View Issue Details
| ID | Project | Category | View Status | Date Submitted | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0001779 | Scribus | User Interface | public | 2005-03-13 09:18 | 2014-06-05 19:48 |
| Reporter | alexandre | Assigned To | cbradney | ||
| Priority | normal | Severity | minor | Reproducibility | always |
| Status | closed | Resolution | fixed | ||
| Product Version | 1.3.0cvs | ||||
| Fixed in Version | 1.5.0svn | ||||
| Summary | 0001779: decrease bloating in context menus for frames | ||||
| Description | Let's take a look at typical text frame context menu: Info Undo Redo Atrributes Get Text... Append Text... Edit Text... PDF Options Lock Lock Object Size Send To Scrapbook Send To Layer Insert Sample Text Level Convert To Cut Copy Delete Clear Contents Properties These are 20 entries. For one context menu. And we will have only more when inserting special spaces and quotation marks will be available. Looks pretty like overbloat. Can we do something about it? Sure, let's look how we can minimize amount of items. First of all, we can move Info to status toolbar: there's plenty of unused space there. We already have this kind of statusbar in Story Editor, so why not do it same for main window? Users are likely to see statistics in a usual place, and this is the statusbar. 19 menu items left Then, we have several menu items that deal with addition/deletion of contents. These are: "Get Text...", "Append Text", "Edit Text", "Insert Sample Text", "Clear Contents". "Get Text..." and "Append Text" are similar because both of them open a file dialog. "Edit Text" opens StoryEditor. "Insert Sample Text" and "Clear Contents" are also similar, because they just do one thing without user's interaction. We can merge them all in one submenu like "Change contents". So we will have: Undo Redo Atrributes Change contents Get Text... Append Text... Edit Text... Insert Sample Text Clear Contents PDF Options Lock Lock Object Size Send To Scrapbook Send To Layer Level Convert To Cut Copy Delete Properties 15 menu items in root context menu. Let's move further. We have two confusing items: "Lock" and "Lock Object Size". Why not make it Lock The Whole Object Only The Size 14 menu items left I really doubt that users will try to use context menu to setup PDF options for a text frame. They will most likely try to find it in "Frame" palette. Should we move it there? Then we would have 13 items left: Undo Redo Atrributes Change contents Get Text... Append Text... Edit Text... Insert Sample Text Clear Contents Lock The Whole Object Only Its Size Send To Scrapbook Send To Layer Level Convert To Cut Copy Delete Properties We can move "Undo", "Redo", "Cut", "Copy" and "Delete" to "Edit" submenu. Anyone to judge us except God? :) Atrributes Change contents Get Text... Append Text... Edit Text... Insert Sample Text Clear Contents Lock The Whole Object Only Its Size Send To Scrapbook Send To Layer Level Convert To Edit Undo Redo Cut Copy Delete Properties 9 items. Does it look OK now? :) Note really. We have to remember that some of items are used often and some -- seldom, while users tend to move from top menu item to bottom menu item rather than from bottom to top. These are the actions that even a newbie will try to do from keyboard: all of the Edit commands. So they won't be used often. Let's move them to the bottom: Atrributes Change contents Get Text... Append Text... Edit Text... Insert Sample Text Clear Contents Lock The Whole Object Only Its Size Send To Scrapbook Send To Layer Level Convert To Edit Undo Redo Cut Copy Delete Properties Now Attributes and Properties sound quite similar. I don't really know how to handle it and whether it should be handled at all. Feel free to ignore all this stuff completely :) | ||||
| Tags | No tags attached. | ||||
| Patch | |||||
| related to | 0003014 | closed | cbradney | put all picture relevant entries in an extra picture context sub menu |
| related to | 0001102 | closed | cbradney | Make all functions from Right click context menu appear on Item menu |
| related to | 0001771 | closed | cbradney | Unable to choose scale frame to image size, does not exist, only exists in the context menu of "adjust frame to picture" |
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I'd say make context menus customizable by a user and deliver something like your simplified suggestion as a default. What I currently use the most in the context menu are Get/Edit text/image, Undo and Show Properties. These all seem to be hidden behind another level of menus in your suggestion. I'd love to do some more research before doing anything too radical on these. |
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I'm against having context menus with submenus that the user will need to use regularly, eg get text. I'm not convinced it's a good idea to have submenus in the context menu at all, at least by default. I agree the context menu is too long ... but I'm not sure making it multilevel is the right solution. That's what the main menus are for. Perhaps making things easier to find in the main menus and just removing some things from the context menu (possibly user configurable?) would be a plan. |
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BTW, in 1.3cvs there still is no possibility to open current text frame in Story Editor. At least I haven't found it. Indy uses Ctrl+Y. |
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I want to take a time to rethink about it and come up with a full reasonable proposal. If you have any ideas what other menu items are both short term and long term goals, please leave a comment here ;) |
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Moved "Insert Sample Text" to Insert->Sample Text |
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Considering the recent discussion on the list, and the re-integration of "insert sample text", I would like to add a few comments. 1) My impression from the discussions is that the context menu and shortcuts are regarded as the most (advanced) user friendly ways of doing things. Mouse trips to the main menu in layout operations are to be avoided at any cost. 2) An advanced user will (and has to) easily use these opportunities for the sake of productivity and speed. 3) Alexandre's attempts of regrouping make a lot of sense to me. IMHO, having submenus to the context menu doesn't hurt at all. OO.o and QXP have them too, and it works. The "properties" palette is nothing but a huge and powerful submenu. 4) A customisable context menu would be nice, but I don't think it should be a top priority as long as it does respond to the kind of frame it is applied to enough. |
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I think this is basically done, no? |
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Still open: - "move Info to status toolbar: there's plenty of unused space there." THE CM entry provides more info than the status bar. - "We can merge them all in one submenu like "Change contents." - "move "Undo", "Redo", "Cut", "Copy" and "Delete" to "Edit" submenu." |
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Yes, do we want those? |
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I'm not not sure. As for # 1, most certainly not, because it would require too much info being on display in the status bar. # 2 seems to be a matter of taste. # 3: Yes, definitely. |
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2&3 done. Bug is done now. Further changes require more bugs, emails or updates on IRC. |
| Date Modified | Username | Field | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-03-13 09:18 | alexandre | New Issue | |
| 2005-03-13 19:45 | Tsoots | Note Added: 0003906 | |
| 2005-03-14 08:38 |
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Note Added: 0003907 | |
| 2005-03-14 08:40 |
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Note Edited: 0003907 | |
| 2005-03-14 09:45 | alexandre | Note Added: 0003908 | |
| 2005-03-15 14:40 | alexandre | Note Added: 0003913 | |
| 2005-03-19 08:31 |
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Summary | decrease bnlosting in context menus for frames => decrease bloating in context menus for frames |
| 2005-03-29 10:36 | cbradney | Status | new => assigned |
| 2005-03-29 10:36 | cbradney | Assigned To | => cbradney |
| 2005-03-29 10:37 | cbradney | Relationship added | related to 0001102 |
| 2005-03-29 10:38 | cbradney | Relationship added | related to 0001771 |
| 2005-04-02 20:03 | cbradney | Note Added: 0004047 | |
| 2005-07-24 01:03 | christoph_s | Note Added: 0005684 | |
| 2006-01-15 00:02 | cbradney | Relationship added | related to 0003014 |
| 2014-06-04 20:05 | cbradney | Status | assigned => resolved |
| 2014-06-04 20:05 | cbradney | Fixed in Version | => 1.5.0svn |
| 2014-06-04 20:05 | cbradney | Resolution | open => fixed |
| 2014-06-04 20:05 | cbradney | Note Added: 0032019 | |
| 2014-06-04 22:45 | christoph_s | Note Added: 0032020 | |
| 2014-06-05 05:08 | cbradney | Note Added: 0032021 | |
| 2014-06-05 06:47 | christoph_s | Note Added: 0032022 | |
| 2014-06-05 19:48 | cbradney | Note Added: 0032031 | |
| 2014-06-05 19:48 | cbradney | Status | resolved => closed |
