRAYforC4D would be fantastic down the road. But for now, simply storing the state of the list would be great.

ah.. I see. Didn't think of that. Good idea and can be a workaround for now. Thanks!