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Author Topic: Forest Item Sorting Random  (Read 872 times)

CM1251

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Forest Item Sorting Random
« on: December 01, 2022, 08:33:13 PM »
Hi Forums,

I wanted to inquire if anyone else has an issue where importing many Forest items results in a randomized list under the geometry rollout? I kind of refused to update from v6 because of this issue thinking that it was finally resolved by this latest release, but one thing I truly miss is an automatic A-Z/0-9 sorting of our geometry list.  Does anyone know if this is a me-exclusive problem and I just need to change a setting, or is this something iToo changed since version 7?

Similarly, I have an issue where I'll import say two objects, then I'll add a blank object as a buffer, then go to add another few items to the list. All will be fine, except if I add one item, Forest Pack likes to replace the Name and object of say an already imported item with the new one even though I had a blank item selected. It's hard to explain but it's a royal PITA.

Any insight would be appreciated. Cheers,
Tanner

iToo

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Re: Forest Item Sorting Random
« Reply #1 on: December 05, 2022, 11:16:32 AM »
Hi,

Items are added to the Geometry List on importing order. When new items are added, they are appended at the end of the list.
You can move them one by one with the arrow buttons, but currently there is not any option to sort everything.

Regarding your second question, it works in that way by design:

- When a single item is imported from the Library, it replaces the selected item.
- When multiple items are imported, they are appended to the list.

We choosed this behaviour to keep the UI simple, and not add more options (as a checkbox to choose when add or replace).

Regards,
Carlos Quintero
iToo Software

CM1251

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Re: Forest Item Sorting Random
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2022, 04:36:39 PM »
Hi Carlos,

In regards to your first comment, even if I click each item I import in alphabetical order and load several items at once, it still loads in the list randomized. And sometimes with 20 items but no way to widen the list viewer, its hard to actually see which items I'm moving in the list. Perhaps if there was a way to drag to widen the item list or have a window that could open for easier rearranging/colour coding?

For the second, this is exactly how I've come to expect it from every version before 7. But I think I'm facing a bug where if I have a new item (blank) selected and I go into the library browser, pick the item I want, ForestPack sometimes defaults to the second item in the list (not the original blank object I made) and replaces that on import. I hope that makes better sense. I've been using this since 2012 and its only with the latest version(s) I've been having problems.

Regards,
Tanner

Michal Karmazín

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Re: Forest Item Sorting Random
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2022, 12:35:04 PM »
Hi Tanner,

Thanks for your swift reply. When importing multiple objects, the “order of the selection” matters – if you pick for example these items one by one, in the same order these should be imported to the Forest object – instead, when using the Rectangular Selection tool in the viewport, it might not so predictable. To have these sorted alphabetically, using the Scene Explorer and selecting these with Shift would be recommendable. The same should apply to the Library Browser.

As we can’t reproduce any similar issue(s) here, would you mind sending us any “problematic library” to check it? Also, if you could record a short video showing the problem, it would be great. Thanks in advance.

Best regards,

CM1251

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Re: Forest Item Sorting Random
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2022, 03:42:21 PM »
Hi Michal,

I'll try to get the Forest Pack issue recorded.  I will update you/this thread once I have something to share. But I will say, I never select custom objects from the scene itself, my issues strictly arise when I import through the content browser.

Thanks,
Tanner

CM1251

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Re: Forest Item Sorting Random
« Reply #5 on: December 16, 2022, 08:51:43 PM »
Hi Michal,

So the video is shared in the link below (available for 4 weeks). The first 20 seconds is shift+clicking a selection of assets from the browser. Around the 40 second mark, you see those items come in out of order. I mess with some colours (my other issue didn't present itself here like I was hoping) and at ~1:40 I go into another library, this time a MaxTree library, and ctrl+click 3 items in sequential order. After a sped up load, at 2:10 we can see even those come in disorganized.

At 2:29, I show why it would be nice if there was a window we could open to see the full geometry list or have that window stretch to match the full width of the command panel. All too often, the alphanumerical sorting information is at the end of the model name, so you can see, we only see MT_PM_V###_ and we (I) have to click through each item and scroll across the name field to see which model I actually selected.

Lastly, at ~3:30, I imported one last item into the geometry list. There is a bug where if I have part of an object's name highlighted, then I go to highlight other items in the list themselves (say to assign all the same colour), they all lose their name. Undoing either does nothing or crashes 3ds Max. This is a bug I've faced for years and isn't limited to the current release. The only way to get the names back is either reimport or look through the scene explorer for the same 7-digit code in the '_forest_template' and rename each item individually. This again highlights why we need to be able to see the full length of the geometry names so we can see what we've selected.

I hope this helps. If you'd like, I can archive up my custom library though this happens regardless of library. I even went to the Flowers & Grass 3D library that comes with Forest Pack. I ctrl+clicked through 'Cane 01-04' plus 'Canes' as the end and it came in Cane 04, Canes, Cane 02, Cane 03, Cane 01.


One last thing that you'll notice and likely on your end as well (though this is more of a pet-peeve): The library names in the left column of the Library Browser aren't consistent sizes. Ones that extend beyond the window and trail in '...' are shown slightly smaller than ones that can fit within the window. Why not just keep them all the same scale and if I, as the user, needs to see the full name of the library, I'll just stretch the window pane to see what's missing.

https://tj-viz.fromsmash.com/ForestPack-Importing-Inconsistency

Regards,
Tanner
« Last Edit: December 18, 2022, 07:41:13 PM by CM1251 »

Paul Roberts

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Re: Forest Item Sorting Random
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2022, 02:33:43 PM »
Hello Tanner,

Thanks for the video, that makes things very clear. You're right, the order of selection in the library browser has no effect, it's only selecting from the scene where that applies.  I will pass this information on to the development team so they can evaluate how it can be improved.

All the best,

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

Paul Roberts

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Re: Forest Item Sorting Random
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2022, 02:37:23 PM »
I just wanted to add that you can see the full name of an object in the items list by hovering the mouse over the name in the list. A tooltip should pop up with the full string.

I hope that helps,

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

CM1251

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Re: Forest Item Sorting Random
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2022, 12:40:34 AM »
Thanks, Paul.  I can confirm I see the tooltip - but waiting to hover and a tooltip appears, especially for many listed objects, will only speed the organization process up slightly. I hope in the future, the list boxes will match the width of the command panel (same for the boxes under Surfaces, Effects, and any other buttons that list full-length geometry names).

Hovering though doesn't always show the full name. I had an extra long title and it was cut off from the edge of the window - again, hiding the most important items of the name (usually the variation of the species, its number, and possibly its size).



Regards,
Tanner
« Last Edit: December 20, 2022, 01:32:55 AM by CM1251 »