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jffe
Posts: 2869
Filters: 90
I found myself wanting a *replace module* feature today. I picture it working like 1) replace any one module with another, and have all the out-going wiring snap to the new module, and 2) a global, replace-all feature, where you could replace say, all 3 Color Gradient modules, with 5 Color gradient modules for instance. Kind of like a spell checker, change once, or change all.

jffe
Filter Forger
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uberzev
not lyftzev

Posts: 1890
Filters: 36
Oh yeah, this is a must.
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Kraellin
Kraellin

Posts: 12749
Filters: 99
not a biggie for me with the one exception of an optional replace old switch component with new switch component or old blend with new blend. in other words, if it's the same component, but just an old type replaced by a new type of the same kind, then great!

oh, and just one addition here. i'd actually be in favor of having some of the old components available to use in the new versions. i know i can cut and paste from the older filters, but if i didnt have those older filters or didnt know where to look, it would be nice, in a few instances, to have the old components available for use still. (switch comes to mind in particular. sometimes i just dont need 12 nodes on the switch and it takes up more space. (odd that i'd be the one requesting this, isnt it, since i was the one that asked for more nodes smile:) ) )
If wishes were horses... there'd be a whole lot of horse crap to clean up!

Craig
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jffe
Posts: 2869
Filters: 90
Quote
Kraellin wrote:not a biggie for me with the one exception of an optional replace old switch component with new switch component or old blend with new blend. in other words, if it's the same component, but just an old type replaced by a new type of the same kind, then great!


----Well, see even someone who maybe works totally differently than uberzev or myself, could benefit from it somehow. smile:) I just often find myself being "experimental" (since I usually have no idea what I'm doing ha-ha) and moving/switching stuff around a lot, and in those cases, a *replace module(s)* function would save me several minutes and a lot of clicking and scrolling around.
----Seems like being able to specify how many nodes you wanted on the switch might be good, but might be more hassle to program in then it's worth, since other than screen space, it's fine having all 6 or 8 or whatever available all the time. I'd almost say the same for filters, as far as having previous versions available. Because I know when I update one of mine, it gets changed a bit, just by the nature of wanting to speed it up, or add features, the original output will never quite be 100% the same.

jffe
Filter Forger
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Vladimir Golovin
Administrator
Posts: 3446
Filters: 55
Quote
jffe wrote:
Seems like being able to specify how many nodes you wanted on the switch might be good, but might be more hassle to program in then it's worth


Yes, that's exactly why this wasn't implemented.
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uberzev
not lyftzev

Posts: 1890
Filters: 36
Quote
Vladimir Golovin wrote:
jffe wrote:
Seems like being able to specify how many nodes you wanted on the switch might be good, but might be more hassle to program in then it's worth


Yes, that's exactly why this wasn't implemented.
Well, a version that simply replacees the output would be usefull and easy to implement.
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Kraellin
Kraellin

Posts: 12749
Filters: 99
whereas i like the initial idea of all this, when i start thinking of all the different variations there are component to component, including curves and curve ops, the mind reels at how much coding this would take and how bloated FF would become as a result. so, no thank you... and i'm not even a coder smile:)
If wishes were horses... there'd be a whole lot of horse crap to clean up!

Craig
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Nebukadnezar
Posts: 64
Filters: 1
I wanted to ask if something like this has been implemented in the meantime.
It would be really useful.
I need to replace a component with a different one (of the same sort) and it's a source for dozens of components further down the chain and all over the place. I don't want to loose/redo all of those connections.
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Morgantao
Can't script

Posts: 2185
Filters: 20
Short answer, NO!
Long answer, no such replace component availanble, and I don't think there will be one.
What you can try, is to edit the FFXML file with something like Notepad++ and replace only the component you need. Make sure to search and replace all the source tags that mention the replaced component.
The easiest way to make sure you do it right, is to make a new filter with just what you have now, and what you need (Including inputs/outputs) and see what needs to be changed.

Good luck!
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Nebukadnezar
Posts: 64
Filters: 1
Thx a lot! I'll keep that possibility in mind.
In the case at hand I ended up replacing it by hand by moving the old component to a place were the outgoing connections stood out clearly. (Their angle being different fr om most other connections.) Then I kept the old component, created the new one and replaced the connections one by one. (Seems to be the logical thing to do, in hindsight smile;) )
But for a case with even more connections I'll keep your proposal in mind.

Where I can anticipate the need to change components I'll just use a switcher in the future, which will have to stay in the finished filter.
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SpaceRay
SpaceRay

Posts: 12302
Filters: 35
I agree that this would be hard to make and would need lot of coding and really would not help much and not be really very useful, just for some few people that would like to replace dome components would be better to make it by hand through changing the XML version of the components as Morgantao has suggested

He did himself a XML conversion of the components in this other thread here
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Nebukadnezar
Posts: 64
Filters: 1
I can't tell how hard to code it would be, but it would be user friendly.
It would be enough if it just took the outgoing connections into consideration/preserved them. If you replace a "green" component with another green one, is it really that hard to reconnect the children back to that new parent? As long as the color/kind of the component match. If you want to replace a green with a gray one you get an error message.
That's exactly the right job for a computer in my book, not a human being. And having to switch to an external program is clunky and unnecessarily complicated, too. But I'm thankful for the workaround and the tips.
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Morgantao
Can't script

Posts: 2185
Filters: 20
I never said it was a perfect solution smile:D
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Nebukadnezar
Posts: 64
Filters: 1
But it is a useful and smart option to know. So thx again, it wasn't my intention to criticize you.
I'm just saying, from my point of view as a non programmer, it doesn't seem too hard to implement something like this (if you restrict it to certain cases) when a more or less user controlled replacement in an external editor does the trick.

Now if it's worth the effort, I can't judge and surely there are more important things in the world and probably lots of more beneficial feature requests. And perhaps it's the fact that I'm not a programmer and do my first clumsy steps in Filter Forge, but I could have used a quick and simple in program solution to that problem already several times now.

(And perhaps my experience with programmers comes into play here, too.
Ask them something that they don't deem useful and you get:
No, I can't do this because of.......and it would be too complicated.... and by the way.....
And if they really have to do it after all it's done in half an hour. smile:D
Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit.)
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Morgantao
Can't script

Posts: 2185
Filters: 20
I know you weren't criticizing me, or my technique. I'll be the first to say it's far from ideal. smile:)

I too would like to see a replace control option available in the editor, but alas, FF inc. are notorius for not implementing user requests, no matter how trivial the programing is, and no matter how important the feature is. smile:evil:
Look on the forums and see that here are requests that are still pending since 2006, that's SIX whole years now. smile:!:
In some cases users have programmed their own tools themselves and shared them here in the forum.
One example is a batch render animator, another is a tool that lets you organize the 8700+ filters using your own folders and keywords.
Consider that those (and other) tools have been created by individual users in a short time. Imagine what a whole dev team could do if they decide to smile:|
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SpaceRay
SpaceRay

Posts: 12302
Filters: 35
If you have to replace one or very few components old components for new ones is not much problem, and could be done, although is not easy to replace a component as you have to configure again all the setting of the component and MAKE AGAIN all the links to others components related to this, BUT even then is possible.

BUT what happens when you need to replace many components in a filter like THIS shown here below!!!

This is a nearly impossible task smile:dead:

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SpaceRay
SpaceRay

Posts: 12302
Filters: 35
Quote
Morgantao wrote:

I too would like to see a replace control option available in the editor, but alas, FF inc. are notorius for not implementing user requests, no matter how trivial the programing is, and no matter how important the feature is.

Look on the forums and see that here are requests that are still pending since 2006, that's SIX whole years now.


I agree with you and also would like to see a SIMPLE replace control, I mean one that JUST AND ONLY updates the version of the component to a newer one and keeps the same settings and all the links in the same way.

BUt as you have said very well, there are LOTS of different requests that are still pending even from 2006, and although many could be probably easy to implement and make they are still not done smile:(
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