From the original SynthMaker forum (2004–2014), with its members’ names and dates.
whyterabbyt ·
This has possibly been brought up before (searched but couldnt track down a reference) but is there a specific reason the context-menu which lets you change the type of a connector has no colour coding? It seems quite counter-intuitive for it to be like that.
malc ·
Hi whyterabbyt,
That's a good point. It's implemented the same way as the connector type section on the Filter Bar but there's no reason why it couldn't be done differently. It would certainly be very easy to change and I can see that it would make it much easier to identify the symbols.
I seem to remember trying it with the filter bar and it kind of spoiled the look of things a bit. But then it's not all about looks, it has to function well too. I'll revisit the issue.
Thanks for pointing this out.
Malc.
whyterabbyt ·
I guess the filter bar benefits from tooltips, but the context menu doesnt appear to....
Perhaps a mouseover state showing the right colour would suffice if you're worried about the aesthetics of the filter bar.
malc ·
Finally got round to looking at this. I think you made a good point about the lack of colour coding. My prefered solution is in the new 0.9.4m release. I've added colouring to both the filter bar (on mouse over) and context menu. This has been made deliberately subtle in order to preserve the aesthetics but I think it's enough to pick out the differences without a struggle. It's easy for me to adjust the mix between subtle and striking if anyone thinks the balance is off 🙂
stefan ·
make them a bit more striking. or adjustable in the options, should be the best. then one could also set it to always be colored, not at all, or on mouse over.
it'd also be nice to have a high-light when mouse-overing over modules and filter bars.
All IMO ofcourse 🙂
malc ·
Does that mean you think it's too subtle then? Do you find it hard to pick up the colour? Remember the idea is to make it easier to pick out the type you want rather than customize the gui. If it's too hard to pick that out then I'll need to do something. I'd like to avoid making it an option unless we find that everybody needs a different setting (which may be the case).
On the highlight issue, I'm not a big fan of mouse over highlights unless they really serve a purpose. If you stick this in all over the place you end up with a flashing lights display every time you move your mouse. We've got this on the links because they are very thin and so you need something to show that your mouse is over them. Modules are bigger beasts and fairly easy to hit.
stefan ·
malc wrote: Does that mean you think it's too subtle then? Do you find it hard to pick up the colour? Remember the idea is to make it easier to pick out the type you want rather than customize the gui. If it's too hard to pick that out then I'll need to do something. I'd like to avoid making it an option unless we find that everybody needs a different setting (which may be the case).
Yeah, the green and the blue ones are looking quite similar, atleast on this monitor setting. Regarding customisation, some people might find it easier to pick up the type if they're always coloured, or fully coloured on mouse over or whatever. What constitutes as "easy to pick out the type" might differ from case to case. Although, if the colors would be "striking enough", no-one would find it hard to pick them up 🙂 But it might be ugly 🙂
malc wrote: On the highlight issue, I'm not a big fan of mouse over highlights unless they really serve a purpose. If you stick this in all over the place you end up with a flashing lights display every time you move your mouse. We've got this on the links because they are very thin and so you need something to show that your mouse is over them. Modules are bigger beasts and fairly easy to hit.
I meant in the toolbox, not in the schematic. I tend to almost not look at the actual mouse cursor when quickly selecting something in a big "list" of things. For instance in Miranda (the ICQ/MSN client I use) I'd be totally handicapped without the highlight of the name. It's much easier to see which name is highlighted than to see where the mouse is pointing at.
Highlighting everything in the schematic would just be messy, I'll give you that 🙂
malc ·
Gotcha - apologies, I misunderstood.
I think you may have a point on the colour issue. Monitors vary, so do eyesights.
Wrote something here? To have a post removed or your name hidden, write to [email protected].
SynthMaker