I feel like I have to set that on 95% of the visualizers that I enable.

I very rarely just want some random color based visualizer, but instead I just want quick look of the parameter values on each point or primitive.


And side question - what is the logic that decides what type of visualizer is displayed when first enabled? Why does a 3float start as a color, but @N uses a marker/vector? Is that a list that can be changed somewhere?

indeed you can
to quickly(ish) change the visualizer, right click on the Visualisation button, then click pencil, change to what type you want

to actually make a preset or a default, click cogwheel in the parameters section, and create a preset, or save as a permanent default
you can later invoke that preset by clicking on that cogwheel

I saw that preset option, but that only applies to a specifically named and type of attribute doesnt it?

There arent presets that would affect all visualizers, no matter their attribute name, are there?

JasOnn
I saw that preset option, but that only applies to a specifically named and type of attribute doesnt it?

There arent presets that would affect all visualizers, no matter their attribute name, are there?

The attribute type affects what kind of visualizer to use by default. scalar floats visualize as color ramp, 3-tuple floats as color, normal and vector as vector markers, strings as text markers, integers as random from attribute.

The visualizer interface leaves a lot to be desired. My favorite way is to put a custom hda with a visualize attributes node inside it upstream, and keep it in a pinned pane tab. Not sure if there's a way to modify the behavior of visualizers in the way that you want in the scene viewer, but you can sure do it with a node and either presets like osong says or python callback and event scripts.

Alright, thanks everyone, i will dig into all that!