Version: HEAD (using KDE KDE 3.4.0) Installed from: Compiled From Sources OS: Linux PROBLEM: There is more than one place in the UI that the properties of a legend can be edited. This can be confusing. STEPS TO REPRODUCE: Create a plot using the data wizard and set the option to display the legend Enter layout mode and double click on the legend Notice that the Edit Legend appears, with ability to modify all the legend settings (except visibility) Close the Edit Legend dialog Double click on the plot Click on the Appearance tab of the Plot Dialog Notice that dialog has the ability to modify a subset of the legend settings PROPOSAL: The Appearance tab has the ability only to modify ths visibility (the Show checkbox) The Appearance tab could also have a button to launch the Edit Legend dialog
On Thu, Jan 19, 2006 at 06:30:38PM -0500, Barth Netterfield wrote: > When could this be a problem? When someone only sees the legend info in the plot dialog, and doesn't even know that there is a Legend dialog with more options. I sheepishly admit that I just now found out about the edit legend dialog because of this bug report. :-(
It could be considered unintuitive to have two completely different dialogs to achieve the same result. In itself that may not be so bad, but the layout differs completely between the two - which is both bad design for the user and the developer (in the case of future changes). To be more specific on the latter point there are already discrepancies between the two: Border <-> Border Width Missing Font color Missing Available/Selected objects Transparent <-> transparent Perhaps most significantly both these dialogs can be open at the same time and changes made in one are not reflected in the other.
Should be fixed for 1.2.1 release
For this I would suggest that the options in the plot dialog are removed (except for the Show checkbox) and replaced with an Edit... button. The Edit... button will launch the Edit Legend dialog.
I agree. Go ahead and implement this. On February 20, 2006 02:53 pm, Andrew Walker wrote: [bugs.kde.org quoted mail]
I agree too. Anything to reduce the plot dialog is good. :-)
One problem here is that under the current design a legend only exists if it is shown. Obviously it is not possible to edit a legend unless it exists. (Under the current design this was essentially hidden by a bug in that changing the settings for a legend that was not visible would be ignored). So, it seems to me there are three options: 1) disable the Edit button unless the legend is visible. Displaying and then editing a legend now involves checking the Show button, hitting Apply, and then hitting the now enabled Edit button. 2) enable the Edit button at all times, but the legend settings would be forgotten when the legend is hidden and then re-shown (the legend would be automatically created when the user hits Edit... if it did not already exist) 3) enable the Edit button at all times, and have the legend settings remembered when it is hidden and then re-shown (the legend would exist at all times but is only shown when applicable, via a flag)
I like #2. We could make it more clear by changing the label text from 'Edit' to 'Create' if there is no legend to edit.
#2 with the implicit behaviour that editing a legend will create it if necessary and hence check the Show button.
SVN commit 512169 by arwalker: BUG:120484 Replaced legend settings in plot dialog with Edit... button M +30 -32 kstplotdialog_i.cpp M +1 -0 kstplotdialog_i.h M +56 -193 plotdialog.ui
Hum... I had not realized this before, but one very important feature got lost as a result of this change: it is no longer possible to change legend settings like font size/color/etc for all plots in one shot (using the apply to... options). In fact, the only setting that should not obey the apply to all... options is the contents. All other attributes (box, frame width, font settings, etc...) should still be propagated when hitting "Apply" in the plot dialog, if so chosen by the user.
Are there any short-term plans to solve this ? It is sadly preventing me from upgrading the installed version for some users, who'd need some of the new features (like ordered datawiazrd) and bug fixes but don't want to lose the possibility of editing legend properties (particularly font size) for all plots in one shot...
I am going to close this bug (which is fixed), and open a new one on this topic.