Re: limited slider range
20 pixels is pretty small (on 300 dpi that means 1.69 millimeters) Shouldn't these ranges be tied to the resolution setting? ie change the resolution and the ranges will update (well, maybe not for an open dialog, but perhaps the next time its opened). Using sliders for these things is wrong. You cannot specify things precisely and they have a limited range. These should be GtkSpinButtons with a *big* adjustment range instead. Federico
Re: limited slider range
On Wed, Oct 27, 1999 at 10:25:01AM -0700, Tuomas Kuosmanen wrote: On Wed, Oct 27, 1999 at 12:15:27PM -0400, Federico Mena Quintero wrote: 20 pixels is pretty small (on 300 dpi that means 1.69 millimeters) Shouldn't these ranges be tied to the resolution setting? ie change the resolution and the ranges will update (well, maybe not for an open dialog, but perhaps the next time its opened). Using sliders for these things is wrong. You cannot specify things precisely and they have a limited range. These should be GtkSpinButtons with a *big* adjustment range instead. Though sliders are nice to adjust when things dont have a 'enumerated' nature like "tilt sensitivity" - it is hard to justify what a setting of "35" does, but having a slider is easier since you can visualize the range easier.. But I am not really sure what the ideal solution would be.. For percentage-type stuff (0-1 values) sliders are good (like for opacity) I personally would prefer to use the slider to get an idea of where I'm going then type a hexadecimal value from 0x00 to 0xFF to set the opacity. However, I know that it is especially important to accommodate normal humans who may not actually think in terms of numerical values. Maybe the spinbutton would be ok after all, testing it in practice would give more ground to judge the stuff.. It's a lot about how you are used to doing different things and how long you have been using a feature.. I know I'm repeating myself, but why not use _both_? In the case of the opacity slider, the number is displayed right beside it. Making this number a spinbutton would not take up very much more screen real estate and it would allow everyone to work with the value in the manner they prefer. I'd like to see more slider/spinbox combinations in the GIMP. The slider is great for figuring out the correct value but being able to tune it by typing in a number is essential for precision work. Cheers, Tom -- --Tom Rathborne[EMAIL PROTECTED] -- http://www.aceldama.com/~tomr/ --"I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my life-style."
Re: limited slider range
I know I'm repeating myself, but why not use _both_? In the case of the opacity slider, the number is displayed right beside it. Making this number a spinbutton would not take up very much more screen real estate and it would allow everyone to work with the value in the manner they prefer. I'd like to see more slider/spinbox combinations in the GIMP. The slider is great for figuring out the correct value but being able to tune it by typing in a number is essential for precision work. Why not use slider - input box combination? You can adjust the slider with keyboard, so the spinbutton is kinda unnecessary - or you can just insert a value there.. If we put there a slider _and_ a spinbutton, we need to beware of making the dialogs too large - not everyone has a 21" screen with high resolution, and the always-present problem is the screen estate that happens to be too small all the time (except when you are doing a 24x24 pixel gnome-stock icon :) Thoughts? I am open to correction and willing to learn new GUI things :) Tuomas -- .---( t i g e r t @ g i m p . o r g )---. | some stuff at http://tigert.gimp.org/ | `---'
Re: limited slider range
Using sliders for these things is wrong. You cannot specify things precisely and they have a limited range. These should be GtkSpinButtons with a *big* adjustment range instead. Though sliders are nice to adjust when things dont have a 'enumerated' nature like "tilt sensitivity" - it is hard to justify what a setting of "35" does, but having a slider is easier since you can visualize the range easier.. But I am not really sure what the ideal solution would be.. For percentage-type stuff (0-1 values) sliders are good (like for opacity) I personally would prefer to use the slider to get an idea of where I'm going then type a hexadecimal value from 0x00 to 0xFF to set the opacity. However, I know that it is especially important to accommodate normal humans who may not actually think in terms of numerical values. Not everyone knows hexadecimal, so make that selectable where possible (0 - 1, 0 - 255, 0x00 - 0xFF, 0% - 100% could mean all the same). But the mix of slider and keyboard input (spinbutton or input box) is, IMHO, the way to go, because: - it has visual feedback - can be used in coarse way with mouse - can be used precissely with keyboard (input) / mouse (spin) Maybe the spinbutton would be ok after all, testing it in practice would give more ground to judge the stuff.. It's a lot about how you are used to doing different things and how long you have been using a feature.. I know I'm repeating myself, but why not use _both_? In the case of the opacity slider, the number is displayed right beside it. Making this number a spinbutton would not take up very much more screen real estate and it would allow everyone to work with the value in the manner they prefer. And will make 50% a real 50% and not vary with the size of the slider making it 49.7 most of times (just an example, maybe typical is 49.9). I'd like to see more slider/spinbox combinations in the GIMP. The slider is great for figuring out the correct value but being able to tune it by typing in a number is essential for precision work. Maybe right click slider to launch a dialog where you input precise numbers? by keyboard It also could show max and min values, or recommended values. The number is there in most of the sliders, so I see no serious problem about space: click number, dialog appears. Or convert number to input area. GSR
Re: limited slider range
On Thu, Oct 28, 1999 at 12:38:34AM +0100, Guillermo S. Romero / Familia Romero wrote: I know I'm repeating myself, but why not use _both_? In the case of the opacity slider, the number is displayed right beside it. Making this number a spinbutton would not take up very much more screen real estate and it would allow everyone to work with the value in the manner they prefer. And will make 50% a real 50% and not vary with the size of the slider making it 49.7 most of times (just an example, maybe typical is 49.9). Though in gimp tool options it is usually much more about adjusting a value based on the visual appearance of the image (like layer opacity) and not a precise value.. Certain sliders could go even without a label and you could still use them just fine.. I'd like to see more slider/spinbox combinations in the GIMP. The slider is great for figuring out the correct value but being able to tune it by typing in a number is essential for precision work. Maybe right click slider to launch a dialog where you input precise numbers? by keyboard It also could show max and min values, or recommended values. The number is there in most of the sliders, so I see no serious problem about space: click number, dialog appears. Or convert number to input area. Not a dialog IMHO, the dialog is always an evil extra step. Rather the convert-the-value-to-input - though it should just be an input already.. Tuomas -- .---( t i g e r t @ g i m p . o r g )---. | some stuff at http://tigert.gimp.org/ | `---'
