Customisable Menu Layout

[AshDsLinger]

Hi,

First of all, thank you for the great work you’re doing with Layering. It’s a fantastic tool, and I really appreciate the effort that goes into its ongoing development and improvement.

I’d like to suggest a small usability improvement regarding the main menu.

Would it be possible to introduce a customisation feature that allows users to rearrange the menu categories through drag-and-drop functionality?

Initially, I found the Import / Export functionality a little tricky to locate within the current menu structure. Although I now know where to find it, this highlighted an opportunity to improve navigation by allowing users to organise the menu according to their individual preferences and workflows.

A drag-and-drop feature would give users the flexibility to prioritise the tools they use most frequently, making the interface more intuitive and efficient.

Alternatively, as a simpler improvement, moving Manage closer to Home could be a more intuitive arrangement, particularly since functions such as Import / Export are commonly associated with file and project management.

I realise that menu customisation may require additional development, but I believe it could be a worthwhile feature to consider for a future update.

Thanks again for the excellent work on Layering. I’m looking forward to seeing how the platform continues to evolve!

[henmedia]

@AshDsLinger, welcome, and thank you for the kind words and for saying what you tripped over. Import and Export live in the group Manage, at the right end of the ribbon next to Help. You can also reach them with Ctrl+I (import) and Ctrl+E (export), through the command search with Ctrl+K (type "export"), and on the start page under "Open a design or import geometry".

Moving a group, or letting everyone arrange the ribbon, would change the screen for everybody, so I would like to see whether others look for Import and Export in a different place too before I touch the order. Your picture helps; if you or others have more thoughts on where the groups should stand, please write them here.

If layerling is useful to you and you would like to support it, there is a small page for that: https://layerling.com/support.html

[henmedia]

A second request in the same direction: in #447 @grmonsey asks to move the editing groups of the ribbon (Group, Ungroup, Align and so on) to the right side, as in Tinkercad, in the small ribbon. Nothing is decided; I am still waiting to see whether more people want the ribbon laid out differently.

[henmedia]

One more voice on the layout, from #447: @prmod3d would like to move the Shapes group to the far right, and to choose how many columns the Shapes panel shows, because the panel opens near the middle and covers the spot where a shape is dropped. Nothing is decided.

[prmod3d]

Here's a screen capture of my fullscreen layout, using the Small meu size on a 27" widescreen monitor at 1920 x 1080 resolution. After seeing some other people's screen captures I realize that not everyone has as much free empty space on the right side of the ribbon menu, but I think shuffling around the placement of menu items would still work from a workflow point of view.

Another possible option, specifically for the SHAPES menu, would be to make the Shapes panel floating (like the Properties panel) that could be resized and positioned (and saved) wherever a user wants it. This would avoid changing the menu order while allowing for the panel to appear in the most convenient place on the screen. That might be the best compromise solution -- although it could feel a bit disjointed to have a panel open so far from the activation button.

[henmedia]

@prmod3d, thank you, the picture helps: at this width the ribbon leaves a lot of room on the right, and the Shapes panel opens right under its button, in the middle of the work area, where the shape is going to be placed. That is the same point as in #447.

A floating Shapes panel is a different way from moving groups around: today the panel is a drop-down under its button and cannot be moved. Would you want it to stay open while you place several shapes one after the other, or only until you have picked one? Nothing is decided; I am collecting the ideas here and in #447.

[prmod3d]

Oooh, I like the idea of a "stay open" panel to select multiple shapes at once! That, of course, is the Tinkercad default, with an option to slide the panel out of view when not wanted. I actually prefer layerling's method of closing the panel every time because it's easier to bring it back via the menu rather than to target a very small "expand" arrow along the right side of the browser window in Tinkercad.

However, I can certainly see the merit in keeping the panel open for multiple shape selection. I think having the default of closing every time would suit normal use, with a checkbox (or something) available to keep it open when desired. Like an auto-closing door that you occasionally jam a doorstop under when moving furniture!

The other advantage of a floating Shapes panel is it could be positioned exactly over top of the Properties panel which means it's sharing screen real estate that normally is avoided anyway when using the Workplane -- or at least one gets in the habit of moving the Workplane around with some extra clearance on that side. And I can't really think of any instances where I would need access to the Properties panel while choosing shapes, but the panels could be manually shuffled around if that was needed.

[henmedia]

@prmod3d thank you, that is clear: the Shapes panel closes after each pick as it does now, with a pin in its title bar to keep it open while you place several shapes, and you can move it by the title bar, for example over the Properties panel. A double-click on the title bar puts it back under its button. That also leaves the order of the ribbon alone, which several of you would rather keep. I built it, and the size of the panel stays as it is for now. It comes with the next release.

[henmedia]

@prmod3d the Shapes panel is in 1.86.2: its title bar moves it, for example over the Properties panel, and a double-click on the title bar puts it back under its button. The pin in the title bar keeps it open while you place several shapes; without the pin it closes after each shape as before. It works the same in the sketch. Reload the page to get it; the installed app needs a restart.