Adjusting properties in weighting operation popups reverts vertex group locks #84184

New Issue

Jer Bot · 2020-12-27T20:39:23+01:00

Jer Bot commented

2020-12-27 20:39:23 +01:00

System Information
Operating system: Linux (and others)
Graphics card: nVidia 1060
Blender Version
Broken: 2.9x

Short description of error
In Weight Paint mode:
If I lock some vertex groups and then Weights -> Smooth (or any operation that has adjustable values), things behave as expected.
BUT, if I then try to alter the values the Properties popup window, the list of locked vertex groups changes (revert/undo?), which causes weights to bleed undesirably & defeating the purpose of locking groups.
This can even return a "All groups are locked" error, if the previous configuration had 1 or less groups unlocked and Weights -> Normalize All is performed. Normalize All needs at least 2 groups unlocked to shift weights around, and if you try to alter the properties popup it will revert the locked weights list to an incompatible configuration.

I've verified this bug with the Smooth, Levels and Normalize All procedures. Therefore, I'm assuming this will affect any Weights operation that has an adjustable properties popup.

Exact steps for others to reproduce the error

Create cylinder (subdivisions not needed, but helps if you wan to understand the technique being used).
Skin cylinder to chain of at least 3 bones that resides within the cylinder.
Enter Weight Painting mode.
Lock all but 2 of the vertex groups, and select one of the unlocked groups.
Activate Weights -> Smooth
Adjust some values on the Factor or Iterations on the Properties popup.
Notice how the list of locked groups changes.

weightsUnlock_2020-12-27.mp4

Assumed Issue
Perhaps Blender is altering these Properties values via Undos?
If, in between steps 4 and 5, you perform another action (i.e. enter and exit Edit mode) it will not change the list of locked Vertex Groups.

Importance
This weight locking technique is very effective in preventing skin weights from bleeding across the model when skinning, which creates a mess that require cleanup (*see timestamp 9:30 Demeter's tutorial on "Weight Painting Part 2 ". Demeter demonstrates the problem and his workaround, which can introduces other problems, as the "Clean" operation is destructive and does not always fully fix the bleeding weights.
In the comments of the tutorial, I demonstrate the precision gained when using locked group weights and how it prevents bleeding, removing the need for any post cleanup.

This bug prevents the awesome property sliders from being used, meaning that values have to be set very low and the weighting operation needs to be performed in multiple steps till the desired effect is reached. This is not a very effective workaround.

BONUS
While looking at the code involved in this bug, I request looking at adding in a "Normalize" checkbox to allow the affects of the operations to be seen immediately on the vertex positions, without the requirement of additional Normalize steps.
When performing operations such as Smooth, it's very common (assumed) that this step will be followed up with a Normalize All operation. Many popular skin weighting addons (see below) try to fill this gap by introducing checkboxes to automatically perform Normalize operations after adjusting weights.
Here are two Example Addons that introduce an "auto normalize" for common Weight operations.
https://gumroad.com/l/weight_paint_tools
https://gumroad.com/l/smooth_unlocked

**System Information** Operating system: Linux (and others) Graphics card: nVidia 1060 **Blender Version** Broken: 2.9x **Short description of error** In Weight Paint mode: If I lock some vertex groups and then Weights -> Smooth (or any operation that has adjustable values), things behave as expected. BUT, if I then try to alter the values the Properties popup window, the list of locked vertex groups changes (revert/undo?), which causes weights to bleed undesirably & defeating the purpose of locking groups. This can even return a "*All groups are locked*" error, if the previous configuration had 1 or less groups unlocked and Weights -> Normalize All is performed. Normalize All needs at least 2 groups unlocked to shift weights around, and if you try to alter the properties popup it will revert the locked weights list to an incompatible configuration. I've verified this bug with the Smooth, Levels and Normalize All procedures. Therefore, I'm assuming this will affect any Weights operation that has an adjustable properties popup. **Exact steps for others to reproduce the error** 1. Create cylinder (subdivisions not needed, but helps if you wan to understand the technique being used). 2. Skin cylinder to chain of at least 3 bones that resides within the cylinder. 3. Enter Weight Painting mode. 4. Lock all but 2 of the vertex groups, and select one of the unlocked groups. 5. Activate Weights -> Smooth 6. Adjust some values on the Factor or Iterations on the Properties popup. 7. Notice how the list of locked groups changes. [weightsUnlock_2020-12-27.mp4](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F9532295/weightsUnlock_2020-12-27.mp4) **Assumed Issue** Perhaps Blender is altering these Properties values via Undos? If, in between steps 4 and 5, you perform another action (i.e. enter and exit Edit mode) it will not change the list of locked Vertex Groups. **Importance** This weight locking technique is very effective in preventing skin weights from bleeding across the model when skinning, which creates a mess that require cleanup (*see timestamp 9:30 Demeter's tutorial on "[Weight Painting Part 2 ](https://cloud.blender.org/training/weight-painting/5efe0d7405aef1cf3b89644d#comment-4576)". Demeter demonstrates the problem and his workaround, which can introduces other problems, as the "Clean" operation is destructive and does not always fully fix the bleeding weights. In the comments of the tutorial, I demonstrate the precision gained when using locked group weights and how it prevents bleeding, removing the need for any post cleanup. This bug prevents the awesome property sliders from being used, meaning that values have to be set very low and the weighting operation needs to be performed in multiple steps till the desired effect is reached. This is not a very effective workaround. **BONUS** While looking at the code involved in this bug, I request looking at adding in a "Normalize" checkbox to allow the affects of the operations to be seen immediately on the vertex positions, without the requirement of additional Normalize steps. When performing operations such as Smooth, it's very common (assumed) that this step will be followed up with a Normalize All operation. Many popular skin weighting addons (see below) try to fill this gap by introducing checkboxes to automatically perform Normalize operations after adjusting weights. Here are two Example Addons that introduce an "auto normalize" for common Weight operations. https://gumroad.com/l/weight_paint_tools https://gumroad.com/l/smooth_unlocked

Jer Bot commented

2020-12-27 20:39:23 +01:00

Added subscriber: @JerBot

Jer Bot changed title from ~~Adjusting properties in "Smooth" weighting popup reverts vertex group locks~~ to Adjusting properties in weighting operation popups reverts vertex group locks

2020-12-27 20:53:12 +01:00

Philipp Oeser commented

2020-12-29 18:15:31 +01:00

Added subscriber: @lichtwerk

Philipp Oeser commented

2020-12-29 18:15:31 +01:00

Changed status from 'Needs Triage' to: 'Confirmed'

Philipp Oeser commented

2020-12-29 18:15:31 +01:00

Thx for the detailed report Similar issue has been reported before, see the following related reports:

#73302: Weight paint mode "Levels" option changes active vertexgroup after execution
#78171: Adjust Last Operation: Other changes outside that panel are reverted back automatically
#69760: Undo/Adjust Last Operation: vertex and weightpaint operators undo more then they should (change back any setting changed prior to execution)

Not exactly sure if #78171 and #69760 are actually the same thing, will merge into #69760 since this seems a bit more specific to this exact case.
Please make sure to comment again if you think these are different issues (we can always reopen in this case)

While looking at the code involved in this bug, I request looking at adding in a "Normalize" checkbox...

Please use other channels for user feedback and feature requests: https://wiki.blender.org/wiki/Communication/Contact#User_Feedback_and_Requests

Thx for the detailed report Similar issue has been reported before, see the following related reports: - #73302: Weight paint mode "Levels" option changes active vertexgroup after execution - #78171: Adjust Last Operation: Other changes outside that panel are reverted back automatically - #69760: Undo/Adjust Last Operation: vertex and weightpaint operators undo more then they should (change back any setting changed prior to execution) Not exactly sure if #78171 and #69760 are actually the same thing, will merge into #69760 since this seems a bit more specific to this exact case. Please make sure to comment again if you think these are different issues (we can always reopen in this case) > While looking at the code involved in this bug, I request looking at adding in a "Normalize" checkbox... Please use other channels for user feedback and feature requests: https://wiki.blender.org/wiki/Communication/Contact#User_Feedback_and_Requests

Philipp Oeser commented

2020-12-29 18:16:18 +01:00

Closed as duplicate of #69760

Philipp Oeser closed this issue

2020-12-29 18:16:18 +01:00

Jer Bot commented

2020-12-30 02:57:06 +01:00

Roger that @lichtwerk. ☑
Yes, it looks the same. Included a brief summary and a link to the video that I'd already uploaded, to assist & confirm the initial task description.
Will look to other channels for the "Auto Normal" checkbox feature request.

Cheers!

Roger that @lichtwerk. ☑ Yes, it looks the same. Included a brief summary and a link to the video that I'd already uploaded, to assist & confirm the initial task description. Will look to other channels for the "Auto Normal" checkbox feature request. Cheers!

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Adjusting properties in weighting operation popups reverts vertex group locks #84184