Re: [Usability] Re: your mail

[Thorsten Wilms <t_w_ freenet de>]

On Tue, Jun 15, 2004 at 11:43:37PM +0100, Alan Horkan wrote:
> 
> On Tue, 15 Jun 2004, Thorsten Wilms wrote:
> >
> > The toolbox is needed most of the time.
> 
> Okay, I'm following this part
> 
> > It also contains the main menu.
> 
> but not this part.
> 
> It is odd that the small menu with not much in it is the "main" menu.

I don't know what is called officialy. Do you feel better 
calling it application menu or something like that?

It makes sense to have it there: no extra window and the 
main representation of an app like GIMP must include 
means to open or create new files (well, open can happen 
with drag and drap, but as long as having an open command 
is standard, it must be present). And preferences and help 
and whatever else is global for the app.


> I dont know if you have seen the kind of setup I'm talking about but I
> think it would make much more sense to have one single menu instead of
> two and I am still not convinced that having the toolbox as the control
> window is inherently better.

See, if I use File->Save in a document window I'm very sure of which 
file will be saved.
Lots of fun for focus follows mouse / sloppy focus users with the 
seperated menubar ...

An not having the menus in document windows is even more 
unlike SDI.

> 
> If people really want the HIG to be more enthusiastic about CSDI
> interfaces it will need to be made much clearer how and when to use CSDI
> and what the benifits are, because even if in a totally objective judgment
> theoretical judgement they are better, they still are at a disadvantage in
> practice by being different from the majority of applictions which use SDI
> the learning curve will inevitably be greater.

Learning curve is not an argument, because I already made clear 
that SDI is not an option for something like the GIMP. Who 
cares that a seriously broken version of it  might be 
somehow easier to learn?


How about those that talk about changing the GIMP work out 
a proposal and show that it would be superior? 
Change should be justified, not changing a thing is 
justified by itself.

---
Thorsten Wilms