Channel box (or old 4.6 attribute window)

[kdiddy13]

Please bring back the old 4.6 attribute window. With your new window setting you shouldn't be limited to the same number of windows, so you could possibly add the old window back?

The biggest part of working on any animation is managing the huge amount of information flowing around. Your new setup works harder at hiding it than making it accessible. Tool context sensitve input is not a very convenient way to animate or work. While having some nifty new bells and whistles and UI improvements (I love the zoom on the timeline, and free position windows), Moho 5 feels like a step away from a working professional animation package.

However, on any project, after I finish designing elements, I spend a huge percentage of time actually animating. In addition, I (as well as a number of other animators I know) am very numerically inclined when it comes to animating. Many times entering a bunch of numbers to position or tweak elements in a layer very rapidly.

The new context sensitive, individual object settings at the top of the window is inconvenient and cumbersome to actual work flow. It's not in a good place, and having to switch between tools to access the different settings is painful. The old 4.6 style of listing all of the keyable attributes was actually set up for a working work flow.

Would it be possible to please bring back the old attribute window? If people don't want it they can close it.

Along those lines, perhaps it would even be possible to augment that window even further. Rather than making it only context sensitive you could add tabs that would always have availalbe settings for the camera, and the layer selected, in addition to the context sensitive portion (bones, points, etc.).

And please don't read this as wanting to get rid of the style window, I'm just asking for more windows like the style and action windows (maybe even a tabbed layer, switch, or particle window too). Make the information more accessible basically.

[kdiddy13]

Lost Marble recently addressed this issue in another thread. Unfortunately, it sounds like we'll just have to wait until a future version, but at least they're considering it.

http://www.lostmarble.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=300

There appear to be a lot of requests for this numerical window to come back. Maybe we can add this back - not for 5.0, but maybe 5.1. The reason it went away is because now that the scripts are written in Lua, we wanted to keep things as modular as possible. Previously, the context-sensitive window had to know about all kinds of different parameters and it was a messy design. Now, each Lua script only needs to know about it's specific area of expertise. The Translate Layer tool needs to know about translating a layer and setting up a UI for that (the controls at the top of the editing window are controlled totally by Lua). It doesn't know anything about layer rotation. Mixing the UI for layer rotation and translation together means mixing scripts together, or creating a separate "know-it-all" window.

The underlying design is just not as clean that way, but if the user interface is significantly better it may be worth it.

[myles]

I rather like the new setup - keep the Style window open during character design/creation, then close it and just use the context-sensitive fields (if and when necessary) for animation - oh, and open up the Actions window in its place.

Regards, Myles.

[kdiddy13]

I'm definitely not suggesting removing the style window. I like it quite a bit and never thought that it was a replacement window for the attribute editor. In fact I think they should take advantage of the window structure and create more!

As you suggested, you can open and close them as necessary. A tab type structure would really be awesome for smaller screens. And I would love a window for particles that could stay open as I tinkered with the settings. Or one for tweaking a complex cycle. Ah, to dream...

[spasmodic_cheese]

*hit from the bong*
quit living in the passt mannnnn

[kdiddy13]

If we don't learn from our past then we will be doomed to repeat....

Hmmm. Never mind.

[jeff]

I am with you, kdiddy. The new version's GUI is a mess compared to the sparse and efficient look of 4.6. I do like the floating window elements as I have a dual monitor setup, but one problem even when you have plenty of screen "real estate" is that the Menu bar's contents (e.g. File Open etc) now go behind the floating windows so I find I have to keep moving the damn things out of the way. I am tempted to go on using 4.6, then exporting files to 5 for adding the new clever stuff as I am finding it difficult to get use to the new GUI.

Jeff

[bellissimo]

well I'm glad I'm not the only one!
4.6 was a breath of fresh air...clean...minimal and efficient...brilliant really!!!!
With all due respect......
The 5 interface is a mess and a step backwards.
THe single window in 4 was brilliant...alot of interface design is moving towards simplicity because it makes sense to have only relevant information on the screen. Adobe is notorious for window clutter.
I was dazed and confused when I saw the 5 interface.
If nothing else...the disappearance of the attribute window was bewildering.
I read the thread and understand the reasoning...but wow.
the new context sensive menu at the top in 5 is not nearly as useful.
The attribute editor was and is essential to a productive workflow and needs to be restored. Floating palletes without any sort of means of binding or tabbing and organizing are just a nusance.
There must be a better way to meet the needs of people who want to use a double screen. Having said all that....
Moho at its heart is brilliant and has the potential to become a very serious product. It provides some incredible functionality without the crazy complexity of a program like maya. I hope it catches on big time!

[cribble]

7feet has made a very useful tool. Check it out:

http://www.lostmarble.com/forum/viewtop ... =2477#2477

Get it.