On 5.6 beta

Legacy MyInfo versions topics and topics that are no longer relevant
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

Again, nothing to do with 5.6 in particular, but a tiny function I'm craving for, is a divider line for the trees. In my text, I make extensive use of the InsertLine function (which I put on control-l (L for line)), and in trees, I help myself with a macro again, pasting 20 === there (which is ugly, perhaps I should go for another special character in my macro). Perhaps you could implement a real line (= as in the text, the length of which is automatically adjusted to the width of the frame); if not, perhaps a command inserting 20 m-dashes or something?

BTW, this command would be a perfect example for my hint to adjust commands to their context: The SAME command (= the same shortkey) would insert that line, as it is, in the text field, OR would insert the special line or "line" (= built up from a special character) into the tree, depending on the focus when the command is executed...
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

Date and Time: Now we also have InsertInDefaultFormat. This is very well and works fine and is extremely handy for a lot of tasks. But there's always that "natural" format missing, in the formats lists "Date and Time" from which to choose the default format, i.e. 30.01.2011 15:11 = WITHOUT the seconds! Could you insert this as first or second format in that formats list? (Perhaps as second since the list is ordered from most precise to least precise, then.)
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

Again, I'm pleased with the tree behavior when pasting, etc.: In fact, it works so smoothly and imperceptibly I never pay attention, whereas the old behavior was "shocking" in the sense that every time you inserted something, you were startled by the tree fleeing you, whilst now it BRINGS things to you. Very good indeed.

At that time, I said that in the text field, a similar behavior also occurred, and I'd like to say that in 5.5 at least, that behavior subsisted. I don't know if you did something to it now in 5.6 since I hadn't time to check it out for now, but if 5.5 text behavior at pasting operations persists, please address it (pasting with / without scroll bar, or scroll bar being activated / being desactivated, and pasting in upper third, "middle", or lower third of text: in 5.5, the text field often tried to "hide" text from you, instead of actively "displaying it" / "giving it to you" - same problem as with the tree but where it's been splendidly resolved).
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

Try to get rid, by all means, of those problems in the upper left corner of the scree, below the tabs. The tree itself, including the ugly inscription "Documents" indeed, is TdxTreeList, that ugly line "Tree" above is, indeed, just an unidentifiable part of the TdxDockPanel, so I understand if you cannot do much about it in an easy way. But if there is no possible influencing of the "Tree" line in a direct way - it's even more ugly with text having focus, with that awful frame, than with tree having focus, but not much better then -, put another TPanel (= like the title above the text) OVER it, hiding this part of the TdxDockPanel (in focus and not focus state).

This TPanel should then, in order to not being just an empty ribbon, contain the respective TOPIC title, just like the one to its right contains the item's title. Now there are two possibilities, three perhaps ("Topic" and "Item" are the respective titles):

- Focus in tree: Topic visible, Item bold as it always is; Focus in text: Topic NOT visible, Item as always. This alternative is the most basic one but not so pretty.

- Focus in tree: Topic bold, Item regular; Focus in text: Topic regular, Item bold. This is my preferred one, but I'm not sure.

- Focus in tree: Topic bold, Item bold as always; Focus in text: Topic regular, Item bold as always. So it's as before, but only the Topic title changes its strength with getting / losing focus, Item title staying bold anyway. I'd say let's try the preceding solution, this third one being second best.



Since that ugly "Documents" line is not identifiable within the TdxTreeList, I don't know if you can do much about it, but you should try first (and then hide it, as above, if that's the only solution): First, try to hide (= not display) the text (I've got only "Documents" left, but some people use attributes / tags, so they might need them; anyway, hiding "Documents" (if there is such an option) will hide ALL attributes' names / symbols, so this must necessarily be implemented as an option; this applies to the further solutions also:

Then, try to hide (= de-opt) its ugly frame.

Then, the result will be a light-grey rectangle with the right bottom corner eaten out of it (= the scroll up arrow), with the topics name, then an empty line... Ugly...

So let's try this (always in the alternative skin if you prefer): But please DO IT, really, MI MUST have a modern look, and we'll give it to it if you follow my hints!

Same as before, but all this in WHITE: The same for the Item's Title's background (TPanel); UNDER the item's title (and beginning with it and beginning with the text in the text field), you put a black thin line (just 1 pixel high) - or even just a grey one (but 1 pixel high only), make it as light as possible but as dark as needed for being just slightly visible (by 1 pixel' height).

Now again for the "Tree" and the "Documents" lines there. Remember all this is in white now, without borders, and except that right bottom corner's up arrow there. Don't be bothered by that arrow, it'll stay there, it'll not hinder our plans.

Place TWO rectangles there: A TPanel hiding the "Tree" line (but without the far right corner that exceeds the "Document" line), AND hiding the "Documents" line altogether! And another rectangle, just a rectangle hiding the part of the TdxDockPanel just above the up arrow.

The interest of all this lies in this additional TPanel, since it'll be THERE that you'll display the Topic Title... CENTERED twofold: centered horizontally and centered vertically (with line break allowed).


So much for the (complicated) tree with scrollbar; now for the much simpler tree without (which one of the two sub-procedures will be triggered, will be determined by the determination if the scrollbar is displayed or not, and any changing of this state - checked by a system variable - will trigger the adjusted display. The same for the widths: These are "known" yet by the width of the tree in any given case, and then it's that same width, or that width minus the width of the little square hiding the up arrow). The little rectangle will not be needed, thus not be displayed (= hidden); the additional TPanel will thus take the width of the tree itself (= as in the tree with the scrollbar above, btw), and, as before, TPanel will hide the "Tree" and the "Documents" lines, and will display the topic's title centered twofold: Since that screen real estate is there, unhideable (= since we must put "dissimulators" ABOVE the tree components we're going to hide), we must "fill it up" in an elegant way (and all the worse for the screen real estate waste) - that's exactly what we'll be doing, since:

And then, make the bold-regular thing as follows: If Tree has focus, Topic = bold and BLACK, Item = bold and light grey; if Text has focus, Topic = bold and light grey, Item = bold and black: Thus, both are always black, but they switch their black / light grey color!

And make the TMDIChild (= grey ugly line between tree and text) WHITE, by option at least, i.e. do an alternative SKIN, in which you could realize my hints... and afterwards, make this second skin the default one for the trial version... And since there will be just white beneath the tabs, put a thin grey line under them, perhaps just the length of the tabs combined as it is at any given moment, and just faintly perceptible, so as the tabs not "hanging down" into empty space (= much lighter than the tab "sourroundings" are... and much thinner to begin with).

In a first step, all those enhancements would only apply to the second skin if tree tabs are hidden, and we'll discuss enhancements to the other tree pane contents (filter, etc.) afterwards. We first need a SAMPLE of such a new graphic design, on which we concur, and the main screen is indeed text with the tree only. After that, for that alternative design, we'll attack the details for every possible screen state, within that new graphic framework.


Please be absolutely sure that by following my hints above, we'll have made a BIG step ahead to a really beautiful, modern MI that will please immediately, as soon as all details will be adjusted to this new design... and remember that sales of a program today is determined to about 50 p.c. by its looks, former MI looks doing this fine program heavily wrong. (I know it's a lot of fiddle fuddle work for apparently "nothing", i.e. for no additional functionality, but then, all the big work on the functionality can never bring more than 50 p.c. of clientele, whilst an ugly GUI will put the other 50 p.c. off. Therefore, it's effort tremendously well invested.)
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

And finally, I'd like to say that with 5.6 now, I've been working all day, between my collected postings here, in a very smooth way (except for the missing history toggles that force me to over-use the mouse, and I have "mouse-arm syndrome"...), and thus, I am very pleased with what we've got here already. You've been seriously attacking all those little things that had succeeded in poisening our work days, and they are almost gone now, or in their way to the exit, and that's great!
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

Leaving the "Confirm Delete" dialogue after deleting items, with standard Escape, not yet possible.

BTW, a little hint to fellow users: Instead of using Delete, use control-x (on a function key preferably), in order to avoid the above-mentioned dialogue altogether. Then, if really you had done the deletion by accident, just do a control-v, and there you are.
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

Option / Toggle for "Insert Newly Loaded Topics at End of List" vs. "after Current Topic" not yet done. Since now, with some tab colors being clearly distinguishable, some PM being possible with tabs / tab coloring / tab position, this option would be more important / helpful than ever; it would avoid having to do the "Sort Tabs" command after each loading, AND, more importantly even, it would help avoid unwanted position rearrangements by that "sort tabs" command! Thus, please implement this option (and make it assignable to a key / key combination).
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

As said before, better history functions are as urgent as nothing else, and as said, it's nearly impossible, or rightly impossible (= I don't get to it at least) to toggle between two topics, with the current functions: Backward goes backward, but forward does NOT get forward, but just nowhere, and another backward goes to other topics further down the list, but NOT to the other topic I just left, so it's not correctly entered into the stack.

And anyway, additionally, REAL toggles should be there, since they would relief you of the decision of "must I press backward or forward now in order to toggle?"

And another really weird behavior: I just saved and quit a topic, then pressed "topic backward" in order to get to the topic I had worked upon before going to the dismissed topic

(= necessary since the command "close this topic" does NOT automatically go to the last viewed topic (= which would be "intelligent" behavior) but to the next topic in the stack)...

and where did I go? To the automatically newly loaded, just dismissed topic! Thus, even when quitting topics, they are not deleted from the history list. Updating lists seems an urgent matter to MI in general I dare say...
Petko
MyInfo Support
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Joined: Sun Jul 25, 2004 4:33 pm
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Post by Petko »

Fred wrote:Nothing to do with 5.6 in particular, but a command that's missing from beginning, and that would be handy... and that's present in other outliners: "SaveThisSubtreeAsANewTopic" - but it would only be handy if it took the settings for the new topic from the current one.
Fred, you can do that. Use File > Export > Selected Documents to new MyInfo topic. This will create new MyInfo topic with the selected documents and their subdocuments.
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

I

Hi Petko, I just discovered this feature (and commentedon it) in reading Cybercrone's new thread on this; here again: great!

II

Missing yet in 5.6 beta (cf. my post on this regarding 5.5 beta): Any selection of / in the selected search results pane's current search result ITEM (again, I'm not speaking of the search results in the text pane, I'm speaking of the search result ITEMS listed in the search results pane): If you do several "go nex/prev search results by key command, you're lost in the list.

III

See my new thread.
Fred
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:07 pm

Post by Fred »

Since we'll have to live some time yet with the current components, and rightly so if they are embellished a little bit, please do for the (unnecessary) tabs of the Search Result Pane the same as you did for the tabs of the Tree Pane. I never use the attributes pane, and many users do as I do, so for us, that tab is just a nuisance on our screens, and, as said, and as the iPad's success proves, GUI IS important!

And cf. my according post in "Pre 6.0".
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