At 10:47 PM 2/25/05 -0500, Christopher Smith wrote: >My main worry with that sort of thing (and even with jef's basic idea >to merge the tools) is that to get a type of expression that is >different in function requires more mouse clicks. As it stands now, the >type and position of the mouse click determines the type of text >expression (note- or measure-attached) while in the Text tool >double-clicking and dragging automatically puts constraints on the size >of the text box, which are things we need to set in both those cases. > >Can you >see a way to do that?
Good question. For the note/measure/staff/system/page attachment, perhaps a checkbox next to the "Attached to" droplist that reads something like "Use Click" or "Follow Click". (I don't think my toolbar suggestion would affect how you use the text tool.) Before I go on, I want to please be sure that I'm not diverting attention from jef's important and well-written proposal. I wouldn't even have gone back to working on this idea if he hadn't had something substantial to show us! So here's a diversion-reducing space... I'd want to maintain most of Finale's well-designed legacy methods, but redefine the underlying arrangement of several types of objects, making them interchangeable. That would expand the possibilities for the highly constrained and specialized tools (clef and chord, for example, which would still be shipped with default behavior of use and placement) and dramatically free up copying and moving and reassignment of expressions, texts, and articulations. I've made changes to the toolbar mockup at http://maltedmedia.com/photos/toolbar.gif to reduce "Playback" and "Duplicate" buttons to icons, add "Click" and item number next to "Attached to", add a justification droplist, and add a snap-to-grid checkbox. (For text boxes I would change the vertical/horizontal boxes to show their coordinates of text boxes.) I think we've reached a kind of confusion limit with some individual tools' context-menu clicking and dialog box nesting. The program underwent some major improvements when the document options box was introduced, but it never grew into a mature toolbar with a cross-tool purpose that always shows display size, position, parent, metatool, etc. I'd love to see the slur parameters displayed, for example, or the hairpins with their various points also available as thumbwheel/entry boxes. Similarly, you'll see on my image a down arrow next to the tool (on the left). Right now we have this hugeoid toolbar. So why not save all that space? You still have to move the mouse, so pop up the column of tools instead, and have a single icon taking space when they snap back. To my mind, there's no need to see what you're not using, so long as you can get to it as quickly as you can now. And then the toolbar would change to reflect the selected tool, so if the smart shape tool is selected, the shapes appear on the toolbar. Every one of the other toolbars is obviated by this method. Of course, I *like* toolbars, especially toolsbars that dock on any side, are resizable, and can float on a second monitor. I like information in front of me, and not hidden in dialogs. I like, for example, the toolbars in Paint Shop Pro and Sonar and Audition, but not so much in Photoshop or Pagemaker (though the control palette isn't bad). I've been using Finale so long that I really loathe its interface. :) (Oh, and I'd like to see a "master page" setup as in Pagemaker or Graphire.) Dennis _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
