The main reason I started using Rhino back in 2000-2001 was its user-friendly interface that made it easy to bring ideas to life. Back then, the user interface helped me onboard as a beginner. I could associate functions with icons as I learned the program. As I see it now, the program itself is great, but how it adapts to different levels of user proficiency can be optimized.
If I could visualize the optimal Rhino interface as a long-time user, it would include an option to switch to full-screen mode and/ or semi-full-screen mode with as few toolbars and icons as possible to distract me from my work process. Just the 3D model itself to focus on. I would put my toolbars on a diet and reduce them to the minimum interface I needed, depending on my proficiency level. Maybe I would not completely abandon toolbars, but it would surprise me if I did not achieve a better workflow by moving in this direction.
So, how would I execute the commands without relying on proxies such as icons, text, Ctrl+Shift+G+E shortcuts, searching in toolbars, or recent commands?
NUMBERS: If each command in Rhino could be assigned a number/sub-number, it would create a very efficient and time-saving workflow for the user who has matured with Rhino. It would be like putting oil in the engine. Place a num pad beside my 3D mouse, and I could touch in the command number with my left hand faster than you can say “cheesecake,” and I wouldn’t have to let go of the mouse in my right hand or my focus, while working on the object.
A possible way to organize it:
0-100 Series: General commands that work across different disciplines, like Split, Mirror, Rotate, etc.
100-200 Series: Curves, lines, and points
200-300 Series: Surfaces
And so on, with number series for the rest like SubD, Mesh, etc.
Group similar commands together:
Join = 11
Explode = 11.1
Group = 10
Ungroup = 10.1
Numbers should be static, assigned by Rhino developers, so all users are on the same page, preventing 100 users from having 100 different numbers for the same commands.
Many users have perhaps 1-4 plugins. Developers should assign numbers, and users can determine a precursor for a given plugin since there are quite a few plugins out there.
I do not know much about what is going on “under the hood” of Rhino, but I assume numbering is one of the easier tasks to implement.
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While I am at it, this “command by number approach” would add to the fast and intuitive direct workflow that is already in place several places. Gumball is a great feature, and it’s a pleasure to see how it has evolved. Also, the new push-pull is a gem, and of course, the star of it all: SubD.
Direct modeling/adjustment of curves and lines just by clicking with the mouse would also be something I would cheer for!
Many commands with multiple choices would, in my opinion, benefit from being moved from the command line to dialog boxes, as have been done in “Rebuild Surface,” and as others have done for different commands in various plugins. “Match up to four surface edges”/ “Patch” is another example of a command that would not surprise me if it benefited from the same treatment.