[UI Footer] Improve layout, style, functionality, customization and use of space

[Kranos_Orphydian]

Current UI Footer

At the Customization and use of space level, all of the bottom UI elements should be Dockable and Hideable. This is kind of standard in all other 3d apps and it makes sense to hide everything you don't need or to move things where you are more comfortable with. At the moment only the Time slider and Track Bar are Dockable, at least somehow, since the Trackbar is tied to the Time Slider. It can only by docked together with the Time Slider and in the Main UI Toolbar context menu (1st image bellow), there is only an option for the Time slider to toggle it on and off and this will hide both of them. On Customize>Show UI (2nd image), there is only an option for the Track Bar this time. This is a bit weird and both of these bars should have separate options in the menus and should be dockable separately. MaxScript Mini listener should also have a real Toggled off instead of just sliding it away when you don't need it.

  

On the Layout side of things, related elements and controls should be grouped together and those different should be clearly separated. Animation and Time controls at this moment are disconnected from the Time Slider and Track Bar. They don't share the same Bar and therefore they cannot be docked and toggled together in what should be a logical and practical relation. Since only the above mentioned bars can be toggled, if one lets say doesn't have any job in doing animation, he would be still left with the Animation controls if he toggles the bars off. The other way around, Isolate and Lock Selection toggle controls and Coordinate Display controls should be more visually distinctive. Status and Prompt line Space should be also more clearly separated.

When comes to Functionality, there are all sort of new functions that can be added on the bottom space or/and replace some that are not that useful there. An immediate improvement would be to make better use of the free space reserved for the Status and Prompt line. At the moment these visual helpers are bare to useless, limited to display the name of some of the UI items when you hover over them like the tools  from Toolbar and the items on the UI footer. This is redundant if you already have Tooltips turned on. It also prompts you with the couple of steps required to complete actions with some certain basic tools like the selection and Transform one from the toolbar. In other software these hints and helpers are much more extended to the most of the existing modeling tools or/ shows the various hotkeys to access functions of the respective tool. Blender is a good example for that. Ofc to fully benefit of this Max modeling tools would need to be more accesible with hotkeys or at show the Keys that you setup for certain tools.

Other useful info that could be added is the statistics. Instead of having them overlayed on the viewport they could be handled on the bottom (again see the image above of Blender)

I would refrain to mention other Viewport and scene management controls that could be added to the UI footer because I suppose the Viewport settings are on the roadmap for 3ds max so this will be redundant. In the same manner the Isolate selection and Lock selection would also be more relevant to be moved on a viewport Control bar (like in Maya). So pls. feel free to come with suggestions of what other commands could be added here !

[joeaf9321]

I support this, I wouldn't eliminate the Maxscript Listener, it has a lot of functionality. But I would like to see a better use of the Command Panel, it's so much important to 3ds Max and it could have more functionalities, like handling Viewports (Amount, Layout, Configuration, PBR Engine). I mena just look how Substance Painter do.

Do you have an Idea about this?

@Kranos_Orphydian 

[Kranos_Orphydian]

I actually have a separate idea for the Command Panel. I  suggested to have more modes to reduce extra dialog windows pretty much like Blender or Cinema 4d.  There could  be nested Render settings,  the compact material editor settings etc.

Modes for Command Panel as an alternative to floating windows like C4D

[joeaf9321]

Hmmm, I'm searching for it, although Max can be quite customizable if we use Customize User Interface properly, but I know What you mean. It needs to improve a lot.