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IDProjectCategoryView StatusLast Update
0000480ScribusGeneralpublic2009-07-16 01:20
Reporterlouisdesjardins Assigned Tocbradney  
PrioritynormalSeverityfeatureReproducibilityN/A
Status closedResolutionfixed 
PlatformLinuxOSMandrakeOS Version10
Product Version1.3 
Target Version1.5.0Fixed in Version1.5.0svn 
Summary0000480: Being able to *switch* items in the Distribute/Align menu
DescriptionThis feature doesn’t exist in any DTP program. Select two items, and simply switch them. Instead, users have to put one item aside, drag the other one in its place, reselect the one that was put aside and reposition it. When you need to be precise, you have to take note of the xy coordinates. Why not let the computer do the work!
TagsNo tags attached.
Patch

Activities

ale

2004-04-19 11:03

manager   ~0001121

good idea!

plinnell

2004-04-19 15:52

viewer   ~0001122

*great* idea

ale

2004-04-21 20:40

manager   ~0001152

... but i would implement it as a script...

it would be great to have a collection of scripts like in the gimp... what do you think about it?

cbradney

2006-09-27 20:36

administrator   ~0012656

Louis, what other options can we add here? I've just changed some of the 1.3.4cs dialog around and added two distribute items.

What if the user has 3 items selected, or more etc?

Let me know and it'll be in 1.3.4 on release.. whenever that is.

louisdesjardins

2006-09-27 20:57

developer   ~0012659

Hi Craig,

We could allow either 2 items to be selected and switched or 1 group of items and 1 item or 2 groups.

I cannot imagine how this feature would work with 3 or more items. But I know for sure the switch thing would be a great new feature no-one (afaik) offers at the moment!

Does that help?

christoph_s

2006-09-27 20:59

administrator   ~0012660

"What if the user has 3 items selected, or more etc?"

What about rotating clockwise. Rotating two items clockwise or counterclockwise means switching, for more objects the number of steps to rotate can depend on the number of items.

Another option could be the change of the order of items: 1, 2, 3 -> 2, 1, 3

louisdesjardins

2006-09-27 21:15

developer   ~0012664

Christoph,

Don't you think that that rotating feature would be a bit akward to use? I am trying to think of a real-life situation where one would use this... find that a bit complicated (maybe not to implement but to use). I understand what you propose as a "move feature" rather than a "switch feature". What do you think? The switch feature is meant to be really simple to handle. You select 2 items (or groups) and you hit that button and they are switched.

To put more gravy around this, we could let the user states what coordinates are going to be taken in consideration when the switch occurs. Center, upper right, lower right, etc.

cbradney

2006-09-27 21:20

administrator   ~0012666

I'm not sure a rotate or whatever you want to call it would be that useful but it does solve the issue for two items/groups still.
1,2 -> 2,1
1,2,3 -> 3,1,2
1,2,3,4 -> 4,1,2,3

The idea of a basepoint to work on would be ok too. I'll let you discuss it while I sleep :).

christoph_s

2006-09-27 21:30

administrator   ~0012667

Hmm, I don't think it's awkward. I was thinking about a page with three or more pictures on a pages, drawings for example. Let's assume:

     1 (a portrait)


2 (an etching) 3 (a portrait)


     4 (a lithograph)

The artwork may now be in a correct chronological order, but from an aesthetic point of view they'd be better distributed as follows:

     2 (an etching)

1 (a portrait) 3 (a portrait)

     4 (a lithograph)

So let's quickly switch the order. In this case this would require changing the order. OK, this is not really rotating, rather switching, but I hope you guess the idea.

louisdesjardins

2006-09-27 21:50

developer   ~0012672

Yes! I understand. My main concern is about the usability of the feature. Users are going to be placed in front of an array of possibilities. They might refrain them from using the feature although I understand it would be useful. I wonder if in that particular case it would not be faster to switch the 2 pairs of items... in 2 operations.

But at the same time, I didn't realize like Craig mentions it, that rotating 2 objects is the same as switching them! So this clears the way for 3 or more objects, like you said previously, clockwise (or counterclockwise?). More sophisticated moves would be handled in 2 or more operations...

christoph_s

2006-09-27 22:00

administrator   ~0012674

Usability is a concern here, you're absolutely right. It starts with the desription: switch or rotate. Switch is obvious for 2 items, but 3 or more? On the other hand rotate would be clearer for 3 or more, IMHO. Switch/Rotate would be confusing since users might conclude, that the feature either switches or rotates.

I suggest "Switch" with a long tooltip, and a Wiki article on that topic ;)

cbradney

2006-09-27 22:04

administrator   ~0012675

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitwise_operation#Rotate_no_carry :)

christoph_s

2006-09-27 22:12

administrator   ~0012676

Interesting, but will the mathematical term be an intuitive one for average users? Also note that rotate is already used for rotating objects. This is no problem in the German translation since "rotieren" is not used yet, but what about English speaking users. You decide.

louisdesjardins

2006-09-27 22:20

developer   ~0012677

What about doing that in 2 steps? First, implement the switch feature, good for a pair of items. Then, after a while, if the need is raised, we have a rabbit in our hat and can add to this switch feature a little more...

christoph_s

2006-09-27 22:24

administrator   ~0012678

Hehe, smart indeed. Implement a simple switch feature for two items, then wait if users request more. Louis, you have my vote!

PLucAuclair

2006-09-28 01:15

reporter   ~0012680

Just two is enough for all moves anyway. :)

mkoren

2006-10-06 19:56

reporter   ~0012824

Last edited: 2006-10-06 20:11

My two thoughts on the matter:

1) first of all, what's this order 1,2,3,4 stuff mean in practice anyway? Scribus doesn't remember the order in which objects are selected, does it? And what if you used rubberband select?

How about letting the user set a reference angle and then determining the order of objects according to their positions in that direction--would default to 0, horizontal.

This would actually be useful for all the align and distribute functions.

2) For the switch, I'd vote for reversing the order rather than rotating if the user has more than 2 items selected, i.e. 1,2,3,4 -> 4,3,2,1. Seems more likely to be useful and easy to understand. (You have to do something if the user selects more than 2 anyway....)

[Edit: I suppose you could let the user specify a reference point and then rotate (or use the center of the selection), but that seems less likely to be useful.]

mkoren

2006-10-06 20:08

reporter   ~0012825

A refinement to that could be to reverse the spacing between objects as well:

1_2___3__4 -> 4_3___2__1 vs.
1_2___3__4 -> 4__3___2_1 .

Kind of like reflecting the whole set around its center, but without reflecting each object itself. (Although a real mirror function would also be a very nice addition.... :)

cbradney

2009-07-14 22:11

administrator   ~0022184

Resolving for now.. basic swapping based on the X1,Y1 position is done

christoph_s

2009-07-16 01:20

administrator   ~0022199

Tested. Well done. Thanks!

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
2004-04-14 13:32 louisdesjardins New Issue
2004-04-19 11:03 ale Note Added: 0001121
2004-04-19 15:52 plinnell Note Added: 0001122
2004-04-21 20:40 ale Note Added: 0001152
2004-07-05 00:48 cbradney Status new => assigned
2004-07-05 00:48 cbradney Assigned To => fschmid
2004-12-08 19:18 cbradney Assigned To fschmid =>
2004-12-08 22:57 cbradney Status assigned => new
2006-02-06 18:21 jo-hannes Status new => acknowledged
2006-02-06 18:21 jo-hannes Product Version 1.1.6 => 1.3
2006-09-27 20:36 cbradney Note Added: 0012656
2006-09-27 20:37 cbradney Status acknowledged => assigned
2006-09-27 20:37 cbradney Assigned To => cbradney
2006-09-27 20:57 louisdesjardins Note Added: 0012659
2006-09-27 20:59 christoph_s Note Added: 0012660
2006-09-27 21:15 louisdesjardins Note Added: 0012664
2006-09-27 21:20 cbradney Note Added: 0012666
2006-09-27 21:30 christoph_s Note Added: 0012667
2006-09-27 21:50 louisdesjardins Note Added: 0012672
2006-09-27 22:00 christoph_s Note Added: 0012674
2006-09-27 22:04 cbradney Note Added: 0012675
2006-09-27 22:12 christoph_s Note Added: 0012676
2006-09-27 22:20 louisdesjardins Note Added: 0012677
2006-09-27 22:24 christoph_s Note Added: 0012678
2006-09-28 01:15 PLucAuclair Note Added: 0012680
2006-10-06 19:56 mkoren Note Added: 0012824
2006-10-06 20:08 mkoren Note Added: 0012825
2006-10-06 20:11 mkoren Note Edited: 0012824
2009-07-14 22:11 cbradney Status assigned => resolved
2009-07-14 22:11 cbradney Fixed in Version => 1.5.0svn
2009-07-14 22:11 cbradney Resolution open => fixed
2009-07-14 22:11 cbradney Note Added: 0022184
2009-07-14 22:16 cbradney Target Version => 1.5.0
2009-07-16 01:20 christoph_s Note Added: 0022199
2009-07-16 01:20 christoph_s Status resolved => closed