Some programs such like Solidworks etc offer auto-hide function for certain GUI panels. I think that Rhino 7 could hugely benefit from a further improved implementation of the idea by making it possible to auto-hide the Properties panel depending on which of its tabs is active at the moment. The user should be able to choose which tabs will trigger the auto-hide function and which won’t. That setting should offer a quick access so that it could be changed conveniently when needed (maybe by a right-click on the desired tab to put or remove a tick to “Auto-hide”?).
Here is an example of how the smart auto-hide function will work. Lets say that the active tab is “Layers” and the user set it to auto-hide. Once the mouse pointer is moved away from the perimeter of the entire Properties panel, the latter will auto-hide couple of seconds after that. However, if the “Properties” tab is active and the user set is as permanent, then moving the mouse pointer somewhere in the viewport will not cause auto-hide of the Properties panel.
That way, the Properties panel will not disrupt the work by requiring often opening and closing when maximum work space is required. Many times the Properties window is needed just for a few seconds, but some people are forced to keep it permanently docked as they got tired of constantly opening and closing it. As a result, they also work on a smaller viewport, which also forces them use the Zoom-in, Zoom-out and Pan camera more often, which further makes their work slower.
What do you think, “McNeal” guys and gals? Could you implement this in Rhino 7?
Go buy yourself a second screen and stop bothering McNeal guys and gals!!
Just kidding
I totally agree with you, I hate having the damn thing quizzing my precious viewport real estate.
I’ve been waiting for simple and essential stuff for decades now so… I don’t really thing they can!
Since Rhino 7 is already out for nearly one year, my hope is for Rhino 8 to have some smart auto-hide Properties panel. Or maybe we will have to wait for that up until Rhino 9? Or Rhino 10?
Personally, I think it would drive me batty, having things pop in and out. If the expando covered the current viewport and did not shrink it it might be useful, but (I predict) if it moves stuff around, I doubt I personally would like it. One never knows.
I have no idea what the implementation would take - Mac OS has some built in stuff that does this sort of thing but as far as I know not Windows.
Other programs for Windows have an auto-hide feature for certain UI elements, so obviously it’s possible to do it. But it all depends on whether Rhino 7 or Rhino 8 could support such feature since both are already out as a retail and a WIP product, respectively.
My proposal is about auto-hiding the Properties panel when it’s floating, i.e. not docked. That would free up a lot of viewport space for things that are not necessary all the time. For example, the layers tab that could hide automatically a few seconds after the mouse pointer is moved out of the Properties window.
The best usage would be to make the auto-hide time period customizable, so that every user could set a custom time in milliseconds.
Also, it must be possible to set the auto-hide feature to work on individual tabs (Properties, Materials, Layers, Named views etc.), because some users may prefer certain tabs to be permanently showed on screen. I can imagine that people who work with materials would like to see them all the time unless they manually close the Properties panel. However, the Layers tab is one of those tabs that many would like to auto-hide in about 5 seconds after the mouse pointer leaves the Properties panel.
The Layers list is somewhat accessible from the Status bar at the bottom as a quick alternative to the default “Layers” tab, but its right-click options are heavily reduced. On top of that, it’s annoying that it always shifts the list one page down, meaning that the first page of layers is not visible and always require a mouse scroll to move the list up. It’s also a bit inconsistent with the way of setting a current layer, because it does so by a simple single left-click on a layer name, whereas setting a layers as current from the default “Layers” tab requires a right-click and then selecting the “Set current” option from the pop-up list of possible commands.
I’d like a 1-key properties panel toggle. When I am doing mostly Rhino, I always have it open for layers. When I am doing Grasshopper, I need the space.
There will, I think, be a way to do this in V8 but not yet - a dash version of the Containers command should be implemented, I think before we are all done. Oh, it’s there.
Hi Pascal, I made a new alias with the A key, however, while the Properties panel is open and active, pressing the A key will not hide the panel. It only does so when I click somewhere outside the Properties panel, then press the A key and then Enter. Anyway, I then found that I can assign that to some of the function keys, so I did that with the F8 key. Now it works in every case.
Is it possible to trick Rhino to use something like that? When I set ! _Properties in Rhino 7, pressing the F8 key now opens the Properties panel. However, pressing it again will not hide it. Any suggestions? Rhino 7 says that it can’t recognize the “Toggle” command.
Hi Bobi - any alias needs an Enter; F-keys (keyboard shortcuts in Options) do not. Aliases need the command line to have focus, and shortcuts do not. I’d use an F-key. For the macro I showed above you need the WIP. In V7, something like
Hi Pascal, the macro you suggested above shows the Properties panel in Rhino 7, however, the next run of the macro only hides the “Properties” tab but leaves the “Materials” and “Layers” tabs that I also use there all the time. If I run the macro for the 3rd time, the “Properties” tab is shown behind the other two tabs, whereas I always keep in in the 1st place. That forces me to unlock the docked windows, in order to be able to drag the “Properties” tab to its original position.
I tried to add _Pause _Pause or _Multipause to your script before _Materials and _Layer, but it didn’t work.
I’m happy that the auto-hide Properties panel is finally making its way to Rhino 8 WIP now, however, I find that it would benefit from having a larger active area (or safe area) which extends past the visible portion of the panel. The extra “invisible” space could be something like 20 or 50 pixels wide and its purpose is to prevent auto-hiding the Properties panel while trying to reach some of the icons located at the very left of the panel.
The same goes for the Main left panel where the latter auto-hides too aggressively and often times will not let me click on a certain icon due to the lack of a wider active area.
This is how the auto-hide Properties panel could work in a more convenient way. I see two possibilities here, both of which need to be adjustable by the user from the Rhino settings:
Allow users to set a margin (width in pixels) outside the Properties panel, so that the latter will not hide automatically unless the mouse pointer leaves the area of the said margin. For example, if the Properties panel is 500 pixels wide and the margin is 200 pixels wide, the Properties panel will start to auto hide only after the muse pointer leaves the common area of 700 pixels starting from the right side of the screen.
Allow users to set a delay (in milliseconds) for the auto-hide function of the Properties panel, so that the latter will be temporarily seen for a brief period of time even after the mouse pointer leaves its area. For example, if the user-set time is 2000 milliseconds, the Properties panel should start to fade out only after moving the mouse pointer outside its area 2 seconds earlier.
Here I propose two alternative ways to show and hide the Properties panel in two different ways. This also includes two different time periods to auto-hide the panel that the user could adjust individually.
Also, i find the auto-hide function quite disturbing in its current state. I captured a short video to better explain the issue. Notice that there is an unwanted blinking and lag while trying to navigate the icons on the right side (Properties, Layers, Display etc). I think that after showing the panel on the right side, Rhino must wait considerably more time while trying to navigate between those icons. One solution is to add an active area whose width in pixels could be adjustable from the Rhino settings. Once the panel is opened, the active area will expand to the left side of the former (just like I showed in my example in post #12).
Another disturbing thing in Rhino 8 is that clicking on the Properties icon or Layers icon on the main toolbar at the top of the screen will no longer open their corresponding panels on the right sidebar! This is a real inconvenience.
I see that here, thanks RH-78749 sidebar hides when hovering to another tab
I presume this is when the panels are pinned, right? RH-78750 When sidebar is pinned, clicking on Properties or Layer icon in the main toolbar should unfold the sidebar
Yes, in my opinion the proper behaviour after clicking one of these two icons is to open either the Properties panel or the Layers panel if they were previously hidden. Just like in Rhino 7.
Also, the RMB commands of these two icons are supposed to close their corresponding panel, but that’s not the case either. ! _-Layer _Visible=_No _Enter ! -_Properties _Visible _No _Enter
EDIT: Even worse, clicking on these two icons on the top panel will DESTROY the custom order of the Properties and Layers icons on the right sidebar, placing them at the bottom instead. Or will literally REMOVE those icons.
