UI feature request: Reverse the ctrl-click function of panel toggles

Currently the behavior works like this:

Normal mode: each panel I click toggles open or close. I open panels when I need them, I only close them when there are too many. Eventually I get too many open panels and I get visually confused or have to scroll way to much

Alt-click mode: I alt-click a panel and it closes everything but what I click. Essentially the alt is a shortcut to close all the undesired panels, again when too many are left open. Essentially the user-friendliness gets worse and worse until I’m forced to fix it.

Suggested behavior: Normal click option closes all the panels except the one you are using. If you want more than one open at once, THEN use the ctrl key.

Rationale:
-Using the ctrl key to add extended selections is already almost an industry standard.
-It keeps the panel column clean and compact, aiding navigation. In the 3D view it is WAY too long when open panels start accumulating. The current alt option is used to frequently fix a growing clutter. My suggestion will keep panels regions clean but give YOU the option to add more clutter (open panels)
-It can always be an option in preferences if someone likes the current version, maybe they use small fonts and like to visually scan the panel column.
-If you think about it, this behavior almost acts like vertically-stacked tabs, and I love tabs, use them all the time in my own GUI design.

Now I think this is probably a trivial programming task. If desired to complicate things an even better option exists: In addition to the above request, add an option to pin individual panels open (or closed)

BTW, the suggested alt-button behavior actually starts

Why not an auto close ?

or hoover open and close when needed

What does that mean? I’m essentially describing that other panels auto-close when I click on a new one. And most of the time I want one or more of the panels open. Auto-anything is a two-edged sword.
Besides, developers felt it was worthy to add a clean-up option with the control key, I’m just suggesting reversing the behavior.

Hovering would be very neat. But I only bothered with this post because it seemed like a VERY trivial change to the code, maybe just a ‘!=’ instead of a ‘=’ somewhere. I also realized during my post that making it behave kind of like tabs is consistent with the new Tabs paradigm in Blender AND would have a more standardized behavior ie multi-select with the control key, but Blender seems to enjoy bucking standards whenever possible. Thankfully we at least got control-v, -c, and -z.

A lot of panels are open by default. It looks cluttered and confusing. I have to close them one by one and save a startup file. Then you don’t notice panels are being opened like the transform panel when I don’t even need it.

Is there even a shortcut key to close all of them at once?

Ctrl-click on a panel will open that panel and close all the others. But nothing to close all of them.

argh…hoping for more support on such a trivial change…too bad I’m not programming Blender, I think I could trickle this little change into GIT on my own without having to wield impressive Blender chops. :frowning:
I don’t suppose anybody knows if this could be intercepted by a Python script? I could do that.

I have always wanted this behaviour change, but I also can’t (yet) do anything with the C code. I will donate 15 Euros to the blender foundation if this modified panel click behavior gets to trunk - even if it is a selectable option in preferences.

I will donate 30 Euros to have it removed again.

I will donate 15 Euros to the blender foundation if this modified panel click behavior gets to trunk - even if it is a selectable option in preferences.

I will donate 30 Euros to have it removed again.

(Note: This is a recreation of a post previously deleted by a moderator. It is reposted for illustration purposes only and will probably be deleted again.)

My personal work flow is that I need all panels open at all times, because I search for the properties that I want to edit without thinking about the category they’re in. But I support this idea anyway, because it wouldn’t be any pain for me to ctrl-click panels I want open, just as long as there remains a way to keep them open, I’m fine with it. :slight_smile:

Zbrush already has auto closing panels.

Hover mouse and Key A toggles panels. Hold A and swipe down through the panels will close all (with a bit of a fit).

-LP

Heh, Larry I did that before Ctrl-click option. Now Ctrl+click one panel and another click/A = all panels closed.

I finally got around to learning how to build blender the last few days just so that I could stop the growth of exploded panels; my scroll finger was getting tired. Now the default behavior is that clicking a panel header collapses all the others. You can use ctrl-click to block the collapse.
It also works just fine with the new mouse-drag-collapse-multiple-panels behavior (both with and without the ctrl key) pending in 2.75.

If anybody wants to try it out let me know. It is based on the most recent trunk builds for Windows 7, 64 bit.
The source code changed by only one character: a ‘!’. I was hoping it would be that easy!

Also, I noticed that the code has content addressing the ability to pin a panel, even though it doesn’t seem to be functional. Anybody know what is going on there? Pinning would be a nice extra tool in panel management.

I was going to post it on graphicall but I got confused about how to get an account since I have never actually used IRC. Somebody help me on that?

Good job for making it work yourself.

You said earlier that:
this behavior almost acts like vertically-stacked tabs

I get the idea, by default it’s like doing the same by holding Ctrl+LeftMouseButton
but you want specifically to do this with LeftMouseButton only.

You might try to submit the patch directly and if it gets reviewed successfully it’s in.
https://developer.blender.org/maniphest/project/2/type/Patch/

My humble opinion is that if this is going to break the existing conventions
(that single LeftMouse button only opens/closes) then chances are
that it might not get accepted, it’s not a matter of good code or bad code,
it’s only a policy thing (nothing personal) that if it’s something is going to
break a whole discussion will have to begin.

But since you got the first taste of modifying Blender for your personal use nothing stops you. :slight_smile:

@const: yes…it’s nice to have this much control over something that is also so powerful and versatile. Can’t really say that about anything else I use. I’ve done a couple add-ons but they can’t get at the core experience.

I thought about doing the patch thing, wasn’t sure that it would be appreciated since it just reverses the original implementation.
However…I want to put a check box in User Prefs to allow reverse or original behavior, then I can see submitting a patch.

But who knows, I may find new issues while using it, possibly issues that are far more important to hard-core every-day productivity-oriented users. (not me)

(at least I’m not trying to promote colored wire-frames; that guy probably did a lot of work and got really frustrated at the lack of acceptance by the biggest developers.)

Note that you can now open/close multiple panels by clicking and dragging over them (http://lists.blender.org/pipermail/bf-blender-cvs/2015-April/076496.html)

I’m using the most recent builds that already include it and believe me, it was a possible issue.
I know that sometimes the developers have to take their best shot giving us the best possible experience, but lately I have not been impressed with the ‘enhancements’, at least for me. (the functionality, not the coding).
Vertical tabs are almost as bad and cluttered as the problem it is fixing, and I’m not sure who drove the drag-collapse feature. it is cool to play with but the panel setup and workflow would have to be just so for it to help your efficiency.

Congrats for finding the spot to change and also for helping yourself!

Could you make a patch or tell where to change the code? I’m compiling myself also and would like to test the reversed panel clicking behaviour. I believe that I’d prefer it but I’m not sure.

Thanks in advance.