HM3 Undo feature now live

I've updated the main HeroMachine 3 Alpha application to incorporate the "Undo" feature I mentioned yesterday. Testing has revealed it doesn't cause the Apocalypse, so we're good to go. Please let me know if you have any issues with this release.

For those who missed the post yesterday, this is the new "Undo" button:

It'll undo until there's nothing else to undo. Color changes, scaling, rotation, moving an item with either the mouse or the transform buttons, alpha changes, deletions, additions, "color all skin/hair", "Clear All", you name it, you can probably undo it, except for transformations using the "All Items" grouping, since I'll be changing how that works in the relatively near future.

Hope you like it!

31 Responses to HM3 Undo feature now live

  1. Tim says:

    Thank you, Jeff! This will be very handy, especially when I accidentally hit the “color all skin” button when I meant to hit the “headshot” button. I tend to do that sometimes lol.

  2. ams says:

    Awesome! Thanks, Jeff! Since you’re working miracles, can we get a “HOT COFFEE” button? Great job!

  3. Jake says:

    Looks great Jeff. This is a great option.

    Any chance for a “Redo” button? I know I mentioned this yesterday, but I never got a response. It would be great for comparing changes, like if you were debating between two hats, you could just Undo then Redo to compare.

  4. unknownblackpaper says:

    Now where I LOVE the undo function, I repetitively get this message for barely doing anything with the program.

    http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz360/engetsunoaori/problem.png

    I’ve received this message before the undo function when I had 3 huge images saved, but it only showed up when I tried to save. Now I deleted most of the images I have in the saved section, and this message continues to crop up when I just add a image.

    Not sure if it is the undo, but just wanted to let you know.

  5. Nick Hentschel says:

    If we put this icon onto some T-shirts, do they become, “Undo-Wear”? 😉

    Thanks for the new feature.

  6. Jeff Hebert says:

    unknownblackpaper, you should be able to right-click on the HM app, choose “Settings” from the flyout menu, then choose “Local Storage”. Set it to 1MB (should be way more than enough), and that ought to stop it from coming up. You can also check the “Never ask again” box if you want.

  7. Jeff Hebert says:

    Jake, that would be nice. I am not quite sure how I would accomplish that, but I like the idea.

  8. Worf says:

    @Jeff: AWESOME! To come back from a two day trip to find this is out of this world! Thank you!!!!!!!

  9. unknownblackpaper says:

    @jeff: Thank you

  10. unknownblackpaper says:

    sorry for the inconvenience

  11. Jeff Hebert says:

    I appreciate your letting me know about it, unknownblackpaper — did the solution work and the message went away?

  12. unknownblackpaper says:

    @Jeff: I change the setting and no problems so far! Thank you again!

  13. Me, Myself & I says:

    Turns out, I for one, really like the undo option. It just saved me a bunch of hassle.

    Jeff, I am currently experiencing a saving issue where the image moves as it is saved and isn’t saving the whole image on screen. Normally this isn’t an issue for me but in this particular instance it is being a little annoying. Is there any way to modify this so that it saves where we want it.

    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6781672/MMI-Object%20Moving%20Up%20and%20Left%20and%20Not%20All%20Saving%20to%20Image.png

  14. Me, Myself & I says:

    Jeff, the little pop up error message unknownblackpaper (4) mentioned just popped up for me as well. I went through the actions you suggested (6) and it seemed to resolve the message no problem. I only mention it now because that has never appeared for me using HM3 before so it might be related to the most recent change. Fortunately it was easy to resolve.

  15. Jeff Hebert says:

    You’re seeing the error now because basically now “undo” is literally saving a whole new character with every action you take. Flash sets a maximum total size on disk for these files, and now that you’re creating dozens as you go, the limit’s being reached rather quickly. That’s one reason I need to set a limit on the total number of undo actions.

    As far as the image goes, the program is basically doing a screen grab of the canvas area. Basically if you can’t see it on the canvas, you’re not going to see it in the final product. So I think to get that axe in, you’d have to move everything down until it shows. I realize that’s a bit problematical given the nature of how “All Grouping” works at the moment and that it doesn’t translate into the PNG or JPG, but unfortunately that’s the only way around it. You don’t get anything that’s “off screen”.

  16. Me, Myself & I says:

    Thank you for the insight Jeff. The Flash message makes perfect sense. I think it is likely to only occur the first time for anyone. You make a great point regarding a limit to the number of undo’s though. I know most other programs have limits as well. I think the top end I’ve seen in most programs is 20 undo’s although really I can’t see the need here for much more than 10. Of course I only speak for myself here but if I don’t know I made a mistake that needs undoing right away then its to late already.

    Regarding the axe in the example not saving, it was actually all showing on screen. I used the “move all” button to move everything though.

  17. Worf says:

    So you mean to tell me that I was being WAAAAY proactive when I allowed heromachine to have 10MB of disk space over a year ago? cool!

  18. Natri says:

    Didn’t know where to post:
    Since today Heromachine3 Alpha asks me for local memory with every click I do. This was new to me so I forbade it. Could you tell me what’s wrong and fix it please? It’s really annoying because I can’t go on using it.
    Greetings and let me know you that Heromachine3 is really great!

  19. Jeff Hebert says:

    Natri, right-click on the HeroMachine app. Go to “Settings”. Click on the icon that looks like a folder for “local storage”. Increase the amount to 1MB or more, and you should be good to go.

  20. CPrime says:

    I was having an issue last night where I wasn’t able to click and drag an item. I don’t know if it was the image I was working on or what, because when I started a new one it was fine. I’ll let you know if it happens again.

    Also, @Nick(#5)): That was horrible.

  21. Natri says:

    @Jeff Hebert:

    So did I but about 2 minutes later it asks me for even more memory. I’m not that computer pro so I neither know if that’s usual (as I said: it never used to to this and I’m using Heromachine for years) nor if it does anything bad to my computer. Really confused now 🙁

  22. Jeff Hebert says:

    Natri, you can raise the limit to the next highest setting. In a bit I’ll post a version that won’t bug you like this — right now it’s happening because there’s no limit on the total number of Undo actions it keeps track of and so the little file that tracks all that stuff can get to be pretty large.

    It’s just a warning about the file size, it’s not a big deal. You can check the “Don’t bother me any more” box in that dialog if it’s too irritating. The file in question’s just a cookie, like the ones your browser sets for all sorts of sites. It only contains the undo information for whatever character you’re working on in that session.

    Like I said, I’ll change it in a bit so the file caps out well below the size where Flash will ask for more space.

  23. Me, Myself & I says:

    I thought I’d share this from a few years back (OK, make that 2 decades ago).

    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6781672/Boot%20by%20MMI.bmp

  24. Nick Hentschel says:

    @Cprime (20):

    Of course it was: a “good” pun is a contradiction in terms! But I hope that it helped to lighten the mood.

  25. Myro says:

    Nick (24): If it helps any, you managed to get a smile out of me, despite how excruciatingly bad it was.

  26. Jeff Hebert says:

    If you’re a fan of bad puns (are there any other kind?!) — and believe me, I am — you’ll enjoy tomorrow’s Random Panel.

    And Nick, I appreciated your entry very much 🙂

  27. Nicholas/GtaMythMaster43 says:

    I agree with Myro (25). I would have just reposted what he said, but that’d be lame. So yeah….:P

  28. Finarfin says:

    I’ve got a problem: I can’t load any new characters. I can still load the old ones, but no new ones. I just want to tell.

  29. Finarfin says:

    Now it works … just forget about it.

  30. Me, Myself & I says:

    I must say Jeff, that I’ve noticed a measurable improvement in the stability of HM3 since this latest update. Every single save I’ve done since the update has actually loaded the same as it looked when I saved it. Additionally I am getting far fewer stuck items as well. Its made for a much more pleasant process.

  31. Jeff Hebert says:

    Glad to hear it MMI, thanks for the feedback!