[VOTE] Tool Palette dissapear randomly Report #8500

[Wilhelm Sanke]

Richard Gaskin ambassador at fourthworld.com wrote:

> Wilhelm wrote:
> > On my medium-sized screen there is ample room besides the Rev tools
> > stack to accommodate two open script editor windows side by side, so
> > there is really no need to hide the tools stack in the default
> > preferences settings.
>
> At the heart of this issue is the question:  What would one expect to do
> with layout tools while in a script editor?
>
> That an IDE would dynamically provide progressive disclosure of features
> specific to the task at hand isn't a bad thing, IMO.
>
> But most importantly, as you noted, if it does it must do so reliably.
> --
>   Richard Gaskin

and Jim Ault wrote:

> I use the Rev 3.5 IDE editor for my development (single pane, multi-
> tabbed)
> Most all of my programming is scripting (and not layout or GUI work),
> so I only need the tool bar on rare occasions.  I prefer it to hide
> when the script editor is open, but always show the message box. (as a
> debugging tool)

I agree that the matter of individual programming habits also plays a 
role in our discussion - and that there may be only rare occasions to 
use layout tools at the same time you edit a script, but the tools 
palette also contains the two buttons to switch between browse and 
pointer tool.

In some situations I like to test immediately the effects of a changed 
script - leaving the script editor open while testing. To do this I 
usually switch to the browse tool with one click on the icon on top of 
the tools stacks - being conditioned additionally to such a procedure by 
mostly using the Metacard IDE.
  As I have found out now, in case the tools stack has been hidden, I 
could also switch to browse tool using the "tools" menu in the menubar, 
although with *two* clicks - and  I also could bring back the tools 
stack at once clicking on the tools menu.

What I like less about these niceties added with version 3.5, i.e. 
hiding the tools palette when the script editor comes up and allowing 
only one script editor in the default preference settings, is that these 
changes again increase the complexity of the Rev IDE, providing more 
opportunities for programming errors and bugs which may necessitate new 
workarounds and bug fixes - and also may add to the relatively slow 
"responsivness" of the Rev IDE (as I have pointed out in an earlier post).

If at least the default settings for the script editor preferences would 
be exactly the other way round ( I repeat myself here), Alejandro Tejado 
would probably never have run into that embarrasing situation while he 
tried to promote the revolutionary achievements of our preferred 
programming environment during his teacher workshop.

To come back to individual programming styles. I personally would have 
missed really nothing when the discussed IDE changes had not been added, 
and I suppose that most of us haven't missed them either during the last 
ten years (although I have to concede here that this is not a 
progressive and totally compelling argument, because it could rule out 
possible and real improvements).

Best regards,

Wilhelm Sanke