The Video Sequence Editor - Reworked (a ready to patch suggestion)

You need to do this too: If you want to run the space_sequencer_panel.py from the Blender 2.80 Text Editor you’ll need to also open: “\2.80\scripts\startup\bl_ui\properties_grease_pencil_common.py” “2.80\scripts\startup\bl_ui\space_time.py” in the Text Editor to avoid errors.

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Looks good I think.

There are some places where it could be a bit more concise. For example, where it says Trim Duration, you can inline that with Start, so it says Trim Duration Start and then End on the next line. Refer to other places in Properties where we do this, like Location X, Y, Z and others.

Ok now it works thank you.

But after i run the script “space_sequencer_panel.py” some hotkeys disappear from the menu ( example Edit-> Split , Edit -> Cut )

@Andrea_Monzini The space_sequencer_panel.py is not up to date with the menu stuff, they will have to be merged at some point. Run the space_sequencer.py for the correct menus/hotkeys(and also import the keymap of course).

@billrey In the 2. round of screenshots - I think this has already been corrected? Stuff like the wrong audio toggle icon and the Camera Override dropdown menu, may be stuff which needs to be fixed “inside” Blender?

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Now I’ve merged the space_sequencer.py with space_sequencer_panels.py files, so if you rename space_sequencer_panels.py to space_sequencer.py before overwriting the blender files you’ll both get the menus and panels and the side by side color wheels.

The space_sequencer.py from github only contains the menus.

For anyone else, it’s these reworked VSE panels you can test and help improving now: Can we in collaboration produce a working suggestion for improving the user interface of the VSE?

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Snuq has been addressing some of the vse panel issues mentioned here: The Video Sequence Editor - Reworked (a ready to patch suggestion)

The data panel should show both show frames and smpte. Or they could be separated using this setting:
image

However, there is no editable widget for smpte timecodes: https://blender.community/c/rightclickselect/c0cbbc/smpte-widget
And most editors would have the sequencer on the smpte style and all the values in the panel would then be uneditable, reducing the usability of the panel.

The only solution we could come up with is this, where the left side of the widgets - the label space is used for the smpte values. However, you can’t switch off the “:” in the end of the smpte and using “:” between the smpte values will auto add a space/tab after the first “:”. On top of this, the default width of the panel will not allow showing all values.

Default width:
image

Custom width:
image

The good thing about this is that both values update live:
smpte_widget

Another thing Snuq addressed was the arbitrary way to show the strip type. The optimal way, in my eyes, would be to show a strip type icon in the tab - but this can’t be done through python: Adding icons to the VSE tabs? And not all strip types have icons.

So the alternative is to show it in the label:
image

Any thoughts or ideas on this work?

EDIT: The 2.80 styled panels are now merged with the VSE Reworked space_sequencer.py file:

This VSE Reworked project is coming to an end for me so are there any feedback, let me know now. Here’s how to install and test it:

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Hello, great work !
I am testing with the last Blender build ( a91886e76ebd).

When i import and use “vse_keymap.blend.py” i cannot select the video clips or select the clip handles with left mouse click.

My work doesn’t touch left click mode, so this must be a bug in blender(or unfinished left click mode in the vse). Try right click mode instead.

Ok just to inform that the left click select works in the VSE if i do not use the “vse_keymap.blend.py”
And the " Preferences" section ( where you can choose left click select ) under the Input panel disappear.

Preferences -> Input -> Preferences ( invisible after the “vse_keymap.blend.py” import ) .

OK. I guess the left click keymap mode somehow has broken backward compatibility with the keymap file. I’m not at my computer right now, but comparing the old keymap with the new, side by side in a text editor, might be the only way to figure out what’s going on. Does everything work as expected in right-click mode?

After loading that vse keymap, how do you even select left-click?

If i import the “vse_keymap.blend.py” with left click enabled i cannot find the way to revert to right click select unless i delete the “.config”

If i import the “vse_keymap.blend.py” with right click previously enabled it seems to work well.

I’ve tried to compare the files. It is a bit hard because in the vse reworked file much more keys are assigned, but I couldn’t see any immediate reasons for that to happen. But I guess there must be some setting saved in the Right click keymap which isn’t saved in the vse keymap, so it is a question finding that setting and adding it to the vse keymap or re-do the vse keymap again from scratch.

Btw. It seems that you can only select between left and right when you’re running the “Blender” keymap.

@billrey How do you like dynamic width of the data column in order to both have SMPTE and frames values visible?
dynamic_column

Btw. With all the colons removed elsewhere in the UI, they should also be removed from the text+ spinner widget. In this widget the first colon auto inserts a space and a colon is auto inserted after the string:
'00:00:00:00' is auto-changed into '00: 00:00:00: '

Worth remembering that colons indicate something very specific with regards to LTC, where colons indicate drop and semi-colons indicating non-drop. Removal of the colons possibly confuses this issue to folks familiar with the meaning.

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I hope you do understand that this is a workaround the fact that Blender do not have a SMPTE widget, and having colons in the string will make the values unreadable, thanks to hardcoded autoformatting.

The only alternatives are to have SMPTE values in uneditable text labels as in the Playhead values or having no SMPTE values at all…

The requests you and other people come up with makes me think that it is better not to have SMPTE values at all.

Input could remain frames, with a label as a typical timecode readout.

We have been over that idea in the chat: https://blender.chat/channel/vse
It looked really messy imho.

Unfortunately, I do not have any more time to put into the VSE Reworked Project, and I do not know how to submit patches to Blender, so I’ve written to the maintainer of the VSE and suggested that he or anyone else can use the code if it is found to be useful.

It includes 23 new functions, 15 existing functions added to the menus, a full reworking of the menus and also a reworking of the VSE panels into 2.80 style.

View Menu:

Select Menu:

Transform:

Split:

Edit Menu:

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you’ve done a hell of a job mate!, thanks for all hope we can still have you around for more input, and ideas, and tweaking!