RE: line width window (patch)

["Krzysztof Foltman" <kfoltman onet pl>]

> You have grabbed the Enter/Return key for okay and at the same time
the
> focus is on the spin button (thats the same as a slider right?).  If
that
> works so much the better.

At least it's supposed to work ;-)

> This is against CVS right?

Yes.

>  When you say entirely broken does that mean
> you have not compiled and tested it, or do you just mean that you are
> unsure about the ideas and style?

Of course, I did compile and test it (and it worked). However, all
usability ideas are more or less a controversial subject, and I'm just
learning Gtk+ so something could be done in a way that's not exactly
correct.

> Generally we do want to comply with the HIG, but I often see people
taking
> too much of the HIG at face value and not considering the specifics of
the
> application.

I'm not a HIG zealot - I just like usable programs :-) (usable as in at
least "not making me click or press keys a lot").

> keyword and sometimes also the HIG keyword.  I would be very grateful
if
> you were willing to fix any outstanding bugs at all, even one or two.

I'll try :-)

> Hub pointed out to me the how the Line Properties Dialog is very
> inconsistant from the Line Widget in the toolbox.   Hopefully he will
> also outline what he thinks could be improved.

The question is, which one is better ? :-) (line properties or line
widget ?)

> > - double click changes  current object's line width (for example:
click
> > a line, click "width 1", line changes width to 1)
> I am having difficulty visualising this, so I will have to hold off on
my
> comments.

I'll try to provide a patch that would demonstrate it some day (if my
lack of Gtk+ experience will let me :-) ).

> the various types of arrow heads.  More of that kind of direct
'realistic'
> manipulation of objects would be really nice to have in Dia from a
> usability point of view.  Not that is particularly relevant, i just
wanted
> to share that with the list ;)

I like it - however, how to avoid a hot spot mess in that situation ?
(multiple arrow heads in one place where lines join, click the place and
guess which one gets modified). You could have a small dot a few pixels
from each end, which could act as a hot spot, but that's less intuitive
(but still pretty usable). Another dot (or other mark) in the middle,
for line width+style selection popup, maybe ?

Maybe a "proper" right-click context menu (win95-style) would be a bit
of help too - it could include submenus like "line width" "line style"
"arrow head 1" "arrow head 2" "predefined style" (predefined by user,
not compiled in of course) etc. I'm not sure if it's not confusing for
novice users, but it could make quick and dirty changes easier.

By the way, in all diagrams I made so far (not many of them) I used just
a few elements. If it's a more common scenario, maybe it would make
sense to make a fast way to do it (for example, single key shortcuts for
the objects commonly used *by specific user* or even *in some specific
task*).

Krzysztof