Multi Select

I think we have an issue for this https://github.com/webstudio-is/webstudio/issues/1110

Its very non trivial because you could select instances that can't have the same styles/properties applied

so it would require to identify a subset of things that apply to these specific instances

Ahh, yeah that makes sense.

we could at least allow deleting many at once or copy many at once

what are your top actions?

In the case of styling, you could limit multi select to same element type only.

that would be misleading if user wants to delete a bunch at once

fair point

I'm only just now digging into WS and going through the training, so I don't really have top actions yet. But in one of the videos, they had to apply the same styles to multiple elements one at a time and I was thinking how much simpler if he could just select them all and apply.

we will enable this by copy/pasting styles

Not sure how valuable the feature actually is, but one way to deal with it would be buttons for multi-select type. One button for bulk dragging/dropping. One for multi delete. One for apply styles.

but yea, copy/pasting styles would go a long way to simplify that.

we can't easiy enable selection and fully functional style panel on multiple nodes

its way too hard

if you knew whats going on under the hood for styles when you are selecting an instnace

multi select will ever work for primitive actions

I can imagine! I've used other builders and yours is pretty clean.

everything else will be achieved by other means

context menu > copy styles > paste styles - quite easy

I didn't even think of copy all styles from an element. That will be cool.

Its very non trivial because you could select instances that can't have the same styles/properties applied

Could you not skip elements that don't satisfy the criteria? Having mixed content preselected is common place in every app that supports multiselection.

In my first screenshot I have preselected two files. One file allows for the selected operation, the other one doesn't.The app silently discards the wrong file from the stack.

The second case (images 2,3) shows a mixed preselection inside a 3D app. Two of three items are valid input for an extrusion, the third one gets disregarded.

In the case of styling assignment if you wanted to be super accurate, you could output a toast: Skipped [item name] from Token assignment.

I cannot judge on complexity involved (check whether all selected elements are valid). Yet, as a user, not having multiselection immediately felt odd and tedious to me.

I cannot recall another app that only lets you pick one element at a time – and could not believe when someone in this forum said Webflow doesn't have this feature either.

Could you not skip elements that don't satisfy the criteria? Having mixed content preselected is common place in every app that supports multiselection.

Complexity of doing this is immense

we aren't gonna do it

only for simple operations, not for style panel

I'm very much aware that I'm talking to the guy who also without multi-selection is a million times more effective building stuff… 

Yet, for people who don't have a background in Webflow / those who prefer to arrange things visually, missing Multiselection in Navigator and on Canvas will feel alien, nonetheless.

Those who don't miss the feature likely already developed sound Web developer practices: Refine one element, then clone it. I clearly have not reached this point 🙂 – but isolated element development will generally work better, when you already have a Design that you want to replicate. 

I understood that you want to work towards the point that people no longer use prototyping tools but start designing in Webstudio. At that point quick element regrouping (on Canvas and in the Tree) would be crucial. Alt+Drag duplication is a similarly often used command.

For style panel operations – could you possibly run assignments sequentially – in the sense of a batch operation? If I understood you correctly, you will allow style assignments per copy and paste. 

A user therefore could run the command in quick succession (repeated Copy+Paste). The operation would either work or fail. I wonder, if style assignment for multiple objects could not automate, what you consider doable by manual copy and paste.

Like I said primitive operations are possible

just not stuff like style panel

ast least not anytime soon

copy/pasting styles will be solving some of these use cases

its next on the roadmap