PR Discussion: "Up" and "Left" Buttons for Fixture Group Editor

[Yestalgia]

New Feature Proposal: "Up" and "Left" Buttons for Fixture Group Editor

Hi everyone,

I’ve been working on a new enhancement for the QLC+ Fixture Group Editor and wanted to share it with you all to gauge interest and gather feedback.

Link to PR: https://github.com/mcallegari/qlcplus/pull/1660

Currently, the Fixture Group Editor allows users to add fixtures to a group in two directions:

• Right: Starting from a selected cell and moving horizontally to the right.
• Down: Starting from a selected cell and moving vertically downwards.

I’ve added functionality to support the opposite directions:

• Left: Add fixtures starting from a selected cell and moving horizontally to the left.
• Up: Add fixtures starting from a selected cell and moving vertically upwards.

Why Add These Buttons?
These new buttons improve workflow by giving users more flexibility in how they arrange fixtures within a group. Whether you’re organizing fixtures in reverse order or fine-tuning a complex layout, having all four directional options can save time and effort.

I've wanted these buttons for ages.

What’s Been Done

• UI Updates: Added "Up" and "Left" buttons to the Fixture Group Editor, complete with tooltips and icons for consistency.
• Functionality: Implemented the logic for adding fixtures in reverse directions by extending the existing `addFixtureHeads()` method.
• Testing: Verified the functionality for all four directions, ensuring proper handling of edge cases like boundaries and overlapping cells.

Screenshots

Looking for Your Feedback!
Before I submit this feature as a pull request, I’d love to hear from the community:

1. Do you think these additions would improve your workflow?
2. Are there any specific scenarios where these buttons would (or wouldn’t) be helpful?
3. Any suggestions for additional enhancements or refinements?

Your feedback is incredibly valuable, so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts!

Thanks,
Lachie

[BremDjenzzen]

This looks really useful! Great job!
I have been using big pixel grids a lot lately and these types of functions are a big timesaver.
Would there perhaps also be a possibility to make a button for diagonal placement?

[Yestalgia]

This looks really useful! Great job!
I have been using big pixel grids a lot lately and these types of functions are a big timesaver.
Would there perhaps also be a possibility to make a button for diagonal placement?

I can implement the code but I'd need you to test it as I'm very busy at work at the moment.

@Massimo do you have appropriate icons for diagonal arrows?

[mcallegari]

What if arrow buttons can be toggled and we add the classic "+" button?
In this way any combination can be chosen.

[Yestalgia]

What if arrow buttons can be toggled and we add the classic "+" button?
In this way any combination can be chosen.

When I first started using QLC+, I remember feeling a bit lost about how to add fixtures to a group. While the current interface gets the job done, I think there's room to make this process more intuitive and efficient.

Toggling Up and Right to diagonally add fixtures feels a bit slow to me. Adding fixtures to a group is already time-consuming as it is and I don't want to add toggling things off and on to that.

I’ve been thinking about my experience with CNC machines and how CAM software allows users to move the spindle head relatively in any direction. They use an interface like below:

I think this may be a better way to go as it's easier to implement and matches existing behaviour. It would sacrifice some horizontal screen space but would gain us the ability to add fixtures in any direction on the grid. I'd put the big + logo in the middle for when people just want to place 1 head.

My plan would be to implement this for 4.14.0 and get feedback from users.

Let me know what you guys think.