Introduction to Tables
Last Updated: December 27, 2024What Are Tables? In this section, you will learn about tables, which are the first and one of the main sections of The View Keeper addon. To keep things clear, let’s start by answering the question: What are tables? Tables, in this context, are boxes in the 3D viewport that hold a list of items. You can select these items and find out more information or make changes as needed. If you’re familiar with books, this works similarly to a table of contents. A table of contents lists items, and when you select one, you get more information about it. Like The View Keeper, tables are also used in other parts of Blender. For example, the particle system has a table which you can see from the image below, and they function in a similar way. However, in this documentation, we’ll focus only on the tables in The View Keeper. The Two Tables in The View Keeper By default, only the Camera List table is visible when you first install the addon. This is because the View List table depends on the content of the Camera List table. Think of it this way: the Camera List table is a list of items, and each item in this list can have its own list. This secondary list is the View List table. When you first install The View Keeper, the Camera List table is empty. This is why the View List table does not appear right away. Once you add an item to the Camera List table, you can then access and use the View List table. In the next section, you will learn about the different parts of these tables, how to add items to them, and how to use the items you’ve added.
Camera List Table
Last Updated: December 29, 2024What is a Camera List Table? Having discussed what tables are in the previous section and the two tables which can be found in The View Keeper, we’ll now focus on the Camera List Table. As mentioned in the Welcome section, The View Keeper helps save and manage the cameras in your 3D scene. To achieve this, the camera data in your scene must be stored somewhere. This is where the Camera List Table comes in. The Camera List Table is specifically designed to hold and track cameras in your 3D scene. It lets you apply unique settings to individual cameras. Once installed, it automatically analyzes your scene for any existing cameras. If you have a fresh Blender scene with no cameras, you’ll see a “No Camera in scene” message, which prompts you to add one. This occurs because the Camera List Table has scanned your scene and found no cameras available. However, when you add a camera to your 3D scene, that message disappears. To add a camera, simply go to the top-left of your viewport, click Add, and select Camera. The View Keeper also provides an easier way to add cameras in its Settings section, but for now, our focus remains on the Camera List Table. With the camera added, you’ll notice two key changes in addition to the error message disappearing: The Camera isn’t automatically added because The View Keeper lets you decide which cameras you want it to manage, and which ones you prefer to leave untouched. As previously mentioned, The View Keeper uses a minimalistic design, showing only what you need at any given moment. By adding a new camera, you now have additional actions available, which is why you see new buttons appear. One of these newly revealed buttons is the Add Camera button, located at the top-right corner of the Camera List Table. This button is just one of several elements that make up the Camera List Table. These elements are: Add Camera Button The role of the Add Camera button is pretty straightforward. it adds the currently selected camera to the table. I use the term “selected camera” because the button is only visible when a camera is selected or active. If there’s a camera in your scene but it isn’t selected or active, The View Keeper will hide the Add Camera button. With the camera selected, click the Add Camera button to include it in the Camera List Table. Keep it in mind that each camera can only be added once. When you add a camera to the table, The View Keeper records and saves a specific set of settings for that camera, similar to taking a screenshot on your phone or creating a game backup that you can return to if needed. These saved settings become unique to that camera. To find out exactly which settings are saved by The View Keeper when you add a camera to the Camera List Table, please refer to the Preview section of this documentation. If the camera is added successfully, you’ll see a new item in the Camera List Table. This item is called a Camera List record (or camera record for short). We’ll explore this concept more in the rest of this section. This is just one of several methods for adding cameras to the Camera List Table. We’ll explore additional ways to do this in the Settings section of this documentation, ensuring plenty of flexibility for different project needs. Remove Camera Button The Remove Camera button is located just below the Add Camera button. As its name implies, it removes the selected Camera Record from the Camera List. This means that if you have no records in the list, the Remove Camera button will stay hidden. By itself, this button only removes the record from the table, leaving the actual camera in your 3D scene intact. If you want to remove both the record and the camera with one click, you’ll need to combine it with another button called Delete Camera, which we’ll discuss next. Delete Camera The Delete Camera button is located at the bottom-right of the Camera List Table and is only visible when there’s at least one record in the list. It acts more like a switch than a regular button. This means it can be turned on or off. By default, it’s turned off. When the Delete Camera is switched on, this gives The View Keeper the audacity to remove the actual camera from your 3D scene whenever you delete its record from the list. If you don’t want to delete the camera itself, make sure Delete Camera is turned off before removing a record. Number of Camera Records The Number of Camera Records is displayed at the top-right of the Camera List Table under the label “Camera No:”. This feature is especially helpful for artists who appreciate analytics, are working on large scenes, or plan to render multiple shots. It lets you easily track how many cameras are being managed by The View Keeper. Only the cameras that have a record in the table are counted. If you add a camera to your scene without creating a record for it, it won’t be part of the Camera Record count. Camera List Records We’ve already introduced Camera List Records (or Camera Records) in the Add Camera section, but here’s a bit more detail: Camera Records are simply recorded settings tied to a specific camera, stored as an item in the Camera List Table. The exact settings captured when a record is created are shown in the Preview section. Each time you add a new camera to the table, a corresponding record is created. These records are named after the camera they’re linked to, making them easy to identify. Think of them as save points or backups that can be restored using the Activate/Deactivate Updates button. Activate/Deactivate Updates The Activate/Deactivate Updates button is a small switch on the right side of the Camera List Table. When turned...
View List Table
Last Updated: December 30, 2024What is View List Table? The View List Table is very similar to the Camera List Table, with many of the same features and buttons. If you’re familiar with the Camera List Table, you’ll find most of this really easy to grasp. The main difference is that the Camera List Table manages cameras, letting you switch between multiple cameras. While The View List Table manages views (what a single camera sees). This means you can save multiple view angles using just one camera, keeping your scene clean and organized. However, to use the View List Table, that camera must first be added to the Camera List Table. Think of the View List Table as a subset of the Camera List Table. Each camera record in the Camera List has its own View List which can store multiple views and angles. This way, you don’t have to clutter your scene with extra cameras just to capture different views. Just like the Camera List Table there are different elements which make up the view list table. These elements are: Add View Button Just like the Add Camera button in the Camera List Table, the Add View button works in a similar way. However instead adding cameras records to the table, it creates new view records. A view record is an item in the View List Table that stores not only the camera’s position but also various camera settings. For more details on what settings are saved by the View List table, refer to the Preview section of this documentation. Using the Add View button is straightforward: This captures a snapshot of your current view and saves it. You can then move the camera anywhere else, secure in the knowledge that you can always return to the saved view. You can create as many views per camera as you like. Simply just reposition and click Add View again to store each new view. Remove View Button The Remove View button deletes a stored view record. This action is irreversible, which is why a confirmation pop-up appears before the view is removed. To use it, simply select the view record you want to delete, click the Remove View button, and confirm the deletion. Unlike the Remove Camera button in the Camera List Table, the Remove View button cannot delete the camera itself or when combined with the Delete Camera button. it’s strictly for removing views only. Number of View Records The Number of View Records is a counter located at the top-right of the View List Table, labeled “View No”. It displays how many view records you currently have, which can be especially useful for large scenes or when rendering multiple camera angles. Think of it as a quick way to see how many different views are being managed at any particular time. Activate/Deactivate Updates The Activate/Deactivate Updates button works just like it does in the Camera List Table. It’s essentially a switch that, when turned on, applies the saved settings from any clicked view record to your camera and 3D scene. When it’s off, you can click around without changing your current view. This is handy if you want to make adjustments without switching views or quickly see what each saved record looks like. Refresh Record The Refresh Record button appears on the right side of each view record, functioning similarly to its counterpart in the Camera List Table. However, instead of recapturing and overriding a camera record, it does so for view records. This feature is particularly useful when you want to make small or large adjustments to an existing view record. Simply: This approach saves you from having to delete and recreate a view when only minor adjustments are needed. Because Refresh Record overrides your existing view record, you would recieve a confirmation pop-up which helps prevent accidental overwrites. Record Name The Record Name box is located at the bottom of the View List Table and displays the name of the currently selected view record. When a record is selected, its name appears in this box, allowing you to rename it for easier identification and a more personalized workflow. Unlike the Record Name in the Camera List Table, this name is not tied to the camera itself or any other element. It only renames the view record, so you can update it freely without affecting anything else in your scene. Clear View List The Clear View List button is hidden in the View List Table. You can find it in the dropdown menu below the Remove View button. It removes all your saved views at once. When you use Remove View, you must confirm when removing each view one by one. This can take a long time if you have many views. Clear View List only needs one confirmation. Then, it deletes all your views at once.