Reduce the number of Printer dropdown entries by relocating 3 configuration variables

[GitHubGoody]

I just took a fresh look at optimizing my PrusaSlicer Printer configuration and was reminded of the unintuitive nature of the tiered inheritance structure. I think I understand why this has not changed over the life of PrusaSlicer, but it seems some creative UI solutions could be implemented to relocate some of the printer configuration variables to other places in the workflow.

First, let me demonstrate the problem as I see it.

The total number of options T under the Printer dropdown in PrusaSlicer 2.8.1 can be calculated as follows:

T = S + U + P where...

t = Number of printer types
n = Number of nozzles for each System preset (e.g. 0.4, 0.6, etc.)
S = Number of System presets (S = t*n)

U = Number of User presets (assume the user configures at least one thing different from the system presets requiring a saved preset for each U, so U = S which means U = t*n)

m = Number of actual physical printers (i.e. machines)
h = Number of Print Hosts configured for each m machine
P = Number of (virtual) Physical printers (P = m * n * h)

...equals as many as...

T = tn + tn + mnh

Let's assume a shop in a local high school has the following:

• 3 types of printers (e.g. MK4S, MK3S+, MK4 + MMU, etc.) so t = 3
• Each printer typically is configured with either a 0.4 or 0.6 mm nozzle so n = 2
• 4 actual physical printers (e.g. 2x MK4S, MK3S+, MK4 + MMU) so m = 4
• The school's IT would like the students to access the printers directly using PrusaLink when on prem and PrusaConnect when remote (e.g. at home) so h = 2

That would result in a total of 28 (3 * 2 + 3 * 2 + 4 * 2 * 2) entries to manage and sort through in each student's PrusaSlicer's Printer dropdown!

Instead, could some of these variables be moved to other areas of the UI?

Here are some ideas along with the impact to this scenario:

1. Nest the Print Hosts h within each (virtual) Physical printer configuration with a many-to-1 relationship and add a button in the Export bar for each configured Print Host option. T = 3 * 2 + 3 * 2 + 4 * 2 = 20 which is a 29% reduction

CURRENT

PROPOSED (for a Physical printer configured with PrusaConnect (C), PrusaLink (L), and OctoPrint (O) Print Hosts)

2. Nest the nozzle options n in each System preset S, User preset U, and (virtual) Physical printer P then add a nozzle diameter dropdown directly below the Printer dropdown populated with those configured nozzle options. T = 3 + 3 + 4 = 10 which is another 50% (65% total) reduction

3. Provide a toggle in each System preset S, User preset U, and (virtual) Physical printer P under the Printers tab for the user to hide System presets which have at least one equivalent User preset configured AND hide User presets which have at least one (virtual) Physical printer configured T = m = 4 which is another 60% (86% total) reduction

Implementation of any one of these three would greatly reduce the clutter and improve PrusaSlicer's UX considerably for noob and seasoned users alike!