topic Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor?? in Maya Animation and Rigging Forum

Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

stuff — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 09:07:02 GMT

So I tried Maya 2017 and 2018 recently and it looks like there's a big problem in the Node Editor in both.
After connecting any attribute on a given node A to any attribute on a given node B, those attributes on both nodes disappear and Node Editor won't let you connect from them or to them anymore unless you choose "other..."
It's like it decides to remove all attribute from the list that you already connected to or from, even though you want to make multiple connections from that attribute or reconnect forcefully to an already connected attribute.

I really hope this is something that can be turned off somewhere that I've missed, otherwise it's a pretty serious bug that makes half of Node Editor useless (In both Maya 2017 & 2018).

Please help...
-Sergey.

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

mspeer — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 09:57:28 GMT

Hi!

I have never seen a different behavior for this.

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

stuff — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 20:35:40 GMT

If that's the only way it works now, then I might as well script my own tool to connect everything...

My typical workflow is connecting one PlusMinusAverage node to 20-30 MultiplyDivide nodes.
But if the Output1D output disappears from the PlusMinusAverage after one connection then what's the point of using Node Editor at all?

I usually see people open up the nodes, so they see ALL of the attributes before they make connections, but try doing that with 30 or 50 nodes in the same view. They'd end up occupying so much space that you'd rather use the Connection editor instead.

I really hope I missed something and there's a way to cancel this behavior!

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

pavelR. — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 13:24:30 GMT

doubt it, at least I didn't find anything about on my rants with the node editor..

for that reason I tend to have all attributes exposed but as you mentioned.. it's rather difficult to work with and when you have many nodes visible and move them around to make space it starts to relocate some other nodes.. plus drag&drop to connect node-outputs with node-inputs is quiet frustrating using a tablet.

guess maya is still stuck to the wall-of-attribute-editor tabs workflow to middle-mouse drag items around directly in the properties ui.

plenty room for improvement (not just the node editor), other software pays a little more attention to user-friendly ui handling including such minor features.. and at the end of the day.. those minor things make a huge difference.

I think you're better with having a scripted solution for commonly used nodes and determine a common logic based on selection. to save you from some headache, use the nodeEditor command to query the selection when turning of the sync feature (hey.. it's much faster to work without sync..), as the ls cmd wont get you anything then.

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

mspeer — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 16:16:02 GMT

Hi!

There are so many different options for input and output display of nodes, there should be one working for you.

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

pavelR. — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 02:26:46 GMT

since you're replying to me, question:

what other options are there, collapsed (1), show connected (2), all (3) and custom attribute view(4) (or whatever it's called) (number in brackets is the default hotkey).

my rant was about something else, nm.

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

mspeer — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 07:25:32 GMT

Hi!

1. You can use Edit Custom Attribute List to create your own custom display for a node type.

2. Use filtering when using Show All Attributes.

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

stuff — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 08:12:30 GMT

These two are more of a workaround.

They still force you to have all of your possibly desired attributes, visible at all times. And if you wanna hide them, you have to go through extra trouble and they are still filling up your editor space like crazy.

This new functionality is much worse than compact drop-down menus of Maya 2015 where attributes never disappeared, everything was in comfortable size and nodes didn't pop around when you duplicate them (btw!).

Let's face it, opening up the nodes is flashy and awesome when you introduce the "new" Node Editor at the most recent keynote, but when it comes to real-world everyday work, the Node Editor went downhill starting Maya 2016.
Sorry, but the disappearing attributes is a deal breaker for me!

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

mspeer — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 08:40:49 GMT

Hi!

You don't have them to display those all the time and you can even use multiple tabs to manage your connections.

The only option i see for you is to add a "Maya Idea" with an option not to change the list for "connect attributes without expanding the nodes" even if an Attribute of this list is currently connected.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/maya-ideas/idb-p/968

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 01:33:10 GMT

Is there an explanation as to why things disappear from the dropdown list?

It seems like a deliberate choice from Autodesk, maybe there's a logical explanation that i don't understand.

As soon as i use the "world position" output for example, it gets removed from the list....

I have a lot of trouble to understand the logic behind that.

For me it's an unnecessary cleanup of a rather short list that provokes the loss of the click-navigate-connect feature. It forces me to use the clickHold-drag feature that sometimes require moving nodes and even creating tabs when nodes are too far from each other.

I don't get how proposing to add a feature on a forum is noted as a solution.

It seems more like noting a problem in a space that might not be the best place for it to be considered.

Neither how creating multiple tab so that two nodes are in range of being linked by a drag'n drop is one, it's more like a very annoying workaround.

Re: Attributes disappear in Node Editor??

stuff — Sat, 26 Jan 2019 00:21:02 GMT

Nobody seems to be able to answer this and I've yet to see it fixed. Maybe Maya 2019??
It's not a feature that helps anyone to work faster or better, it's a problem.

I literally can't connect OutputX to multiple attributes Input1X, Input1Y and Input1Z with just the node editor, which I could do in Maya 2015-2016. The least they could do is to make a setting to turn it OFF!! Was that so hard?
It's like if you're trying to eat your food with a fork, but after the first bite, they take the fork away from you...

Whoever tells it's a feature, lies! It's something that used to work, but now doesn't and isn't being fixed.