Re: Better with units

[Lars Clausen <lrclause cs uiuc edu>]

On Thu, 30 Aug 2001, Dolores Alia de Saravia wrote:

> Reading the replies I realize that there are many important things and
> possiblities about units.  
>
> I have not thought the user being able to choose units to express his or
> her wishes, but just to be informed about the ones in effect. (
>
> Well, in fact right now, while choosing margins for the printed diagram
> Dia allows the user to write for example 30 mm and then Dia rewrites 3.0
> cm; Dia recognizes the words m,cm,mm,in,ft...
>
> Knowing that next or new window size is expressed in pixels --- and I
> think many people knows about pixels --- I can, confidently, to change
> the numbers for that size and get, just from the beggining, an appropiate
> size for my work in my terminal.

I agree.  Pixels is not *that* mysterious.  

> A very good alternative to adding information about units near the
> numbers, or in general, to crowding the dialog boxes with visible
> information about each menu item,could be to have a "help button" on each
> dialog box to provide a general explanation about that dialog box.

That would probably be a good idea.  *If* we can get someone to write all
the help texts... hmmm... maybe they can be generated from one piece per
entry field for the property boxes...

> Perhaps it woud also be nice to be able, after "manualy" changing the
> windows size, to "tell Dia" allways begin with that size witout writing
> any number at all...

As an option in the Preferences dialog, along with the actual numbers.
Makes sense.

-Lars

-- 
Lars Clausen (http://shasta.cs.uiuc.edu/~lrclause) | Hårdgrim of Numenor
"I do not agree with a word that you say, but I    | Retainer of Sir Kegg
will defend to the death your right to say it."    |   of Westfield
    --Evelyn Beatrice Hall paraphrasing Voltaire   | Chaos Berserker of Khorne