ZBrushCentral

ZBrush interface question..

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#1

Hey, I really hate the interface,

Is it possible for a zscript to change the interface so that there is only one side panel?

For example get rid of the right side panel, the top icon panel, and the bottom document panel and just have the left panel with sections you can pick and it would list out all of the tools within the left panel, for that section. Have sections like, modeling, paint, etc

This would really increase the viewing area.

Plus I hate how Zbrush covers up the windows tool bar, so I can’t easly switch between programs without having to minimize the dang program first.

#2

Hate is such a strong word. There is a menu called preferences, there is a windows key on the keyboard or a short cut key to the windows task bar. You can click and drag menus, shut down entire sides etc. Maybe pixologic will consult you for future interface designs :smiley:

#3

Zscripts could do it, but so can you. Here are a few tips:

  1. The top bar with palette icons can be made smaller by unpressing Preferences :small_orange_diamond:Interface :small_orange_diamond:Iconized

  2. Clicking on the edges of panels will hide them. This works for the ZScript window, the two side bars, and the alternate-doc view.

3Increasing your screen resolution above 1024 x 768 is also a good idea. I use 1600 x 1200, but what you can change it to will of course depend on the screen and graphics card.

Good luck! :slight_smile:

#4

Hi there pawn. I don’t know much about creating zscripts, so I can’t answer that part. You can get rid of the side and bottom panels by simply clicking on the little button on the panel border with the orange arrows. Clicking on them again, makes the panels come back. I’m used to using keyboard shortcuts for switching between programs, so never really noticed about the full screen mode. You could maybe try running zbrush windowed rather than full screen. Hope this helps.

#5

I know you can minimize the sides, Im just saying it would be nice to have an interface like lightwaves. How it has categories on one side of the screen… Lol I really dont feel like minimizing and maximizing the side panels.

#6

You mean you’d like to see something like this? (That’s a screen capture of the entire program window/monitor, not just a small part of the screen.) :slight_smile:

ZScripts cannot be used to change the interface.

As has already been pointed out to you, there are solutions available for nearly every concern that you have.

The trays on the left and right and the ZScript window can all be removed or brought back at a moment’s notice by clicking on the separator bar. The icons across the top can be changed to text. Thanks for sharing that, everyone!

You have even more power. The Float Menu can be made to appear or disappear by using the TAB key. You can also customize it by holding down the Ctrl/Cmd key and dragging interface items from the palettes out onto the canvas. You can then move things around at will, all by holding down the Ctrl/Cmd key. As a result, you can create the Float menu (and therefore interface layout) that works best for you.

For the matter of the task bar being covered, Alt+Tab allows you to switch between programs without minimizing. If you hold down the Alt key after pressing Tab once, you will continue to see the list of all currently open windows. TAB again will move you to the next one. Alt+Shift+TAB also allows you to move backward in the list. When you let go, that window will be opened.

For more information on customizing your interface, please visit Newbie Lesson One in the New Users section of the QuickLinks. It tells you everything you need to know, as well as explaining the entire interface in more detail. You have a lot of power available to you that you’re probably unaware of.

But by using these techniques, it is actually possible to have a canvas that fills nearly your entire screen, with interface items only present when you want them. It’s all a matter of preference.

#7

aaah, finally, thnx aurick. Now if only I could find my wallet.

#8

fold up all your icon on top and CTRL Drag to the side you want.

sorry for the Bad Pic im on some one else comp and the color is Ugly LOL

#9

You know, I pretty much already use all of these techniques, but there is one thing that still gets me - the fact that the palettes don’t always show up in the same location. I don’t like playing find the toolbox. Sure, they show up on the same side after being iconized or whatever, but they move around too much. I’d like to be able to really lock down a setup so that it is always familiar. (Yes, I know about saving my own init in preferences, I’m more focused on overall consistancy of layout.) Not a huge deal, but a “boy, that would be better.” :wink:

#10

Here’s a tip Stim: to hold a palatte open, so that it will not close unless you do it, click the orange dot in the top corner. :slight_smile:

#11

i would love to Drag/Re size the floating menue or even Drag it in the tutorial view window.
now Dat would B Nice. :cool:

#12

paWn:
When I first started with ZBrush I was so used to my other programs that I was not impressed with ZBrush interface either, however, after taking the time to go over the stuff for newbies and getting tips from Aurick and a few other veterans of this program I have come to see how flexable ZBrush really is. Give it time, even the interface grows on you!
:slight_smile:

#13

yea, Im starting to get used to it now. Just wish I could freely rotate my object/s

#14

Even that has very good reasons for why things are the way that they are.

First, ZBrush was designed as a paint program that has modeling capabilities to allow for true 2.5D artwork. When you snapshot an object to the canvas, you convert it from polygons to pixols. This has the effect of going from a few thousand editable points to tens or hundreds of thousands. Basically, you can edit your scene on a pixol by pixol level instead of polygon by polygon. This gives you greater flexibility – within ZBrush – than you could ever get out of polygons alone.

Of course, if you plan to take the object out of ZBrush and into another program (something that is becoming increasingly popular as professional animators learn the advantages that ZBrush offers them) this creates some difficulties. But that brings me to the…

Second, when you switch to another tool you suddenly have access to options that were designed specifically for that pixol by pixol kind of editing. Tools such as the Hook Brush, Snake Hook, and Fiber Brush, for example. If ZBrush tried to make these operate on a polygonal level you would require a hideously dense mesh – one that would require an eternity to export and would probably be useless in an animation program. Not only that, but you could completely kiss goodbye the real time rendering that we love so much!

Maybe when desktop computer technology becomes more powerful by a few factors (which at today’s rate probably won’t take too long!), such a thing would be feasible. But for the moment, the fact that you can’t leave objects editable is actually a matter of practicality. Not to mention being a blessing in disguise – in a way, it actually protects you from getting overenthusiastic with the software. :slight_smile:

#15

your very helpful aurick. we appreciate all your hard work around here :wink: :wink: :wink: