Re: help wanted, trying out a few ideas for post 0.94

[Lars Clausen <lars raeder dk>]

On Sun, 2004-07-18 at 02:46, Alan Horkan wrote:
> On Sat, 17 Jul 2004, Lars Clausen wrote:
> > On Fri, 2004-07-16 at 01:00, Alan Horkan wrote:
> > > Layers a lot with the Gimp, I wrote scripts to provide New Layer from
> > > Cut/Copy that I'm rather proud of which make it very quick and easy to
> > > create a new layer.  Also Inkscape is working towards
> > > adding Layers like functionality and I took a closer look at Adobe
> > > Illustrator.
> >
> > Nifty, aren't they?
> 
> I also need to take a look at getting changing the label, having numbers
> on the layer names would be nice (but no # or [] or other junk).  Also
> 'New' just takes up space, a New Layer ceases to be New as soon as you
> have created it.
> 
> Layer 4
> Layer 3
> Layer 2
> Layer 1
> Background
> 
> Not difficult, just something I've wanted for a while.

Good idea.

> > > I think more people would appreciate the Layers features if they had
> > > menu items, making them more discoverable and allow them to have
> > > convenient keybindings.  "money for old rope".
> >
> > The menu bar is getting awfully wide already.
> 
> I'll double check but I think the menubar is still narrow enough to fit on
> small crappy displays, and as someone who long suffered it is something I
> try to be careful about.
> 
> "Input Methods" is a two word menu item and when you have the menu bar on
> the items in it still disappear.  I was hoping that it would be going away
> soon.

I think (but I'm not sure) that it should go away with the input method
overhaul.

> > Or are you suggesting a context menu in the Layers dialog?
> 
> No, I think that a context menu in the Layers dialog would be a hideous
> abomination.  It would be undiscoverable (to all but those who randomly
> right click all over the place, have read the documentation in great
> detail, or have used another application that has implemented such
> unpleasantness).

Such as, oh, Windows 2000+ or Mac or 

> I dont particularly like having a Layers dialog/palette open on screen, I
> prefer to work with it as a transative dialog.  Providing a convenient top
> level menu for Layer items makes it much less necessary to keep a Layer
> palette onscreen taking up space if you really dont want it there.
> 
> The context menu in the Layers palette (as discussed previously more of a
> right-click menu than an actual 'context' menu) in some other programs
> particularly annoys me because it contains features not available from the
> main menus (but it likely that will be corrected with the next menu
> reorganisation).

I agree with this.  But it's easier to manipulate layers when you can
just right-click them and select an action for that layer on the menu
that's there, instead of left-clicking the layer then going to a menu in
a different window and left-clicking there.  I know context menus are
harder to discover, but once you get the idea of their existence, you
look for them everywhere and they make life easier.

> > > (Alt+L is being used as shortcut for Tools/Line which would need to be
> > > changed but I'm sure Dia will have single letter bindings again whenever
> > > the text entry is overhauled).
> >
> > You'll notice that I have reserved Alt keybindings for the tools.  I'd
> > like to keep it that way.
> 
> Yeah but things like Alt+F are needed to access the _File menu
> Alt+E for the _Edit menu etc
> 
> it is unfortunate that the text input prevents us from using single letter
> bindings for the tools for now.

Yes.  Unfortunately, the input method overhaul is not trivial.  Right
now I'm looking at rotation instead, which I have mostly figured out,
will just need to get the renderers to work with me.

-Lars