New Gumball is devastatingly bad. Here are some proposals how to fix it

Yes please I want the old behavior back: numerical field should only remember numerical input. Not manual dragging amount then converted to a numerical field as if it was an input.

Also coming up with a way to reverse the numerical value from negative to positive and viceversa would we very useful.

Thanks,

G

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By mousewheel would be nice.

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I am also not liking the random values left in the Gumball data entry boxes from the last drag move…

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I agree, now I click the text, hit “home” and “delete” or “-” and “enter” to do that, so a faster way with less mental thinking would be nice :slight_smile:

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nice idea!

Gumball data entry box reminds me of the Windows Clipboard which from (I don’t know how long) has a history (Windows + V) and I think it’s useful, maybe a little history in here would be handy too.

But I agree that no. 1 is an easy way to switch value into negative. Many times I put something aside 4000 units away for a while, new gumball state can be stressful because I must be careful and remember that value.

I’m happy to present you the new Gumball:

  1. You can freely move along two axes simultaneously, just like it used to be before the recent update that destroyed that behaviour.

  2. You can now double-click on the arrow’s line to move in the reverse direction by the same value as the active saved distance. Alternatively, you can single-click on the arrow’s triangle head to bring the pop-window with saved values and press the “Tab” key to move in the opposite direction.
    If that sounds too complex for programming, then an easier approach is to use double-clicking with the RMB for reverse direction, while double-clicking with the LMB is for moving in the last direction.

  3. Double-clicking on the arrow’s triangle head with move in the same direction by the same value as the active saved distance. Alternatively, you can single-click on the arrow’s triangle head to bring the pop-window with saved values and press the “Enter” key to move in the same direction.

  4. Within the current session, Rhino should remember all the manually entered values in a vertical list, so that the user could conveniently switch between them either via the mouse wheel or by clicking on any of these with the mouse pointer. The active value is placed on top of the list and marked with a coloured background. The rest saved values are arranged by recent usage, meaning that the previous value is placed below the active value, while the first used value is at the bottom.
    Also, browsing through the saved values could be done by simply hovering the mouse pointer over an arrow (but without clicking on it) and tapping the “Tab” key. This is both, intuitive and convenient.

  5. Rhino lets you choose the amount of digits visible after the decimal comma, in order to prevent seeing numbers such like 5,0000000000000012 mm. The only exception from the rule will be if the user manually sets a moving distance like that. In any other instance where the used distance was a full number, Rhino will show a full number, too.

  6. (not shown on the image) You can now choose a custom set distance for a free movement either via Gumball or by manually dragging with the mouse pointer while Grid snap is turned off. For example, if you set a custom distance of 0,1 mm (or anything else of your preference) and you turn off the grid snap (which by default is 1 unit, i.e. 1 mm, 1 cm or 1 inch), that means that any free movement with Gumball or the mouse pointer will snap the movement in 0,1 mm increments. That will guarantee that your objects are always moved by a controllable distance instead of random numbers with multiple digits after the decimal comma.
    Note that if an object is at about 23,07974 mm far from the center of the scene along the X-axis, moving it along the X-axis while this setting is active will mean that it will snap to the nearest set increment in the desired direction, which in this case is 23,1 mm. Moving in the opposite direction along the X-axis will snap the object to exactly 23 mm.

  1. Double clicking is already taken. A shift or TAB click could be used for the reverse transformation

  2. interesting idea

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My idea is for Rhino to consider the arrow’s line and arrow’s head as two handles. they could be still used in the same way for a regular dragging, however, double clicking on each of them could determine whether the movement by the remembered value will be executed in the same direction or the opposite direction.
Also, there is another difference with with the current implementation. Upon evoking the pop-up window with double-click on the arrow, the “Tab” key currently acts as “Enter” to activate the moving with the remembered distance. I think that it’s better to use the “Tab” key to reverse the value instead. So, if the remmebered value was -8 mm, a single press of the “Tab” key should reverse the number into 8 mm (plus 8 mm). A 2nd press of the “Tab” key should switch to minus again. The “Tab” key is universally used in Rhino to switch or lock directions for certain commands.

I like the Tab idea.

A double click right now is the same like a single left click and a single right click. For flattening SubD geometry it is very useful when the 0 is remembered.

I wouldn’t really make a difference between arrow head and line since that makes the mouse pointing more demanding whereas a keyboard shortcut would also move some of the strain / workload to the left hand …

Shift click currently does nothing - it makes perfect sense (for my workflow!) to make this simply the inverse of whatever data is in the box. I’m not sure the Rhino people would do something so drastic as making the arrow head and body do different things.

If anything, tab could be used for cycling back through previous move amounts.

Also in agreement that applying ortho on the 2 axis movement square is absolute madness, it’s ruined my workflow as well. I normally drag for rougher movements and then click and insert value for more precise movements. If it remembers the drag amount as it now does, this also ruins my workflow. Hopefully options can be implemented to choose which behaviour we prefer.

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Another way to execute moving in the opposite direction is to press the arrow with the right mouse button instead of the left one. :slight_smile:

As for splitting the arrow into two handles (arrow head to move in the same direction, and arrow line to move in the opposite direction), that could be more useful for those who use 3d mouse and want to keep their left hand on it instead of reaching out to the keyboard. :slight_smile:

I’m using a Space Mouse and 3D Connexion Cad Mouse with my left hand and a Cad Mouse and a Space Navigator with my right hand and I type commands with both hands :slight_smile:

RH-65298 is fixed in Rhino 7 Service Release 12

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It’s great that you listened to the people, guys! I noticed that the latest update of Rhino 7 brings back the original behaviour of the plane handle of Gumball, which is no longer dependent of the Ortho setting! Thanks! :slight_smile:

Will it be too much to ask if you also add the following functionalities?

  1. Ability of the plane handle to remember the last used direction and distance. For example, if I turn on Grid snap and use Gumball’s plane handle to simultaneously move an object along the X-axis by 10 units and the Y-axis by 25 units, then a subsequent single tap on the plane handle should bring the tiny pop-up window with the remembered numerical input. Then, a right-click on the plane handle should move the object with the last used diagonal direction and distances along the XY plane.

  2. Once the pop-up window with the numerical unput is being shown by tapping on the handle with the LMB, it would be nice to be able to reverse the direction of movement by the last remembered distance, either by:
    a) holding the Ctrl key while right-clicking on a Gumball arrow handle or Gumball plane handle;
    b) tapping the “Tab” key;
    c) rotating the mouse wheel while the mouse pointer is inside the pop-up window (to prevent unwanted zoom-in or zoom-out while the mouse pointer is anywhere else on the screen).

  3. Fix the issue with using of gazillion digits after the decimal comma when moving an object with the Gumball while Grid snap is turned on. For example, if I use a manually entered value for the distance (like 134 mm), Rhino will move the object along the desired axis by the exact same set distance. However, if I drag the object by Gumball’s arrow in the same direction and by the same distance while Grid snap is on, Rhino will actually move the object by 133,999999999991 units or something like that, despite that the cursor tooltip shows a value of 134 mm. :slight_smile:

On a side note, is there a way to cap the extruded curves while I use Gumball’s extrusion dot located on the arrow? Currently, the extrusion is open. I would like to be able to choose whether to cap it or keep it open.

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A post was split to a new topic: Undo Gumball move loses selection

here’s the youtrack for the reverse direction https://mcneel.myjetbrains.com/youtrack/issue/RH-62864

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I love it. Ship it please.

G

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Could you also add my suggestion to the aforementioned youtrack, please? I will not mind if there are at least two alternative ways to swap the positive and negative number for the value.

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@brian @pascal THANK YOU SO MUCH for this :heart:

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