DYN-6842 Convert Helix instancing feature flag to a Preference Setting (

#14675)

* First pass

* PR comments

* Spelling and wording

* Fix preference settings.

* Spelling

* Update API

* Update default state to true

src/DynamoCore/Configuration/PreferenceSettings.cs

@@ -358,6 +358,12 @@ public bool IsBackgroundPreviewActive
         /// </summary>
         public bool ShowEdges { get; set; }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Indicates whether background preview use instancing when rendering geometry.
+        /// be rendered.
+        /// </summary>
+        public bool UseRenderInstancing { get; set; }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Indicates whether show detailed or compact layout during search.
         /// </summary>
@@ -936,6 +942,7 @@ public PreferenceSettings()
             maxNumRecentFiles = DefaultMaxNumRecentFiles;
             RenderPrecision = DefaultRenderPrecision;
             ShowEdges = false;
+            UseRenderInstancing = true;
             OpenFileInManualExecutionMode = false;
             ShowDetailedLayout = true;
             NamespacesToExcludeFromLibrary = new List<string>();

src/DynamoCore/PublicAPI.Unshipped.txt

@@ -263,6 +263,8 @@ Dynamo.Configuration.PreferenceSettings.UseHardwareAcceleration.get -> bool
 Dynamo.Configuration.PreferenceSettings.UseHardwareAcceleration.set -> void
 Dynamo.Configuration.PreferenceSettings.UseHostScaleUnits.get -> bool
 Dynamo.Configuration.PreferenceSettings.UseHostScaleUnits.set -> void
+Dynamo.Configuration.PreferenceSettings.UseRenderInstancing.get -> bool
+Dynamo.Configuration.PreferenceSettings.UseRenderInstancing.set -> void
 Dynamo.Configuration.PreferenceSettings.ViewExtensionSettings.get -> System.Collections.Generic.List<Dynamo.Configuration.ViewExtensionSettings>
 Dynamo.Configuration.PreferenceSettings.ViewExtensionSettings.set -> void
 Dynamo.Configuration.PreferenceSettings.WindowH.get -> double

src/DynamoCore/Scheduler/UpdateRenderPackageAsyncTask.cs

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-using System;
+using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Diagnostics;
 using System.Linq;
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ private void GetTessellationDataFromGraphicItem(Guid outputPortId, IGraphicItem
                 var previousMeshVertexCount = package.MeshVertexCount;
 
                 //Todo Plane tessellation needs to be handled here vs in LibG currently
-                bool instancingEnabled = DynamoModel.FeatureFlags?.CheckFeatureFlag<bool>("graphics-primitive-instancing", false) ?? false;
+                bool instancingEnabled = factory.TessellationParameters.UseRenderInstancing;
                 if (graphicItem is Plane plane)
                 {
                     CreatePlaneTessellation(package, plane);

src/DynamoCoreWpf/Properties/Resources.en-US.resx

@@ -3864,6 +3864,12 @@ In certain complex graphs or host program scenarios, Automatic mode may cause in
   <data name="ElementBindingDesc" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Element Binding allows a two-way interaction between Dynamo and the host application like Revit or Civil3D where a user can select an element in the host document and have Dynamo "bind" that element to a node in the workspace.</value>
   </data>
+  <data name="PreferencesViewVisualSettingUseInstancing" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Use Instancing (Beta)</value>
+  </data>
+  <data name="PreferencesWindowUseInstancingTooltip" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>When toggled on, some symmetric geometry types such as cubes, rectangles, or spheres will render faster due to mutiple copies being drawn at once vs sequentially.</value>
+  </data>
   <data name="NotificationToAgreeMLNodeautocompleteTOU" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>To access the Recommended Nodes feature, please read and accept Dynamo &gt; Agreements for Data Collection.</value>
   </data>

src/DynamoCoreWpf/Properties/Resources.resx

@@ -3851,6 +3851,12 @@ In certain complex graphs or host program scenarios, Automatic mode may cause in
   <data name="ElementBindingDesc" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Element Binding allows a two-way interaction between Dynamo and the host application like Revit or Civil3D where a user can select an element in the host document and have Dynamo "bind" that element to a node in the workspace.</value>
   </data>
+  <data name="PreferencesViewVisualSettingUseInstancing" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Use Instancing (Beta)</value>
+  </data>
+  <data name="PreferencesWindowUseInstancingTooltip" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>When toggled on, some symmetric geometry types such as cubes, rectangles, or spheres will render faster due to mutiple copies being drawn at once vs sequentially.</value>
+  </data>
   <data name="NotificationToAgreeMLNodeautocompleteTOU" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>To access the Recommended Nodes feature, please read and accept Dynamo &gt; Agreements for Data Collection.</value>
   </data>

src/DynamoCoreWpf/PublicAPI.Unshipped.txt

@@ -2745,6 +2745,8 @@ Dynamo.ViewModels.PreferencesViewModel.ShowCodeBlockLineNumber.get -> bool
 Dynamo.ViewModels.PreferencesViewModel.ShowCodeBlockLineNumber.set -> void
 Dynamo.ViewModels.PreferencesViewModel.ShowEdges.get -> bool
 Dynamo.ViewModels.PreferencesViewModel.ShowEdges.set -> void
+Dynamo.ViewModels.PreferencesViewModel.UseRenderInstancing.get -> bool
+Dynamo.ViewModels.PreferencesViewModel.UseRenderInstancing.set -> void
 Dynamo.ViewModels.PreferencesViewModel.ShowPreviewBubbles.get -> bool
 Dynamo.ViewModels.PreferencesViewModel.ShowPreviewBubbles.set -> void
 Dynamo.ViewModels.PreferencesViewModel.ShowWhitespaceIsChecked.get -> bool
@@ -3804,6 +3806,8 @@ Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.MaxTessellationDivisions.set
 Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel(Dynamo.Interfaces.IPreferences preferenceSettings) -> void
 Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.ShowEdges.get -> bool
 Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.ShowEdges.set -> void
+Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.UseRenderInstancing.get -> bool
+Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.UseRenderInstancing.set -> void
 Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.RootNodeCategoryViewModel
 Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.RootNodeCategoryViewModel.RootNodeCategoryViewModel(string name) -> void
 Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.RootNodeCategoryViewModel.RootNodeCategoryViewModel(string name, System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.NodeSearchElementViewModel> entries, System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.NodeCategoryViewModel> subs) -> void
@@ -5188,6 +5192,7 @@ static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesViewVisualSettingShowEdges.get
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesViewVisualSettingsIsolateSelectedGeo.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesViewVisualSettingsRenderPrecision.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesViewVisualSettingsTab.get -> string
+static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesViewVisualSettingUseInstancing.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesViewZoomScaling0Percent.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesViewZoomScaling100Percent.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesViewZoomScaling25Percent.get -> string
@@ -5198,6 +5203,7 @@ static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesWindowIsolateSelectedGeoToolti
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesWindowShowCodeBlockNodeLineNumberTooltip.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesWindowShowEdgesTooltip.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesWindowShowPreviewBubblesTooltip.get -> string
+static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferencesWindowUseInstancingTooltip.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferredConfidenceLevel.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PreferredConfidenceLevelInfo.get -> string
 static Dynamo.Wpf.Properties.Resources.PrePackagePublishMessage.get -> string

src/DynamoCoreWpf/ViewModels/Core/DynamoViewModel.cs

@@ -914,6 +914,17 @@ private void RenderPackageFactoryViewModel_PropertyChanged(object sender, Proper
                         }
                     }
                     break;
+                case "UseRenderInstancing":
+                    model.PreferenceSettings.UseRenderInstancing = factoryVm.Factory.TessellationParameters.UseRenderInstancing;
+                    // A full regeneration is required to use instancing.
+                    foreach (var vm in Watch3DViewModels)
+                    {
+                        if (vm is HelixWatch3DViewModel) // just need a full regeneration when vm is HelixWatch3DViewModel
+                        {
+                            vm.RegenerateAllPackages();
+                        }
+                    }
+                    break;
                 case "MaxTessellationDivisions":
                     model.PreferenceSettings.RenderPrecision = factoryVm.Factory.TessellationParameters.MaxTessellationDivisions;
                     break;

src/DynamoCoreWpf/ViewModels/Menu/PreferencesViewModel.cs

@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ public bool RunSettingsIsChecked
         }        
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the Show Run Preview toogle button
+        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the Show Run Preview toggle button
         /// </summary>
         public bool RunPreviewIsChecked
         {
@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@ public bool RunPreviewIsChecked
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the Show Static Splash Screen toogle button
+        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the Show Static Splash Screen toggle button
         /// </summary>
         public bool StaticSplashScreenEnabled
         {
@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ public bool IsTimeStampIncludedInExportFilePath
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Controls the Enabled property in the Show Run Preview toogle button
+        /// Controls the Enabled property in the Show Run Preview toggle button
         /// </summary>
         public bool RunPreviewEnabled
         {
@@ -716,7 +716,7 @@ public GeometryScalingOptions OptionsGeometryScale
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Controls the binding for the ShowEdges toogle in the Preferences->Visual Settings->Display Settings section
+        /// Controls the binding for the ShowEdges toggle in the Preferences->Visual Settings->Display Settings section
         /// </summary>
         public bool ShowEdges
         {
@@ -731,6 +731,22 @@ public bool ShowEdges
             }
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Controls the binding for the UseRenderInstancing toggle in the Preferences->Visual Settings->Display Settings section
+        /// </summary>
+        public bool UseRenderInstancing
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                return dynamoViewModel.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.UseRenderInstancing;
+            }
+            set
+            {
+                dynamoViewModel.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.UseRenderInstancing = value;
+                RaisePropertyChanged(nameof(UseRenderInstancing));
+            }
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Control to use hardware acceleration
         /// </summary>
@@ -748,7 +764,7 @@ public bool UseHardwareAcceleration
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Controls the binding for the IsolateSelectedGeometry toogle in the Preferences->Visual Settings->Display Settings section
+        /// Controls the binding for the IsolateSelectedGeometry toggle in the Preferences->Visual Settings->Display Settings section
         /// </summary>
         public bool IsolateSelectedGeometry
         {
@@ -1077,7 +1093,7 @@ public bool IsDynamoRevit
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the "Node autocomplete" toogle button
+        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the "Node autocomplete" toggle button
         /// </summary>
         public bool NodeAutocompleteIsChecked
         {
@@ -1174,7 +1190,7 @@ public int MLRecommendationNumberOfResults
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the "Hide nodes below a specific confidence level" toogle button
+        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the "Hide nodes below a specific confidence level" toggle button
         /// </summary>
         public bool HideNodesBelowSpecificConfidenceLevelIsChecked
         {
@@ -1231,7 +1247,7 @@ public bool EnableConfidenceLevelSlider
         #endregion        
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the "Enable T-spline nodes" toogle button
+        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the "Enable T-spline nodes" toggle button
         /// </summary>
         public bool EnableTSplineIsChecked
         {
@@ -1248,7 +1264,7 @@ public bool EnableTSplineIsChecked
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the "Enable Paneling nodes" toogle button
+        /// Controls the IsChecked property in the "Enable Paneling nodes" toggle button
         /// </summary>
         public bool EnablePanelingIsChecked
         {
@@ -1393,6 +1409,7 @@ private bool setSettings(PreferenceSettings newPreferences)
             SelectedPythonEngine = string.IsNullOrEmpty(engine) ? Res.DefaultPythonEngineNone : preferenceSettings.DefaultPythonEngine;
             dynamoViewModel.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.MaxTessellationDivisions = preferenceSettings.RenderPrecision;
             dynamoViewModel.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.ShowEdges = preferenceSettings.ShowEdges;
+            dynamoViewModel.RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.UseRenderInstancing = preferenceSettings.UseRenderInstancing;
             PackagePathsForInstall = null;
             PackagePathsViewModel?.InitializeRootLocations();
             SelectedPackagePathForInstall = preferenceSettings.SelectedPackagePathForInstall;
@@ -1767,6 +1784,9 @@ private void Model_PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
                 case nameof(ShowEdges):
                     description = Res.ResourceManager.GetString(nameof(Res.PreferencesViewVisualSettingShowEdges), System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
                     goto default;
+                case nameof(UseRenderInstancing):
+                    description = Res.ResourceManager.GetString(nameof(Res.PreferencesViewVisualSettingUseInstancing), System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
+                    goto default;
                 case nameof(IsolateSelectedGeometry):
                     description = Res.ResourceManager.GetString(nameof(Res.PreferencesViewVisualSettingsIsolateSelectedGeo), System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
                     goto default;

src/DynamoCoreWpf/ViewModels/RenderPackageFactoryViewModel.cs

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-using Dynamo.Interfaces;
+using Dynamo.Interfaces;
 using Dynamo.ViewModels;
 using Dynamo.Visualization;
 using Dynamo.Configuration;
@@ -26,6 +26,17 @@ public bool ShowEdges
             }
         }
 
+        public bool UseRenderInstancing
+        {
+            get { return factory.TessellationParameters.UseRenderInstancing; }
+            set
+            {
+                if (factory.TessellationParameters.UseRenderInstancing == value) return;
+                factory.TessellationParameters.UseRenderInstancing = value;
+                RaisePropertyChanged("UseRenderInstancing");
+            }
+        }
+
         public int MaxTessellationDivisions
         {
             get { return factory.TessellationParameters.MaxTessellationDivisions; }
@@ -51,7 +62,7 @@ public RenderPackageFactoryViewModel(IPreferences preferenceSettings)
             {
                 this.factory = new HelixRenderPackageFactory()
                 {
-                    TessellationParameters = { ShowEdges = ps.ShowEdges, MaxTessellationDivisions = ps.RenderPrecision }
+                    TessellationParameters = { ShowEdges = ps.ShowEdges, MaxTessellationDivisions = ps.RenderPrecision, UseRenderInstancing = ps.UseRenderInstancing }
                 };
             }
             else

src/DynamoCoreWpf/ViewModels/Watch3D/HelixWatch3DViewModel.cs

@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 using MeshBuilder = HelixToolkit.SharpDX.Core.MeshBuilder;
 using MeshGeometry3D = HelixToolkit.SharpDX.Core.MeshGeometry3D;
 using TextInfo = HelixToolkit.SharpDX.Core.TextInfo;
+using Dynamo.Configuration;
 
 
 namespace Dynamo.Wpf.ViewModels.Watch3D
@@ -1878,8 +1879,7 @@ internal virtual void AggregateRenderPackages(IEnumerable<HelixRenderPackage> pa
                         //for each instancable item and add instance transforms.
                         //If we have any line geometry that was not associated with an instance,
                         //remove the previously added line data from the render package so the remaining lines can be added to the scene.
-                        if (rp.LineVertexRangesAssociatedWithInstancing.Any() 
-                            && DynamoModel.FeatureFlags?.CheckFeatureFlag<bool>("graphics-primitive-instancing", false) == true)
+                        if (rp.LineVertexRangesAssociatedWithInstancing.Any())
                         {
                             //For each range of line vertices add the line data and instances to the scene
                             var j = 0;
@@ -1971,8 +1971,7 @@ internal virtual void AggregateRenderPackages(IEnumerable<HelixRenderPackage> pa
                     //for each instancable item and add instance transforms.  
                     //If we have any mesh geometry that was not associated with an instance, remove the previously added
                     //mesh data from the render package so the remaining mesh can be added to the scene.
-                    if (rp.MeshVertexRangesAssociatedWithInstancing.Any() 
-                        && DynamoModel.FeatureFlags?.CheckFeatureFlag<bool>("graphics-primitive-instancing", false) == true)
+                    if (rp.MeshVertexRangesAssociatedWithInstancing.Any())
                     {
                         //For each range of mesh vertices add the mesh data and instances to the scene
                         var j = 0;