I've noticed ongoing requests for UX improvements in Houdini for many years, but it seems that instead of enhancements, we're seeing a degradation of existing features. A significant issue is the Hotkey Manager. Let's break down why I consider the changes to the Hotkey Manager a degradation with some examples.
1. The 20.5 release no longer supports the old file format for hotkey overrides (v1). Now, users must manually convert their shortcut overrides to v2 using Python. This raises the ongoing debate about whether Houdini requires development knowledge. At this point, it's clear that development knowledge is necessary, as there is no UI for converting v1 to v2 overrides. This shift essentially turns Houdini into a development IDE for working with 3D, requiring users to create their own UI for basic tasks.
2. I attempted to use a Python script to convert my overrides from v1 to v2, but it didn't work for me due to the lack of documentation on how the keymaputils.importV1KeymapBindingsToKeymapFile function operates. The only available information is in this forum thread:
https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/97007/?page=1#post-426749 [
www.sidefx.com]
3. There is no indication for users that they need to convert their shortcuts from the previous version.
4. I managed to manually re-enter all my shortcuts, which took me a full day. Some shortcuts don't work as they did in the previous version, requiring further investigation on my part to debug the issues.
5. The Hotkey Manager UI has been updated, but with several degradations. Searching for commands is now more cumbersome. You must use an asterisk (*) in the first filter and enter a command name in the second. Previously, you could simply type the command name in one input field, which was much more intuitive.
6. If you enter a query only in the second filter to find a command, it won't work because the UI requires you to select a Context in the left panel first. The overall concept of having contexts is questionable in terms of usability. If you ask users why they open the Hotkey Manager, few would say they want to manage Contexts; they usually just want to find and change an Action shortcut.
7. The Actions panel does not display information from the keymap.override file, such as Label and Description. As a result, the names for all custom commands are empty, which looks very odd. It seems doubtful that this dialog underwent any thorough QA testing.
8. The default state is not optimal. Why isn't the "All Actions" option selected by default in the Context panel, allowing users to filter all commands more easily?
9. The overall categorization in the Context panel appears disorganized. Having a Houdini section within the Houdini application seems redundant. It needs more attention and reorganization.
10. The Hotkey Manager doesn't retain its state between sessions. If you hide the keyboard or the Context panel, they will reappear upon the next launch.
Here are some simple improvements that could significantly enhance the user experience:
1. Automate the conversion from v1 to v2 so users don't have to handle it manually.
2. Add an "All Actions" item for the Context panel selected by default.
3. Save the UI state between sessions to ensure it remains persistent. This way, users can hide the keyboard and Context panel and focus on filtering Actions instead.
4. Fix the issue with empty items for custom commands.
With these changes, the interface would allow users to simply start typing in one filter to find the command they need, which is what most users are looking for.