Handbook a better way to display mutliple options

[Descruff]

Hello! I'm still fairly new to the game, (Currently making it through my first winter.)
Something I do find rather confusing is the method the handbook uses to display when an crafting recipe has multiple valid objects you can use. - The item cycling.

It works fine if technically any and every variation of an item is valid (Like how most 'logs' besides Aged make firewood.)
But becomes rather confusing (and time consuming) when only specific variants are valid. (Stuff like, the valid Sand/Gravels for the fanned cobblestones.)
While playing with friends multiple times we have had someone go something like "Oh it requires a bismuth bronze plate not a tin bronze one". Not realizing they were hovering over the recipe and so the cycling paused.

I feel like this could be mitigated. Two ideas come to mind to solve this:

• An icon (like a white circle) in the corner of the objects to signify that other objects can take it's place. 
• Ether clicking the icon, or maybe lower down showing the icon + all the valid objects.

I made some crude mockups as a visual to what I mean.. 

 

[Professor Dragon]

I like this idea. I find myself forever moving my mouse back and forth over the items to get the ones that I want.

The different Tiers of Refractory Bricks (I have to check the spelling on that one nearly ever time . . .) stand out, because they look kind of similar, but aren't.

Minecraft does this rather well. It has the same cycle of items (for example fences cycle through different woods), but if you right click the item it brings up a list of all the types that you can make with the materials you have on hand, and you click from that list.

[Syte]

For anyone who wandered here like I did, I had the same frustration and made the mod. enjoy!
fun fact, the linen in the picture actually has 4 variants that look exactly the same, but only one of them can be crafted by players that aren't a clothier.

handbookvariants_1.1.0.zip

Edited February 2 by Syte

[ifoz]

59 minutes ago, Syte said:

fun fact, the linen in the picture actually has 4 variants that look exactly the same, but only one of them can be crafted by players that aren't a clothier.

They're actually very slightly different, and their only real use is to be placed like decorative carpets or wall décor.
I've seen a good few newer players get tripped up by it though, especially since they are all nearly identical aside from the pattern of their stitches. 

Really cool mod/suggestion!

Edited February 2 by ifoz

[Descruff]

17 hours ago, Syte said:

For anyone who wandered here like I did, I had the same frustration and made the mod. enjoy!

Oh wow! This is great!
Neat you can even right click the "Ingredient for" results too.

I do seem to have a bug where the window keeps moving down and to the right every time you right click something. Not sure if thats a conflict with another handbook mod I have, or if its because I'm on Linux.
But I'm genuinely thankful