Hi Brian, hmmm I was thinking that if you had it set to "Custom" then that would have explained it.

I'll dig around a little more to see if I can identify a bug in that area.

- Michael

Thank you Michael.

To clarify, in MoI5MayBeta, I am using a theme BDark, which is the Dark theme, with Red, Blue, and Green axi.
(Do not want to waste your valuable time :-)

- Brian

Hi Michael,

After a lot of trial and error, I was finally able to cause MoI5BetaMay, Dark Theme to change the default "light blue" background color of MoI4 to Dark background color.

Have MoI4 closed, with its default light blue background color.
Open MoI5 in Dark Theme. Load a .3dm object, and press Snapshot in customUI.
Close MoI5.
Open MoI4, which now has Dark background color.

(The opposite color change in MoI4 also occurs. If MoI4 has the Dark background color, and is closed, press Snapshot for an object, with MoI5 in default "light blue" background color, then close MoI5.
Open MoI4. It now has the light blue background color.

- Brian

I think that Snapshot is saving MoI5 background color, and restoring it, when MoI5 is closed, and is also transferring the MoI5 color to the closed MoI4... (or something like that...MoI5 mediated?)

There are about 6 permutations of how Snapshot takes the picture. See CustomUI post #1. I have not tested all of the permutations. Grid might be affected also?
I do not think that the resolution of the snapshot would have any relevance to the color change(s).

Per Max:
Snapshot
-------------
With this addon you can make a snapshot of last clicked viewport.
Resolution is fixed: 1600x1200
Left click - grid is visible
Right click - grid is hidden
Shift + click = resolution x 2
Ctrl + Shift + click = resolution x 3
Snapshots will be saved to "snapshots" directory.

- Brian

Snapshot in MoI4 does not seem to change background color of MoI5 (?)

https://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=6507.463

Hi Brian, thanks for figuring it out. Yes the snapshot script adds some complexity to things since it was written before themes. So to support the snapshot scripts when the script sets the background color MoI will also automatically sets the mode to "Custom" and sets the color value used by "Custom" which is the same as v4.

Then when the snapshot script restores the old background color value, MoI also automatically sets the mode back to "From theme" if the color being set is the same as the current theme background color. But the v4 background color will get changed as a side effect.

I think an easy way to fix this would be to not write out the v4 color value (also used by v5 in "custom" mode) when Moi v5 exits if mode is "From theme".

Can you please post or e-mail to me (moi@moi3d.com) the snapshot script you have so I can double check to see what other properties might be affected as well.

Thanks, - Michael

The snapshot script is from the original most recent Windows customUI of Max.
...AppData\Roaming\startup\82 Snapshot.js
- Brian

var title = "Snapshot";
var command = "snapshot(1600,1200, event.button, event.shiftKey, event.ctrlKey)";
var icon = "data:image/png;base64,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";

function snapshot(w, h, button, shiftkey, ctrlkey)
{
function ftime()
{
var d = new Date(), a=d.getDate(), o=d.getMonth()+1, y=d.getYear(), h=d.getHours(), m=d.getMinutes(), s=d.getSeconds();
a=(a>9)?a:'0'+a; o=(o>9)?o:'0'+o; y=(y>999)?y:1900+y; h=(h>9)?h:'0'+h; m=(m>9)?m:'0'+m; s=(s>9)?s:'0'+s;
return y+'.'+o+'.'+a+'-'+h+'.'+m+'.'+s;
}
var getDir = moi.filesystem.getAppDataDir;
var st = [], settings = ["view.meshAngle", "view.viewportBackgroundColor", "view.lineWidth", "grid.display", "grid.accentedLineColor", "grid.lineColor", "grid.showXYAxes", "view.showAxisIcon", "view.showViewTitles"];
var time = ftime();
var vp = moi.ui.getLastClickedViewport();
if (!vp) { vp = moi.ui.mainWindow.viewpanel.getViewport('3D'); }
for (var sv in settings) { st.push(moi[settings[sv].split('.')[0]][settings[sv].split('.')[1]] ); }
moi.view.showViewTitles = false;
moi.view.showAxisIcon = false;
moi.grid.showXYAxes = false;
moi.view.viewportBackgroundColor = 0xEEEEEE;
if ( moi.view.meshAngle > 10 ) { moi.view.meshAngle = 10; }
moi.grid.display = (button === 2 )?false:true;
var m = (ctrlkey)?1.5:1;
if ( !shiftkey ) { moi.grid.accentedLineColor = 0xBBBBBB; moi.view.lineWidth = 1; } else { w = w*m*2; h = h*m*2; moi.grid.accentedLineColor = 0x999999; moi.view.lineWidth = 2; }

moi.grid.lineColor = moi.grid.accentedLineColor;
vp.render(w, h).save(getDir()+"snapshots\\"+time+"-["+vp.name+"].png");
for (var sv in settings) { moi[settings[sv].split('.')[0]][settings[sv].split('.')[1]] = st.shift(); }
}

var script, doc = moi.ui.getUIPanel("moi://ui/CommandBar.htm").document;
var head = doc.getElementsByTagName('head')[0];

for (var i in this) if (this.hasOwnProperty(i) && this[i] instanceof Function )
{
script = doc.createElement('script');
script.type = 'text/javascript';
script.innerHTML = this[i].toString();
head.appendChild(script);
}

moi.ui.commandBar.CommandBarCustomUI.insertAdjacentHTML( "beforeEnd", '<moi:Spacer><moi:Spacer><moi:CommandButton icon="'+icon+'" onbuttonclick="'+command+'">'+title+'</moi:CommandButton>');

Should be from CustomUI.2.0.beta2. (???) 2/11/2018

I think I should have used

  ,  

in my prior post.
Messed up the forum post... Now I cannot edit it...
Maybe you can fix my post... Or just delete it...

- Brian

Second try:

  var title = "Snapshot";
var command = "snapshot(1600,1200, event.button, event.shiftKey, event.ctrlKey)";
var icon = "data:image/png;base64,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";

function snapshot(w, h, button, shiftkey,  ctrlkey)
{
	function ftime()
	{
		var d = new Date(), a=d.getDate(), o=d.getMonth()+1, y=d.getYear(), h=d.getHours(), m=d.getMinutes(), s=d.getSeconds();
		a=(a>9)?a:'0'+a; o=(o>9)?o:'0'+o; y=(y>999)?y:1900+y; h=(h>9)?h:'0'+h; m=(m>9)?m:'0'+m; s=(s>9)?s:'0'+s;
		return y+'.'+o+'.'+a+'-'+h+'.'+m+'.'+s;
	}
	var getDir = moi.filesystem.getAppDataDir;
	var st = [], settings  = ["view.meshAngle", "view.viewportBackgroundColor", "view.lineWidth", "grid.display", "grid.accentedLineColor", "grid.lineColor", "grid.showXYAxes", "view.showAxisIcon",  "view.showViewTitles"];
	var time = ftime();
	var vp = moi.ui.getLastClickedViewport();
	if (!vp) { vp = moi.ui.mainWindow.viewpanel.getViewport('3D'); }
	for (var sv in settings) { st.push(moi[settings[sv].split('.')[0]][settings[sv].split('.')[1]] ); } 
	moi.view.showViewTitles = false;
	moi.view.showAxisIcon = false;
	moi.grid.showXYAxes = false;
	moi.view.viewportBackgroundColor = 0xEEEEEE;
	if ( moi.view.meshAngle > 10 )  { moi.view.meshAngle = 10; }
	moi.grid.display = (button === 2 )?false:true;
	var m = (ctrlkey)?1.5:1;
	if ( !shiftkey ) { moi.grid.accentedLineColor = 0xBBBBBB;  moi.view.lineWidth = 1;  }  else {  w = w*m*2; h = h*m*2; moi.grid.accentedLineColor = 0x999999; moi.view.lineWidth = 2; }
	
	moi.grid.lineColor = moi.grid.accentedLineColor;
	vp.render(w, h).save(getDir()+"snapshots\\"+time+"-["+vp.name+"].png");
	for (var sv in settings) { moi[settings[sv].split('.')[0]][settings[sv].split('.')[1]] = st.shift(); }
}

var script, doc = moi.ui.getUIPanel("moi://ui/CommandBar.htm").document;
var head = doc.getElementsByTagName('head')[0];

for (var i in this) if (this.hasOwnProperty(i) && this[i] instanceof Function )
{
	script = doc.createElement('script');
	script.type = 'text/javascript';
	script.innerHTML = this[i].toString();
	head.appendChild(script);
}

moi.ui.commandBar.CommandBarCustomUI.insertAdjacentHTML( "beforeEnd", '<moi:Spacer/><moi:Spacer/><moi:CommandButton icon="'+icon+'" onbuttonclick="'+command+'">'+title+'</moi:CommandButton>');   

Hi Brian, that's fine I can see the stuff I need in there thanks!

So I think the easiest fix will be that for these colors that can be set to "Custom" or "From theme", MoI won't write out the custom color value to moi.ini at program exit if the mode is set to "From theme".

I'll set it up for the next v5 beta like that.

Thanks for reporting the problem and figuring out what was the cause!

- Michael

Seems like a cool solution.
So it was to do with Custom colors after all... :-)
- Brian

Hi Brian,

re:
> So it was to do with Custom colors after all... :-)

Yup, just kind of behind the scenes from the snapshot script setting the colors.

- Michael

Hi Michael,

I'm noticing that the Distribute script is not working properly with groups. I have several groups that I'm seeking to distribute, but Distribute seems to explode the groups into their component parts and then distribute them which makes a bit of a mess. Is it that scripts like Distribute are going to need some additional tweaking to properly work with groups, or is it exposing something with the grouping mechanism itself?

I've manually solved my problem but I've attached it as an example. There are 7 Post-Truss groups that need to be distributed on the Y axis. I realized I messed up and needed to add another post/truss, so I copied one of the existing and the used Distribute to achieve the correct result.

btw, the groups are just a delight to work with for things like this because it makes selecting a bunch of components so convenient.

Also, this is a fairly simple model that I created with v5 beta...not sure what's causing it to be 12.7M, thus the compression.

--Larry

Hi Larry, thanks for the bug report and example file.

re:
> Is it that scripts like Distribute are going to need some additional tweaking to properly work
> with groups, or is it exposing something with the grouping mechanism itself?

Some scripts may need slight tweaks to work well with groups, particularly scripts involving object transforms may need a slight adjustment.

So the deal is that to maximize compatibility with existing scripts that predate groups, the routines that return the selected objects now return not only the selected groups but also the child objects of the groups in the same list.

That makes functions like Extrude for example that are looking for profile curves automatically find curves inside of groups without needing to be modified to look through groups.

However it's not good for things that do transforms, those will generally want to transform the group itself only and not try to deal with the group children individually.

There is a new helper function that will screen out the children of a group if the parent group itself is also in an object list, and some scripts that do transforms may need to call that now.

I've updated the Distribute plug-in to do that and so if you get the updated one from here it should work ok on groups now:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=8503.13


> Also, this is a fairly simple model that I created with v5 beta...not sure what's causing
> it to be 12.7M, thus the compression.

There are 2051 hidden objects in the file, I think that's where most of the size is coming from.


Thanks, - Michael

Hi Michael,

The updated Distribute script works well with v5 beta to distribute these truss groups, thanks!

With v4 on the same model it behaves as one would expect due to not seeing the groups: just distributes all the components individually. The outer conditional is a neat way to check for a method:

 	if ( objects.excludeGroupChildrenInPlace )
 		objects.excludeGroupChildrenInPlace();

--Larry

Hi Michael,

Since you've just been working on Distribute, I wonder you could have it distribute along CPlane axes if a CPlane has been set? As it is, when I set a CPlane and then Distribute, the objects look like they're being distributed on world axes.

I know, talk about looking a "gift horse" in the mouth... ;-}

--Larry

Hi Michael,

I’m working on editing objects within groups. The means of manipulating group membership is almost too subtle (simple) but is beautifully consistent with how styles work. I was looking for UI commands to add/edit group membership but now I see the light. Neat feature!

I’m seeing something else however that is probably not intended.

Group hierarchy:
    Framing
        Girts
        Posts
        Purlins
        Stringers
        Trusses
            Truss1
            Truss2
            […]

At the outset all groups other than Trusses within Framing are hidden via clicking the eye in the object browser.

When I manipulate a Truss* group (like adding an object), a byproduct is that the Framing group is all unhidden AND selected. This is startling (surprising) as I would have expected the hidden/exposed state to remain unchanged and not have the top level group wind up being selected.

Edited to add:

I should also note that the BatchRename script https://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=10416.2 works perfectly to tidy up lots of group names, thanks as always!!

--Larry

Hi Larry, over here I can't reproduce the problem of a group getting selected after adding an object to it.

For example with these steps:

Draw 4 circles
Select 3 circles and group them
Select the last circle and click on the group name to add it to the group

I don't end up with the group selected at the end of that.

Can you please describe what steps you were doing to end up with a selected group?

The hidden properties being lost I know about, it's on my list to look at.

Thanks, - Michael

Hi Michael,

I followed your example steps:

> Draw 4 circles
> Select 3 circles and group them
> Select the last circle and click on the group name to add it to the group

and they work for me as they do for you. Thinking that it might have to do with nested groups, I named the first group Circles and then nested that within Shapes. I drew a 5th circle and added it to Circles and it behaved as you intend.

Must be user error because I went back to the original model (I'd worked on other models since I posted) and am unable to reproduce the behavior of modifying one of the Trusses and winding up with the Framing group selected.

For what it's worth, I had a series of trusses that needed to have longer tails, so I had deleted the top two members of all the trusses, then I redrew a pair of the correct length. I then copied the pair into the correct positions for all the trusses, and finally added each pair to the appropriate truss group. Each time I added the pair to the group, the Framing group was unhidden and selected. Once I'd fixed all the trusses, I used BatchRename on them and then saved the file. I have attached the model in case it contains any clues.

--Larry

Thanks Larry, please let me know if you run into it again.

Is this going to be your own shed that you're constructing?

- Michael

Hi Michael,

> Is this going to be your own shed that you're constructing?

Actually it's all built, we recently purchased it. I did the model both because I enjoy modeling with MoI and because I wanted to plan out a bunch of pallet racking for the periphery. The model will continue to evolve as our use of the space changes.

--Larry

Hi Larry,

re:
> Since you've just been working on Distribute, I wonder you could have it distribute along
> CPlane axes if a CPlane has been set? As it is, when I set a CPlane and then Distribute,
> the objects look like they're being distributed on world axes.

I put another another update for Distribute, it should now work using x/y/z axes of the CPlane if one has been set:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=8503.13

- Michael