Asset-Frameworker/Tickets/FEAT-GUI-NoDefaultPreset.md

FEAT-GUI-NoDefaultPreset: Prevent Default Preset Selection in GUI

Objective

Modify the Graphical User Interface (GUI) to prevent any preset from being selected by default on application startup. Instead, the GUI should prompt the user to explicitly select a preset from the list before displaying the detailed file preview. This aims to avoid accidental processing with an unintended preset.

Problem Description

Currently, when the GUI application starts, a preset from the available list is automatically selected. This can lead to user confusion if they are not aware of this behavior and proceed to add assets and process them using a preset they did not intend to use. The preview table also populates automatically based on this default selection, which might not be desired until a conscious preset choice is made.

Failed Attempts

1. Attempt 1: Remove Default Selection Logic and Add Placeholder Text:

   • Approach: Removed code that explicitly set a default selected item in the preset list during initialization. Added a QLabel with placeholder text ("Please select a preset...") to the preview area and attempted to use setPlaceholderText on the QTableView (this was incorrect as QTableView does not have this method). Managed visibility of the placeholder label and table view.
   • Result: The setPlaceholderText call failed with an AttributeError. Even after removing the erroneous line and adding a dedicated QLabel, a preset was still being selected automatically in the list on startup, and the placeholder was not consistently shown. This suggested that simply populating the QListWidget might implicitly trigger a selection.

2. Attempt 2: Explicitly Clear Selection and Refine Visibility Logic:

   • Approach: Added explicit calls (setCurrentItem(None), clearSelection()) after populating the preset list to ensure no item was selected. Refined the visibility logic for the placeholder label and table view in _clear_editor and _load_selected_preset_for_editing. Added logging to track selection and visibility changes.
   • Result: Despite explicitly clearing the selection, testing indicated that a preset was still being selected on startup, and the placeholder was not consistently displayed. This reinforced the suspicion that the QListWidget's behavior upon population was automatically triggering a selection and the associated signal.

Proposed Plan: Implement "-- Select a Preset --" Placeholder Item

This approach makes the "no selection" state an explicit, selectable item in the preset list, giving us more direct control over the initial state and subsequent behavior.

1. Modify populate_presets Method:

   • Add a QListWidgetItem with the text "-- Select a Preset --" at the very beginning of the list (index 0) after clearing the list but before adding actual preset items.
   • Store a special, non-Path value (e.g., None or a unique string like "__PLACEHOLDER__") in this placeholder item's UserRole data to distinguish it from real presets.
   • After adding all real preset items, explicitly set the current item to this placeholder item using self.editor_preset_list.setCurrentRow(0).

2. Modify _load_selected_preset_for_editing Method (Slot for currentItemChanged):

   • At the beginning of the method, check if the current_item is the placeholder item by examining its UserRole data.
   • If the placeholder item is selected:
     • Call self._clear_editor() to reset all editor fields.
     • Call self.preview_model.clear_data() to ensure the preview table model is empty.
     • Explicitly set self.preview_placeholder_label.setVisible(True) and self.preview_table_view.setVisible(False).
     • Return from the method without proceeding to load a preset or call update_preview.
   • If a real preset item is selected, proceed with the existing logic: get the Path from the item's data, call _load_preset_for_editing(preset_path), call self.update_preview(), set self.preview_placeholder_label.setVisible(False) and self.preview_table_view.setVisible(True).

3. Modify start_processing Method:

   • Before initiating the processing, check if the currently selected item in editor_preset_list is the placeholder item.
   • If the placeholder item is selected, display a warning message to the user (e.g., "Please select a valid preset before processing.") using the status bar and return from the method.
   • If a real preset is selected, proceed with the existing processing logic.

4. Modify update_preview Method:

   • Add a check at the beginning of the method. Get the current_item from editor_preset_list. If it is the placeholder item, clear the preview model (self.preview_model.clear_data()) and return immediately. This prevents the prediction handler from running when no valid preset is selected.

Next Steps

Implement the proposed plan by modifying the specified methods in gui/main_window.py. Test the GUI on startup and when selecting different items in the preset list to ensure the desired behavior is achieved.