Re: Object[s] and menu -- Re: help wanted, trying out a few ideas for post 0.94

[Lars Clausen <lars raeder dk>]

On Fri, 2004-07-16 at 20:32, Luc Pionchon wrote:
> On Fri, 2004-07-16 at 02:00, Alan Horkan wrote:
>
> [SNIP]
>
> > [2] I renamed Objects to just Object because that seems to be the
> > convention when naming menus (File not Files, Image not Images, Layer not
> > Layers).
>
> I think "ObjectS" was "right".
> Menus should be, as much as possible, organized as phrases:
> object + verb, or
> verb + object
>
> Insert + this
> Select + that
> Layer  + do this (on the (current) layer)
>
> In our case, most of actions are applied to all selected objectS (group,
> align, send to back, ...) so IMHO "ObjectS".

Checking through Gimp, Abiword, Sodipodi, GnuCash, Galeon, Glade, I find
nothing supporting that reasoning.  But then, there's few that have
menus with similar properties:  Two of the menu items and an entire
submenu only makes sense when multiple objects are selected.

> While you are experiencing with menus, you may play with that:
>
> In the diagram window, "File" could be renamed to "Diagram":

It kinda makes sense, but also breaks with standard menu setup.

> Diagram /
>   New
>   Open...
>   (...)
>   Print...
>   Properties...   (from the current "Diagram" menu)
>   Close.          (no "quit"!)

Why wouldn't you want to be able to quit from a Diagram window?  

> About the main application window,
>
> the "File" menu "traditionaly" includes actions related to both the
> opened file, and the application itself (some kind of metaphore "the
> file is an hyper-document with tools integrated into itself"), which I
> do not like vey much, moreover it does not apply to dia: one window is
> the application, the others are the documents (files).
>
> MacOS has an "application" menu (named as the application itself)
> including application related entries, like "preferences", etc. and...
> "quit".

That's a very different cup of fish.  Following that would make us
weirdly different from all other GTK programs.

> With dia, "File" could be renamed to "dia".
> containing:
>    New diagram
>    Open...
>    Recently opened > ...
>    ---
>    Preferences...
>    Plugins...
>    ---
>    Quit
>
> "Sheet&Objects" could be near the sheet list, (if not into), labeled as
> "Customize..."

Would make sense to have Sheets & Objects as Customize in the sheet
menu.

> "Diagram tree" could be moved into  "Diagram / Diagram tree..."

I wouldn't think so, the diagram tree is not just for one diagram, but
shows all diagrams.  If somebody would update it to show
parenting/grouping and layers, it would be somewhat more useful.

-Lars