Subject: Re: lists stuff
From: Mike Nordell (tamlin@algonet.se)
Date: Fri Dec 01 2000 - 03:43:20 CST
Martin Sevior wrote:
> On Wed, 29 Nov 2000, Joaquin Cuenca Abela wrote:
[...]
> > > > TRIANGLE_LIST Don't know what this should look like.
[snipped other symbols I dodn't know how to match]
> We can easily put icons of all of these on the drop down menus.
Sorry for my late response, but: Hell NO! (pardon my language, but this
issue IMO is serious)
Please, don't even think about putting the symbols next to the drop-list
choices. If we are to display the symbols rather than the names (which IMHO
would be an improvement in usability and UI-ease-of-use) I firmly suggest we
do it something like the Word95 snapshots. I will not, ever, contribute to
putting those subols next to the menu choices just to display what "picture"
the "text" really is to display.
I could easily accept a drop-list with only the symbols (without any text)
to select the symbol to use. But frankly, I think the screenshots of the
Word95 dialog displays an even simpler interface. This is what I think we
should strive for, simplicity in handling. It would in now way interfere
with our goals of also giving the power-user the customize capabilities we
want to give them.
[I think it was Joaquin that wrote the following]
> > 3) The hard things are, too, far easier to do in word than in abiword.
For
> > instance, I don't know (yet) what's the supposed meaning of the "%L"
that
> > you can see when you click in customize.
I second that. "%L" means *nothing* to a non-developer. Being a developer of
this stuff, I *still* don't get the (conceptually printf) format string
"%L". I think it should go.
> > > A smaller dialog is more
> > > appropriate for a Modeless dialog.
Amen.
[modality]
> Clearly it doesn't have to be modeless but I think we can make a modeless
> dialog without the bugs you've described. I think it will be a new and
> cool thing that would not be hard to implement on our current code base.
I still challange the usability of a modeless Lists Dialog. What practical
use is it having this one modeless compared to modal? Please, try to give
(fictional) real-world examples.
/Mike - please don't cc
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