I do get we need to have distinction between the two
And i am always trying to use animation per name
But would it be possible to display “Dead” animation#0?
We could simply then just name animation and still use them by numbers
Which would look like animation #0 “Dead”
Or something else i don’t know restrictions of syntax
My whole idea is to select animations by numbers but also to display names if any given
Since we don’t need to pick animations by names or numbers we only need to know what they are without jumping from event sheet back to object properties in editor window
So maybe there could be only 1 option then and not two
And no 1 would get hurt while everyone would be satisfied?
Lets make it 1 option if possible and display this
This is a question that I asked myself some months ago.
During usability tests, I’ve seen (as you said) users who wanted to call the animation by their name without having to open the Object dialog to see the number of the animation. Indeed, guessing that you have to call the animation number instead of a human name is not easy to guess.
But I’ve also seen users who use animation status (animation #) to randomise visuals for their game play, so they need the numbers.
So, I will (as always) follow this topic to read the creators that use numbers vs animation names -and the other way around- and read their rationale/workflow behind it so we can gather more context for reviewing the request.
I think best of 2 worlds would be
Only use animation number to do anything in events
But also ALWAYS display both numbers and names
IDK if that is possible but imagine this
Where from drop down list i can easily see which is which
Where i only need to input number but leave me ability to type in name in that field to filter them out
Like if i type Idle then only ones with word Idle in them will show up
IDK if that is possible but if it would
Number should be something you declare
While name is only displayed text that does not mean or do or affect anything for events and conditions
So i still have ability to do RandomInRange(1,4)
But i have drop down list showing me names of all of them
But in this expression it displays only number
Name is only needed for selecting and could be displayed only outside of expressions like random in range
Like in example above
But always display names in drop down list where number is on the left
IDK how much of it is possible
But that would actually streamline the process in my eyes
But could there also be an option to disable that in the project settings? Because I don’t name all my animations. Only animations that I want to use to get a variable or match items. But. I might be ocd in certain areas. So if there is just an empty red box that says “Optional” by my animation number in the event sheet then I will of course have to start naming every single unimportant animation in the world.
Oh. I usually use numbers to change animations in events and I give an animation a name if I will need it to act like a variable, retrieve a variable, create an object based on its animation name, or something similar.
Edit I thought of a way around this. I can change animation numbers with variables instead of referencing them directly and seeing a potentially empty “Optional” box. So I will not need an option to disable this now.
Why you even consider anything to display like “Optional” if there is no name given?
My best guess would be if you have animation 4 named Death
You would see
4 Death
But if you have animation 5 without any name given you would see only
5
and not
5 “Optional”
If that is your concern and i did get you right
I know i seen that kind of feature somewhere i just can’t remember where
But if my memory kicks in i gonna show it here to illustrate possible outcome better
You should always see number but name should be just text suffix addition that does nothing like lets say tooltip
So if there is no name you will see only number
I know where i seen it
In Libresprite and Aseprite
@Luni Look that is my whole idea in nutshell (if my explanation did not make it clear)
I can type here anything but px (pixels) suffix is always there
I am trying to select it with mouse but i can’t it is only a displayed text
Not one i can select/highlight
It is for setting resolution but in GDevelop imagine if that would be actual animation name if any exist
@Lucky-j My idea is not trying to rob any1 from any option
My idea is aiming to merge that 2 options into streamlined single option
So we keep best from 2 worlds and in fact nothing is lost
I just don’t know if all that is possible
aside from typing 1 (a number to find animation) if it type IDLE all animations with word IDLE in them should filter out
in expressions animation name should be displayed only in drop down list
Like in RandomInRange
if there is no name display only number
And no one would lose anything while we would solve 3 problems with 1 option
1 - never again jump back and forth to object properties to check which name have which animation in numerical order
2 - we do not need to choose between either by number or by name since they are one single option
3 - finally streamlined animation selection
I am not saying what we have is bad but i want to say
So, I will (as always) follow this topic to read the creators that use numbers vs animation names -and the other way around- and read their rationale/workflow behind it so we can gather more context for reviewing the request. 
