Is there a way to browse files to change the images? Why can't I click the folder icon, see all my imported Images and just click another one? It would save so much time. And I'm not talking about Find And Replace feature, all of that is too much hassle just for a single Image Path replace.
I've seen others bring this up too, but didn't want to necro any threads.
Browse Image Path [Feature Request]
Currently, Spine does not support browsing files to change images directly through a folder icon. Spine manages files relative to each other by path, which allows for immediate reflection of updates if there are any changes to the images in the specified folder. This design choice ensures that the project remains organized and paths are consistent.
However, you can change the path of a single image by typing the new path in the image path field located in the attachment properties. For batch changes, the Find and Replace feature is recommended, although it may seem cumbersome for single image path replacements.
For more information on how to use the Find and Replace feature, you can refer to the Tree view - Spine User Guide: Find and replace.
Spinebot
I get this is an AI generated answer, but replying for others.
The idea is if the Image Path icon could bring up a small window with all Image Files and their paths, instead of manually trying to figure out the path and typing it in the field (it takes so much time, especially for large projects).
It could bring up a window like this screenshot, and when you click an image it inserts the path automatically:
It's certainly a reasonable suggestion. We could show a dialog with the image files, maybe with type to search/filter. It would make sense to have a way to set either the name or the path.
In case you missed it, you can drag an item from under Images
to an existing attachment to rename it. Dragging and dropping isn't as fast as a dialog would be, of course.
Most often Import PSD
(see blog post) or Import Data
is used to bring images in as attachments that are already named and placed in the right position. This skips a whole lot of tedious work that has likely already been done in your image editor. The next most common way to create and name attachments is to find them under Images
and drag them into the viewport or to a bone or slot.
Given that, it's relatively common to type some variation of an existing name, but I'd say it's not super common to type a full path (or choose a path from a new dialog). When doing it en masse, find and replace makes sense, as you mentioned.
I see in your screenshot you are doing it to set a path for a linked mesh (you could also rename the linked mesh). That makes sense and is a reasonable workflow, though probably you are typing a variation of the existing path rather than retyping the entire path.
We'll consider a dialog for setting the image path (and region/mesh attachment name). I've created an issue to track the enhancement. You can see all the issues on our roadmap:
http://esotericsoftware.com/spine-roadmap
Lastly, it's worth mentioning there's a workflow where you don't need to duplicate attachments in Spine that differ only by name/path. You can set up template attachments in Spine and then duplicate and configure them at runtime. This allows you to create many hundreds or thousands of attachments just by creating the images, without needing to rig them all in Spine. It makes sense for large projects, but the overhead to set it up may not be worthwhile for small or mid-size projects. More here:
https://esotericsoftware.com/spine-runtime-skins#Creating-attachments
Nate In case you missed it, you can drag an item from under Images to an existing attachment to rename it. Dragging and dropping isn't as fast as a dialog would be, of course.
Didn't know that, thanks for the tip!
Nate Most often Import PSD (see blog post) or Import Data is used to bring images in as attachments that are already named and placed in the right position. This skips a whole lot of tedious work that has likely already been done in your image editor. The next most common way to create and name attachments is to find them under Images and drag them into the viewport or to a bone or slot.
To clarify, in my use case, I would need this feature request specifically when working with skins. I am duplicating skins and swapping some of its images etc.
The importing and setting up bones part of Spine is already 11/10, really well done. I am specifically having issues in later stages of a project.
Nate I see in your screenshot you are doing it to set a path for a linked mesh (you could also rename the linked mesh). That makes sense and is a reasonable workflow, though probably you are typing a variation of the existing path rather than retyping the entire path.
Yes exactly, (or let me know if I misunderstood), but they all have the same body shape (that's why the linked mesh), it's only different image variations (like green, blue, red etc). I just want an easy to change the image variation for skins, without typing paths.
Nate Lastly, it's worth mentioning there's a workflow where you don't need to duplicate attachments in Spine that differ only by name/path. You can set up template attachments in Spine and then duplicate and configure them at runtime. This allows you to create many hundreds or thousands of attachments just by creating the images, without needing to rig them all in Spine. It makes sense for large projects, but the overhead to set it up may not be worthwhile for small or mid-size projects. More here:
Didn't know about this either, probably what I should be doing really. Will dive deeper into that one, thanks again! One question thought, what if some armor parts have different setup with physics etc, It would still be better to make them manually in Spine?
Large or not large project, I agree it would make sense to be able to pick a file (or even a path, in case of the Images node) by browsing and clicking instead of typing, as a general usabilty feature.