Death of the Application Browser

Wed Dec 2 17:38:21 EST 2015

Hi Jacque,
Interesting discussion and just emphasizes how different folks have
different needs for the IDE.

I haven't jumped in before but I believe it will do everything you with
with the big exception of the "horizontal" layout issue. Here's a few
things that I think might help with that.

Geoff went with the multiple window approach to displaying different
stacks, I went with a tabbed approach where every main stack optionally
goes into a different tab in the single window so less screen space
needed.  You can also opt to have all your stacks in the same tab and then
drag/drop them onto other tabs if you want to separate them out.

You can hide the currently-selected stack/card or all but the
currently-selected stack/card so it's possible to show just the current
card and its controls if you want to.  And reveal them again of course :-)

The tooltip for an object includes it's complete owner tree so you don't
have to scroll to find who owns what. The only other thing that might help
is that the Home key scrolls to the selected object's owner.

Groups are displayed as a single line which can be expanded to show their
constituent controls.  That's an option of course, you can have them
initially expanded if you wish.

Those all help with the vertical/horizontal issue but I understand they
don't solve it completely.

Like you, I need relatively large text to read comfortably, especially if
the background isn't very contrasting. So I made lcStackbrowser completely
customizable for the text font, font size, font color, line height and
background color.

There's an inline property editor available with a single mouse click which
I admit adds to the vertical scrolling issue but most of the time you
expand the properties, do whatever, and collapse them again.

You can create your own groups of properties to suit the type of
application you're working on.  The groups can be displayed collapsed or
expanded so you can set up a group of your most-used properties and have it
display expanded when it's displayed.

There's a right-click menu option that displays all the boolean properties
of an object and clicking on one flips its value.  You can edit the name
and label/title of objects and the contents of simple fields without
expanding to show the properties.  There's a preference to display a label
field's text instead of its name since a whole bunch of fields named
"Label" doesn't really help you find which one you're looking for. And if
you really want to, you can open the IDE property inspector instead of
using lcStackbrowser's.

Documentation is a pet peeve of mine.  There are so many applications that
don't bother with it these days.  lcStackbrowser has a complete User Guide
and Quick reference card which lists all the keyboard shortcuts,  mouse
click actions and search syntax.

The layer/id/name of every object is displayed, albeit not in separate
columns.  There is a preference setting for the default sort sequence of
cards and controls and you can override that on an individual stack basis
via a right-click menu option.

If you have the need to search, you can do anything from a simple name
search to a complex search based on any combination of an object's
properties.  For example, I can search for all objects with their behavior
containing a certain string then with a right click change their behavior
to something else.

Probably the feature I'm using the most right now is Checkpoints since I'm
working with LC8 (lcStackbrowser already supports widgets) which has a
propensity to abort for no obvious reason.  With Checkpoints, I can have a
stack saved automatically at an interval I specify (5 minutes in my case),
and with a right click, get a list of the available checkpoints and
rollback to any one of them.  If LC aborts, I just restart and go back to
my latest checkpoint so I never lose more than 5 minutes work. I could also
have a checkpoint created every time I save or only when I request one
manually via a right click menu and, again optionally, associate a comment
with each checkpoint.  Lots of options for how many checkpoints to keep
around too.

In the last release, I added the ability to restore deleted objects of any
sort because I'm clumsy and sometimes delete the wrong object and once it's
gone, it's gone for good unless you go back to a previous version of the
stack and lose all the other work you've done before the deletion.

I've been trying to think of how I might introduce an AB type layout with a
separate field for controls.  I mentioned above the ability to drag/drop a
stack to a different tab.  I think it would be possible to allow dragging a
card to a different tab which would get pretty close to the AB although an
extra click would be required to move between the tab with the
card/controls on it and the tab with its owner on it.  I'll have to look
into that and see what it would take.

Pete
lcSQL Software <http://www.lcsql.com>
Home of lcStackBrowser <http://www.lcsql.com/lcstackbrowser.html> and
SQLiteAdmin <http://www.lcsql.com/sqliteadmin.html>

On Wed, Dec 2, 2015 at 11:41 AM, J. Landman Gay <jacque at hyperactivesw.com>
wrote:

> Well, in the interests of learning then:
>
> On 12/2/2015 12:01 AM, Geoff Canyon wrote:
>
>> I see a list of stacks/cards on the left. So there could be
>> substantial scrolling to get to the stack/card you're looking for, right?
>>
>
> Yes, sometimes. But not as much as in the Project Browser because stacks
> and cards aren't included in the same list with controls, and because I can
> sort things in different ways to bring items of interest into a logical
> order. If I need to scroll, I always know where I'm at.
>
> Then the list on the right is a straightforward list of everything on the
>> card: groups and controls. This is the same as Navigator, but much bulkier
>> and without the ability to have multiple copies open at once. Is it even
>> filterable/searchable?
>>
>
> Bulky: probably in the eye of the beholder. I prefer the spacing in the AB
> because my eyes aren't great and I find small, tightly packed text very
> hard to read. (Navigator is a problem for me in that respect, btw.) A
> related issue affects me in the PB: too much visual clutter, which again
> makes it difficult for me to locate things quickly. Suggestion for users
> like me: remove the showLines and increase the textheight in all the lists.
>
> The AB isn't searchable, but if I want that I use the Search dialog in the
> main menu. I rarely need it. Filtering is also unavailable, but it must be
> useful because it's included in the PB too. If I could get it to work I
> might be able to assess its value, but so far I'm naive about it.
>
> Screen space: Navigator collapses down to just its titlebar (and moves up
>> out of the way)with a double-click, and all can be collapsed at once
>> (while
>> avoiding overlapping).
>>
>
> That's a nice touch. It adds to the number of clicks and manipulation
> necessary though for more than one navigator, and unfortunately,
> re-expanding a navigator covers up the others. I spent a little time
> yesterday seeing if I could simulate a list of stacks by lining up several
> navigators but it isn't very workable. Try opening 10+ navigators to see
> what I mean. I think it would work well for just a few instances though.
>
> Each Navigator can be re-targeted, so the only reason to close one is if
>> you don't need that many open anymore. Navigator auto-updates if you
>> choose.
>>
>
> Okay, good to know. As Hermann mentioned, he had to learn its capabilities
> by reading our discussion. That's a problem I have with Navigator too. Its
> actions can be obscure to the uninitiated and the documentation is hard to
> use because it covers up what it's explaining. There are some other
> usability issues that could benefit from a rework to make Navigator easier
> for new users to understand.
>
>
>> And finally, bookmarks and saved sets are definitely your friend here.
>> Although saved sets don't play well with the new ability to have multiple
>> Navigators open at once :-/ I'm going to have to look at that.
>>
>
> I may find a use for those some day, it sounds cool, though I don't
> generally work with the same set of controls repeatedly. When would you use
> those?
>
> I have two primary useage cases for the AB: seeing an overview of an
> unfamiliar stack and how its parts fit together (and navigating it,) and
> quickly accessing an object's Property Inspector or script (even when it
> isn't the selected object.) I use the AB in many other ways too, of course,
> but those are the two things I do the most. It's 3 clicks max to get to any
> object, and then a right-click to open the inspector or the script.
>
> --
> Jacqueline Landman Gay         |     jacque at hyperactivesw.com
> HyperActive Software           |     http://www.hyperactivesw.com
>
>
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