Because a lot of Linux WM’s use the same functionality. He is very used to this way of working. When I was working with Linux a couple years ago I also found it very easy to get used to and incredibly handy. It’s just yet another option for the user, it doesn’t replace anything. Could you explain why you find it “Instrusive and bad for UX”?
Why not?
I second this. That would increase discoverability a ton.
@Harleya
One thing I realized, if I’m not mistaken, is that the tearing-off function is great for windows side by side, but not overlapping. e.g. when you have a single monitor and are working fullscreen. Although I can imagine the latter not being used often.
That explains why Pablo would want it. Sorry, I am not familiar with Linux so I’ll take your word for it that it’s useful.
In Blender though I stand by my statement that it will be for the worse. At least currently. The reasons is because Blender has very complex hotkeys/pie menu system. It’s very powerful but also lacks a lot of functionality needed to make it easy to handle and work with conflicting hotkeys.
I assume you’d need to create another action area around editors borders to capture modifier keys to trigger the behavior which will most likely override your usual hotkeys you’d use in the editor viewport. Which creates layers of complexity and shrinks down the effective action area in the editor for usual hotkeys.
More features doesn’t always mean better. There is already a very good way to control your viewport layout. And you can have more than one saved.
I was observing people who constantly had to change the size of their editors. The behavior is usually very erratic and not productive. Like when a person doesn’t know what he is doing. There is also a part where the user needs more editors on one screen due to the size of the monitor (resolution) or because of workflow needs. The behavior issue is hard to solve. But the other issues is easy to solve with classical tabbed interface which I hope Blender will eventually evolve to fully support. For now workspaces kind of works.
Also this erratic behavior I see from Pablo. I guess it’s personality trait. Neither negative or positive. It’s just what it is. He is the only Blender user I’ve seen who still uses Blender option to resize properties panels on the fly. Which I personally think this functionality should be remove since it breaks the consistency of UI. But it’s my personal opinion.
The same reason as @SpookyDoom said. I have established working layouts and in case I absolutely need an editor in a separate window I’d like a copy of it and leave my original layout as is. Not destroying it.
But I also agree that this behavior could probably benefit from a key modifier to either tear out completely or make a copy of the editor. Probably needs further discovery.
I’d also have to test it in practice, really but in theory I can imagine it being fine with a hotkey. May take some getting used to but then again you have to use a hotkey now as well.
Stupid idea … why not make it a hold-toggle hotkey? If you release the mouse while pressing the hotkey down it will tear out or reintegrate the viewport into another one. If you release the hotkey before ending the action/releasing LMB then it makes a copy. Or maybe inverse if it’s more consistent.
Only problem here being that this is possibly going agains current Blender conventions, again.
Now fixed in D14166, so it works as well as it does in D14173.
Current version also now keeps the current behavior when you select “Duplicate Area Into New Window” from each area’s Header Context Menu, so leaves the source area in place. It only moves the source area when shift-dragging from the corner action zones.
