[Xastir] Feature Request

[Curt, WE7U]

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009, Chip G. wrote:

> On Dec 22, 2009, at 12:49, Curt, WE7U wrote:
>
>> The "TrackMe" button is visible in the top menu bar all the time
>> so I figured people MAY want that one to override the map lock.

> Perhaps just a
> warning and not a completely disable. I sometimes use the track
> feature to highlight a station I'm watching (i.e. my wife) who I
> don't expect to leave the map I have displayed (i.e. the entire
> county). There are a couple of ways this can be handled
> more-or-less gracefully. If you have a lock on, it should override
> tracking (or give an option for both choices as I can see
> advantage of the other way around). In fact, both seem valid. (1)
> I'm watching someone who's going to stay on the map, if they leave
> I may still want it to stay put (they'll eventually come back).
> (2) I don't want to accidentally change the map but I need to
> track someone, so I want track to override lock but to keep it
> from changing otherwise.

I certainly see your points here but don't want to unnecessarily
complicate the interface either.  I think having multiple levels of
locking here would confuse more than help most casual users.


>> Maybe it would be good to add some always-visible text or colors
>> to Xastir when the lock is on.  A watermark across the map?
>
> No watermark please. Perhaps a colored border (red stands out)
> around the map. Perhaps a brightly colored icon in the status bar
> (bottom).

Agreed.  I haven't thought much more about this, but at this point I
probably won't add any indication other than gray'ing out the
pan/zoom buttons in the top bar.  Perhaps turning those buttons
another color would work well and be more obvious, without messing
up the map display below.


>> I believe "display_zoom_image" is a helper script that other
>> functions call.  We wouldn't want to put the lock on that one
>> directly.  Ignore that one in the list above.
>
> Last map position is a manually called item, right, so I think it
> likely should be allowed to pass through the lock. Find station is
> also manual that takes numerous steps, so I think it should
> override. Same with bookmarks. In other words, lock unless I say
> otherwise. It's not like we're trying to lock this so a user can't
> use it. I think the purpose was to lock it from ACCIDENTAL changes
> (arrow keys, mouse, etc) that can happen without intent in a busy
> work environment. None of the above are things which can be done
> accidentally with a single mouse click or single key press.

Well, the original requester appeared to want a lock everything
feature, but the concensus so far from everyone seems to be locking
against accidental movement PLUS a way to get back to the last
pan/zoom if the map does get moved.

I _think_ that the "Last Map Pos/Zoom" function on the right-click
mouse menu provides enough of that last "get back there"
functionality to serve in most cases.  If the user thinks ahead they
can always create a Map Bookmark so that they always have an out.

The idea to save a temporary bookmark at the time the Map Lock is
enabled is an interesting one too and would work well assuming we
add yet another menu to go to that bookmark, but I don't think I
want to do that.  As I said we have similar functionality now
without any coding.

Here's my summary of the comments:

   J. Hunter:  Hard lock
   Jason KG4WSV:  TrackMe button overrides
   Tom R.: accidental map movement
   Chip G.: accidental map movement or multiple levels of lock
   Tim B: accidental map movement + temp bookmark

What I'm planning:  Change the map lock function to disable SIMPLE
movement commands such as:

*) Mouse-initiated Zoom via LEFT or MIDDLE mouse buttons
*) Single key Pan/Zoom functions (Home/PageUp/PageDown/Arrow keys)
*) Top menu bar Pan/Zoom buttons (and gray these out)

Leave the top menu bar "TrackMe" button enabled and functional.

I will leave ALL of the main menu commands that cause pan/zoom or
bookmark retrieval enabled ("Map" and "Station" menus) as each of
them require multiple map clicks to activate.  This tells me the
action is most likely intentional.

Optionally I could see popping up an "Are You Sure?" dialog if map
lock is enabled.  Some people would find this annoying, others would
welcome it a safety factor.  The thing I find about warning dialogs
like this:  People get used to them quickly/click through them
automatically, making them virtually useless.

One thing I'm still struggling with is the right-click mouse menu,
particularly "Center" and "Last Map Pos/Zoom", the only ones which
can be activated with two map clicks.  In fact "Center" is more of a
worry because it is the default menu option:  I've accidentally
activated that function while rearranging my desk.  It's less likely
that the "Last Map Pos/Zoom" function would be activated in this
manner, but also possible.

Thoughts?

-- 
Curt, WE7U.                         <http://www.eskimo.com/~archer>
    APRS:  Where it's at!                    <http://www.xastir.org>
   Lotto:  A tax on people who are bad at math. - unknown
Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates. - WE7U.
The world DOES revolve around me:  I picked the coordinate system!"