Export/Import/Supporet Preview/Layout settings

[cybercop23]

Add ability to export and import/manage layout/preview settings

[AzGilrock]

I'd like to hear what you have planned for something like this. It sounds like a larger effort and I mainly want to make sure its not causing any bigger XML mess than we already have. Anything that reads/writes XML or uses XML nodes inside the code needs a big overhaul and I'm going to work on that next. Some of the work on my moving head branch has that started.

[cybercop23]

You are correct, that's part of a bigger effort, but it shouldn't make the XML any larger, (plus we need to fix that darn thing, cuz once I get it to work, it will only {originally} work for custom models, since each model would need to be changed - argggg).
The idea is to make the Layout panel more managable. We sort of talked about this.. groups vs submodel sequencing, color tag for groups to make it easier to identify; #4428 .
So the idea is that a coro vendor can now create a view for their models (one or many) and set up the extra groups to a preview. That way, they can still be easily accessed and out of the way and not clutter the layout list.

[AzGilrock]

Not sure using views is the way to manage the mess of submodel groups. It needs to be something that fixes the mess in Layout and the Sequencer Grid. My idea is to create a new container...lets just call them folders. Folders would be like a Model Group except that its not an object that can receive effects. They could be nested. It would allow items to be collapsed in Layout and the Sequencer Grid. It gives the user full control over how things get organized since we don't want vendors dictating how things get arranged in xLights. That just causes too much bickering over who's way is better.

The main thing I didn't decide is between these options:

1. The "Folder" on the sequencer grid would be its own row that doesn't accept effects but could display where effects/data reside from its contents....or...
2. You get to assign one item (model or model group) to the "Folder" and it becomes a row that can take effects that would apply to that model/group. That would allow the main model to be assigned to the folder and all its submodel groups would be nested under it.
3. We allow both options. You can assign a model/group to the folder or leave it blank.

[cybercop23]

Ahhh, ahhhh ha... so I sort of do that now... A group, that has all groups and that's the one that will get the tag and that was so we know not to place effects on them. Having an attribute may be fine too.
For the most part we believe that this order group should also be good enough for the Master View; order the items the way you want them in the MV and done.
See the "Arches Grp", has all my Arches groups and if you see the slider for my pretty large show, it "looks" very large (as in the groups & models list is small).

I think we should still allow the LayoutGroup to be exported and maybe I just give up (having a hard time figuring out how to) auto add a preview and let the user manage that if they so choose to. If the model creator exported preview/layout group and the user wants to use it, they'll have to first crerate it.
Although this auto create should be available for when using Base folder. If I have models in Base folder on a Preview but my show folder doesn't have that preview, it will just keep it to Default. If I manually add the Preview, the Update from Base will "push" the models to the right preview.

[AzGilrock]

One thing to keep in mind is when a model is placed in a preview its position is the same as if it was placed in that spot in the main preview when it comes to rendering. I'm not even sure what happens when you place a model group in a preview but none of its actual members. I think they all show up in the preview but I'd assume their render position comes from the default preview. I created that whole preview capability after meeting the guy who organized the group of houses in Phoenix called Christmas on Comstock. He was using LOR and was watching me demo xLights at an AZ mini and I got the idea to create multiple previews so that he could display all the houses in his show. Don't think he ever left LOR though...lol. When I created the 3D stuff I was hoping previews would disappear since you could then model all the houses in 3D in one screen. But people had already started using the previews for different shows like Halloween and Christmas. Which brings up another pet peeve of mine which is having to add models to a sequence. It might have even been my idea and now I wish we had it so that all models are automatically available and if you don't want to see something you manage that with the Views. But then people whined they now have models for Halloween and Christmas all in one show folder so they don't want them all in one. So when we create a feature its like we get stuck with it even when we hate it later.

[cybercop23]

I hear you. I tried Previews for multiple shows, but then stuck to a folder/show... what a nightmare when I had to make a change to "base" models. The new Base folder resolved that. Should have stuck to previews and push that more, because it did work for what we wanted and now we're using it for even more.
I think all of these working together will make it easier to manage and more flexible

And I think the same position is desired between layouts. I use that to "hide" my images for ctrl, dr and pi images and only bring them in when I print my final layout to set up.