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  • Published 22 Sep 2024

Standardized UI options for core IO addons

Now since some IO addons are core blender features, could we expect a standardized interface for general options (include, transform, path/batch mode) for them, as for each file format they widely vary at the current state? This makes the usability far worse than it has to be.

As a user i want to be able to quickly export to any file format without searching all across for the basic options, just to modify the file specifc features.

Here a proposal which could get implemented for all exporters, providing generalized access to most relevant non file type specific features:

io_prop.png

This would provide standardized access to all relevant blender specific export settings.

Here a quick selection of what blender (4.3 alpha) currently has in differences of general export options for the core addons:

io_comp.png

I get that each addon gew individually over time with different user needs, but now it seems like a good time to standardize them, as they are now core features.

Also it would be great if the same options are in the same place and named the same. Take fbx and usd for example; in fbx Animation has it's own category which can be switched on/off and in usd it's in general settings. Take scale for example, sometimes it's in general (ply, obj, abc, stl), sometimes in transform (fbx), sometimes nowhere to be found (looking at you gltf, usd). Compare name "Selection only" in ply, obj, abc, usd, stl vs. "Selected objects" in fbx, gltf; same feature, different name.

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Development Status: Open

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Bujus_Krachus
22 Sep 2024

2 Comments

Lauloque

I suspect it would be more efficient for that to be one global importer/exporter, with a common set of options, and specific ones per file format. Which also happens to be a frequent request from the user base because having to always pre-emptively chose which format to import/export is a chore, and as you highlight: it's basically as dealing with a different beast for each format.

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WickedInsignia

Cohesion here would be great for sure. The core team might have different ideas for what the main layout should be but the current discrepancies make for an awful usability experience. "Selection only" for example is in a different place for every option and even has different names!

1