> I have made some modifications to the Gtk*Ruler widgets to obtain > similar goal, to incorporate in gnumexp[1] for selecting the area of a > math function to view. I called it NxpRuler. So it looks just like a a > normal gtk ruler, except that it highlights on mouse over, and you can > drag it around with button 1, and scale/stretch with button 3. > > I'm very happy with the obtained result. Already proposed to the Dia > developers to use this widget, a few years ago, but got no feedback :| > > Regarding the thumbwheel approach, yes, it does look more intuitive > for first-time users. But I think the NxpRuler highlight on mouse over > (and maybe we could change cursor too) makes it obvious that this ruler > is special and can be interacted with. Moreover, a ruler is very useful > to display distances, whilst the thumbwheel doesn't allow this. I agree with you that irix-style thumpwheel is not the best solution. I don't like that is has a fixed size. And the design has too much character, it might not go well with every theme (and how should the theme engines really draw it?). Finally I have installed gnumexp. And, yes, that was very similar to what I have in mind. But since it's function is to replace the scrollbar, I think it's slightly too different from the scrollbar. And the feature of scaling without keeping the aspect ratio I believe is more of a misfeature outside the mathematical field of application. I guess a separate zoom function is is the better in most cases. I'll ask the usability people and see what they think. Applications such as Dia was also what I had in mind. I made a mockup of how I imagined that the widget could look like (in applications such as Dia). I hope nobody minds that I post pictures to the list?
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