Million Dollar Concern.

#1

Now, I know there are users that love the selection tools and shortcuts in Blender ( I can’t imagine why ), but please someone tell me there has been templates created in attempt to map other shortcuts and selection tools from other apps such as Maya and XSI?

I really would like to use this app for the obvious reasons…very capable and free!

I’ve been looking at the Blender Underground videos and they have been helpful. I just can’t get passed the workflow of this app. I’m an XSI owner…migrating to this makes me feel like 6 steps need to be taken when I should’ve taken 1.

Also, a little off topic from my intial concern, but I’ve yet to see a project manager? Plus, the app can exit without a prompt to save? Is there a auto save feature in case of a crash?

#2

Blender 2.5 Hotkey Map

Blender is actually very easy to use once you learn the hotkeys. This page details the most commonly used shortcuts and their uses.

Blender Cookie

This is a great site for blender tutorials.

#3

You can eventually get use to anything, it won’t excuse the clutter for a GUI and horrible work flow. I do appreciate the work that went behind it and the fact that its free…but a GUI and selection/translation tool set overhaul is a must!

#4

Wow… that’s constructive.

Question, if I dropped into the XSI forum and said the same (except the free part of course… not that being free is really of importance) how would you react? Would you be curious about my efforts to learn the XSI “way”. Would you wonder if I asked for help in areas I didn’t comprehend? - or would you just realize that I was a 3d God arrived to set the mislead masses straight?

By the way, I assume your trying 2.5? if so perhaps you didn’t notice the “Maya” preset? Oh wait! Blender underground videos? are you talking 2.49? What?

Must of been the “free” thing, right?

Well, hope you hang in there and give it a real shot, it’s worth it. And please do ask for help when you need it. There are plenty of folks providing volunteer help in the Blender community. In the meantime Greevar gave you some great leads, perhaps you should take advantage of that…

Oh, and if you are that “3d god” I mentioned, with Blender YOU can get involved and have a direct input on it’s future. Try that with your current tools.

Here’s some of the ongoing results of input from the many talented people who make up the community.

http://lists.blender.org/pipermail/bf-committers/2010-August/date.html#start

http://www.blender.org/development/release-logs/blender-250/

#5

Blender is an excellent piece of software and is not that difficult to learn. If you keep at it for a short while, you will find that it comes to you like a dream. You have to accept that it IS going to be different to the software you are used to using and it is worth staying with it.

The extensive community will also help you and any questions you ask will be willingly answered.

I can understand your issue with saving, but it is very easy to Ctrl-S frequently to update the save while you are working. It is one of those things you get used to when using blender.

Good luck :thumbsup:

#6

I have got the same problem. Whenever I have to do something in Max or XSI it is like hell. In blender I just press a button in GUI or on keyboard, while in other software I have to dig in menus. If not for detachable menus in XSI I couldn’t work in it. Lets take for example baking. In Blender I just set one way of baking and hit bake. In XSI I have to find it in menu, bring the window, set a view options and then I can proceed. Max is even worse, as its interface is like Windows 3.1.

#7

dac77 you are right. First time worked with blender must to concentrate which button conform to which function. Otherwhise you can use the buttons as softkeys. After a while you are quicker with two hands (one for keyboard, one for mouse). But some shortcuts only used somtimes you never realize.
Why don’t use max… these function?
Are there special keyboards with markers for blender like for avid?

#8

i used to quick save when i was playing hardcore games XD, so it was easy to save quickly in blender, but if the program alerted you that you didn’t save before exit, that will be better i think, nothing to loose, but maybe it saves someone from killing himself :surprised

#9

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[b]LMHO![/b]

I find that the hardest way to learn is [b]to unlearn.[/b]  Coming from MAX, I feel Devils1stborn's pain [i](interesting username too)[/i].  Blender's UI is similar to MAX's in some ways but I think I prefer Blender's.  It's simply dynamic and I love that.  I find the toolbox (left) a bit redundant ... its always better to work towards mastering the shortcuts and keys.

As for the selection tool, it's an area that requires constant use because doing a "[b]B[/b]" (box selection) doesn't always come to mind for someone who is used to clicking & dragging over desired objects.  Its a classic case of unlearning  (.,. and using tab or CTRL+tab to circle through modes is new for those used to quad menus and modify tabs).  In the end, its adventure, a unique scenario.

Yeah, exiting without prompting still drives me crazy sometimes but there is an autosave feature.  Navigate the User Preference dialog ->files.  Make sure Auto save is enabled.  You can choose a convenient interval.

[b]Summary:[/b]
Blender is cool ... the details become clearer when you get into it.  Its not MAX, XSI, or Maya ... its blender and it should be seen that way:  [b]Different.[/b]
#10

is there no way of deleting a double post here … ???

#11

The autosave function is still since V.2.5x available, isn’t it?
What do you mean with double post? Your own? Click on >>edit post << :wink:

#12

But that’s just about the much one can do … edit but not delete. Accidentally submitted my reply twice. Had to change the second into the question you saw above. Thanks anyway.

#13

hello op. many here seem to have either misunderstood the point of your second post
or just simply taken it to the hard too much, which is somewhat understandable,
blender being so open tends to be after all close to peoples hearts.

Any way’s, as for the question on selections, we have a key-map editor,
but I’m not really sure how easy it is to assign the box select to left-click,
without somewhat unrelated problems as a by-product.

I do however know that another ex-max user(pesho?) has doneso with hes max key-map in the past.

as for a XSI-like keymap template, as far as I know no one has yet made one,
in case you’re willing to put the time into it, why not be the one to-do so? :slight_smile:

#14

I didn’t mean to upset anyone, was just being honest with how I felt. I did mention and commended Blender and its capability. I positively love what the open source community has done for artists! I just think Blender could benefit from some project organization and work flow tweaks.

#15

If you set the Preset to Maya in the User Preferences, you can box select with the LMB as in Maya (and select), as well as use the same keyboard/mouse combos for the viewport controls, and Q, W, E, R for deselect, translate, rotate, and scale respectively, just as in Maya. You do run into problems with some things, though, a lot of the functions that are native to the Blender preset don’t work in the Maya preset, so you have to figure them out (i.e., W no longer brings up the specials menu), which makes following tutorials a nightmare. You can probably make a hybrid of the two presets so that you have all of your favorite functions mapped where you want them and still be able to follow tutorials.

#16

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