Damon Chaplin wrote:
>
> Rene' Seindal wrote:
> > I had to search a bit too, as I have always used the accelerator page
> > quite a bit. It would be nice if such changes were debated or at least
> > announced on the list before being made. At least we would be warned
> > instead of just seeing things dissappear from the interface. You too
> > would *know* whether people used it, instead of just doubting it.
>
> What are you using it for? I thought keyboard accelerators would only be
> useful for things like menus and underlined accelerator keys, and these
> are handled automatically by Glade.
There are several places where underlined accelerators are of no use.
One is for accelerators that are not a part of the label. In one place
I have a row in a table with a label "File:", an entry and a button
"Browse". I want Alt-F to click the browse button. How do I do that
with underlined accelerator keys? I could just use Alt-B, right? No,
because I could have ten "Browse" buttons for different entries. Then
I could change the labels of the buttons to make them distinct, say
"Browse files", "Browse photographies", but that is going the clutter up
the interface and waste valuable display real estate (I sometimes work
on a 800x600 laptop, so that is an issue). Therefore I need to be able
to make an accelerator key for a letter not in the label text.
Also, I often use Escape as an accelerator for a "Cancel" button. This
cannot be done with underlined accelerators. I might want up-arrow
attached to an "Up" button and the like. Not all accelerator keys are
printable.
Finally, I sometimes have buttons with just an image or a photograph
inside, so there isn't even a label to apply the underlined accelerators
to. I still want some shortcut for the button.
> > A suggestion: since the dialog is not connected to the currently
> > selected widget, it shouldn't be on a page dedicated to the selected
> > widget. I think the right place is on the menu in the projects window
> > where you can open the tree view etc.
>
> It is connected to the selected widget. Try adding an accelerator and
> then selecting another widget.
The dialog is not associated with a specific widget, but the displayed
content is obviously. Just like the property dialog that stays up but
changes contents. If I open the dialog, it shows the accelerators for
the currently selected widget. Fine. If I now select another widget,
the contents of the dialog changes, but the dialog is still the same.
Therefore the dialog, or the window if you prefer, is not permanently
connected to the widget selected when it is launched, and logically the
dialog shouldn't be launched from a part of the interface, that is
connected to a specific selected widget. Logically the accelerator
dialog is just like the property dialog, so it should be launched the
same way, from the "View" menu.
I actually found it quite handy to have the signals and the accelerators
pages just side by side, since I tended to add them simultaneously. Now
it is a bit more complicated and I have to use more mouse clicks to
achieve the same.
I appreciate your desire to simplify the interface, but please do not
make simplifications or reductions of functionality based on doubts or
beliefs. You have your users within the reach of an email. Just drop a
note of your plans and ideas, and you are sure to get all the feedback
you can desire. If you doubt a facility is used, just ask your users if
they use it. Then you'll know, which is infinitely better than
believing or imagining something.
--
René Seindal ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.seindal.dk/rene/
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