Hi !
I've noticed you've implemented slot name uniqueness lately, in the 4.2.21 to be precise.
While it's a great idea, it can help sometimes, I have question :
There's two new button that I don't see the effect : Hide slot name / Hide skeleton name.
I don't have any effect when using it, maybe I missed somethings ?

Also, I found the slot name to be really messy now. It make a lot of text and that doesn't seems that much efficient, while it can be helpful certainly.
It's pellicular messy when there's more than one folder. Like if I'm creating the folder "Girl" with "Torso" folder inside, it does this :

There's a lot of text. Too much for it to be understanble right away, you would need to read every line to get what you were looking for. (Though, it's true that I could strip "Body" from the name as the folder now appear)
By adding ". " before and after the folder name, I found it more easilly fast readable. (I added the "." because whitespace are stripped automatically)
The part are separated so if you're looking for a specific one, you know were to look faster.

So I wanted to share idea for improvement with you :

  • Adding a parameter to manage the way folder name are added (Specify a string to replace "/" with by user input ? like " / ")
  • Adding a parameter to activate / deactivate the slot name uniqueness (Maybe only visually ?)

Another cool thing would be to colorize the name of the slot (and bones) with the color of the slot/skeleton. Maybe that would be too much though, I don't know (Both visually and in term of work, as it's not that much important...). With some parameter to activate / deactivate it, or even better, a slider to lerp between white and the color of the slot.

Anyway,
Great job as always ๐Ÿ‘

  • Nate replied to this.
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    The implementation of slot name uniqueness in Spine 4.2.21 indeed brings some new features and challenges. Here are some insights and suggestions based on your query:

    1. Hide Slot Name / Hide Skeleton Name Buttons:

      • These buttons are intended to toggle the visibility of slot and skeleton names in the editor. If they are not having any effect, it might be a bug or a feature that is not fully implemented yet. Ensure you are using the latest version of Spine, and if the issue persists, it might need further investigation.
    2. Managing Slot Name Uniqueness:

      • The current implementation of slot name uniqueness can indeed lead to long and cluttered names, especially with nested folders. Your suggestion to add parameters for managing how folder names are added (e.g., replacing "/" with a user-specified string) is a good one. This could make the names more readable and organized.
    3. Parameter to Activate/Deactivate Slot Name Uniqueness:

      • Adding a parameter to visually activate or deactivate slot name uniqueness could help users who prefer a cleaner view without the full path names. This would allow for more flexibility in how the information is displayed.
    4. Colorizing Slot and Bone Names:

      • Colorizing the names of slots and bones with their respective colors could indeed enhance readability and organization. This feature could be optional, with parameters to activate/deactivate it or adjust the intensity of the color.

    Your feedback and suggestions are valuable for improving the usability of Spine. Here are some relevant links and resources that might help you further:

    These resources provide detailed information on how slots and attachments work, which might help you optimize your workflow.

    Pentacles There's two new button that I don't see the effect : Hide slot name / Hide skeleton name.

    Those two settings aren't new. They are useful only for certain project organizations that prefix their names with the slot or skeleton name.

    I don't have any effect when using it, maybe I missed somethings ?

    Yes, you missed the docs! ๐Ÿ˜† ๐Ÿ’—
    http://esotericsoftware.com/spine-tree#Hide-skeleton-names

    Pentacles Also, I found the slot name to be really messy now. It make a lot of text and that doesn't seems that much efficient, while it can be helpful certainly.

    Without showing the slot's full path, you often can't tell which slot it is. This was really bad in some projects, so bad it was unusable, though in other projects it wasn't a problem.

    Pentacles Adding a parameter to manage the way folder name are added (Specify a string to replace "/" with by user input ? like " / ")

    We don't like to make things configurable unless truly necessary. If there is a better visual presentation that works for everyone, we would apply it to everyone.

    Pentacles Adding a parameter to activate / deactivate the slot name uniqueness (Maybe only visually ?)

    Slot name uniqueness is not the right thing to call this. Slots always have a unique path + name. Previously only the name was unique, but there was still a uniqueness rule.

    We could have a setting that goes back to have it was: only show the slot name, not the full path. This could be OK for some projects that choose to name slots uniquely and don't need to see the path to know which slot it is. I wonder though, why use folders if you don't need to see them to know which slot it is?

    Have you tried the Show slot folders tree setting? Remember right click will expand/collapse everything under a tree node.

    Pentacles Another cool thing would be to colorize the name of the slot (and bones) with the color of the slot/skeleton.

    Bone color is just for help animating, so we recently added a button to select all bones with the same color. Slot color means something for the skeleton (it tints attachments) so can't be used solely for identification purposes. For both we already color the icon and connecting lines in the tree. That should be pretty visible, I'm not sure the names need to be colored too.

    Pentacles or even better, a slider to lerp between white and the color of the slot.

    Too many settings can bury users in stuff they don't understand and/or care about. It's always easier to just throw in more settings instead of putting in the effort to figure out what are the actual best ways to do things that will work for all users. It's not always possible, but that is the goal! Many, many tiny design decisions like this is cumulatively what makes software seem simple and intuitive/easy to use.

      Nate

      Those two settings aren't new. They are useful only for certain project organizations that prefix their names with the slot or skeleton

      My bad then, I though there were new.
      Totally missed the docs yeah ๐Ÿ˜…

      Without showing the slot's full path, you often can't tell which slot it is. This was really bad in some projects, so bad it was unusable, though in other projects it wasn't a problem.

      I'm completly alright with you, it's usefull. It's just that it does can complicated things sometimes, depending on the project or even what you're doing at the moment on the project. Certainly usefull though.
      To explains a little more what I mean, when I'm doing the weights by exemple, I don't need to know what slot is it exactly, I've got the mesh in front of me so I know what is it.
      Though, if I need to select one slot in pellicular, having to read everything is certainly doable, but add mental fatigue on the long term.

      We don't like to make things configurable unless truly necessary. If there is a better visual presentation that works for everyone, we would apply it to everyone.

      Then I suggest adding some space to separate the folder of the name,

      Slot name uniqueness is not the right thing to call this. Slots always have a unique path + name. Previously only the name was unique, but there was still a uniqueness rule.

      We could have a setting that goes back to have it was: only show the slot name, not the full path. This could be OK for some projects that choose to name slots uniquely and don't need to see the path to know which slot it is. I wonder though, why use folders if you don't need to see them to know which slot it is?

      Have you tried the Show slot folders tree setting? Remember right click will expand/collapse everything under a tree node.

      I use folder because I've got a lot of possible slot that are redundant, like "Body Arm" that can have Color 1, Color 2, Under, Over, Hair Color, Detail... It make the slot list very important very fast, and to can sort them in folder is really really priceless. I try to make the smallest slot count possible, but I've got 131 slots in total, so having folder is really really awesome.
      It's also more errorless if they are all together, more easy to sort them in the right order without making errors.
      I did tryed the Show Slot Folders, it is nicely done ! Great job
      But I still think that sometimes having only the slot names is better. The idea is great, but the project should be done taking it into account before.

      Bone color is just for help animating, so we recently added a button to select all bones with the same color. Slot color means something for the skeleton (it tints attachments) so can't be used solely for identification purposes. For both we already color the icon and connecting lines in the tree. That should be pretty visible, I'm not sure the names need to be colored too.

      That's true. I forgot that I colorize them at runtime, so all slot I color in Spine is colorized anyways in Unity. And it's totally not necessary !

      Too many settings can bury users in stuff they don't understand and/or care about. It's always easier to just throw in more settings instead of putting in the effort to figure out what are the actual best ways to do things that will work for all users. It's not always possible, but that is the goal! Many, many tiny design decisions like this is cumulatively what makes software seem simple and intuitive/easy to use.

      Totally understand you. Doing something usable easilly is the best, and you're doing great for now if you ask me.

      In 4.2.24 we've added a Show slot paths tree setting and improved when slot paths are shown by using gray for the path, but not the name:

      Thanks for your feedback!

      BTW, I forgot we have an unofficial feature where you can put color tags in names. Eg, muzzle-[RED]ring gives you:

      Image removed due to the lack of support for HTTPS. | Show Anyway


      It's not super great because you'd need to use muzzle-[RED]ring to refer to the slot at runtime, if you find a slot by name.

        Nate

        In 4.2.24 we've added a Show slot paths tree setting and improved when slot paths are shown by using gray for the path, but not the name:

        Omg, that look so much nicer with grey slot path !
        4.2.24 isn't out yet, right ? It look really nice like this ! It's clear and efficient. Nice job

        BTW, I forgot we have an unofficial feature where you can put color tags in names. Eg, muzzle-[RED]ring gives you:

        Oh that... uh... funny ๐Ÿคฃ Maybe I'll use it though ! It's more readable in white ๐Ÿ˜…
        Thanks for your hard work