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AE8 Usabilty???
(this is not a negative post about ae cs3, just some thoughts that may bring about discussion for future improvements)
so v7 gave us a much improved, clean interface and really tried to bring the usability of the application to a new level (which i believe it did)
there was much kicking and screaming, but i think once the dust settled, the majority was happy.
however, to me one major usability issue has been the text animators.
they dont fit in to the old AFX animation paradigm, which is fine. And while they are a great addition, the usability aspect really isnt as good as it should be.
I mean this from an interface not animation standpoint.
there are so many parameters that you cant have enough hotkeys (not that there really are any now) for it work well in the timeline.
the depth of having to twirl is a major timesink and major usability issue.so here comes ae8 (you can call it cs3 but whenit crashes, it says ae8 unexpectedly quit :), and with it all these great new features, but many work just like the text animators, except that there are now infinitely more options and twirlys hiding somewhere in the timeline
All these great new features, but do has the UI suffered buttons placed where they may fit vs really thinking through how an end user works?
hey, i love the fact that there is the new open parent comp button (so so happy), but with ae7 we were given a new interface to increase our productivity, and now with 8, it kinda feels like we are going back the other way. maybe im just a minimalist. i turn grads off, try and work mainly with only the panels open for what i need at the time, and use lots of hotkeys, but there is just so much more going on
The timeline is one of the features the distinguishes afx from many other apps out there, but it it really the only place for adding/modifying all these behaviors( shape layers, layer effects, text animators, etc)
Is it time for the effects pallette to grow in to something bigger to handle all these new features so that we dont have to get dizzy twirling our day away?
its one thing to add a property, it comes up, you adjust it accordingly, but what happens when you need to change something thats buried so deep its hard just to find it, never mind beign creative.
furthermore, how do you explain to a new user what a layer style is vs an effect? (seriously think about that one).
again, these are all great features, and maybe adobe has done the best to implement them in a way to keep the majority of its user happy, but does it work the way you, the end user, really wants?
who is that masked man…
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3 Replies
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I agree with much of what you wrote. As applications add features and become more complex a usable UI (or lack of it) becomes more important than ever.
Timelines become cluttered and visually crowded very quickly, nested comps (alt- clicking also opens these, no real need for that button…), shy layers all help. I’d like to see layer groups like Photoshop. Not nested but grouped in folders so I could drill down if I wanted without the necessity of opening a second comp/timeline.
If I can move some controls to an effects palette (oops panel), I often do.. preferring for example to place my camera controls there rather than the timeline.
The text animators are great, but I agree, clumsy to work with…
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ah, the new button isnt to go in to a precomp, its to go from a precomp up to its parent comp. very handy when you drill down in to a precomp and then need to go back to its parent.
who is that masked man…
https://www.exposedideas.com/ -
Thanks for the tip
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