Highlighting layer in tree of currently selected object

Rhino Rhino for Windows
21

This seems like a good solution to managing multi-layer selection scenarios (and in general) - note the subtle layer highlighting on the left. Combined with an option to “jump to” the active layer(s) might work really well.

22

This is how Photoshop handles it:

23

There’s a command for this so what’s the problem?

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_HighlightObjectLayers

24

Hi Martin -

The request is that this happens automatically any time an object is selected…
-wim

1 Like
25

This topic is 11 years old and no one mentioned the command until now… that is a bit weird don’t you think?

26

-wim

27

Interesting. Browser didn’t find it.

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Haha.

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28

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1 Like
29

Yes exactly, this is very very basic and fundamental, to have the layers auto-highlight without needing to run special commands.

30

What is the expected benefit?

31

For a simple example, when working on multiple similar-looking objects scattered across many layers, it is sometimes useful to see if the object you’re editing is on the correct layer. It would be great to do this at a glance, without having to break your “flow” by running extra commands. This seems like a good quality of life improvement and general UX feature, which is probably why, as far as I can tell, all 2D and 3D programs have incorporated it on some level.

Here it is in Zbrush

32

I have this layer information at the bottom of the screen…

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33

With all due respect, this approach seems a bit hacky and could be streamlined/implemented better. Why are we getting object-layer information from the bottom of the screen when the layers are actually shown on the right? Wouldn’t it make more sense to access this information directly from the layers panel? Even better, using an auto-highlight feature would make everything much simpler and more user-friendly.

34

This is not a hack.

I find the layer info at the bottom really useful because quite often I don’t need the layer panel and I hide it temporarily.

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1 Like
35

The “quick” layer popup window, on the status bar, has been in Rhino since V1.0.

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Initially, the “quick” layer popup window was useful because Rhino 1.0 had a modal layer dialog. Later, when the docking layer panel was introduced, it was (and still is) useful when screen real estate is at a premium.

We will make a run at wiring up the suggested feature, RH-85812, in Rhino 9. There are lots of other layer panel wishes we’ll be considering too.

Personally, I’d find this feature annoying, constantly scrolling a long list of layers and/or expanding layer branches that have been collapsed, every time I pick an object. But my opinion doesn’t count.

If implemented, you’ll be able to turn this feature on and off.

Thanks,

– Dale

3 Likes
36

I have a script to scroll to a layer. In a large layer list, it can be nice not having to scroll everything…

import scriptcontext

def DoSomething():
    
    # set full path of the layer
    layer_path = "Layer 05::TestLayer"
    
    # find layer index
    index = scriptcontext.doc.Layers.FindByFullPath(layer_path, -1)
    if index < 0: 
        print "'{}' not found".format(layer_path)
        return
    
    # select in layer dialog, unselect others so it scrolls
    scriptcontext.doc.Layers.Select([index], True)
    
DoSomething()
1 Like
37

Sorry I meant hacky as it relates to the topic of this thread. It is really interesting to learn about the history of Rhino development, thank you for sharing, Dale.

Amazing, a thousand times thank you!!!