Right-Click Select This is a read-only archive
← All ideas
  • Published 29 Oct 2017

Bug Tracking

A better way of bug Tracking

Improving the way that blend bug tracker works mean less time in the bug tracker and more time testing and reporting resulting in a better blender.

Blender could have an auto fill/ populate information that could be added through the "User Preferences Menu - File".

Here is where you could put in your details "once" for the bug tracker and decide what information you wish to share for bug tracking or remain anonymous.

Here is a link to a google sheet that could start collecting information about:

  1. Who is using blender
  2. Systems that are being used and more

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XciICLsJ-DUUnxCD0v5JBJB2IhWN4fhM2mGPya7wiKs/edit

sO2mVqQ.jpg

0%

Development Status: Open

Upvote 0 Downvote 1
MrAdamEarle
29 Oct 2017

7 Comments

RayMairlot

Surely it would make more sense to add this functionality to the 'Report a bug' link in the 'Help' menu?

I think it's really useful as it would save having to write down graphics card, OS, blender version etc.

jason

Most of that information, though, you can already get auto-generated from the Help > Save System Info menu item. You just have to attach the text file to your bug report.

RayMairlot

I never even noticed that option. But seeing as the information is available doesn't it make even more sense to streamline the bug reporting workflow to skip having to save and extract the correct information?

jason

Sure it's convenient, but:

  • Phabricator (the backend for developer.blender.org ) would need to have an API that Blender could talk to, including login/authentication.
  • System info is less than 1/3 of the actual useful information in a bug report. Yes, it's important to have, but you literally only have to generate that text file once and you can attach it to every report. The bulk of your time really should be on how to reproduce the bug (preferably with an attached .blend file).
RayMairlot

Oh of course, as with most of the ideas on this site I don't know (or even particularly care) the technical possibility of them, only whether I would find it useful or not.

1
jason

How exactly is this an improvement over the existing tracker on developer.blender.org ?

MrAdamEarle Author

Are you being difficult? this would reduces time on the things that the computer can handle

although I appreciate what you are saying below if things were actually as you say they are the bug tracker would not have suggestions to all the things that i am suggesting to auto fill. It would mention a "How to do...to speed up your bug report...."

I work with a lot of artist and if want them to use blender and keep an eye out for bugs that can be fixed or could be improved to limit clicks and be done better I don't want them to waste time.

This is what we call a "bug in work flow"

Now i know that this is not what this bug tracker is about, but its something that should certainly be considered if blender is to be used more and more in professional working environments.

A lot of artist may not know about the computer they are using just really good with blender or maybe linux and never used a mac so the don't know how to get this information from the machine and have to rope more people into file a bug report. When this happens this becomes a waste time and resources.

having the expectation that people should just know when they don't know what they should know is not a good philosophy to have.

I strongly believe in empowerment, setting people up for success and education.

In the words of richard williams "We don't know what we don't know". So how can we expect people to give a detailed report.

The more we can keep reducing the gap in anyway is a good thing. It honestly is not where you start is where you finish.