Templates
A month or two ago, someone introduced me to Templates. I created one
that I now use whenever I create a new file, so that I start out with
all of my default settings.
I want to edit that template, but I cannot find even a HINT of Templates
in the menu structure, NOR in the Cheat Sheet.
What is the point of creating a facility and then making it so difficult
for someone to find it, even when they know it is there? How would any
new user find it at all?
Jon
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Is it described here?
https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/4458
On Sun, Oct 12, 2025 at 8:35 AM Jon Bondy via Discuss <
discuss@lists.openscad.org> wrote:
A month or two ago, someone introduced me to Templates. I created one
that I now use whenever I create a new file, so that I start out with
all of my default settings.
I want to edit that template, but I cannot find even a HINT of Templates
in the menu structure, NOR in the Cheat Sheet.
What is the point of creating a facility and then making it so difficult
for someone to find it, even when they know it is there? How would any
new user find it at all?
Jon
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Thanks for the pointer, but I believe my main point still stands. I
feel that this feature needs to be easier to find.
Jon
On 10/12/2025 9:44 AM, Leonard Martin Struttmann via Discuss wrote:
Is it described here?
https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/4458
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_openscad_openscad_issues_4458&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=AsrE-c7ZR7B2Kyr3qgfvvppkCEBVsNmwEMndcrRSuOI&m=_kiVwwmQglokWwYkP4VZXLlg9DjCUHoWol7OVACB2IkNZc8WvkFtvmFkrSicXtRM&s=bt5NJq0hU-R01vyCUXGCZn3y0bBY9o7bdn_9bamGNm8&e=
On Sun, Oct 12, 2025 at 8:35 AM Jon Bondy via Discuss
discuss@lists.openscad.org wrote:
A month or two ago, someone introduced me to Templates. I created
one
that I now use whenever I create a new file, so that I start out with
all of my default settings.
I want to edit that template, but I cannot find even a HINT of
Templates
in the menu structure, NOR in the Cheat Sheet.
What is the point of creating a facility and then making it so
difficult
for someone to find it, even when they know it is there? How
would any
new user find it at all?
Jon
--
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The template that I created is named "Jon's Header" in the pop-up list.
Interestingly, the file that contains this template is not called "Jon's
Header", so there is no way to find it easily by name.
Again, things like this should be easy, not merely
possible-with-some-struggle.
Jon
On 10/12/2025 9:44 AM, Leonard Martin Struttmann via Discuss wrote:
Is it described here?
https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/4458
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_openscad_openscad_issues_4458&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=AsrE-c7ZR7B2Kyr3qgfvvppkCEBVsNmwEMndcrRSuOI&m=_kiVwwmQglokWwYkP4VZXLlg9DjCUHoWol7OVACB2IkNZc8WvkFtvmFkrSicXtRM&s=bt5NJq0hU-R01vyCUXGCZn3y0bBY9o7bdn_9bamGNm8&e=
On Sun, Oct 12, 2025 at 8:35 AM Jon Bondy via Discuss
discuss@lists.openscad.org wrote:
A month or two ago, someone introduced me to Templates. I created
one
that I now use whenever I create a new file, so that I start out with
all of my default settings.
I want to edit that template, but I cannot find even a HINT of
Templates
in the menu structure, NOR in the Cheat Sheet.
What is the point of creating a facility and then making it so
difficult
for someone to find it, even when they know it is there? How
would any
new user find it at all?
Jon
--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software.
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[ combining responses to a couple of messages ]
On 10/12/2025 6:35 AM, Jon Bondy via Discuss wrote:
I want to edit that template, but I cannot find even a HINT of
Templates in the menu structure, NOR in the Cheat Sheet.
They wouldn't go in the Cheat Sheet; it's a language reference, not a UI
reference.
They're in the context menu - that is, the menu that you get by
right-clicking in the editor pane.
I'm not quite sure what the semantic difference is between the Edit menu
and the context menu. I'd be inclined to say that anything that's in
the context menu should also be in the Edit menu, where it would be
easier to find.
What is the point of creating a facility and then making it so
difficult for someone to find it, even when they know it is there?
How would any new user find it at all?
Good questions. However, remember that this is not a product and there
are no customers. Somebody wanted the feature, and implemented it
enough for it to be useful for them, and was happy (or lost interest
in improving it). And I'm sure some would say "it's right there on the
context menu", though that only helps if you're a user who looks at the
context menu.
Editing JSON in some hidden directory is a simply horrible user
interface. There should really be a GUI-based way (probably
Window/Templates) to manage your personal templates. But that's work,
and somebody would need to do that work. Other than karma, what's
their incentive to spend their time doing it? It takes finding somebody
who (a) is technically capable of doing the work, and (b) uses
templates, and (c) isn't mortally offended by editing JSON files. Or at
(a) plus a desire for karma points. I fail on (b), because I type
fairly fast and want stuff like that only rarely. Sometimes I like
karma points.
I looked briefly at adding something to the documentation. However, the
documentation doesn't have a UI reference, which makes it really unclear
exactly where it should be added. I did add a couple of entries to the
"Paths https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual/Paths" page,
which is better than nothing but not much.
The template that I created is named "Jon's Header" in the pop-up
list. Interestingly, the file that contains this template is not
called "Jon's Header", so there is no way to find it easily by name.
Indeed, the file names and the as-displayed names are different. I
assume that's to make it possible to have text in the as-displayed name
that isn't allowed in a file name. But if you named your "Jon's Header"
template "aardvark.json", that's on you; you could have named it
jons-header.json.
Again, things like this should be easy, not merely
possible-with-some-struggle.
Sure. Now, who's going to make that happen?
I might, if I get bored, but until I retire I'm unlikely to get that
bored; there are other things that I want more.
Turns out that the file for the "Jon's Header" template is named ... "jonsheader". Close enough to make sense, but not close enough to find easily.
OK. I'm done stirring this hornets nest.
Thanks!
Jon
On 10/12/2025 1:00 PM, Jordan Brown wrote:
[ combining responses to a couple of messages ]
On 10/12/2025 6:35 AM, Jon Bondy via Discuss wrote:
I want to edit that template, but I cannot find even a HINT of Templates in the menu structure, NOR in the Cheat Sheet.
They wouldn't go in the Cheat Sheet; it's a language reference, not a UI reference.
They're in the context menu - that is, the menu that you get by right-clicking in the editor pane.
I'm not quite sure what the semantic difference is between the Edit menu and the context menu. I'd be inclined to say that anything that's in the context menu should also be in the Edit menu, where it would be easier to find.
What is the point of creating a facility and then making it so difficult for someone to find it, even when they know it is there? How would any new user find it at all?
Good questions. However, remember that this is not a product and there are no customers. Somebody wanted the feature, and implemented it enough for it to be useful for them, and was happy (or lost interest in improving it). And I'm sure some would say "it's right there on the context menu", though that only helps if you're a user who looks at the context menu.
Editing JSON in some hidden directory is a simply horrible user interface. There should really be a GUI-based way (probably Window/Templates) to manage your personal templates. But that's work, and somebody would need to do that work. Other than karma, what's their incentive to spend their time doing it? It takes finding somebody who (a) is technically capable of doing the work, and (b) uses templates, and (c) isn't mortally offended by editing JSON files. Or at (a) plus a desire for karma points. I fail on (b), because I type fairly fast and want stuff like that only rarely. Sometimes I like karma points.
I looked briefly at adding something to the documentation. However, the documentation doesn't have a UI reference, which makes it really unclear exactly where it should be added. I did add a couple of entries to the "Pathshttps://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikibooks.org_wiki_OpenSCAD-5FUser-5FManual_Paths&d=DwMDaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=AsrE-c7ZR7B2Kyr3qgfvvppkCEBVsNmwEMndcrRSuOI&m=7hxVTyBIK8p96vneXa04-vazk1wMW7dotC2uGCyNkFBF0R5I3Q7vUUnyNto5J-m9&s=7OVyE-XjBGNXObhY23KzJu6aLwyljva9ZvrKO3JyLr8&e=" page, which is better than nothing but not much.
The template that I created is named "Jon's Header" in the pop-up list. Interestingly, the file that contains this template is not called "Jon's Header", so there is no way to find it easily by name.
Indeed, the file names and the as-displayed names are different. I assume that's to make it possible to have text in the as-displayed name that isn't allowed in a file name. But if you named your "Jon's Header" template "aardvark.json", that's on you; you could have named it jons-header.json.
Again, things like this should be easy, not merely possible-with-some-struggle.
Sure. Now, who's going to make that happen?
I might, if I get bored, but until I retire I'm unlikely to get that bored; there are other things that I want more.
On 12.10.25 20:38, jon jonbondy.com via Discuss wrote:
Turns out that the file for the "Jon's Header" template is named ... "jonsheader".
That would be what you gave it as "key" in the file, right?
ciao,
Torsten.
Is that what shows in the context menu? It's hard to tell: all the provided
examples have the 'key' the same as the file name (or vice versa).
-----Original Message-----
From: Torsten Paul via Discuss discuss@lists.openscad.org
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2025 1:03 PM
To: discuss@lists.openscad.org
Cc: Torsten Paul Torsten.Paul@gmx.de
Subject: [OpenSCAD] Re: Templates
On 12.10.25 20:38, jon jonbondy.com via Discuss wrote:
Turns out that the file for the "Jon's Header" template is named ...
"jonsheader".
That would be what you gave it as "key" in the file, right?
ciao,
Torsten.
OpenSCAD mailing list
To unsubscribe send an email to discuss-leave@lists.openscad.org
On 10/12/2025 2:16 PM, Lee DeRaud via Discuss wrote:
Is that what shows in the context menu? It's hard to tell: all the provided
examples have the 'key' the same as the file name (or vice versa).
Yes. "key" is what shows in the menu. Looks like the menu is in order
by "key", by character code. (Which, roughly, means digits first, then
upper-case, then lower-case, then non-ASCII, with punctuation stirred in
in various places. This is pretty human-unfriendly ordering, but it's
easy.)
I have no idea about any "key". I finally found the file and edited
it. That's all I know, which is more than is documented anywhere.
On 10/12/2025 4:02 PM, Torsten Paul via Discuss wrote:
On 12.10.25 20:38, jon
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__jonbondy.com&d=DwICAg&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=AsrE-c7ZR7B2Kyr3qgfvvppkCEBVsNmwEMndcrRSuOI&m=vNXCFdoQRuD7VrbFS4j0Jjgl88Y4NCVY7-08OwtYecUMhYB2CqH_e-78L6MZxFPR&s=4WGF1GvwLFCB5Nvy377o3HWhb1KeuVp2xAA8pLdvfSY&e=
via Discuss wrote:
Turns out that the file for the "Jon's Header" template is named ...
"jonsheader".
That would be what you gave it as "key" in the file, right?
ciao,
Torsten.
OpenSCAD mailing list
To unsubscribe send an email to discuss-leave@lists.openscad.org
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