[Xastir] Feature Request

Fri Dec 25 09:04:40 EST 2009

Sounds simple enough. Not sure of the amount of coding, but the scheme
sounds feasible. Make it easy on your self Curt. You have a great
application as it stands.

Merry Christmas All!!

On Fri, Dec 25, 2009 at 7:39 AM, Curt, WE7U <archer at eskimo.com> wrote:

> 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<http://www.eskimo.com/%7Earcher>
> >
>   APRS:  Where it's at!                    <http://www.xastir.org>
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