On 16/07/12 22:53, Fernando Cassia wrote:
On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 5:38 PM, Dale Erwin <[email protected]> wrote:
It took me quite a while to figure out how to make the assignment, but I
finally did it, and it's working great.
It is called "learning". The first time I used MS WinWord 2.5 it also
"took me quite a while" to undersand how to align paragraphs.
For some reason, today´s users demand instant magical solutions,
without learning, which, sadly, takes some time... I blame it on the
iPhone and the dumbing down of user interfaces...
Don´t get me wrong, nothing personal, I´m just making a general
observation about software users´ expectations...
I also remember when the "F1" key was used for "help". and pressing
"F1" instantly brought you help relative to the context where the
keypress happened (ie in IBM OS/2).
I notice it also works in OO, but while there´s an entry about "record
macros" there is nothing about "assign macros to a hotkey". There´s
room for improvement there...
I don't disagree with you.
But when offering advice like this, I generally try the solution out
myself as I type - just so I can be sure of what I'm saying. Even
though I've tried this before, I had to google to find the exact
dialogue box name, and then the dialogue box is so confusing, I got it
wrong at first.
Having looked again, I'd suggest:-
1. the macros are tucked out-of-window at the bottom of a box labelled
"functions" (IMO they're the most likely candidates for use, so should
be at the top), and the tag 'OpenOffice.org Macros' is so long it spills
out of the 'Functions' box (unclear - the most important word is chopped
off)
2. It takes seconds for the tree there to expand - so long, that it
looks as though it doesn't. (Why so slow?)
3. having selected the required macro, you do /not/ click on the nearby
OK button. You have to go back to the other half of the box in the
almost diagonally opposite corner and hit 'modify' Then 'OK'. (Breaks
the Principle of Least Surprise)
And while I think about it, how does the tag 'OpenOffice.org Macros'
relate to the radio buttons top-right ('OpenOffice.org' and 'Writer')?
(rhetorical!) And is the scope of the keystroke assignment all of OOo,
just writer, or just this document, and what happens if I assign a macro
defined in just this document? (Again, rhetorical). These things should
be clearer.
Oh, and as regards the help information, the help entry for 'scripting
openoffice.org' (from the 'find' tab) says vaguely where to look: the
details for "You will see..." are quite wrong though. But nothing under
either of the 'macro' entries in 'find'.
It could use some redesign, I reckon.
Just my 2d worth.
(OOo 3.2/ubuntu 10.04, btw)
--
Mike Scott
Harlow, Essex, England
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