Layer Manager?

#1

Anybody know of a good one? I’m not a huge fan of the default XSI layer manager, and after doing some searching I can’t really find any 3rd party layer manager… much less the holy grail that I’m looking for. Surely some overzealous scripter has ported over blur’s Onion to XSI?? crossing fingers

#2

What are you trying to accomplish? You might find that there are tools in XSI which work differently but will get you what you need…such as grouping etc. Are you using layers to help with pass management or just over all scene management?

Not saying that the SI layers couldn’t use just a smidgen of work though!

#3

Well, I’ve been using XSI for the past 9 months on a full-time basis, and the layer manager has just never jived with me…

If I build out a proxy model, I can throw it on my proxy layer and start building final geo on a separate layer- but if I want to toggle selectability or visibility on and off, I’m constantly having to tab over to the KP/L tab, which is annoying since all of the selection filters, constraints, snaps, etc are on the MCP tab.

On top of that, you can’t rearrange layers in XSI- they’re always alphabetical (or sorted by creation date, which is useful if you make all of your layers in the correct order). It’d be nice to be able to color code a layer if I’m working with a lot of stuff… maybe even set the wire color to the layer’s color that way it shows up easily in the heirarchy, explorer, and viewports… Maybe something that’s floating so I can move it off to another monitor, etc.

I dunno, it just seems like a really weak area of XSI that could use some serious love… I’d imagine it’d be hard for a programmer to write a script to fix XSI’s terrible implementation of curves, but it seems like there should be something out there for Layers…

edit: and to answer your question more directly- I’m using the layer manager for scene management. for passes I use partitions (XSI’s render passes are one of my favorite things about XSI).

#4

I don’t know if this helps, but, there are many other ways to edit layers or organize assets other than the KP/L. You can access the layer editor as a floating window, shortcut 6 on the keyboard. Also, in an Explorer, shortcut 8, you can set the filter to show only Layers or current layer.

The wireframe color can be changed in two ways, to get to the same result.

From the layer editor, a column to the right of the layers names is for color, double click it to assign a display property to the layer, and pick the color and display mode you’d like. (tip: disable the Object Override Properties in the viewport to see the display you’ve chosen).

Or, you can select the layer from the explorer, and assign a new Property > Display, to do the same result.

Edit: One more thing. If you are consistently toggling the same layer on/off or selectablity on/off then use

ToggleVisibility(“Layer Name”);

and for selectability
ToggleVisibility(“Layers.Layer_Default”, “selectability”)

Drop that on a custom toolbar.

** You could also use: ToggleValue( ParamName, [InputObjs] )
#5

Oh, and to help you understand hierarchy more clearly in XSI,

the order of overrides, from bottom to top, is:

Scene > Branch > Local > Group > Layer > Partition

So, you can apply a Display property at any of these levels, and the next higher level will override the previous display properties. Not destroy the previous property, just override it.

And, of course, the same can be done with all the other property types, such as Geometry Approximation.

#6

I stay away from the layer system, because its just another thing in the hierarchy to deal with if you happen to hide something. Stick with groups and passes.

#7

thanks for the tips guys, I’ll definitely be trying this stuff out!

#8

If I build out a proxy model, I can throw it on my proxy layer and start building final geo on a separate layer- but if I want to toggle selectability or visibility on and off, I’m constantly having to tab over to the KP/L tab, which is annoying since all of the selection filters, constraints, snaps, etc are on the MCP tab.

You can use the number 6 key to bring up a floating window, no need to switch to the KP/L tab.

#9

I agree with the thread starter that the Layer Editor in Softimage feels bizarre and kind of anti-productive when compared to the same tool in other packages.

One “suggestion” if your only problem with the layer editor is it’s hard to reach location in the Softimage editor, is that as said above, yes you can float the window, but also, Softimage lets you completely customize the entire interface and you can re-embed that editor, and any other editor, where ever you like it very seamlessly using the custom Layout system.

I used the custom layout editor to design a custom Dual Screen Layout scheme that looks so seamless with Softimage it feels like it was built like that out of the box. The layout editor is quite amazing once you get the feel for it, but it is well worth the time to learn and make your own perfect environment (with the ability to set default settings for everything in your custom layout, i.e. Multiple embedded Explorers with different filters). That said, the Layer Editor is still a bit goofy and at the end of the day I tend to use the Explorer and nulls to organize things instead.

http://i42.tinypic.com/2mhyaol.jpg

That’s mine, I left the normal Softimage interface alone for mine on the left monitor and did all the custom stuff on the right side, but you can change anything. And those tabs at the bottom on my custom stuff, give me quick access to full screen editors for common tools like Render Tree, ICE, Texture Editor, etc…

#10

Oh, Jetta, I like your measure presets. nice!

I sort of agree that the layer editor is bizarre and foreign feeling compared to Maya layer editor, where it’s right in front for common use. I’ve been recently training in maya, and found it strange, at first, to see layers getting so much attention in every training source I learned from. Then I realized layer organization and color coding wireframes must be a popular tactic. Now I’m starting to use wireframe color coding and organization of rigs, lights, etc. using layers.

In version 4 and 5, the layer editor used to be on the MCP, but it was moved ti the KP/L when animation layers were introduced. It through me off for a little while, but no matter, layer editing is just as simple from menus or explorers.

#11

Don’t forget about setting up custom properties and such which can be displayed in the window with interactivity set (like toggling something on and off). This might be a better solution for you reference model.

Again- I’m not saying the layers shouldn’t be worked on by SI or a 3rd party, but just like a lot of things in XSI, there is more than one “system” or way to do things.

Personally- I use to use layers after coming from LW, but I’ve found that really it’s kind of a half assed way for most things to be organized anyway IMHO as it’s not as flexible as the other ways, at least in XSI and LW.

#12

just some more info on the topic:
Layers and passes are just a specialized type of Group.
The main difference is which objects they can work with, and where they live.

It’s useful to have all of them because you can have many different workflows depending on your pipeline/project/etc…
For example rigging might want to use layers a lot because they don’t deal with renderable items.

Layers are in the scene level and they can see the entire hierarchy. It can also assign entire branches to it.
Groups are not on this level, they live under the model object.

Passes don’t have this ability, they don’t see the scene structure so they flatten out renderable objects and lights. That’s the only think they care about. They also have properties assigned to it that define renderability and stuff. eg mentalray property, 3delight render property… etc.
Passes also have a sub group which is the partition object… (another type of group).

Dont know if anyone mention but you can apply properties to layers (press 8 to pop explorer and “l” will switch to Layer scope). And select a layer and you can assign properties to it. Don’t think you can assign operators (like groups can assign some operators)
The layer manager can also be a floating panel (6).

You can code all this and the SDK is pretty good about providing data of who/what/where things are. So script a new layer manager isn’t that hard in the end.

#13

Thanks Thiago for the clarification and info. Hope people continue to hit you up for training material as your assistance is always top notch and friendly. Will be diving into your ICE training soon at CmiVFX!

#14

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