A few observations about Moho's GUI

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TDolce
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A few observations about Moho's GUI

Post by TDolce »

Couple things right off of the bat that strike me as curious about Moho after playing with it a bit.

1) Why the lack of a line tool? I mean I used the add points tool to create a line, but it forces me to have a curve at every joining point. Isn't there a simple line tool that allows you to click and have the points connected by lines?

2) I see that you can add variable width or weight to a line (VERY COOL) but why only after the lines are filled as a shape?

3) Why the lack of a simple pointer tool. I'm actaully having to use the lasso to wrap around an object before I can simply drag it as a whole. I must be missing something I'm sure.

4)It would be nice to take better advantage of the right click feature of a mouse and have right click options when dealing with editng of shapes and points.

Again,...just some observations after playing with 5. The tutorials for the basics seem to be good but I was nagged with an issue early on when trying to fill a shape with the creat shap tool. It says to hit the spacebar to access the style panel. I kept getting a message that said I was about to place an object over another and that it was recommended that I modifed it instead. I finally figured out that I had the auto fill and auto outline checked at the top of the screen. This is not mentioned in the tute until much later on a different subject. No big deal. Just lost a few hairs. LOL!

All in all,..this program is neat. I'm teaching myself Flash MX Pro and Moho both at the same time to see which I honestly think will work for me better. Not too excited that Moho doesn't have a convert to symbol or a symbol library to allow one to re-use their characters after all the time put into creating them (especially in bones mode). Again,..Moho may allow for this,..and I'll just read on and figure it out as I get more into it.

TD
Todd Dolce
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Lost Marble
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Re: A few observations about Moho's GUI

Post by Lost Marble »

TDolce wrote:1) Why the lack of a line tool? I mean I used the add points tool to create a line, but it forces me to have a curve at every joining point. Isn't there a simple line tool that allows you to click and have the points connected by lines?
No, there isn't a built-in tool to do that. You have to draw the curvy version first, and then use either the Curvature or Peak tools to make sharp corners. Maybe this could be an option to add in the future.
TDolce wrote:2) I see that you can add variable width or weight to a line (VERY COOL) but why only after the lines are filled as a shape?
Moho is kind of different in the way it handles curves and shapes. Unlike most other vector programs, Moho makes a separation between the underlying curves and the shapes that appear in the final output. The line width is a property of the visible shape, not the underlying curves, so in order to modify line width you have to create a visible shape first.
TDolce wrote:3) Why the lack of a simple pointer tool. I'm actaully having to use the lasso to wrap around an object before I can simply drag it as a whole. I must be missing something I'm sure.
No, you're not missing anything. Moho separates selection from object manipulation. However, it can be easier than dragging the lasso around all the points. When you use the Select Points tool, you can click on a fill shape to select all the points that make it up, or you can click on a curve to select all points connected to it.

So, you still have to use two tools (select then translate), but there are quicker ways to select objects.
TDolce wrote:4)It would be nice to take better advantage of the right click feature of a mouse and have right click options when dealing with editng of shapes and points.
What kinds of options would you propose? I think that navigating around the workspace is a more common function than operations on points and shapes, so it seems speeding that up is worthwhile.
TDolce wrote:Again,...just some observations after playing with 5. The tutorials for the basics seem to be good but I was nagged with an issue early on when trying to fill a shape with the creat shap tool....
In which tutorial did you run into this problem? Tutorial 1.1 has you draw a circle, but it first tells you to turn off the "Auto fill" and "Auto outline" buttons. In Tutorial 1.2 you draw a rectangle, but it also tells you to turn off these options.
TDolce wrote:Not too excited that Moho doesn't have a convert to symbol or a symbol library to allow one to re-use their characters after all the time put into creating them (especially in bones mode).
If you use the File->Import->Moho Object menu command, Moho will let you import an object from a different Moho file and use it in the current file. The imported object will come in intact with bones, animation, styles, etc.
myles
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Re: A few observations about Moho's GUI

Post by myles »

Just to expand on a few points:
Lost Marble wrote:
TDolce wrote:1) Why the lack of a line tool? I mean I used the add points tool to create a line, but it forces me to have a curve at every joining point. Isn't there a simple line tool that allows you to click and have the points connected by lines?
No, there isn't a built-in tool to do that. You have to draw the curvy version first, and then use either the Curvature or Peak tools to make sharp corners. Maybe this could be an option to add in the future.
As you're adding points, you can hit P (for Peak) while you're still dragging a new point around to make it peaked.

If you desperately want an Add Line tool, less than half-an-hour produced the one now at http://www-personal.monash.edu.au/~myle ... index.html
All hail Lost Marble - it's a slightly modified version of their Add Point tool, with a glance at their Rectangle tool. Hurrah for Lua scripting of Moho tools! Hurrah for Lost Marble!
Lost Marble wrote:
TDolce wrote:2) I see that you can add variable width or weight to a line (VERY COOL) but why only after the lines are filled as a shape?
Moho is kind of different in the way it handles curves and shapes. Unlike most other vector programs, Moho makes a separation between the underlying curves and the shapes that appear in the final output. The line width is a property of the visible shape, not the underlying curves, so in order to modify line width you have to create a visible shape first.
Using the Freehand tool with a tablet and auto-outline turned on can produce variable-width lines - even with a mouse you can set tapered ends. Note with the Freehand tool there is a definite begin and end to creating an object, unlike point-by-point editing.
Lost Marble wrote:
TDolce wrote:3) Why the lack of a simple pointer tool. I'm actaully having to use the lasso to wrap around an object before I can simply drag it as a whole. I must be missing something I'm sure.
No, you're not missing anything. Moho separates selection from object manipulation. However, it can be easier than dragging the lasso around all the points. When you use the Select Points tool, you can click on a fill shape to select all the points that make it up, or you can click on a curve to select all points connected to it.

So, you still have to use two tools (select then translate), but there are quicker ways to select objects.
You can also select a point with the translate tool then hit Tab to select all connected points to move an object. Hit Enter/Return to de-select all points. This means you don't have to move out of translate mode while working - whether that is easier than hitting G (for group) and T (for translate) is a matter of personal taste.
Lost Marble wrote:
TDolce wrote:Not too excited that Moho doesn't have a convert to symbol or a symbol library to allow one to re-use their characters after all the time put into creating them (especially in bones mode).
If you use the File->Import->Moho Object menu command, Moho will let you import an object from a different Moho file and use it in the current file. The imported object will come in intact with bones, animation, styles, etc.
For ease of use, make sure the object is self-contained in a single top-level layer - usually either a group or bone layer.
You could even import objects into a "library" file (or multiple files, for characters, props, scenes) for later convenience.

Regards, Myles.
Last edited by myles on Wed Feb 09, 2005 3:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Lost Marble
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Re: A few observations about Moho's GUI

Post by Lost Marble »

myles wrote:As you're adding points, you can hit P (for Peak) while you're still dragging a new point around to make it peaked.
Huh, I didn't know that...
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Post by nobudget »

Neither did I, but then again, I'm not the CREATOR of this program :D

Thanks Myles,

Reindert.
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Rai López
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Post by Rai López »

First, THANKS for PAMELA and for your scripts Myles; I think that a Check Box in Add Point tool to choose between a type of line (curved or not) to draw it'll be more practical that add another and other "similar" tools into the Tool window... Well, BYE!(& THANKS again).
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