Official discussion: upcoming Filter Manager

Quote
Meaning the Filter Manager will sync once on FF startup, but not during a running FF session? Will we get a Sync button to manually start a sync process?

Good idea. This can be done via a Refresh menu item in the right-click menu belonging to a subfolder. This will have a side effect of being able to quickly refresh just a single folder.

Quote
we'll be able to create arbitrarily nested category folder structures within Favorites too

Yes. Favorites are a strange hybrid between taxonomy and "tagsonomy". They are organized like folders, with arbitrary depth and structure, but you can put the same filter (a shortcut to it, to be precise) into multiple Favorite subfolders!

Evernote uses a similar approach for their tags. They have nested tags, but nesting doesn't really mean anything, other than convenience for the user.

Also, Favorites (and other shortcut-storing folders) can only store shortcuts to filters. Shortcuts to folders are not supported.

Quote
how I am going to see the render screen in that layout.

The mockup shows it enlarged to the maximum (via the draggable separator). The tiling is only visible when the area is wide enough (as shown in that picture), otherwise you'll see just a single column of filters, as usual.

Would it be possible to add the option to open the filter editor with a double click on the filter?

Quote
Now I'm confused. I saw your message with mockup, but Vlad posted a different mockup before that. I don't know who made the one he posted, but that's what I'm talking about.

He made the one he posted. Sorry for the confusion.


I happen to prefer font styling on mine though.

Regarding the mockup authorship: the tiled view mockup (wide, with colorful rainbow filters) was probably made by SpaceRay.

(I say 'probably' because I took it from SpaceRay's thread, but the image may have been re-posted from another thread / author without attribution or citing the source, which wasn't clear from the thread, so I indirectly attributed authorship to "the author of this mockup".)

Quote
Open problem: where to put filters that were deleted from the Filter Library by our staff?

I think it may be a mistake to mess with people's library, and I can see how this has caused confusion.

How about something like this?



That way you can make it clear the filter is no longer "Official" but leave it up to the user to decide what to do.
There could be a settings option to keep the old behavior of moving automatically.

Quote
Would it make sense to have a number next to each folder to show how many filters are contained?

That's handy for finding empty folders that you created after doing something you don't remember. I would want it there since it's nice to expect what's in the folder instead of confirming it yourself.

We could also create the 'Removed' category under Filter Library, not under the default storage folder as I proposed earlier, but this may lead to confusion: since it is under Filter Library, it would be perceived as a library filter (no direct editing, copy created on edit, can't be submitted to Library, can be redownloaded after deletion etc.), while in fact it will be converted to 'user-made' filter (directly editable, can be submitted to Library, deletion is permanent etc.)

(Also, this confusion is the reason why I didn't like Uber's suggestion to keep removed filters in their original library folders).

An entirely new top-level section is too much effort for a use case that occurs once a year on average. Also, it adds redundancy because essentially it will be a clone of of Custom Filters, and its only subfolder is a storage folder, just as in Custom Filters. Plus it introduces awkwardness: it's a top-level section with only one subfolder.

Perhaps we could avoid messing with user storage folders by creating a dedicared storage folder under Custom Filters, as opposed to creating a subfolder in the existing default storage folder. Update: The physical location would be the same that we use for creating My Filters during installation.

Vlad, it makes sense to put deleted filters into the user area, because they are no longer in the Library. And now they are in the hands of the user.

For some of structure to make more sense, I suggest you swap two of the names.

1. Rename Custom Filters to My Filters. This makes sense because the folders under this are controlled by the user.

2. Under My Filters put Custom Filters. This is the default folder for storing modified filters, newly created ones, and ones downloaded fr om forum (not library), etc.

3. Also under My Filters, you can create a folder (as needed) called Retired From Library (unless that wording is too long). This is wh ere you move filters you delete from the library. If the user renames or removes this folder, then the next time you delete filters you could create a new one.

1) Ability to use hotkey CTRL for multiple selection
2) Ability of different viewmodes e.g. list,thumbnail
3) Ability of enlargened thumbnail previews <> mouse over

I'm also for this tiled view suggested by uberzev

Quote
Andrew, your paragraph 3 is exactly what I suggested in my last post above (a storage folder, directly under the top-level section for user filters, created when needed, re-created when missing).

Oops! Sorry about that. I skipped over it.

Quote
what do we see in the filter list if we sel ect a folder

If you select a top-level section, you will see a list of its top-level folders, be they physical or virtual. This is similar to what you see when you select "My Computer" in Windows Explorer: you see drives.

If you select any other folder, you will see its subfolders and filters (or shortcuts), as shown in my mockup.

Quote
About filters deleted from the library, you can move them from the physical folder to 'My filters'

First, there's no dedicated "My Filters" anymore, just physical storage folders, all equal in privileges, except that one of which us marked as default. The name doesn't matter anymore, so your default storage folder can use any name you want (e.g. "Inbox" or "Unsorted" or whatever else.) and be physically located anywhere you want.

And second, filters removed from the library are moved to a physical folder from a library category, not from.

But I definitely agree that filters removed from the library should keep their shortcuts in Favorites, Recent etc. and update them automatically during their "fall from grace".

Quote
Vladimir Golovin First, there's no dedicated "My Filters" anymore, just physical storage folders, all equal in privileges, except that one of which us marked as default. The name doesn't matter anymore, so your default storage folder can use any name you want (e.g. "Inbox" or "Unsorted" or whatever else.) and be physically located anywhere you want.

Very good to know and this is really great, and like this idea, why keep the "my filters" when you can make your own storage folders, and is good to have one of them as the default.

be physically located anywhere you want

I am curious for the last part of your text (in bold), does it mean that you would be able to MOVE the filter to another different hard drive and not have them always inside the Appdata folder as it is now?

What, no Nikon support?

Quote
Morgantao wrote: no Nikon support

canon is a better camera thats why

Quote
And what will happen with the "My Presets" folder?

Good catch, I completely missed that one.

On one hand, My Presets folder stores user presets for Library filters, so the logical location for it would be somewhere nearby the library storage folder (which is not customizable, according to the present design.)

On the other hand, user presets are user-created content which cannot be redownloaded from the Library, so the location should be customizable to allow backup.

(And we also have My Environments.)

With FF currently when you change the texture/effect category's it auto selects a filter and then starts to render it right away. It would be good to be able to stop the auto select from happening so you could just browse other folders without rendering anything again until you have selected something.

When you open the program it also starts to render the last selected filter. One thought i have had in the past is it would be nice if it just loaded the default image until you select something for that also.

If others don't like this idea then maybe having these as a settings in the options dialog would be useful as then people can just set it how they want it always, as i don't have a very high spec computer for me having these options available would be very useful though. Hopefully other people here like this idea also

I would like that too Pixel Slaughter...then you could tag images in PS with process of filters and presets used... Running into this problem alot...

Haha, every preset in complex filter is itself a filter. I have filters with more than 50 presets (usually 20 to 40 they are).

Well its so simple when adding a preset to ask for a simple label, and to write to the <Preset , no?

You will say "It is time wasting for the users to do it every time. I will answer - whay the hell the users will be bored by this, when they CREATE PRESETS.

WHY THE USERS CREATE PRESETS, BY THE WAY?!? This is between the most desired feature.

I do create complex filters (as supposed for owner of pro version, Im an artist). I agree FF is well done (please do not change the user interface style to the modern ones). You are good programers, but not users of the app. It offers CREATING FILTERS WITH LOTSA SETINGS = CREATING LOTSA PRESETS is what the people do.

Preset naming is a must. I already found a way to "hack" this limitation, but 99,99% of the people will not. (hack of the limitation, not reverse engineering)

I give a sample here http://www.filterforge.com/forum/read...5#postform

Please is there any possible news that the filter list thumbnails are going to be made bigger or will they keep being very tiney and small for sharp eye eagle viewers?

I mean if they are going to be in the same way as they are in FF 4.0 beta or as shown in this example here



I really wish and hope that they could be made at least in the same size as they are in the obsolete library browser

I have two other graphics software that have made their thumbnails bigger and now they really look much better and you can see much better the details and this is more important when you have a 1980x1080 monitor.

WILL THE FILTER LIST BE STILL ONE AND ONLY COLUMM AS IN FF 3.0 or FF 4.0 Beta2?

Please, with the new filter manager, is it going to keep the filters list as one and only columm as it is already in FF 4.0 Beta 2 or will it be possible to enlarge the panel and have many colummns of filters as already shown in the image example in this post above here?

Please, could be Vladimir, GMM or anyone from the FF team to tell if it sure and confirmed that this filter manager is going to be finally included in the FF 4.0 and possibly if it will be in FF 4.0 beta 3 or perhaps in the final version?

Thanks very much