Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
i'm working with a new filament, and i want to run side by side tests - thickness, bridges etc.
i can adjust the settings in the main setting, but find sometimes it copies over my master, or i find it modified the next time i use it. so i learned i could add many of these (though not all), of those functions in the slicer editor area. but the thing is, its super annoying to jump to 8 windows, checking off boxes. only to find out that if you group them up and ungroup them, you lose all the settings you just added. and sometimes settings just vanish for no reason.
i want there to be 2 things:
1. a large screen of everything i can select to add to the menu, just one sheet with all options on it.
2. a master i can save and load. so i can say, load up all editing presets named Bridge experiments, wall thicknesses etc. and it will be filled in automatically.
i spent the better part of 30 mins trying to find all the options again, as i'm messing with different prints.
does that all make sense? i just want it to be simple, click once and then done. right now its click, click again, hunt around, try to guess where everything is and then click it.
or at the very least, have all the settings in once place, both for the master settings and the editing settings. like everything related to bridges should be under bridges. so i don't have to hunt for infill, bridge angle, speed, bridge speed, layer thickness etc. it uses so much time finding and fiddling with those things. maybe you can have an alternate setup for those that like things clumped together.
thanks
----Mike Savad
RE: Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
@Mike Savad
Learn how to use the damn software, it's very obvious that your new to it, instead of complying about having to push buttons and find things, learn how to use it. Or go back to whatever software you do know how to use, it's not going to matter what one you pick up be it PrusaSlicer, SuperSlicer, Cura, Simplify 3D, or IdeaMaker, you have to learn to use it. I know how to use the software and don't have any of these complaints. However if you do have complaints about it's use, you can report them to GitHub at https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/issues
PrusaSlicer can already do what you want it too, now take the time to learn how or move on.
Regards
Swiss_Cheese
The Filament Whisperer
RE: Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
i have learned to use it. that doesn't make it any more convenient to use. all those other softwares grouped up their settings by what they are for.
like how does it make sense to put bridge settings everywhere? if i want to adjust one bridge i have to get into speed, then go to layers then go to infill etc. it makes little sense to spread them out just so you can categorize them that way. it makes way more sense to group them up so you don't have to hunt down the thing you want.
right now its arranged like walmart, a 100 rows, but the rows don't make a lot of sense so you have to hunt around the store to find the things you want. and sure there are walmart pro's that can go to the right section in an instant. and sure you can ask someone where something is, but like you they have an attitude that i should learn the entire layout of the store just to pick up one thing. that's how this program is set up. it has a good model to human interface. but when it comes to trying out settings or tweaking things it could use a lot of work. just like it really bugs me that the settings reset themselves every time i load up a project and come back.
i mean what is wrong with making something more convenient?
----Mike Savad
RE:
See https://projects.ttlexceeded.com/3dprinting_prusaslicer_profiles.html to learn how to do exactly what you have described.
Mk3S+,SL1S
RE: Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
i'm not looking for the manual.
i want one easy access panel of major parts of the program to make it easier to tweak without having to jump around either 3 major subpanels. or adding editors, where i don't have to select from 7 sub segments to extract 4 parts from. just one easy page to check things off or adjust things without changing the base settings is all i want, something simple and not repetitive like it is now.
----Mike Savad
RE: Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
[...] i want one easy access panel of major parts of the program to make it easier to tweak without having to jump around
You might want to check out the Cura slicer then. You can view all of the settings in one long (somewhat confusing) list. You can also set preferences for which settings to show or hide.
either 3 major subpanels. or adding editors, where i don't have to select from 7 sub segments to extract 4 parts from. just one easy page to check things off or adjust things without changing the base settings is all i want, something simple and not repetitive like it is now.
The current interface is set up to separate things into logical groupings specifically to avoid confusion and repetition. If you're not willing to spend some time figuring out why and learning a few things, there's not much anybody can do to help you. 3D printing is not yet at the simplicity of a toaster where you can expect to set two or three settings and go.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
i would but i don't like the graphic interface. and some of their settings makes my extruder go crazy. i stopped using them mostly because of that. idea maker looks interesting but also has a lot of weird nesting of things.
they do have a lot of fine tuning on cura which makes it better in some ways, but confusing in others. the advantage to them is the corners look good because they have coasting. but i'm pretty sure that coasting is what is messing up my extruder. its like its reeling in a fish.
i am figuring out prusaslicer, its just that right now i'm trying to dial things in and i have to keep re-setting things up for each model in the print which is driving me crazy. because i keep leaving things out. like i want the bridge flow to be in there, but i forgot to add it, and i'm still not sure if i was testing what i thought i was testing. kind of wish that the Gcode viewer could also give me the settings as well so i can check that. i tried looking in the code, but i couldn't find what i wanted.
----Mike Savad
RE: Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
@mike-savad
Do you mean something like this?
Click to see the full image.
Note the very specific definition at the end of each line.
As well, you can configure slicer any way you like, and you can even save out projects with specific configurations for different types of prints in the form of .3mf project files. slicer also give you a comparison tool for comparing one profile to another, so that you can very specifically see the differences in the settings. The Tool is called "Compare Presets"
Click to see the full image.
It's pretty much all inclusive. this is just a sample of thee full list.
there is a lot more to the program then you are currently aware of, and while I wholeheartedly agree that it needs improvement, I think that folks should take the time to become better then just beginners before they make suggestions or complaints, it's all to often what they want is there and they just didn't know just didn't know it. however for some reason the attitude seems to be "well I know" and it just isn't there.
So my suggestion is, go somewhere that people know how to use whatever it is, and ask first, "How can I do this?" chances are you will run into someone who knows, and if it's a lot to learn first before you can do it yourself, they can tell you and maybe set you in the right direction if it's to much to just type out on a couple of paragraphs. Bobstro has a great set of notes that he has been compiling for years, I have started a website for similar reasons, and Prusa also has some documentation, albeit difficult to navigate for new users in my opinion.
If PrusaSlicer is what your wanting to use, it can do what your asking, and more.
I hope this helps.
Regards
Swiss_Cheese
The Filament Whisperer
RE: Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
i like the quick menu, the add settings menu. but would like a simple check box set up so i can see it all at a glance and make small adjustments. then i make the final adjustment at the end.
for one model something happened and it saved over the master and things were changed where i didn't want changes. the quick menu makes it easier not to mess things up. but setting it up for each model over and over that kills me.
this isn't a - how do i do this question. i can figure that out with the million videos etc on the topic. i just want a more streamline program.
----Mike Savad
RE: Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
The website just told me in French, that my edit time was up 🤔
The Filament Whisperer
RE: Suggestion make it easier to experiment with things
I think what you are calling the quick settings menu is the per object modifiers options. Those are not technically 'quick' anything. However you can copy and paste them between models which can make them quicker to use. You say you don't want instructions on how to use it but its obvious that you could really do with some pointers. The way some of us use the software is not in any video I have seen , official or otherwise. Mainly because it was never intended to be used that way, we just found workflows to make things easier.
The saved project 3mf files make things pretty flexible as Swiss points out, if you learn to use them. You can also load in the settings from other project files using Import config from project if an older one has something similar to what you want.
On the subject of the modifiers per object you can create a library of small objects and mark them as non printable and save them in a 'base' project. To these small objects you can add your commonly used modifiers to to get them how you like them. Then you simply load a new part, use cntl+c on the modifier in the right hand tree and cntrl+v to paste it against the new object.
So when you start Prusa Slicer you just load your 'base' project and all your little objects which contain your common modifiers are available. Don't forget that a project will also contain the profiles selected for Print/Filament/Printer too so they are pre-selected.
As you can create as many project files as you like you can organize them and create ones for common used special tasks. Like small detailed prints, big helmet prints etc to use a couple of examples.
As others have pointed out, if you want a different menu structure then Prusa Slicer is not the program for you. The only one organised like you seem to want it is Cura.
At least until https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/issues/3412 is implemented. Given it was opened in 2019 I don't think it has a high priority.