Active window protocol in Windows

[jan15]

The sole improvement in the user interface of version 9 over version 8 was the ability to draw or select an object, then open (double-click) the Object Info palette to look at data on the selected object, and then be able to use a shortcut key to change to the appropriate tool (as determined by that data) without first clicking on the drawing window, so that the next mouse click would be the beginning of some action on the selected object.

In version 8, it was necessary to click on the drawing window before the Tool shortcuts would work.

If you had just drawn the object, that meant either:

-- clicking quickly twice in the same place to get out of the drawing tool without drawing another object, and then clicking again to re-select the object that had been de-selected by that double click; or

-- clicking and holding while pressing the shortcut key for the Selection tool, and then clicking again to re-select the object that had been de-selected by that procedure; or

-- clicking on the frame of the drawing window to re-activate the drawing window without de-selecting the target object, and then pressing a Tool shortcut key and beginning the action.

If you had just selected the object or objects, that meant either:

-- clicking on one of the selected objects to maintain the selection set, and then pressing a tool shortcut key; or

-- clicking elsewhere in the drawing and then re-selecting the objects, then pressing a shortcut key; or

-- clicking on the frame of the drawing window to re-activate the drawing window without de-selecting the target objects, and then pressing a shortcut key.

That was all very tedious and annoying, but I assumed it was necessary because the Object Info palette is a different window as defined by the Windows operating system (if I remember correctly, this didn't happen on the Mac in versions 6, 7, and 8).

Then version 9 came along and corrected the problem, proving that it wasn't necessary. As long as no data is changed in the Object Info palette, the drawing window stays fully active and the letter keys are still interpreted as Tool shortcuts. Opening the Object Info palette doesn't interrupt the drawing process.

Now, version 10 has re-instituted the tedious and annoying process described above.

Version 10's user interface has several very gratifying improvements over that of version 9, but could you possibly restore this one advantage of the version 9 interface? Thank you.

[Guest]

So I can better understand the problem you're reporting, let me try to summarize your complaint:

When you double-click on an object (or choose 'Properties' from the context menu), the Object Properties dialog appears as its supposed to. But after you click OK or Cancel, you must first click in the drawing window to switch to another tool using the shortcut keys. In Version 9, the drawing window was immediately given the focus so this was not necessary. You would like the version 9 behavior to be reinstated. Is that correct?

Thanks,

Karim Shehadeh

Software Engineer

Nemetschek North America

[jan15]

quote:

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Originally posted by k_shehadeh:

...the Object Properties dialog...

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Actually, I was talking about the "Object Info" Palette. I leave it on-screen but minimized all the time, and double-click on it when I want to see properties. But that turns off the keyboard tool selection shortcuts until the drawing window is activated again.

HOWEVER I see now that I was wrong. I never used version 9, except for printing, exports, and saving files that other people could read in the VW Viewer, and my memory of how it worked was fuzzy. Version 9 is the same as 10 in this regard. The improvement that I remembered of version 9 over 8 is in returning to the drawing window from the "Attributes" palette, and that improvement is maintained in version 10. I guess the keyboard shortcuts have to be turned off so the Object Info palette can use the keyboard to change properties.

So... Never mind. I can right-click to get object properties (I forgot about that option till you mentioned it), instead of using the Object Info palette. I'm grateful that palette docking can now be overridden, and that arrow key functions can be specified in Preferences. Version 10's user interface is in no way worse than version 9's, and in some ways better. If it had version 8's Extend tool (extend by single-click rather than by dragging), and version 8's easier style of Pan-by-dragging, it would be the best ever. If it had a slower or selectable rate of Pan-by-arrow-keys or Zoom-by-double-keystroke, and maybe a built-in keyboard macro facility, it would be perfect.

[ 01-27-2003, 01:27 PM: Message edited by: jan15 ]

[CipesDesign]

Karim, I agree with the original post, and with your summary of it. Here's a further thought: I would love it if in the OI palette, after I was done "tabbing" through and making changes, I could hit "return" or "enter" and thereby escape the OI palette. Also, it would be a big bonus to be able to use the arrow keys to go DOWN as well as up in the OI palette. Thanks! Peter Cipes. Mac OS X 10.2.3, 450 dp, VW indus/RW 10.0.1

[Jershaun]

As another user mentioned before, an idea would be to use the ?enter? on the numeric keypad instead of the Esc key to exit the OIP.

As most users would admit, they use the numeric keypad to enter figures therefore the ?enter? on the numeric pad seems the natural choice instead of moving right across the keyboard to the Esc key to move onto the drawing area.

Thanks.

Shaun