XPanel vs Panel

[darkChief]

Can Xpanels do everything panels can? For example can an Xpanels 'iChoice' do what a panels listbox_call / multilist_ctl can?

Also I know Xpanels layout most things automatically, and can be turned with hints. Though everything seems to be layed out vertically (like a vbox). How do I layout things horizontally in Xpanels & panels?

 

[creacon]

No they can't, there is no OpenGl control for Xpanels, no listboxes, no multilists.
I needed a multilist in an XPanel and I had to make one myself using a thumbnail control.

You can however put a multilist control in a panel and add an XPanel as a control to the same panel.

XPanels are layed out vertically, I don't think it's possible to arrange controls horizontally in an XPanel.
In a Panel you add the control and than move it afterwards.

If you want some help using panels I suggest you run lsinterface.exe in the bin directory, add some controls to the panel and then "export as panels", that should give you a jumpstart.

creacon

Can Xpanels do everything panels can? For example can an Xpanels 'iChoice' do what a panels listbox_call / multilist_ctl can?

Also I know Xpanels layout most things automatically, and can be turned with hints. Though everything seems to be layed out vertically (like a vbox). How do I layout things horizontally in Xpanels & panels?

 

[darkChief]

Okay, that was very helpful. Thanks again. I couldn't decide which path to take, I will use both (mainly Xpanels). Moving the controls after works nicely, it doesn't break the vertical alignment it seems. I will try the lsinterface.exe, thanks for pointing that out.

 

[creacon]

Compared to a modern solution (like using the designer in Visual Studio) you will spend several times more time working on the UI than would normally be the case. So prepare yourself ;-)

creacon

Okay, that was very helpful. Thanks again. I couldn't decide which path to take, I will use both (mainly Xpanels). Moving the controls after works nicely, it doesn't break the vertical alignment it seems. I will try the lsinterface.exe, thanks for pointing that out.

 

[jwiede]

No they can't, there is no OpenGl control for Xpanels, no listboxes, no multilists.
I needed a multilist in an XPanel and I had to make one myself using a thumbnail control.

You left off a biggie, the inability in Xpanels to track mouse actions/motions (esp. relevant in roll-yer-own-widget-type scenarios).

LW's GUI/UX engine is a rusty boat anchor dragging LW under by the neck.

 

[creacon]

The UI limitations are annoying but that's not what is keeping LW from evolving.
Standard UI functionality in Maya isn't all that great either.

creacon

You left off a biggie, the inability in Xpanels to track mouse actions/motions (esp. relevant in roll-yer-own-widget-type scenarios).

LW's GUI/UX engine is a rusty boat anchor dragging LW under by the neck.

 

[jwiede]

The UI limitations are annoying but that's not what is keeping LW from evolving.
Standard UI functionality in Maya isn't all that great either.

Yet...

I've lost tons of time just getting used to LWPanels and XPanels, these are the best proof that Newtek needs to externalize the interface part of the application.

LWPanels contain Opengl controls, listboxes, custom draw areas. XPanels automate a lot of the manual maintenance stuff, but they don't have these controls, so I had to create my own. just to have a small grid control embedded in an XPanel. Just a basic implementation (no scrollbars, buggy, ...) took me over an hour, while this should be a 5 minute job.

Cross platform is an other huge advantage of QT. But the biggest advantage is that there is a huge user base, it's easy to get info and you expand your development team considerably.

Sounds like you felt LW's GUI/UX issues and inefficiencies were significantly worse than just an "annoyance". The many other devs and customers making similar statements strongly indicates LW's GUI/UX is actually substantially inferior to Maya's Qt-based GUI/UX, w.r.t. both development and use.

 

[creacon]

Are you going to decide what I consider an annoyance? LOL
What many other devs are you talking about?

creacon

Yet...



Sounds like you felt LW's GUI/UX issues and inefficiencies were significantly worse than just an "annoyance". The many other devs and customers making similar statements strongly indicates LW's GUI/UX is actually substantially inferior to Maya's Qt-based GUI/UX, w.r.t. both development and use.

 

[jwiede]

darkChief, one thing to keep in mind (if you haven't already): If your plugin(s) needs to evaluate during rendering, they will potentially need to operate in a "UI-less" mode when LW is run as screamernet (as a render node).

Also, running as a render node has "determinism" implications, so that independently-run nodes produce exact same results (potentially cross-processor-family/maker and cross-platform, watch out for differences in intrinsic fp math results depending on settings). It's typically easier to limit plugin to playback of "baked" results during render node operation.

It's fairly common for Layout plugin devs to forget the render node scenario when making plugins that require render-time evaluation, seemed worth mentioning.

 

[darkChief]

Thanks for the advice. I didn't encounter that scenario. Luckily everything is saved to a mesh, and all you need is a mesh sequencer for rendering.

I will definitely keep this in mind for future projects.