Device Origin Selection "Bug"

[amar99]

The specific devices used in this scenario don’t matter.

1. Create a gradient device and a color device.
2. Connect the gradient’s primary output to the mask input of the color device.
3. Double-click both the gradient and color devices to open their properties windows.
4. Select the color device in the device workview
5. In the gradient device’s properties window (which is already open), click the button to “select the device origin in the visual editor”.
6. The interface switches to the visual editor, but does not automatically select the gradient device. In this case, the color device was selected before pressing the button, and is still selected after pressing the button in step #5. Therefore the interface displays the color device rather than the gradient device.

Solution: When the button in step 5 is pressed, the related device should automatically become selected so that the visual editor will display the correct device for editing.

I realize this can be easily solved by selecting the desired device before pressing the button in the properties window, but it seems to me this should be automatic given the context and could therefore be considered a workflow type of bug or at least something which produces unexpected behavior.

[blattacker]

Personally I believe this behavior to be intentional as you may wish to use an unrelated device to help determine the origin of the device being modified.
As an example, let’s say that you wanted to use a radial grad device to carve out a basin on a terrain. By having the terrain be the selected device, you could use the visual editor to very precisely place your radial grad in the world without much fuss.

Of course, everyone’s workflow is different, so as with most things World Machine, your mileage may vary. Maybe there should be a preference option able to select between something like “device priority” and “selection priority” or something to that effect?

[WFab]

@blattacker I like your idea about giving users a choice, in the preferences. Always in favor of more “choices” over here lol!

[amar99]

Thank you, I agree it would be ok to have this as optional behavior based on user preferences.