Dockable panes are a deep subject. I have a need for them in an upgrade
on the horizon for one of the projects I manage, and thus far my
explorations have been challenging at best.
One of those challenges is deciding how to handle the empty space left
over from a removed pane. Should it be split equally among neighboring
panes, or is one of those panes more important so that it should fill
that space? In the app I'm working one there are some circumstances
where each option may be best, but for usability I should probably pick
one and use it consistently.
Another challenge is providing feedback to the user during the drag. In
some systems the panes update in real time during the drag, but with a
good many complex groups this can be too intensive to do in LiveCode. So
at the moment I'm exploring proxies, outlines to indicate how the panes
will be resized as the drag happens. But even that is not without its
challenges, since outlines alone don't always adequately communicate
which pane is being indicated.
Then there's the question of how a given pane should be split when
another is dropped into it. Near the edges the decision is usually
clear, but if you drop toward the center it's not always straightforward
to decide whether to split horizontally or vertically.
At the moment I'm considering abandoning truly dockable panes altogether
in favor of a set of preset pane layouts the user can select from a
gallery. This is MUCH easier to code, and simpler for the user to be
able to anticipate how it works.
I'll probably get back to experimenting with dockable panes later on,
and the whole thing is interesting enough to me that I wouldn't mind if
you want to continue this discussion via email or phone. Drop me a note
if you do. Who knows, we may be able to come up with an affordable
method for this which lends itself to a generalized framework that can
be used in a wide range of apps.
PS: If you haven't seen Pencil it's quite inspiring for dockable panes:
<http://www.pencil-animation.org/>
That app has one advantage mine doesn't, though: it maintains one main
pane in the center, so the docking decisions are limited to what happens
at the edges.
Still, it's one of the smoothest configurable pane implementations I've
seen, very enjoyable to play with.
--
Richard Gaskin
Fourth World
LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
Webzine for LiveCode developers: http://www.LiveCodeJournal.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FourthWorldSys
_______________________________________________
use-livecode mailing list
use-livecode@lists.runrev.com
Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription
preferences:
http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode
