Re: Dia: Why is it so hard to do simple things? dia-list Digest, Vol 89, Issue 7

[Michael Ross <michael e ross gmail com>]

I don't get this one. ÂIf you draw inside the page breaks then it is a page. ÂSimple enough.

But, I might like to cross the lines to put some group together, and then fit it in the page, or scale the page later. Â

Why would I want to lose that flexibility?

Maybe the comment is better as "Âit would be nice if Dia COULD limit all editing to the page.

On zooming, I have no problem zooming (Win XP) so I think is is a matter of adapting to the controls that are available. A summary:

If I tap the plus or minus key it zooms in and out,Â

ctrl-E fits to what is selected or if nothing isÂselectedÂthe whole Dia,

alt-1, 2, 4, 5 gets me zoom levels of 100%, 200%, 400%, 50% very handy,

right click gets me a fist cursor that pans the Dia (or my middle tilt button subs nicely for the ctrl button for panning (Logitech Trackman rollerball device)).

There is ctrl roller button that zooms (that gets lost when you move your cursor away from the center you are after - ctrl-E fixes it though). ÂI wonder if there is a way to reduce the roller button zoom increment for panning, that might make it more ergonomic.

So I pick anywhere blank to clear the buffer, hit ctrl-E and the whole Dia shows, left click then drag a box around what I want to see fill the screen, and ctrl-E again. ÂRight click to pan the view just so. Â That is quite effective

Maybe a few minutes investigating all the options can help. ÂI myself didn't know I could pan with the middle button alone until just now.

Perhaps this complaint is due to a more modern habit of use? Â Left hand key stroke shortcuts are a throw back to unix and DOS power user days - I always appreciate when they are included as a default. ÂThey make moving around a workspace (and everything else that has a shortcut ) much more efficient than so much windows menu clicking with a mouse. ÂAnyone that has some repetitive stress to deal with in their mouse hand knows what I am talking about, too.

Mike

On Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 5:18 PM, W. Martin Borgert <debacle debian org> wrote:

On 2011-09-11 23:12, Cristian SecarÄ wrote:
> I second that. For me the zooming and moving is the most annoying thing
> on Dia, at least on Windows (zooming, scrolling and panning it is too
> rude; combined to the fact that the drawing sheet is not physically
> delimited, I quickly lose the diagram and have difficulties in
> finding it and bring it back to the working space, at the desired size).

Control + e helps me in this situation. (Linux here.)

Anyway, it would be nice if Dia would limit all editing to the page.
But that would make another way of multi page handling necessary.

_______________________________________________
dia-list mailing list
dia-list gnome org
http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list
FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq
Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia

--
Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? Â
Dalai LamaÂ

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.

Thomas A. Edison

A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.
Warren Buffet

Michael E. Ross

(919) 550-2430 Land

(919) 576-0824ÂGoogle Phone

(919) 631-1451 Cell
(919) 513-0418 Desk

michael e ross gmail com