Commit Graph

341 Commits

Author SHA1 Message Date
Hans Goudey
df8c85d3f9 Cleanup: UI Remove more unnecessary a1 and a2 parameters
Similar to 5155feeeb8. These had values without any meeting,
almost completely just 0 or -1 (which meant "find good values if possible"
anyway).
2024-02-05 14:38:11 -05:00
Damien Picard
fa77e9142d UI: fix and improve a few messages
- "can not" -> "cannot" in many places (ambiguous, also see
  Writing Style guide).
- "Bezier" -> "Bézier": proper spelling of the eponym.
- Tool keymaps: make "Uv" all caps.
- "FFMPEG" -> "FFmpeg" (official spelling)
- Use MULTIPLICATION SIGN U+00D7 instead of MULTIPLICATION X U+2715.
- "LClick" -> "LMB", "RClick" -> "RMB": this convention is used
  everywhere else.
- "Save rendered the image..." -> "Save the rendered image...": typo.
- "Preserve Current retiming": title case for property.
- Bend status message: punctuation.
- "... class used to define the panel" -> "header": copy-paste error.
- "... class used to define the menu" -> "asset": copy-paste error.
- "Lights user to display objects..." -> "Lights used...": typo.
- "-setaudio require one argument" -> "requires": typo.

Some issues reported by Joan Pujolar and Tamar Mebonia.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/117856
2024-02-05 17:08:17 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
da540a73de Geometry Nodes: split sharing utility for reading and writing
This makes it more obvious that the sharing information is actually
completely independent for reading and writing currently.
2024-02-02 17:01:20 +01:00
Sergey Sharybin
e2b9ebd23c Cleanup: Remove unused capture
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/117750
2024-02-02 12:18:32 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
2d2b087fcf Geometry Nodes: support baking data block references
With this patch, materials are kept intact in simulation zones and bake nodes
without any additional user action.

This implements the design proposed in #108410 to support referencing
data-blocks (only materials for now) in the baked data. The task also describes
why this is not a trivial issue. A previous attempt was implemented in #109703
but it didn't work well-enough.

The solution is to have an explicit `name (+ library name) -> data-block`
mapping that is stored in the modifier for each bake node and simulation zone.
The `library name` is necessary for it to be unique within a .blend file. Note
that this refers to the name of the `Library` data-block and not a file path.
The baked data only contains the names of the used data-blocks. When the baked
data is loaded, the correct material data-block is looked up from the mapping.

### Automatic Mapping Generation

The most tricky aspect of this approach is to make it feel mostly automatic.
From the user point-of-view, it should just work. Therefore, we don't want the
user to have to create the mapping manually in the majority of cases. Creating
the mapping automatically is difficult because the data-blocks that should
become part of the mapping are only known during depsgraph evaluation. So we
somehow have to gather the missing data blocks during evaluation and then write
the new mappings back to the original data.

While writing back to original data is something we do in some cases already,
the situation here is different, because we are actually creating new relations
between data-blocks. This also means that we'll have to do user-counting. Since
user counts in data-blocks are *not* atomic, we can't do that from multiple
threads at the same time. Also, under some circumstances, it may be necessary to
trigger depsgraph evaluation again after the write-back because it actually
affects the result.

To solve this, a small new API is added in `DEG_depsgraph_writeback_sync.hh`. It
allows gathering tasks which write back to original data in a synchronous way
which may also require a reevaluation.

### Accessing the Mapping

A new `BakeDataBlockMap` is passed to geometry nodes evaluation by the modifier.
This map allows getting the `ID` pointer that should be used for a specific
data-block name that is stored in baked data. It's also used to gather all the
missing data mappings during evaluation.

### Weak ID References

The baked/cached geometries may have references to other data-blocks (currently
only materials, but in the future also e.g. instanced objects/collections).
However, the pointers of these data-blocks are not stable over time. That is
especially true when storing/loading the data from disk, but also just when
playing back the animation. Therefore, the used data-blocks have to referenced
in a different way at run-time.

This is solved by adding `std::unique_ptr<bake::BakeMaterialsList>` to the
run-time data of various geometry data-blocks. If the data-block is cached over
a longer period of time (such that material pointers can't be used directly), it
stores the material name (+ library name) used by each material slot. When the
geometry is used again, the material pointers are restored using these weak name
references and the `BakeDataBlockMap`.

### Manual Mapping Management

There is a new `Data-Blocks` panel in the bake settings in the node editor
sidebar that allows inspecting and modifying the data-blocks that are used when
baking. The user can change what data-block a specific name is mapped to.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/117043
2024-02-01 09:21:55 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
f358843108 UI: simplify layout panels C++ API
This simplifies the C++ API for making layout panels. Now it is also more similar to the Python API.
`uiLayoutPanel` is like `layout.panel` and `uiLayoutPanelProp` is like `layout.panel_prop`.

Both, `uiLayoutPanel` and `uiLayoutPanelProp`, now exist in two variants. One that takes a label
parameter and one that does not. If the label is passed in, only the panel body layout is returned.
Otherwise, the header and body are returned for more customization.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/117670
2024-01-30 17:44:56 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
7bb1ce1241 Geometry Nodes: improve handling baked data after undo
Previously, one could easily "loose" baked data by undoing. The data was not
actually deleted, but Blender didn't find it anymore. This happened because
`update_existing_bake_caches` was expected to be called after changes to
`NodesModifierData.bakes`. However, this was not called after undo.
It was also not possible to call this function from `blend_read`, because it
required access to the referenced node tree.

Now, the bake cache is lazily created during depsgraph evaluation, which
partially solves the problem. It can still seem that Blender lost data, but that
fixes itself much more quickly after the next evaluation. The remaining issue
should be solved a future patch that keeps the bake cache intact over undo
steps using `foreach_cache`.
2024-01-29 11:42:34 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
311ca3e6af Core: rename Session UUID to Session UID
`UUID` generally stands for "universally unique identifier". The session identifier that
we use is neither universally unique, nor does it follow the standard. Therefor, the term
"session uuid" is confusing and should be replaced.

In #116888 we briefly talked about a better name and ended up with "session uid".
The reason for "uid" instead of "id" is that the latter is a very overloaded term in Blender
already.

This patch changes all uses of "uuid" to "uid" where it's used in the context of a
"session uid". It's not always trivial to see whether a specific mention of "uuid" refers
to an actual uuid or something else. Therefore, I might have missed some renames.
I can't think of an automated way to differentiate the case.

BMesh also uses the term "uuid" sometimes in a the wrong context (e.g. `UUIDFaceStepItem`)
but there it also does not mean "session uid", so it's *not* changed by this patch.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/117350
2024-01-22 13:47:13 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
f4e52f447a Modifiers: add ModifierTypeInfo::foreach_cache callback
This allows modifiers to have cache pointers that are preserved over undo steps.
I intend to use this for the baked data cache for the geometry nodes modifier.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/117307
2024-01-18 22:51:30 +01:00
Bastien Montagne
03c1cc4310 Cleanup: Move BKE_lib_query header to Cpp era. 2024-01-18 12:21:19 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
9df4ffc0c2 Geometry Nodes: reorganize panels in modifier
The goal is to simplify the interface of the geometry nodes modifier while also
making it more scalable. This allows creating better looking modifiers which
feel more built-in. No functionality is removed by this patch.

The following changes are done:
* The `Output Attributes` panel is hidden when there are no output attributes.
* The `Internal Dependencies` panel is replaced by a new `Manage` panel that
  contains all the stuff that is common to all geometry nodes modifiers. It
  contains new `Bake` and `Named Attributes` panels for now.

Potential next steps:
* Merge `Output Attributes` panel with the rest of the input list.
* Support hiding the `Manage` panel under some circumstances.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/117170
2024-01-17 13:40:30 +01:00
Hans Goudey
3e76a1a6c2 Cleanup: Move BKE_lib_id.h to C++ 2024-01-15 12:44:14 -05:00
Damien Picard
3bd41cf9bc I18n: Go over TIP_ and IFACE_ usages, change to RPT_ when relevant
The previous commit introduced a new `RPT_()` macro to translate
strings which are not tooltips or regular interface elements, but
longer reports or statuses.

This commit uses the new macro to translate many strings all over the
UI.

Most of it is a simple replace from `TIP_()` or `IFACE_()` to
`RPT_()`, but there are some additional changes:
- A few translations inside `BKE_report()` are removed altogether
  because they are already handled by the translation system.
- Messages inside `UI_but_disable()` are no longer translated
  manually, but they are handled by a new regex in the translation
  system.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/116804

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/116804
2024-01-12 13:37:32 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
a94146b82c Cleanup: move BKE_pointcloud.h to C++
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/116990
2024-01-11 10:54:47 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
c5688e619e Fix #116369: missing dependency on time when there is a bake animation node 2024-01-09 11:07:52 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
ffcc0e3e5f Fix #116515: Single Value Only applies to wrong input in geometry nodes modifier
The counting of input sockets did not take closed panels into account correctly.
2024-01-09 11:01:12 +01:00
Prikshit singh
40fbc60ef7 Fix #116727: crash when deleting geometry node group in node editor
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/116757
2024-01-09 10:43:45 +01:00
Brecht Van Lommel
d377ef2543 Clang Format: bump to version 17
Along with the 4.1 libraries upgrade, we are bumping the clang-format
version from 8-12 to 17. This affects quite a few files.

If not already the case, you may consider pointing your IDE to the
clang-format binary bundled with the Blender precompiled libraries.
2024-01-03 13:38:14 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
ad7a5abb2d Geometry Nodes: support panels in geometry nodes modifier
This builds on top of f824476bd5 to show
panels in the geometry nodes modifier. It also changes the two existing panels
to use the new layout panels.

The open-close state of the panels is stored in the modifier itself. It contains a
mapping from panel id to the corresponding state flag.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/116472
2023-12-23 16:33:14 +01:00
Hans Goudey
efbee2d606 Mesh: Rename totvert, totedge, and totloop fields
Use the standard "elements_num" naming, and use the "corner" name rather
than the old "loop" name: `verts_num`, `edges_num`, and `corners_num`.
This matches the existing `faces_num` field which was already renamed.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/116350
2023-12-20 02:21:48 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
00eaddbd51 Geometry Nodes: new Bake node
This adds a new `Bake` node which allows saving and loading intermediate geometries.
Typical use cases we want address with this currently are:
* Bake some data for use with a render engine.
* Bake parts of the node tree explicitly for better performance.

For now, the format that is written to disk is not considered to be an import/export format.
It's not guaranteed that data written with one Blender version can be read by another
Blender version. For that it's better to use proper interchange formats. Better support for
those will be added eventually as well. We also plan an `Import Bake` node that allows
reading the blender-specific baked data independent of the Bake node and at different frames.

The baking works very similar to the baking in the simulation zone (UI and implementation
wise). Major differences are:
* The Bake node has a `Bake Still` and `Bake Animation` mode.
* The Bake node doesn't do automatic caching.

Implementation details:
* Refactored how we create the Python operators for moving socket items so that it also
  makes sense for non-zones.
* The `ModifierCache` stores an independent map of `SimulationNodeCache` and
  `BakeNodeCache`, but both share a common data structure for the actually baked data.
* For baking, the `Bake` node is added as a side-effect-node in the modifier. This will make
  sure that the node is baked even if it's currently not connected to the output.
* Had to add a new `DEG_id_tag_update_for_side_effect_request` function that is used
  during baking. It's necessary because I want to evaluate the object again even though none
  of its inputs changed. The reevaluation is necessary to create the baked data. Using
  `DEG_id_tag_update` technically works as well, but has the problem that it also uses the
  `DEG_UPDATE_SOURCE_USER_EDIT` flag which (rightly) invalidates simulation caches
  which shouldn't happen here.
* Slightly refactored the timeline drawing so that it can also show the baked ranges of
  Bake nodes. It does not show anything for baked nodes with a in Still mode though.
* The bake operator is refactored to bake a list of `NodeBakeRequest` which makes the
  code easier to follow compared to the previous nested
  `ObjectBakeData > ModifierBakeData > NodeBakeData` data structure.
* The bake operators are disabled when the .blend file is not yet saved. This is technically
  only necessary when the bake path depends on the .blend file path but seems ok to force
  the user anyway (otherwise the bake path may be lost as well if it's set explicitly).
* The same operators are used to bake and delete single bakes in `Bake` nodes and
  `Simulation Zones`. On top of that, there are separate operators of baking and deleting all
  simulation bakes (those ignore bake nodes).
* The `Bake` node remembers which inputs have been fields and thus may be baked as attributes.
  For that it uses an `Is Attribute` flag on the socket item. This is needed because the baked data
  may still contain attribute data, even if the inputs to the bake node are disconnected.
* Similar to simulation zones, the behavior of `Bake` nodes is passed into the geometry nodes
  evaluation from the outside (from the modifier only currently). This is done by providing the
  new `GeoNodesBakeParams` in `GeoNodesCallData` when executing geometry nodes.

Next Steps (mostly because they also involve simulations):
* Visualize nodes that have not been evaluated in the last evaluation.
* Fix issue with seemingly loosing baked data after undo.
* Improve error handling when baked data is not found.
* Show bake node in link drag search.
* Higher level tools for managing bakes.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/115466
2023-12-18 13:01:06 +01:00
Douglas Paul
75f160ee96 Geometry Nodes: Add Active Camera input node
This adds a new "Active Camera" input geometry node, per #105761.

The node outputs the the scene's current active camera. It is available
from Input > Scene > Active Camera in the geometry nodes Add menu.

Typical usage would be to connect this node to an Object Info node to
obtain its transform. This works as expected when the camera's
transform is animated, and also when there are markers on the timeline
that change the active camera.

In order to support the aforementioned changes in the active camera,
this implementation adds depsgraph relations for all cameras referenced
by timeline markers. This eliminates the complexity of updating the
depsgraph whenever the scene switches to a different active camera,
but of course it comes at the cost of including more objects than
strictly necessary in the depsgraph for scenes that switch cameras.
Dynamically updating the depsgraph upon camera changes could be a
future improvement if there proves to be sufficient need for it.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/113431
2023-12-12 19:11:06 +01:00
Bastien Montagne
3acb64e7ac BKE_main: move header to be a fully CPP one.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/115681
2023-12-01 20:38:54 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
5de86fc4f8 Cleanup: make name more specific for simulations
This is necessary for the bake node (#115466).
2023-12-01 17:13:31 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
7a7b7196f9 Geometry Nodes: extract global data passed to a geometry nodes invocation to separate struct
This avoids some duplication between the modifier and operator evaluation
contexts and also makes it easier to make independent from a specific
evaluation context (so e.g. the simulation nodes code shouldn't care whether
it's used from a modifier or operator.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/115512
2023-11-29 13:22:20 +01:00
Jacques Lucke
96b3afe065 Cleanup: rename node group to group node context
`GroupNodeComputeContext` is the more correct name because it's
specifically about a group node that invokes another node tree.
The old name makes it sound like it should be used because a node group
is invoked but does not tell anything about what invoked it.
For example, the current context in a node group can also be a
`ModifierComputeContext` if that's what invoked it.
2023-11-21 14:12:23 +01:00
Lukas Tönne
c845233d1c Nodes: Move ValueOrField struct into blenkernel
This struct is currently defined in the `functions` module but not actually used there. It's only used by the geometry nodes module, with an indirect dependency from blenkernel via simulation zone baking. This scope is problematic when adding grids as socket data, which should not be part of the functions module.

The `ValueOrField` struct is now moved to blenkernel, so it can be more easily extended to other kinds of data that might be passed around by geometry nodes sockets in future. No functional changes.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/115087
2023-11-18 13:11:39 +01:00
Hans Goudey
3d57bc4397 Cleanup: Move several blenkernel headers to C++
Mostly focus on areas where we're already using C++ features,
where combining C and C++ APIs is getting in the way.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/114972
2023-11-16 11:41:55 +01:00
Hans Goudey
805e6b7525 Cleanup: Use enum class for ModifierTypeType 2023-11-14 10:03:56 +01:00
Hans Goudey
7b51d32dd9 Cleanup: Move BKE_modifier.h to C++ 2023-11-14 09:30:40 +01:00
Damien Picard
f48f901b3b I18n: translate socket properties in the Modifier Properties editor
Each node group asset exposes various properties through sockets.
Although they can generally be considered user-created data, for
built-in assets they are also part of the UI and should be
translated--especially since more modifiers should be migrated to
Geometry Nodes in the future.

This commit enables the translation of those properties in the
Modifier Properties editor.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/114256
2023-11-07 18:08:35 +01:00
Sergey Sharybin
317ee3b6ea Merge branch 'blender-v4.0-release' 2023-10-31 17:29:41 +01:00
Hans Goudey
2893dc8ab7 Fix: Broken node tool group data-block references
Currently the node tool node group and data-blocks referenced by it
may not be part of the active dependency graph. This means we
cannot retrieve their evaluated geometry when executing the operator.
Since operators almost always use the evaluated geometry of other
objects, and since geometry nodes is mostly set up to deal with
evaluated data-blocks currently, this must be fixed.

Instead, set up a temporary dependency graph and add the selected
objects and the data-blocks used by the node group. That graph is
evaluated to give simple access to evaluated data-blocks.

Unfortunately this will cause more work than necessary in a few ways:
1. Selected objects are reevaluated an extra time before execution.
2. All data-blocks referenced by the group are completely evaluated again.
3. The node group itself is reevaluated, which recreates the function graph.

These may or may not become bottlenecks in the future, but it's best to
keep it simple late in the release process. And between a completely
broken feature and a potentially slow feature, the choice is clear!

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/114293
2023-10-31 17:16:48 +01:00
Brecht Van Lommel
39107b3133 Revert changes from main commits that were merged into blender-v4.0-release
The last good commit was 8474716abb.

After this commits from main were pushed to blender-v4.0-release. These are
being reverted.

Commits a4880576dc from to b26f176d1a that happend afterwards were meant for
4.0, and their contents is preserved.
2023-10-30 21:40:35 +01:00
Dalai Felinto
6b7d0fe425 GPv3: Layer Selection modifier input
Known limitations to be addressed separately:

* We are not warning/keeping track of the named layers.
* There is no lookup for layers (groups) yet.

Ref !113908.
2023-10-23 15:49:34 +02:00
Lukas Tönne
36c127805f Merge branch 'blender-v4.0-release' 2023-10-19 12:22:31 +02:00
Lukas Tönne
52e6106d28 Fix #113860: Incorrect conditionals for node group socket names
Nested conditions broken by #113924.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/113929
2023-10-19 12:21:47 +02:00
Lukas Tönne
367320a0f5 Merge branch 'blender-v4.0-release' 2023-10-19 11:48:54 +02:00
Lukas Tönne
dfc3f75e77 Fix #113860: Nullptr checks for node socket and panel name pointers
In 3.6 the names of node group sockets were using char arrays, but now
use allocated strings. The RNA system assigns nullptr to such strings
when assigning an empty string through python (UI assignment appears to
always generate a valid string). This creates issues with many STL
functions, in particular assigning nullptr to `std::string` will crash.

We have to check for valid pointers before using them in places that
don't handle nullptrs.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/113924
2023-10-19 11:48:08 +02:00
Falk David
3931a54e08 GPv3: Initial Geometry Nodes support
This implements the core changes for this design: https://devtalk.blender.org/t/grease-pencil-integration-into-geometry-nodes/31220

The changes include:
* Add `CustomData` for layer attributes
* Add attribute support for the `GreasePencilComponent` to read/write layer attributes. Also introduces a `Layer` domain.
* Implement a `GreasePencilLayerFieldContext` and make `GeometryFieldContext` work with grease pencil layers.
* Implement `Set Position` node for `Grease Pencil`.

Note: These changes are only accessible/visible with the `Grease Pencil 3.0` experimental flag enabled.
Co-authored-by: Jacques Lucke <jacques@blender.org>
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/112535
2023-10-10 16:49:30 +02:00
Hans Goudey
8f27baf388 Merge branch 'blender-v4.0-release' 2023-10-09 23:54:43 +02:00
Hans Goudey
976eaae02f Cleanup: Move BKE_object.hh to C++
Simplifies the fix to #111120, where the object bounds functions
may return a C++ type instead of `BoundBox`.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/113462
2023-10-09 23:41:53 +02:00
Harley Acheson
e1a868df1d Merge branch 'blender-v4.0-release' 2023-10-03 09:46:24 -07:00
Damien Picard
52fcd5fdfd I18n: extract and disambiguate a few messages
Disambiguate:
- Rename "Near" to "Proximity" as a particle event type, because using
  an adjective in this context is inconsistent and sounds
  strange (even in English IMO).

Extract:
- "Skip" (Geometry nodes Simulation node output socket)
- "Bake" (Directory path to geometry nodes bake files in the modifier
  UI)
- " (Recovered)" (File information in title bar)

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/112974
2023-10-03 18:21:03 +02:00
Jacques Lucke
fb38327e6a Geometry Nodes: refactor how side effect nodes are set up
Previously, the geometry nodes modifier was converting the
viewer path to a compute context at the same time as it was
setting up side effect nodes for the geometry nodes evaluation.

Now, this is changed to be a two step process. First, the viewer
path is converted to the corresponding compute context.
Afterwards, a separate function sets side effect nodes up so
that the given node in the given compute context will be evaluated.

This has three main benefits:
* More obvious separation of concerns.
* Can reuse the code that maps a viewer path element to a compute
  context already.
* With gizmo nodes (#112677), it may become necessary to add side
  effect nodes  based on a compute context, but without having a
  corresponding viewer path.
2023-10-03 14:12:42 +02:00
Jacques Lucke
8418e41bf7 Fix: simulation nodes not working after copying object 2023-09-27 00:19:37 +02:00
Hans Goudey
e5e07c184e Fix: Crash deleting geometry nodes node group
Missing null check in ad169ba67a.
2023-09-26 17:01:50 -04:00
Jacques Lucke
ad169ba67a Geometry Nodes: support baking individual simulations
Previously, it was only possible to bake all simulations at once. This is great
for simple use-cases that, but in more complex setups one can have independent
simulations that should also be baked independently. This patch allows baking
individual simulation zones.

Furthermore, each simulation zone can now also have its own bake path and
simulation frame range. By default the simulation frame range is the scene frame
range, but it can also be customized on the scene or simulation zone level. The
bake path is generated based on the modifier bake path by default, but can be
set to another absolute or relative (to the .blend file) path.

The timeline drawing has been modified as well to be able to show more information
in the case when some simulations are baked and others are not. Instead of showing
a line for every simulation, it shows a condensed view of the important information
using at most two lines:
Is something baked? Is something valid or invalid? Also see #112232.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/112723
2023-09-26 20:30:46 +02:00
Hans Goudey
916d4c9d9b Cleanup: Move BKE_screen.h to C++
See #103343
2023-09-25 17:53:11 -04:00
Jacques Lucke
8362563949 UI: show recently selected items at the top of searches
The goal is to make the search faster to use by dynamically adapting to the user.
This can be achieved using the simple but common approach of showing recently
selected items at the top. Note, that the "matching score" between the query and
each search item still has precedence when determining the order. So the last used
item is only at the top, if there is no other search item that matches the query better.

Besides making the search generally faster to use, my hope is that this can also
reduce the need for manually weighting search items in some places. This is
because while the ordering might not be perfect the first time, it will always be
once the user selected the element that should be at the top once.

This patch includes:
* Support for taking recent searches into account in string searching.
* Keep track of a global list of recent searches.
* Store recent searches on disk similar to recently opened files.
* A new setting in the user preferences that allows disabling the functionality.
  This can be used if deterministic key strokes are required, e.g. for automated tests.

In the future this could be improved in different ways:
* Add some kind of separator in the search list to indicate which elements are at
  the top because they have been used recently.
* Store the recent search items per search, instead of in a global list. This way
  it could adapt to the user even better.

Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/110828
2023-09-25 10:56:12 +02:00