the "merge" options of the timeline

[Fabrice]

Hello,

How often do you use the "merge" options of the TimeLine ?
Is it a big deal for you if we put them somewhere else in the software?

[slowtiger]

Do you mean just the options in the pulldown menu, or the whole command button?

I use the "merge" button quite a lot because often I merge more than two layers. Also I use the more exotic layer transfer modes which are not available in the smaller "merge" dialog when I just drag one layer upon another.

If it's just the options: I'd be OK if "merge" would be a simple button, which merges selected layers, and gives a warning if no or only one layer is selected.

[Fabrice]

Do you mean just the options in the pulldown menu, or the whole command button?

opps, I meant this :

Merge.png (12.56 KiB) Viewed 64138 times

With all the possibilities linked to this menu.

[Paul Fierlinger]

Sandra and I just discussed this at length because she uses merge many times a day. She says that where it sits now is the most logical place for Merge to be; sitting above the layers which are about to be merged. But if there would be a key command to open all the options in the same way, she could adapt to that.

[Sewie]

I use the option quite often (for two and more layers) and I will find it very handy if it would stay easily accessible (one way or the other).

[Elodie]

Personally, I do use frequently the Merge option. But I never used the "Auto fit"...

[Mads Juul]

Personally, I do use frequently the Merge option. But I never used the "Auto fit"...

Maybe auto filt coulf be the "RMB" menu of the 'Z' button the intaractive zoom button?
-mads

[Paul Fierlinger]

That's not a bad idea, Mads. I use those options quite often, although I have a key command for the one I use all the time; Fit ti Frames. The only issue I can foresee with stuffing everything into the Z button is that noobies rarely discover the Z button on their own, and if they do, how will they know to RMB it for more options? Would it not be better to replace the letter Z with a tiny icon of the well established zoom symbol (a film frame with an arrow within, pointing to a close-up)?

[Peter Wassink]

... Would it not be better to replace the letter Z with a tiny icon of the well established zoom symbol (a film frame with an arrow within, pointing to a close-up)?

well established zoom symbol

[ematecki]

The looking glass once was a well established icon for zooming...

Now it means : search icon

[Paul Fierlinger]

We are all filmmakers here and the storyboard icon is easily understood by all. If someone can't understand it, they should go home and cry and talk to a friend. If you don't have a friend, talk to a cop.

[Mads Juul]

I have a lot of cop-friends. even better

[Paul Fierlinger]

I bet they are KeyFrame cops!

[Elodie]

If someone can't understand it, they should go home and cry and talk to a friend. If you don't have a friend, talk to a cop.

I "loled"

[malcooning]

I use the merge pull down often, so it's nice to have it there, and I agree with Paul and Sandra that it's the most logical place for it to be.
Saying that, I could also live with it if the command moved to right-click menu only, given that it lives somewhere convenient in the menu which won't require a long travel in search of the command.

But regarding the whole command bar (where the Merge button and its neighbors live), it is certainly high-time to address it. Its location is a very high-access location: It sits centrally in the screen, it's above all the layers and is always visible. Only the most highly-used commands should reside there. Some buttons are certainly worthy of this location, like the Zoom button (although most of us use the Alt key). But looking at rather complicated functions like Stencil and the H button, they received only a button with a single letter on it, whereas a simple command like Merge gets a whole wide button which takes up quite some space. this, in my opinion, is not a clever use of such crucial panel property.

I suggest the following:

Aug 15 00-57-55.png (23.17 KiB) Viewed 63955 times

1. Move into universal symbols, which makes sense as it already exists in the interface - the layer lock icon for example.
2. The zoom button indeed goes to the magnifying glass - The project zoom panel (navigator) is already represented by a magnifying glass
3. The "Auto Fit" options can be accessed via right-click on the zoom button (can right-click+drag still be reserved for faster zooming?)
3. The buttons become smaller - the bar can include more buttons.
4. Buttons which don't have menus (like the "split layer" button) simply act as straight forward buttons. Buttons with menus simply open a menu - without the need to indicate with a black downward pointing arrow.
5. Toggle buttons simply highlight (like the eye icon)