Hello all, Michael,

Is there any way/setting to make the selection of solid objects appear clearly in wireframe view, somehow ? Wireframe is really useful to see through things (of course !), but it only supporting curve selection coloring is quite a roadblock, as it forces one to constantly switch from wire to solid and back for booleans for instance.

Here is the same selection, shown in solid and wireframe :


Similarly, here are two solids for a boolean operation. They show up this way in wireframe mode, regardless of one, the other, both, or none being selected - which makes the operation impossible to perform (or rather : it is indeed possible to perform it - just impossible to know if the objects are properly selected) :



I understand that selecting solids in wireframe mode is probably a whole can of worms, since a cylinder for instance is merely suggested in that mode since there is no silhouetting. But I am open to any suggestion really. I am aware of the "show hidden lines of selected object" option, but that doesn't solve the issue either since it requires selection for objects to show up. Perhaps if all objects were shown as dashed lines (regardless of selection) it could help.

FWIW the command I use for Wireframe mode toggle is :
script:var breps = moi.geometryDatabase.getObjects().getBReps(); var hide = true; for ( var i = 0; i < breps.length; ++i ) { var faces = breps.item(i).getFaces(); if ( i == 0 ) hide = !faces.item(0).hidden; faces.setProperty( 'hidden', hide ); }

Hi Pior,

re:
> Is there any way/setting to make the selection of solid objects appear clearly in wireframe view, somehow ?

You should be able to see the edges flash when you click on it, but other than that no.

When you're working directly with the objects I would recommend to set the objects back to normal display mode so you can see the selection.

MoI is not really set up to work with solids in wireframe display only.

- Michael

Hi there Michael, Merry Xmas to you :)

I see. I usually disable any sort of confirmation flashing and/or pre-selection highlighting in any software I use as I find this kind of visual markers very intrusive (on top of being un-necessary, as IMHO a well designed mouse cursor changing with context and a good selection paradigm should be enough to tell, and I find this to be the case in MOI). Because of that, I have all these things disabled, probably thanks to a few .ini settings. Which one in particular would allow the flashing to be re-enabled ?

If anything I could see this being useful as a custom toggle, done through script and assigned to a custom button in the UI - so if that is possible I'd sure love to know how.

Thank you for your help as always !
On a side note I should have pictures of a lasercut Xmas present fully designed in MOI to share soon :)

Hi Pior, Merry Christmas!

re:
> Which one in particular would allow the flashing to be re-enabled ?

Look under [Selection] DisableSelectionEdgeFlash, if you've modified it to DisableSelectionEdgeFlash=y set it back to the default DisableSelectionEdgeFlash=n and then you should see a reaction when you select a solid that has only edges being displayed.


> If anything I could see this being useful as a custom toggle, done through script and assigned to a
> custom button in the UI - so if that is possible I'd sure love to know how.

Currently that's not possible, it's only being read from moi.ini and it's not accessible to script. I'll set up access under moi.selection.disableSelectionEdgeFlash for the next release.

- Michael

Hello !
Understood - this is already a good enough workaround, as I can simply have this written as a note at the bottom of my custom UI and then open and edit the .ini as needed for this tweak. (I can confirm that it does indeed make wireframe mode usable again for me). Is there a markup code (CommandButton or MenuItem) for the "Edit ini file" button, to put it in the main UI ?

While on the topic of clear visualization here are some more thoughts.

- I think it would be useful to have the option for see-through lines to also apply to non selected objects. That way one would be able to see everything about a part assembly at a glance without the need to select anything.
- Also (and perhaps this is tweakable already), the see-through effect could benefit from having more contrast (here using continuous lines for the sake of the example, but darker dashes could work too). All optional of course.



I hope this helps.
Best,

P.O.

Hi Pior,

> Is there a markup code (CommandButton or MenuItem) for the "Edit ini file" button, to
> put it in the main UI ?

Yes, you can find the current button inside GeneralOptions.htm inside the ui folder. It's this part
that you would put on a button:
onclick="moi.settings.editIniFile();"


> - I think it would be useful to have the option for see-through lines to also apply to non selected
> objects. That way one would be able to see everything about a part assembly at a glance without
> the need to select anything.

It is already set up like that by default. If it isn't working like that for you, then you've probably modified a
setting in moi.ini. Look under [Hidden lines] HiddenLinesSelectedOnly=y
The default is HiddenLinesSelectedOnly=n


> - Also (and perhaps this is tweakable already), the see-through effect could benefit from having more
> contrast (here using continuous lines for the sake of the example, but darker dashes could work too).
> All optional of course.

You can adjust the opacity level in moi.ini under:
[Hidden lines]
HiddenLineOpacity=34

That can take a value from 0 to 255. You can also alter the line style under:
[Hidden lines]
HiddenLineStyle=Dashed

That can take one of "Solid", "Dotted", "Dashed", or "Long Dashed".

- Michael

Excellent, thanks ! This about covers it all, and I am totally fine with re-enabling the flashing on a per-session basis as I only need it occasionally (although I would probably use wireframe mode more often if the earlier mentionned highlight was possible, but that's besides the point of what is possible now). I also just put the button for .Ini editing directly in my tool shelf and this alone makes the process of tweaking the .ini just a little bit less tedious.

From there, a remark on settings : with the .ini having so many useful features, hasn't it reached a point where it deserve its own dedicated section in the Options, giving direct access to all (currently hidden) settings and switches ? I feel like it is now way past the point of hosting just a few settings only edited once in a while, and it is now really quite central to the fine tuning of the MOI experience. Being able to edit all these things during the current session and without any need to restart would be quite an improvement for the user imho ... and would perhaps reduce the amount of support questions too (this thread being an example of that).

Hi Pior,

re:
> hasn't it reached a point where it deserve its own dedicated section in the Options, giving direct
> access to all (currently hidden) settings and switches ?

It would make sense to have that. But the problem is that it will require a lot of work and while I'm working on that other higher priority things that are used more frequently would need to be postponed.

The vast majority of users don't need to edit settings in the moi.ini file. When enough people ask about a particular setting then I try to elevate it up to the main Options dialog level.

- Michael

That does make sense. Well, if there is ever a need for some helping hands on that (on the layout side) by all means fee free to reach out.