Selector toolbar

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triplus
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Selector toolbar

Post by triplus »

Selector toolbar for FreeCAD.
Selector.png
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Code repository:

https://github.com/triplus/SelectorToolbar

Reference:

https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=13368
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pablogil
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Re: Selector toolbar

Post by pablogil »

Is it a "not yet done" project?
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triplus
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Re: Selector toolbar

Post by triplus »

pablogil wrote:Is it a "not yet done" project?
Hi Pablo.

Likely next week(end) it will be released.
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Re: Selector toolbar

Post by pablogil »

Thanks for the update ;)
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Re: Selector toolbar

Post by triplus »

pablogil wrote:Thanks for the update ;)
You're welcome.

P.S. The plan was to make a release sooner. But i guess such plans have a mind of their own. ;)
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Re: Selector toolbar

Post by triplus »

First release
  • Create global selector toolbar on FreeCAD start
  • Remove global selector toolbar on FreeCAD close
  • Creation of workbench actions
  • Append active workbench if not in enabled list
  • Support for styling (by using style sheets) toolbar buttons based on the toolbar orientation
  • Optional selector menu (lists all available workbenches) located at front or at the end
  • Preferences dialog (configurable button style, position and workbench list)
  • Selector toolbar preferences added to the accessories menu
Selector toolbar.png
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pablogil
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Re: Selector toolbar

Post by pablogil »

Cool @triplus,

I have just tried it and I like it, IMHO it's a must have, it should be added to FreeCAD master... after a few tweaks ;)

In macOS I have installed iconThemes and now Selector and when navigating to the preferences I find two different "Accessories" entries:
duplicated_menu.png
duplicated_menu.png (77.14 KiB) Viewed 4878 times
You already know I have been using the first version of this "workbench selector" which was inside TabBar and I found it so, so convenient and useful. I even had created a stylesheet that integrates with Dark and Light stylesheets:
actual.png
actual.png (123.89 KiB) Viewed 4878 times
And till now I haven't realized an UX improvement I think it will make Selector much better: If you enable the Front/End menu which list all the workbenches installed (very cool option) you end up with two "tabs" with the same name, the actual workbench and the menu button which also shows the actual workbench... it is redundant...
I would suggest to show it like the following (they are just sketches to make you understand what I'm following):
sketches.png
sketches.png (244.18 KiB) Viewed 4878 times
What do you think about it?

In any case, thank you very much, Selector will make my life easier :D
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Re: Selector toolbar

Post by triplus »

pablogil wrote:I have just tried it and I like it, IMHO it's a must have, it should be added to FreeCAD master... after a few tweaks ;)
Well if the users would like for the Selector toolbar to be upstreamed it can happen. Translations support and making the workbench change experience from current good to possible perfect would likely need to be achieved first. As if user for example uses workbench switcher instead of Selector toolbar and pay close attention Selector toolbar buttons flickers slightly on workbench change. The way FreeCAD manages adding toolbar commands to toolbars would therefore need to be extended and upstreamed Selector toolbar version adapted.
In macOS I have installed iconThemes and now Selector and when navigating to the preferences I find two different "Accessories" entries:
Yes this is a bit inconvenient. As i updated the Icon themes module when i made the Selector toolbar release. But the user still needs to pull the changes for them to take effect. ;)
And till now I haven't realized an UX improvement I think it will make Selector much better: If you enable the Front/End menu which list all the workbenches installed (very cool option) you end up with two "tabs" with the same name, the actual workbench and the menu button which also shows the actual workbench... it is redundant...
I would suggest to show it like the following (they are just sketches to make you understand what I'm following):
sketches.png

What do you think about it?
I am interested in fine tuning the user experience based on the reasonable user suggestions. Optional selector menu button therefore should use the same icon all the time and shouldn't adapt to workbench and button style changes?
In any case, thank you very much, Selector will make my life easier :D
You're welcome.
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Re: Selector toolbar

Post by pablogil »

triplus wrote:I am interested in fine tuning the user experience based on the reasonable user suggestions. Optional selector menu button therefore should use the same icon all the time and shouldn't adapt to workbench and button style changes?
Yes, I think using the same icon for representing the menu button to list the full bunch of workbenches installed would be easier to understand and locate (and also unique in the way that no other icon would be similar to the one used to list the workbenches)
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Re: Selector toolbar

Post by triplus »

Default.png
Default.png (12.17 KiB) Viewed 4805 times
I changed the behaviour. By default selector menu is disabled. This works as before and active workbench is still indicated by the toggle button.
Front.png
Front.png (11.13 KiB) Viewed 4805 times
Optionally selector menu can be enabled at front.
End.png
End.png (11.8 KiB) Viewed 4805 times
Or at the end of the Selector toolbar. Active workbench button is removed from the toolbar altogether and instead the selector menu button is used for this purpose. Resulting in no duplicate active workbench button on the toolbar anymore. And no additional button needs to be used for selector menu button purposes. Setting button style can remain consistent for all available buttons on the Selector toolbar.
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