Fix Workspaces. Make it useful, not miserable.

[Bruce Kieffer]

I've commented before how bad the workspace interface is. Please fix it. Heaven forbid you accidentally undock or move a palette and you want to return it to the location it was previously. Nope. Try to save a copy of your workspace you like so you can reuse that, but never try to overwrite it with another copy named the same. That does not work.

 

None of it makes sense. Why am I saving a workspace when saving it does nothing. I can't revert, so why save? 

[E|FA]

If you have specific recommendations, please add them to this thread:

 

 

[Matt Overton]

My only regret is I can only vote for this once, as it the bane of my existence.

[Kaare Baekgaard]

I spend hours every week trying to locate and reattach palettes, that have been accidentally torn off and moved, because that is what they do all of the time, and they cannot be locked down.

 

And I do not even have palsy!

 

I never heard of anyone who use this 'feature'  for its misconceived purpose, so why is it still here?

 

At least provide us with an off-switch, please.

[Bruce Kieffer]

Hey folks, please upvote this using the arrow at the top left.

 

OMG, yes when a palette seemingly undocks itself, and this happens, especially on the right side, then trying to redock it on the left is crazy and mysterious. Point being, if saved workspaces worked as I think most of us think they should work, then reverting to the previous saved setting would solve the problem.

 

I recall trying the "Save Palette Positions" in the past and then resetting them in the preferences session tab, and back then it caused a huge mess. I just tested that again on a copy of my workspace and it seems to work, but there's nothing intuitive about that "workaround."

 

https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2018/eng/VW2018_Guide/Start/Saving_Palette_Positions_and_Settings.htm

[Pat Stanford]

This was one of the things improved in SP3. If you have the ability to upgrade, try it and see.

[line-weight]

1 hour ago, Pat Stanford said:

This was one of the things improved in SP3. If you have the ability to upgrade, try it and see.

 

What's changed in SP3?

[Pat Stanford]

The action required to undock and float a palette. As I understand it an accidental click while the mouse was moving over a palette tab could cause an undock. The action required is supposedly more definitive. I have never had the problem, but the beta testers who helped track down the issue seem to think it is a substantial improvement.

[Andy Broomell]

11 minutes ago, line-weight said:

What's changed in SP3?

 

I think the recent change was related only to the new 2021 ability to separate individual tabs of the Navigation, Object Info, and Visualization Palettes. It doesn't happen so easily anymore and requires a deliberate click-hold-drag. I've found it much improved.

 

I don't think there was any change regarding accidentally undocking entire palettes though.

[line-weight]

2 hours ago, Pat Stanford said:

The action required to undock and float a palette. As I understand it an accidental click while the mouse was moving over a palette tab could cause an undock. The action required is supposedly more definitive. I have never had the problem, but the beta testers who helped track down the issue seem to think it is a substantial improvement.

Ah, cheers. I will look out for that. It's certainly long been annoying that I can accidentally undock a palette (or accidentally close it). I'll keep an eye out for this change.

[Kaare Baekgaard]

It is better in SP3. I want an off-button as well, though...

[Edgar RAMEL]

Hello

I spent a lot of time trying to fix the problem of tool pallets that changed places unexpectedly, especially in multi-screen configuration.
The hotline made me make a number of tweaks without success.

Finally, I found a utility (under Windows) called Display Fusion that can recall the position of windows and pallets on multiple screens.

This requires some tweaks and hacks (with Edgar Ramel's view control pallets specifically).
But now, a key F20 or extension/restore of the application window and everything ends up where I want and how I want.

It saved me time and saved my nerves (but as there are fortunately plenty of other topics of annoyance with VW ... my nerves are still strained enough 🤪).
Hoping it serves Windows users.

Kind regards.
Edgar

[Bruce Kieffer]

@Edgar RAMEL I use a similar Mac app called Stay. It's great to return window locations and sizes to a previous state, but it can't redock a palette or restore a workspace to a previous configuration. It's a band aid that helps, not a solution. I think we can all agree that the Workspace Manager needs a major overhaul.