Multi Input Socket for Nodes #84433

New Issue

Fabian Schempp · 2021-01-05T22:10:22+01:00

Fabian Schempp commented

2021-01-05 22:10:22 +01:00

Design discussion about Multi Input Sockets.
Goal is to add node sockets that can take multiple inputs.

General idea is to display Multi Input Sockets multiple times as tall as a Single Input Socktes to indicate that they can take multiple inputs.

A first use case is the Join Geometry Node.

Other possible use cases could be other nodes that mix or join something and are often chained like the Alpha Over node in Compositor. Ideas are welcome.

Following are some mockups with some of my ideas thoughts and questions. I will update them as we collect ideas and feedback.

Questions are:

How tall does it have to be good recognizable as a different node type?
Do they grow and shrink?
Do the connectors have to be auto sorted to make it look nicer?
Do the user has to be able to sort the inputs?
How can the user pick and remove inputs?
Are they sorted in the Layout in a special way? Below ore above other sockets?
What could be other use cases or problems?

Design discussion about Multi Input Sockets. Goal is to add node sockets that can take multiple inputs. General idea is to display Multi Input Sockets multiple times as tall as a Single Input Socktes to indicate that they can take multiple inputs. A first use case is the Join Geometry Node. Other possible use cases could be other nodes that mix or join something and are often chained like the Alpha Over node in Compositor. Ideas are welcome. Following are some mockups with some of my ideas thoughts and questions. I will update them as we collect ideas and feedback. Questions are: - How tall does it have to be good recognizable as a different node type? - Do they grow and shrink? - Do the connectors have to be auto sorted to make it look nicer? - Do the user has to be able to sort the inputs? - How can the user pick and remove inputs? - Are they sorted in the Layout in a special way? Below ore above other sockets? - What could be other use cases or problems? ![geometry_nodes_multi_socket_shrink_grow.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F9551862/geometry_nodes_multi_socket_shrink_grow.png) ![geometry_nodes_multi_socket_connector_sorting.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F9551863/geometry_nodes_multi_socket_connector_sorting.png) ![geometry_nodes_multi_socket_how_tall.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F9551865/geometry_nodes_multi_socket_how_tall.png) ![geometry_nodes_multi_socket_placement.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F9551864/geometry_nodes_multi_socket_placement.png) ![geometry_nodes_multi_socket_picking.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F9551915/geometry_nodes_multi_socket_picking.png)

Fabian Schempp self-assigned this 2021-01-05 22:10:22 +01:00

Fabian Schempp commented

2021-01-05 22:10:22 +01:00

Changed status from 'Needs Triage' to: 'Needs User Info'

Fabian Schempp commented

2021-01-05 22:10:22 +01:00

Added subscribers: @FabianSchempp, @HooglyBoogly

Hans Goudey commented

2021-01-05 22:17:34 +01:00

Added subscriber: @pablovazquez

Hans Goudey commented

2021-01-05 22:17:34 +01:00

I really like this idea, and it's great to see it considered completely. As the mock-ups show, it does bring up some questions. Here are some thoughts:

Auto sorting could be quite interesting, especially because I don't think this should be used in situations where the order matters.
3x tall makes it quite clear that the socket is different from a distance even. Anything bigger looks too tall IMO. @pablovazquez was using 2x, but I'm not sure that's tall enough.
The "Expand on mouse-over" concept looks great, and would likely be the most simple to implement, except maybe selecting wires. Maybe selecting wires near their ends would be helpful elsewhere, but it would need an exception when the wire is quite short.
I think the tall sockets look better at the top, but they should just use whatever order the sockets are defined in, so this should be flexible

I really like this idea, and it's great to see it considered completely. As the mock-ups show, it does bring up some questions. Here are some thoughts: - Auto sorting could be quite interesting, especially because I don't think this should be used in situations where the order matters. - 3x tall makes it quite clear that the socket is different from a distance even. Anything bigger looks too tall IMO. @pablovazquez was using 2x, but I'm not sure that's tall enough. - The "Expand on mouse-over" concept looks great, and would likely be the most simple to implement, except maybe selecting wires. Maybe selecting wires near their ends would be helpful elsewhere, but it would need an exception when the wire is quite short. - I think the tall sockets look better at the top, but they should just use whatever order the sockets are defined in, so this should be flexible

Tomas commented

2021-01-06 12:05:40 +01:00

Added subscriber: @Rusculleda

Tomas commented

2021-01-06 12:05:40 +01:00

This is great! The last mockup where it shows the individual sockets upon mouse over or expanding look especially interesting to me thinking about the eventual possibility of a color ramp node where each color stop is connected to a color input. (A bit out of topic here, but related and shows exciting coming possibilities!)

Fabian Schempp commented

2021-01-06 23:26:43 +01:00

For a use case like color ramp, it would be useful if they where user sortable i guess.

Hans Goudey commented

2021-01-07 05:23:35 +01:00

I don't think these sort of sockets should be used where the order matters. For color ramp, I think it would be better to expose a varying number of separate sockets.

The goal of these sockets is to cut down on vertical space and remove that distinction, which is counter to the idea of making a clear order between different inputs.

I don't think these sort of sockets should be used where the order matters. For color ramp, I think it would be better to expose a varying number of separate sockets. The goal of these sockets is to cut down on vertical space and remove that distinction, which is counter to the idea of making a clear order between different inputs.

blender-admin commented

2021-02-03 18:02:01 +01:00

This issue was referenced by c5514d3a2a

This issue was referenced by c5514d3a2a03242ddc43f83be4bb72df7f85469f

Hans Goudey commented

2021-02-12 18:27:45 +01:00

I'm going to close this since what's described in this task is implemented and in master.

Hans Goudey commented

2021-02-12 18:27:52 +01:00

Changed status from 'Needs User Info' to: 'Resolved'

Hans Goudey closed this issue

2021-02-12 18:27:52 +01:00

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Multi Input Socket for Nodes #84433