[Xastir] Re: [Xastir-dev] Map Properties/dbfawk: Time to rethink?

[Curt Mills, WE7U]

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003, Jim Chandler wrote:

> I agree.  This is exactly what I had in mind when I moved the Tiger map
> out of the Map Chooser and gave it it's own menu.  I wanted to extend it
> beyond just Tiger maps (mapquest, etc) to be good for all
> internet-required type maps.  I had already started on menus that allowed
> for customizing the map to some extent.  This of course has all been
> removed and put back under Map Chooser, so I'm at a loss at this point on
> how to realize, transparently to the user, how to modify these maps,
> without requiring one to use joe or vi.

I applaud the idea of a single place for configuration.  What I
object to is multiple places for enabling maps.  I got very tired of
messing up when switching between various local and internet maps,
which I do often.  Having map selection in one dialog makes things
much easier.

The dialog for customizing maps has not been removed, it's just been
moved to "Map->Configure->Configure Tigermap".  It's the exact same
dialog as you had before, minus the enable/disable button for the
Tigermap itself, and with the addition that the selections are now
fully saved/restored to/from the config file.

As far as having a single dialog for configuration:  Extend that to
a single dialog for configuring ANY map, local or remote.

So...  Regarding how to proceed from here.  I'd like to hear ideas
on how people would like to handle map configuration.

My current choice:  I'd like to see the Map Chooser->Properties
dialog extended.  Either add things to it directory, or add another
button to it for selecting layers/features and how to display them.
At that point the Tigermap Config dialog could be folded in to it
and disappear.  Perhaps there could be some global default dialogs
for maps/directories that haven't been specifically set up, in which
case the tigermap configuration would live on as perhaps the "remote
map configuration" dialog.

What to do with the results of these dialogs is another question:
Supplement/extend the dbfawk scheme?  Do something else?

-- 
Curt Mills, WE7U                    hacker_NO_SPAM_ at tc.fluke.com
Senior Methods Engineer/SysAdmin
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