Basic hierarchy in object list

http://www.digitalfossils.com/Download/NVil-Sep-24-15.rar

1.Checking an object node in tree view does not mean selecting the object in viewport.
2.It should be better now. Alternatively, you can use the related right click menu items.
3.Moving hierarchy nodes, create/delete hierarchy group are undoable.
4.It is "Ctrl + LMB + Drag". You press down Ctrl and hold, then LMB and hold and move the cursor over tree nodes to uncheck them.
5.You need to set the transform position/orientation option to "Parent".

Here is a mock up of new icons for scene explorer.

Before I send them to Istonia to incorporate into Nvil, what do forum members think, like them, dislike them, constructive suggestions to improve them ?

I forgot to incoporate it into this image but for hidden objects, it would be like it is now, with no icon.

I have a personal thing against pink.  The blue is nice...can we just get a hue shift to mint, lavender, and apricot tints?  Nothing to saturated.

http://www.digitalfossils.com/Download/NVil-Sep-24-15.rar

1.Checking an object node in tree view does not mean selecting the object in viewport.
2.It should be better now. Alternatively, you can use the related right click menu items.
3.Moving hierarchy nodes, create/delete hierarchy group are undoable.
4.It is "Ctrl + LMB + Drag". You press down Ctrl and hold, then LMB and hold and move the cursor over tree nodes to uncheck them.
5.You need to set the transform position/orientation option to "Parent".

1. I see. I was kind of expecting it to work like in Objects List. In fact I hoped that you will be implementing the hierarchy inside the Objects List window, where clicking on an item selects the object in the viewport.
2. It works now, thanks.
3. For some reason sometimes CTRL+Z doesn't work when the cursor is over the docked Scene Explorer's window. Using Undo from the Edit menu does though.
4. Hah, it works! But because of a habit that I developed from Maya's Outliner (LMB to select, MMB to move or parent) I keep parenting objects instead of selecting them.
5. You misunderstood me, but maybe I wasn't clear. What I meant is that when you transform the parent, children should follow the transformation (using parent's pivot position and orientation). Demo (from Houdini): https://www.dropbox.com/s/iw886n1d4tlfglh/parents_transform_affects_children.mp4?dl=1 (needs HEVC/H.265 compatible player to play). What implementing this would do is to not only allow to quickly transform groups of objects (e.g. a robot's leg with all accessories that are attached to it), but also (for example) perform basic tests to see if a multi-part hard surface object would animate properly, without having to import it to animation package.

Regarding my observation #1, I find the current implementation of hierarchy a little bit confusing to use. Are those checkboxes in the tree necessary? They add a lot of complexity to what should be simple tasks. Normally, the object is either selected or not. But checkboxes introduce some superfluous intermediate states - in hierarchy tree you can have object deselected and "uncheckboxed", deselected and "checkboxed", selected and "uncheckboxed", or checkboxed and selected. WTH? I don't know if anyone will agree with me, but I find those checkboxes completely redundant in the hierarchy tree. Maybe they're useful in other parts of Object Groups - I don't know as I use only Object List, but in the hierarchy tree, they're unnecessary.

So, to continue about superfluousness of checkboxes, here's what I mean:

In the Object List I can select objects by clicking on them or by performing [SHIFT/CTRL]+LMB action. The objects are immediately selected in the viewport.
Likewise, to mark objects as selected in the Object List I can simply select objects in the viewport.

Now, in Scene Hierarchy if I need to select multiple objects straight from the hierarchy tree, I need to select all of their checkboxes first, then double-click on the currently selected item. That's two steps instead of one.
I cannot select objects in the viewport and move them under a new parent by dragging them, because their checkboxes are not ticked. I have to perform the Move Selection Under operation which again is a two step process.



To sum up, I hoped that the hierarchy would be implemented into Object List, not in Object Groups. Checkboxes and selections aside, in Object Groups there isn't even a way to sort the list. But now that you decided to use Object Groups then maybe something could be done with those checkboxes and maybe some sorting could be introduced there? Like forward/reverse name sorting, and custom order?

--
P.S. Just please don't get me wrong, IStonia. The implementation of hierarchy management is a big, big step forward to managing complex assets and I fully appreciate your work. I just think it can be improved a bit to match the streamlineness of the other parts of the program.

IStonia, if you decide to implement #5, then could you make the RMB Menu->New Group entity (only in Scene Hierarchy context) to be an empty object (existing in world space) that could be transformed? So we could move/rotate/scale it along with its children? In other words, something that would act as a "null" object in 3D programs like Maya, Houdini, etc.

To sum up, I hoped that the hierarchy would be implemented into Object List, not in Object Groups. Checkboxes and selections aside, in Object Groups there isn't even a way to sort the list. But now that you decided to use Object Groups then maybe something could be done with those checkboxes and maybe some sorting could be introduced there? Like forward/reverse name sorting, and custom order?

Up to now I have only used object list in Nvil and never used scene explorer. So I was also thinking Object list needed hierarchy.
So now I would only use Scene Explorer and not use Object List.

Yep sorting of object names in scene explorer would be very useful.

I have a personal thing against pink.  The blue is nice...can we just get a hue shift to mint, lavender, and apricot tints?  Nothing to saturated.

Mason do you mean just the icon for "object instance" ?

If you could post some small swatches of the colors you have in mind, I can tweak things and repost another example for comment. Or download the attached image and recolor it and post it up.

Here is a Version 2 which I like better than Version 1

Actually...thats much better Kevjon...was just the hot pink that was bugging me. Cheers!

Actually...thats much better Kevjon...was just the hot pink that was bugging me. Cheers!

Thanks for the input Mason, its helped a lot in getting a better result.

http://www.digitalfossils.com/Download/NVil-Sep-27-15.rar

The hierarchy node sorting follows the sorting pattern set in Object List.

1. Option "Edit > Preference > Options > Synchronize Object/Hierarchy-Node Selection" is added. The control hosting the Object List does not have the ability to deal with hierarchy stuff.

5. Option "Hierarchic transform enabled" is added. It is used to transform the whole hierarchy starting from the selected node with the pivot provided by the selected node which could be either group or object pivot. This option should be unchecked if not used because it disables the transform options. There is a related option "Edit > Options > Group Pivot Goes with Objects". To transform group pivot separately, use the "Group Pivot" streamline tool.

Istonia,  what do you think of just merging the editors into one editor that has functionality of both?

Should I make a mockup?

http://www.digitalfossils.com/Download/NVil-Sep-28-15.rar

Icons updated.

Istonia,  what do you think of just merging the editors into one editor that has functionality of both?

Should I make a mockup?

No way. It is a programing issue.

Thankyou Istonia for improving scene explorer.

There are a few problems I notice.

1. When selecting a object in scene explorer and then right click "freeze" the icon for objects does not turn grey. It works Ok for splines, cameras, guides.

When you select the same object again in scene explorer it automatically unfreezes it. Shouldn't you have to right click on it and select unfreeze ?

Try this and see if they are fixed.
http://www.digitalfossils.com/Download/NVil-Sep-29-15.rar

Also, Sort By setting is added to Scene Explorer tree view. It works on child nodes of the selected node.

Hi Istonia

Freezing works pretty good now and the icon changes colour to grey but I cannot unfreeze it.

I select the icon in Scene Explorer & right click and it won't unfreeze with menu toggle.

Composite Tools>Unfreeze all objects works for objects but doesn't unfreeze splines or guides.