Better with units

["Dolores Alia de Saravia" <loli unsa edu ar>]

 Dia deals with three different  length magnitudes: 
---  one for paper, or printed diagram;  unit: cm
---  one for canvas, or working diagram; unit without a name, it could
be "virtual cm", or simply  "canvas_unit".  
---  one for the window trough which we see part of the canvas; unit: 
pixel.
 
 I  beleive it would be better (less confusing) to make the user aware
of the units.

If posible, I would try some changes:

in app/preferences.c of 28/07/01, 

lines 143,144,145: 
  { "new_view_width", PREF_UINT, PREF_OFFSET(new_view.width),
&default_int_w, 1, N_("Width:") },
  { "new_view_height", PREF_UINT, PREF_OFFSET(new_view.height),
&default_int_h, 1, N_("Height:") },
  { "new_view_zoom", PREF_UREAL, PREF_OFFSET(new_view.zoom),
&default_real_zoom, 1, N_("Magnify:") },

replace  '"Width:"'     with    '"Width (pixels):"' 
replace  '"Height:"'    with    '"Height (pixels):") 
replace  '"Magnify:"'   with    '"Magnify (20/100 pixel/canvas_unit):"
  
 
   ( 20 corresponds to DDISPLAY_NORMAL_ZOOM defined in display.h of
21/08/01 in line 33
            and also to DPCM  defined in app/export_png.c  of 23/03/01
in line 37)

lines 154,155
  { "grid_x", PREF_UREAL, PREF_OFFSET(grid.x), &default_real_one, 2,
N_("X Size:") },
  { "grid_y", PREF_UREAL, PREF_OFFSET(grid.y), &default_real_one, 2,
N_("Y Size:") },

replace   '"X Size:"'   with    '"X Size (canvas_units):"'
replace   '"Y Size:"'   with    '"Y Size (canvas_units):"'



 In app/diapagelayout of 23/02/01, 
 
 line 259
  self->scale = gtk_radio_button_new_with_label(NULL, _("Scale:"));

replace '"Scale:"'  with  '"Scale (1/100 cm/canvas_unit): "'



            

Maybe I would also change the following coments related to these things:


app/export_png.c of 23/03/01   line 35  
/* the dots per centimetre to render this diagram at */
I would replace "dots" with "pixels"  and "centimetre" with
"canvas_unit"        
         

in app/display.c of 21/08/01
 lines 303-318   

/* Takes pixel length and returns real length */
real
ddisplay_untransform_length(DDisplay *ddisp, real len)
{
  return len / ddisp->zoom_factor;
}

  return len * ddisp->zoom_factor;
}

/* Takes pixel length and returns real length */
real
ddisplay_untransform_length(DDisplay *ddisp, real len)
{
  return len / ddisp->zoom_factor;
}
         
I would replace "real length"  with "canvas length"      




Loli
email:  loli unsa edu ar
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