First thoughts. A workspace, in my opinion, is:
- A ‘place’ (usually expressed as a UI) that collects and organizes all relevant files and communications for a project.
- I use 2 panels, side by side, on the right side of the SU window in SU 2022. One for Entity Info (left, closer to the model space) and the other for Outliner (right, outside edge of SU window). The reason for using two panels is for the Entity Info and Outliner to be at the top of the panel they are on. The Outliner tray, especially, needs to be on top of the panel because it needs the most vertical ‘room’ to be able to see what is in the model. Below the Outliner I put the Components tray (usually low enough so only to top is visible). I don’t make much use of the Components tray. The Entity Info tray can be expanded to show Advanced Attributes. Those usually aren’t useful to me, so it mostly remains collapsed. Below it I place the Tags tray. Below Entity Info, usually collapsed, are: Materials, Styles, Scenes, Shadows, and Instructor. In SU 2023 I put the Overlay tray below the Outliner.
The biggest problem for me with this panel setup is that Outliner is not working well. The un-naming / renaming of named Groups to “group” is a bug that can ‘screw up’ work. The quadruple (or is it quintuple?) click to name Groups problem makes using the Outliner less user friendly than it should be.* One of the worst issues with the Outliner is that it no longer ‘automatically’ highlights selected groups/components. This makes it far less effective and efficient.
Toolbars: somewhat minimalistic. I use a modified toolbar with the VCB Box and the Tape Measure tool and a modified Standard tools toolbar. I like to have the Trimble Connect toolbar, the Sandbox Tools, and Dynamic Components toolbars loaded. I waste a lot of space with buttons for extensions I’m working on – which is okay with me… but I’d rather have a dedicated workspace**.
- Setting up custom panels and toolbars. They aren’t so difficult to create. But switching between them feels tedious to me so I don’t do it enough.
- Not too often because I don’t end up switching them around too often.
If I could, I would have dedicated, ‘Quick Workspaces’. I could envision these being tabbed along the top of the SU window (like scenes), as a toolbar, or above next to help.
Customizable Workspaces I’d probably create:
Standard – The basic layout of Toolbars and Panels I use now. My extension playground would be turned off.
2D Modes – Plan Mode to lock “Top” camera view, rotation and inferencing for working with ‘plans’. Section Mode to lock on different planes or rotate from a plane, then have inferencing and rotation on that plane. Styles and Sandbox toolbars, off. Maybe have the Annotations Overlay below the Outliner.
3D Mode (Builder Modes) – My modded Standard and Measurement Toolbars, Gizmo, Solid Inspector Overlays. Extensions specific to ‘Builder Mode’, e.g. Landscaping, Decks, Construction, etc. Perhaps Landscaping would have the Sandbox Tool. Maybe Decks would have Dynamic Components, and Construction would have the new Snapping, and so on.
Scan Essentials Mode - The SE Toolbar. Possibly Trimble Connect and the SE Settings open. Styles panel moved up.
Developer Playground – Ruby Console on. Most other extensions turned off. Outside of scope, but certain folders (Plugins, Component, Image) opened.
Materials, Scenes, Styling Quick Workspaces – various Workspaces to streamline other tasks. Materials and Scenes panels moved up.
If panels could be modified in workspaces, I’d have a modified Entity Info panel. One mod Entity Info would have: Tag, Instance, Definition, Custom Attributes. Add toggles (e.g., for Snapping). Dimension attributes, volume, area (of selected face), lengths, heights, widths, etc.
*I created an extension/extensions to help solve this problem. The extension/s prompt/s for group names. This way a name can be entered when a group is created. This side steps the multi-step process of creating and then (multi-clicking in Outliner) to name groups. “Enter” can be pressed -like when creating components but not naming components- if one want to just make a group quickly.
** If ‘Quick’ Workspaces were available, I’d have the Ruby Console open in my ‘Developer Workspace’ so that it’s open when I restart SU (which I do dozens of times a day).
