Layer Manager test version available

[Newstream]

Brilliant!

My goodness, this has been a good week for plugins hasn't it?!
Cheers / Alex

[Distal]

that could be very usefull. whats especially interesting is that it allows to "group object without breaking object hierarchy". i'll give it a try soon. thx !

[lllab]

thnaks a lot will try it soon!

cheers
stefan

[mogh]

works nicely ... could cleanup my big scenes with it.

Question: Is there a file compatible problem with older cinema / with no plugin because the layers are saved in the scene file ? I'm just cautious to not mess up my files.

One thing i noticed, you have to delete every layer one by one. Would be nice to delete more than one with one delete.

The renaming is oldschool R9 Style perhaps you can implement the new one from 9.5

Idea: I don't know if its possible, but it would be a interesting feature to add tags to layers. I'm especialy interested in the Render/Composing Tag.

cya Mogh

[rsquires]

mac version please, we aren't 2nd class citizens are we

regards

rich

[moka.studio]

mac version please, we aren't 2nd class citizens are we

regards

rich

there are only so many hours in a day I would say....

[Rich-Art]

Yes I need 48 hours in 1 day at least.
Thanks for the plugin. Time for some tests.

Peace,
Rich-Art. :thumbsup:

[moka.studio]

Yes I need 48 hours in 1 day at least.
Thanks for the plugin. Time for some tests.

Peace,
Rich-Art. :thumbsup:

i just say that because I am on a pc :)

[Rich-Art]

When I right click in the Layer Manager and say add objects. it will hang C4D..
I'm using R9.5.

Peace,
Rich-Art. :thumbsup:

[slouchcorp]

cant repete here whats your system?


mike

[Geespot]

works nicely ... could cleanup my big scenes with it.

Question: Is there a file compatible problem with older cinema / with no plugin because the layers are saved in the scene file ? I'm just cautious to not mess up my files.

One thing i noticed, you have to delete every layer one by one. Would be nice to delete more than one with one delete.

The renaming is oldschool R9 Style perhaps you can implement the new one from 9.5

Idea: I don't know if its possible, but it would be a interesting feature to add tags to layers. I'm especialy interested in the Render/Composing Tag.

cya Mogh



Yes the layers are saved with the file. There should be no compatibility issues at all, an older version without the plugin would simply ignore the layer information.
However, other plugins may conflict with the layer information. This is un-likely but its a possibility.

I will add multiple delete support

The new renaming fields are currently being implemented

and finally, im looking into ways to add tags into layers, watch this space :)


When I right click in the Layer Manager and say add objects. it will hang C4D..
I'm using R9.5.

Thank you for bringing this up. Its quite unblievable how simple bugs can slip through my own tests.
You must make sure an object is selected in the OM before you click the Add Objects command

mac version please, we aren't 2nd class citizens are we

As I don't have direct access to a mac or mac compiler I cannot create a mac version myself. I do have someone who will do this for me though, but it will be ready in at least 24 hours


To everyone else, thanks for the kind responses

[STRAT]

looks real interesting, but in a nutshell -

what will it do for me that the highly competant object manager wont already do?

programs like max and autocad have a fairly poor layer manager, and when i switched to c4d i was over the moon with the object stack. works like the best layer manager i've used to date. so how is this new plugin different then?

[moka.studio]

looks real interesting, but in a nutshell -

what will it do for me that the highly competant object manager wont already do?

programs like max and autocad have a fairly poor layer manager, and when i switched to c4d i was over the moon with the object stack. works like the best layer manager i've used to date. so how is this new plugin different then?

well I would say it gives added possibliites to organize your scene, on top of the object manager, - and independant from the OM's hierarchy.
So if you have a complex skeleton rig for exemple, you could make a layer in which you have the different control object, and one in which you have the up vectors....
Or a layer for all the HyperNurbs objects, and one for the HN cages, so you can easily select amongst these....
Or a layer for the different lights.
I could see many usefull exemples personaly.

[STRAT]

thanks moka

yeah, sounds like one of those useful plugins that you'd think of a million helpfull uses for as you're going along with the job

[marcom]

way cool!

so many good pluggins coming out lately, it's unbelievable!

(glueing myself to this thread. and waiting for mac version)

cheers
marcom

[Geespot]

Quote:
Originally Posted by STRAT
looks real interesting, but in a nutshell -

what will it do for me that the highly competant object manager wont already do?

programs like max and autocad have a fairly poor layer manager, and when i switched to c4d i was over the moon with the object stack. works like the best layer manager i've used to date. so how is this new plugin different then?



well I would say it gives added possibliites to organize your scene, on top of the object manager, - and independant from the OM's hierarchy.
So if you have a complex skeleton rig for exemple, you could make a layer in which you have the different control object, and one in which you have the up vectors....
Or a layer for all the HyperNurbs objects, and one for the HN cages, so you can easily select amongst these....
Or a layer for the different lights.
I could see many usefull exemples personaly.


Yea, its basically an additional way to organize your scenes.
Its not a Object Manager replacement, but a tool to use with it.

The next version will have the option to enable/disable generator objects too, so with a click of a button, you could disable all hypernurbs objects. I have lots of other features planned too, this version is just a teaser to show you what it will be like.
Before I continue im just making sure it works ok as it stands now, its so easy to over look things when your coding that input from this will make development easier (actually, probably be harder, but there ya go)

[Tiziano]

Thread Clamp

[MrBraun]

Tnx for sharing Geespot !! ;)

[Rich-Art]

Hi Geespot,

I have one object selected in the OM, I open the LM-plugin and rightclick and say add objects.
But it still crashes my C4D.
So mayby some plugin conflicts?? I don't know.
No problem, I can drop an object into de LM-plugin, that won't hang C4D at all.
I have WinXP Pro.

Peace,
Rich-Art. :thumbsup:

[Geespot]

Hi Geespot,

I have one object selected in the OM, I open the LM-plugin and rightclick and say add objects.
But it still crashes my C4D.
So mayby some plugin conflicts?? I don't know.
No problem, I can drop an object into de LM-plugin, that won't hang C4D at all.
I have WinXP Pro.

Peace,
Rich-Art. :thumbsup:

Ok I know whats wrong, I managed to re-produce it.
To avoid it, make sure you actually select a layer first.

Seems I got a bit lazy on the error checking :rolleyes:

Consider it fixed

[Rich-Art]

Yes that did the trick. But I only can't see when a layer is selected?
For now I just click first on a layer and then add objects, that works..

Peace,
Rich-Art. :thumbsup:

[LucentDreams]

looks real interesting, but in a nutshell -

what will it do for me that the highly competant object manager wont already do?

programs like max and autocad have a fairly poor layer manager, and when i switched to c4d i was over the moon with the object stack. works like the best layer manager i've used to date. so how is this new plugin different then?

Teh om is only one level of organization, the layer manager is a second level, the idela is to use both for maximum efficiency. The idea behind a layers manager is to be able to organize the objects in a second manner that does not rely on hierarchical relationships between objects.

[robodesign]

Very interesting! Nice and congrats to you! It would be very very useful in organising. Here's an ideea... why not extend it to manage materials in more an eficient way? It is just a *hint*.

[jsls]

oopps, nevermid....cool plugin!

[Cybergooch]

Geespot, this is looking great.

One question: the layers are color coded, but is there any way to have the wireframes of the objects in the layers be the color of the layer itself? In other words, any objects added to the red layer show up as red in the viewport?

[MJV]

Any risk that someone without the plugin wouldn't be able to open the scene?

[Newstream]

Hi Geespot,

Been playing a round with Layer Manager and the ability to organize objects regardless of their hierarchal position is very useful indeed. :thumbsup:

Just a bit of brainstorming here:
Would it be difficult to implement a “print” feature inside of LM allowing the contents of the LM to be printed out or even exported as a comma separated text file? I know some of you may be scratching your heads thinking “What’s that good for?” The reason is that I sometimes use C4D for visualizing commercial environments where certain repeating shop fittings and components are used throughout the scene. Once the scene is complete, all components and fixtures are manually and painstakingly counted in order to determine how many were used so the right quantity can then be ordered from the factory.

If I could just concentrate on making a scene and not have to worry about those last 2-days of manual counting through the OM or LM I’d be in heaven. Rui’s great “Find & Replace” has the ability to accurately count the amount of a same-named objects in the OM but one still has to repeat this step for each of the different fixture types featured in the scene. This is where the print or export comma separated text feature comes into play. The file could for example be opened in Excel for further organizing, counting, analysis and ultimately placing orders to the factory.

The program that many retailers use today to count their fixtures is called ProSpace which is IMO a horrible piece of software that costs a perverse amount of money. If your LM had the above mentioned abilities it would revolutionize the way a lot of us work because we could stick to keeping our projects looking as good as they do inside of C4D and at the same time keep track of all the bits and pieces used for easy printout and / or export instead of relying on other expensive crap software like ProSpace.

What do you think?
Cheers / Alex

[tonare]

You Rock!!!


Thank you.:)

[Geespot]

Geespot, this is looking great.

One question: the layers are color coded, but is there any way to have the wireframes of the objects in the layers be the color of the layer itself? In other words, any objects added to the red layer show up as red in the viewport?

As you have already found out, the colour coded layers don't really do anything. They are there to find layers easier (its easier to find a colour than find text)
I will look into way to have some sort of interaction in the viewports.

Any risk that someone without the plugin wouldn't be able to open the scene?
There should be no risk at all, older versions or a version without the plugin will simple ignore the layers. If changes are made to the file and sent back to a user with the plugin installed, the layers should show up too. Thank MAXON for making a wonderful SDK.


Would it be difficult to implement a “print” feature inside of LM allowing the contents of the LM to be printed out or even exported as a comma separated text file?

Although thats a bit of a specific suggestion (I really cant see it useful for the majority of people to be honest), i'll have a think about it.
Do you have an example of what the output file would look like?

To everyone else, thanks for the replies :)

Current status:
So far I have fixed quite a few bugs that slipped through my fingers at beta release. LM can now disable objects in the layers. For example, if you have a layer that holds all your hypernurb objects, with a click of a button you can de-activate the hypernurbs objects , the same goes with deformer objects and all generator objects.

Also I should state that future versions will not be compatible with the beta version that I have already released, the reason is that I have done some optimization with the file input output routines so now its next to impossible for any possible plugin conflicts.

[Cybergooch]

As you have already found out, the colour coded layers don't really do anything. They are there to find layers easier (its easier to find a colour than find text)
I will look into way to have some sort of interaction in the viewports.

That would be terrific...Maya's layers work this way and it's very useful. Color coding by layer is something I've been wanting for a while now, it would be great if you could figure that one out!

[jsls]

Current status:
So far I have fixed quite a few bugs that slipped through my fingers at beta release. LM can now disable objects in the layers. For example, if you have a layer that holds all your hypernurb objects, with a click of a button you can de-activate the hypernurbs objects , the same goes with deformer objects and all generator objects.

This is exactly what I was looking for, any news when a new version will be ready? Awesome plugin, so far this has significantly increased my productivity! Keep up the good work! :applause:

[JoshKirk]

Will future versions include ways to manage your material, selection, and tags as layers? I have a hard time searching through those, especially when I am wanting to rig and texture something. I have tons of selections and tons of textures and it takes me forever to sort them out.

[Shane W]

Fantastic plug-in. This will make life much easier. Can I make a few suggestions? It would be cool if you could select multiple layers and switch them on/off all at once. A invert selection button would be very nice. Also if Cinema's native menu was available you could right click on a layer to ad tags to all objects in that layer. The layer color suggestion would also be very handy. For larger scenes i would be nice to organize/sort by name. Keep up the great work!


-Shane

[Geespot]

This is exactly what I was looking for, any news when a new version will be ready?



Im not sure, got a few pc problems that I need to sort out first.


Will future versions include ways to manage your material, selection, and tags as layers?

I am doing some research on this.


This will make life much easier. Can I make a few suggestions? It would be cool if you could select multiple layers and switch them on/off all at once. A invert selection button would be very nice. Also if Cinema's native menu was available you could right click on a layer to ad tags to all objects in that layer. The layer color suggestion would also be very handy. For larger scenes i would be nice to organize/sort by name. Keep up the great work!


Thanks for the ideas, ive got them noted


That would be terrific...Maya's layers work this way and it's very useful. Color coding by layer is something I've been wanting for a while now, it would be great if you could figure that one out!

What type of interaction does mayas layers do to the viewports?

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