Re: wxGlade GUI improvement
"Brendan Simon (eTRIX)" <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.python.wxglade |
|---|---|
| Organization | eTRIX pty ltd |
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Hi Dietmar,
Glad to see you are still motivated to keep on improving wxGlade after
all the hard work you've put in already.
I use wxGlade predominantly on a Mac, but I only use it sporadically.
Here is my feedback.
*
I dislike the way the preview and design windows are always at the
bottom of the stack and other windows overlay it (properties and
tree). I have to keep moving these windows around so I can see the
preview/design.
* The palette window isn't very user friendly.
o When it is resized the widgets should move to fit, or scroll
bars should be drawn where necessary to be able to see the
widgets that are not shown.
o The palette window can definitely be revamped by using some kind
of notebook perhaps.
o Being able to select a widget, see some help/description, play
with some settings and see the results in a sandbox _before_
placing in the design might be useful ?? (just thinking out loud)
*
In the latest release the layout of the design windows differs from
the preview window.
o
Design window => does not have a title bar (bug?)
o
Design window => some widgets (buttons) are right next to each
other where as they have larger spacing in the preview window (bug?)
o
Design windows shows a bit map but preview doesn't (bug?). If
anything I would assume the preview window should show the
bitmap (as it's a supposed to render a preview of the finished
product right?)
*
Some Windows aren't true windows from OS perspective (at least on Mac).
o If I swipe down with 4 fingers on trackpad, I should get an
overview of all the applications windows. With wxGlade I see
the Preview, Design and Palette. I don't see the Tree and
Property windows at all.
I would consider looking at the Eclipse IDE for some ideas (I can
appreciate you're not trying to develop a full blown IDE). I use it for
some C++ and Python. It has sub-windows/regions, each of which can be
minimised or maximised. Each region has tabs for the window view (e.g.
an editor, browser, console, etc). Each window can be dragged to any
other region or to a new area to create a new region. If this is
something the wx framework can provide then great.
Below I have outlined what I think could be simple and useful, with the
Palette, Tree and Properties windows in one region, which could be
minimised or dragged narrower to view more of the design area. Also the
individual Palette, Tree or Property windows could be individually
collapsed to give more room for the others if desired.
I'd also look at notebook tabs for different views (frames) that occur
in the app. A user would select a frame/dialog, right click and select
"view in new tab" (or maybe double click) to create a new tab to view
the frame/dialog. The user can then easily navigate between the designs
by clicking on the tabs.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|toolbar ### ## ###
|
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------------+
|>Palette | Frame 1 | Frame 2 | Dialog 3 |
|
| +---------+
+----------+-----------------|
|
| |
|
| |
+----------------------------+
|
|>Tree
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
+----------------------------+
|
|>Properties
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------------+
|status
|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Brendan.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On 25/4/18 5:06 am, Dietmar Schwertberger wrote:
> Hi!
>
> For 0.9 or at latest 1.0 I would like to modify the wxGlade GUI a bit.
> I think I'm not the only one who has trouble with the three separate frames plus
> Design window plus Preview window.
> I'm mainly on Windows where I can live with it, but on Linux and Mac OS I often
> find myself searching for the windows.
>
> I thought about having a MDI frame that integrates the Design window, just as
> with other GUI builders. But on one hand this is a lot of work to implement and
> also I think that this is not so great once the Design window gets bigger.
> (When you look at GUI builder screenshots, then most will just show how a small
> dialog is being designed.)
>
> My best idea so far is to combine the three frames with splitters and to add a toolbar.
>
> The toolbar would have icons to switch between two layouts where one layout has the focus
> on the Tree display and one on the Properties display.
> Depending on the focus, the layouts could be switched automatically.
> Optionally, the Design window could be made "Stay on top".
>
> The two layouts:
>
> +----------------------------+
> |toolbar ### ## ### |
> +----------------------------+
> |Palette | Tree |
> |Win ### | | +------------------------------------------------+
> |Cont## | | | Design window |
> |But #### | | | |
> |Inp ######| | | |
> |Num ##### | | | |
> |Dat ### | | | |
> +----------+ | | |
> |Properties| | | |
> | | | | |
> | | | | |
> | | | | |
> | | | | |
> | | | | |
> | | | | |
> | | | | |
> | | | | |
> +----------+-----------------+ +------------------------------------------------+
>
>
> +----------------------------+
> |toolbar ### ## ### |
> +----------------------------+
> |Palette | Tree |
> |Win ### | | +------------------------------------------------+
> |Cont## | | | Design window |
> |But #### | | | |
> |Inp ######| | | |
> |Num ##### | | | |
> |Dat ### | | | |
> +----------+-----------------+ | |
> |Properties | | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> +----------+-----------------+ +------------------------------------------------+
>
>
> What do you think? Do you recognize your favourite window setup in the ASCII art?
> Are you arranging your windows completely different? Are you happy with the current
> window handling?
> Is your screen always large enough to show all the windows?
>
> Please provide feedback, either here or via PM; either in words or ASCII art or
> with a screenshot.
>
> Regards,
>
> Dietmar
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