I really want to use Leo. I think the premise is great. However, I think
the interface has so many pitfalls for beginners, and since you all
probably use Leo for a long time, you don't really see it. I've been
struggling with it for a week already.
First, when I start Leo, sometimes it opens the default document (with the
help), sometimes it opens the last opened one, and sometimes it just opens
new document. I still haven't been able to see when each of these happens.
Second, inserting nodes. Yes, I know I can press Insert. But whether it
will insert new root node or a child of already selected one (or even a
child of last node) seems simply random. And of course, according to
Murphy, it's always the action that I don't want. :-/
Third, moving nodes. I still don't understand what Promote and Demote does,
not to mention that on my keyboard Ctrl+{ and Ctrl+} doesn't work (it
probably works only on US keyboard). I really think there should be an easy
way to move the nodes around, after all it seems like a main feature of Leo.
Fourth, help is abysmal. None of the above things I could find in help.
Example: I press F1, and get (it's not even copy-pasteable?!):
Alt-0 hide this message (ok, that's nice to know)
To learn about <Alt-X> commands... sorry, I don't know whether I want to
learn about <Alt-X> commands. I don't know what <Alt-X> command _is_,
anyway. I just want to move a node under another one.
To get a list of help topics... great, I think. I type <Alt-X>help-<tab>,
and get a list with only three items, none of which is relevant. Only afer
a long time, I notice the scrollbar - the contrast is almost nonexistent.
:-/ And yes, I find help-for-drag-and-drop, click on it, and... nothing
happens. Oh, I have to type it again? Ok, but why? Couldn't this work the
same way as the outline?
And after all that, I get (again, un-copy-pasteable) "you may drag nodes".
Yes, I know I can drag them, that's the first thing I tried. The problem
is, it almost never works. Sometimes I get a child of the node I dragged
to, sometimes I get its sibling. And sometimes it doesn't work at all. The
nodes just stay where they are.
Other help options are the same as "Alt-X" above... they pressupose a lot
of knowledge about Leo I don't already have. For example, how to find about
inserting nodes? It's not mentioned anywhere that I see. I got lucky with
Insert key, but as can be seen above, I'm still not sure what exactly it
does.
If you really want Leo to be used by new users, you have to work on this.
Maybe just help needs to be reworked, now it seems like a reference. Maybe
my mindset is wrong... I have never really used Emacs, and the interface is
obviously based on it. :-/
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