Is it OK to (ab)use sub-storeys to show/hide elements?
I'm very early in my efforts with Bonsai, so please be gentle.
Up until yesterday I was (ab)using IfcSpace as a child of the storey so that I could show/hide aspects.
I had EPSet_Status DEMOLISH and NEW elements assigned to Demo and Proposed spaces. EXISTING elements were just assigned to the storey. This allowed me to swap between the two versions of the floorplan.
Then the boss man changed how spaces work. 😭
Now I discover a storey can have sub-storeys... I can assign my elements to sub-storeys instead. Should I be flogged in the town square for doing this? Will I be punished further down the line with another change breaking my attempts to wrangle the Bonsai/Blender interface into something not-so-overwhelming?
I have been searching and trying to understand the various threads discussing aggregates and groups, but they seem rather clunky by comparison for my simplistic case.
Comments
No, it's not ok. Just set up an include/exclude filter on your 3d view and your good to go.
In the scheduling tab there is a Status panel for the sole purpose to quickly toggle visibility and select statuses because it's such a common usecase.
I knew I was missing something. Thanks @Moult . Would that perhaps not make more sense on the same Overview tab as the Spatial Decomp. and the filtering? It's not very discoverable hidden back there in that tab.
Hmmm. Minor bug? Hiding the last of the four statuses changes the icon, but doesn't actually hide the elements.
@sjb007 if you can file a bug and share a file we can investigate :)
For now I don't really want to move it because statusing is just a basic form of scheduling.
Hmmm. If I disable those filters, should it show everything? And then if I re-enable them, They all have the shown icon. Clicking on one of them suddenly makes all items appear. Items can't be selected when they are hidden, although I don't know if that has much value.
@Moult Will do. (I'm sboddy on github, as in the annoying wanna-be icon designer, just so you know.) You know what they say... if you want your software to be idiot-proof, give it to an idiot (i.e. me).
Issue 5563 raised.
@Moult So I've been figuring out how the filters and groups work in Bonsai. I see several enhancements that would be beneficial. Do you prefer people (especially newcomers like me) discuss things here first? Or do we go right ahead and create a github issue with a list of suggestions related to a particular aspect? Or would you rather individual github issues for each discrete suggestion? (I think I have about 5, maybe more)
I just want to avoid becoming a nuisance when you all are trying to get on with the more serious work, but the groups are so useful. It just feels like some minor improvements would make them even more useful. One simple example would be the ability to assign selected items to the selected group, the same way as assigning selected items to a spatial container.
I don't know about the rest but as a final user I would personally prefer you post them as 'Issues' on GitHub, maybe grouped by topic, easeier to assign/track updates?
Assigning entities to a group is not too difficult:
in my opinion it's the relevant panel that is well hidden down the main one and, as you suggest, deserves to be elected to a higher rank
cheers
@steverugi Yes, I knew about that panel, but it only acts on a single item at a time. What if I have multiple of items to assign to a group. Back-and-forth, back-and-forth.
I realise I'm new around here, and those users can come of as critical and entitled - I've seen this frequently in other projects, and for a time as a maintainer of an OS application. I am (hopefully) not one of those users. I've worked in IT a long time, supporting large systems through project phase, and through to 2nd line support of customers both internal and external. I'm not professionally a developer, but I can code Python, and through sheer bloody-mindedness I've produced a couple of patches for Java and C++ in the past - a couple of those were even for Blender. Which reminds me that there's a bug in Bonsai that causes a Blender segfault that I need to reproduce and report.
All that is to say that when I make suggestions (or bug reports), they are always meant with good intent and high quality/usefulness. For example, from my modest exposure to the modelling and drawing activities (i.e. the first four tabs) I see inconsistencies which could be improved. Maybe even a mini HIG (Human Interface Guideline) for how panels and buttons are organised. Things like:
1. Putting the delete button in a consistent location (in list / out of list, on the left / on the right),
2. More generally, should a given action be in list, or in a mini-toolbar?
3. Don't put the delete button next to buttons that users are constantly clicking on (create sheet... I'm looking at you),
4. Don't reuse the same icon for different actions (open layout / open drawing / open web ui), and conversely don't use different icons for the same action (create sheet / create drawing).
But anyway, like you say, perhaps this is all better filed as issues in GitHub.
Hi @sjb007 :
that's odd, I can select multiple items and assign them to a group at once
I've actively been on this platform for over a year now, never once did I have the feeling that comments were taken the wrong way, you have an idea or suggestion? you need to report a bug? put it forward on this very platform or via the GitHub Issues, it's actually the reason why we have these environments in the first place.
I am sure with your experience more will come in the future.
All good, why don't you expand them a bit more and post as Feature Requests on the GitHub/Issues page
solid yes :)
Now that's confusing! It works. I'd swear I tested this already and it didn't work. My excuse is that I slammed my head into a low door jam a couple of days ago. Thanks for your patience and help.
@steverugi In case you wanted to comment: https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/issues/5651
Hi @sjb007:
thanks for your contribution, mockups of proposed UI can be time consuming to create but are very useful for others to understand, much appreciated