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Ruler/Status bar feedback [message #148288]

Fri, 20 August 2004 17:19

Eclipse User

Originally posted by: contact.jasperassistant.com

Hi,

I would like to see two things implemented in GEF: rulers and status bar
feedback. For example in status bar we could display an icon that
corresponds to the current tool plus some information such as mouse
cursor position and the size of the drag rectangle. Rulers could display
a line that corresponds to the mouse's position or a highlighted zone
that corresponds to the dragged rectangle or current selection.

I am aware that there are not precise plans for the major release so
perhaps some hints on how such a thing could be implemented would be
helpful.

Thanks,

Peter Severin.

Re: Ruler/Status bar feedback [message #148440 is a reply to message #148288]

Tue, 24 August 2004 11:44

Eclipse User

We are considering extending the ruler API for 3.1 so that clients can
customize the look. Trying to do something like what you want involves
changing/copying too many classes at the moment.

You should open a feature request for the status bar info.

"JasperAssistant" <contact@jasperassistant.com> wrote in message
news:cg5m2u$89b$1@eclipse.org...
> Hi,
>
> I would like to see two things implemented in GEF: rulers and status bar
> feedback. For example in status bar we could display an icon that
> corresponds to the current tool plus some information such as mouse
> cursor position and the size of the drag rectangle. Rulers could display
> a line that corresponds to the mouse's position or a highlighted zone
> that corresponds to the dragged rectangle or current selection.
>
> I am aware that there are not precise plans for the major release so
> perhaps some hints on how such a thing could be implemented would be
> helpful.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Peter Severin.

Re: Ruler/Status bar feedback [message #148522 is a reply to message #148440]

Wed, 25 August 2004 05:23

Eclipse User

Originally posted by: contact.jasperassistant.com

Hi Pratik,

Thank you for your answer. I've created the following feature request
for the status bar feedback:

https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=72577

Regarding the rulers. I am developing a report designer plugin and at
this moment I was forced to create my own rulers from scratch. Perhaps I
could list some features that I've found missing:

1. Multiple vertical/horizontal rulers.
Band-based reports have a notion of report sections stacked one upon the
other. Each such section has its own ruler with a different origin (that
aligns the ruler with the section's origin), width(length) and
guidelines. Perhaps this could be modeled somehow using a single ruler
but I have found it to be easier to do by creating multiple rulers which
are stacked one upon the other to reflect the section positions.

2. The previous feature implies the other two:
a. Rulers should be able to have an origin.
b. Rulers should be able to have a specified width.

3. Grayed rulers.
This rulers are like the other but they are use a different background
color. They are used to represent page margins. Generally one cannot
place a guideline on such a ruler.

4. Resizeable rulers.
This is related to the grayed rulers above. Generally a ruler
representing a margin allows to be resized. Depending if it is a left or
right margin - right or left end of the ruler can be resized.

5. Customizable guide layer.
In the current implementation the guide layer layouts the guidelines to
match the width/height of the viewer. In a page based designer it looks
better if the guidelines are layout to match the width/height of the
page. I've implemented it by using a custom layer that is aware of the
report page notion.

Best regards,

Peter Severin.

Pratik Shah wrote:

> We are considering extending the ruler API for 3.1 so that clients can
> customize the look. Trying to do something like what you want involves
> changing/copying too many classes at the moment.
>
> You should open a feature request for the status bar info.
>
> "JasperAssistant" <contact@jasperassistant.com> wrote in message
> news:cg5m2u$89b$1@eclipse.org...
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I would like to see two things implemented in GEF: rulers and status bar
>>feedback. For example in status bar we could display an icon that
>>corresponds to the current tool plus some information such as mouse
>>cursor position and the size of the drag rectangle. Rulers could display
>>a line that corresponds to the mouse's position or a highlighted zone
>>that corresponds to the dragged rectangle or current selection.
>>
>>I am aware that there are not precise plans for the major release so
>>perhaps some hints on how such a thing could be implemented would be
>>helpful.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Peter Severin.
>
>
>

Re: Ruler/Status bar feedback [message #148530 is a reply to message #148440]

Wed, 25 August 2004 05:26

Eclipse User

Originally posted by: contact.jasperassistant.com

Forgot another interesting feature for the rulers:

6. Rulers feedback.
Tools (drag trackers) should be able to place some feedback on the
rulers. Generally the feedback reflects the current mouse position (a
line) or the bounds of the current selection (a grayed portion).

Peter.

Pratik Shah wrote:

> We are considering extending the ruler API for 3.1 so that clients can
> customize the look. Trying to do something like what you want involves
> changing/copying too many classes at the moment.
>
> You should open a feature request for the status bar info.
>
> "JasperAssistant" <contact@jasperassistant.com> wrote in message
> news:cg5m2u$89b$1@eclipse.org...
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I would like to see two things implemented in GEF: rulers and status bar
>>feedback. For example in status bar we could display an icon that
>>corresponds to the current tool plus some information such as mouse
>>cursor position and the size of the drag rectangle. Rulers could display
>>a line that corresponds to the mouse's position or a highlighted zone
>>that corresponds to the dragged rectangle or current selection.
>>
>>I am aware that there are not precise plans for the major release so
>>perhaps some hints on how such a thing could be implemented would be
>>helpful.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Peter Severin.
>
>
>

Re: Ruler/Status bar feedback [message #148644 is a reply to message #148522]

Wed, 25 August 2004 13:31

Eclipse User

Originally posted by: none.us.ibm.com

What if the ruler had StyledRegion support? regions would be pixel-based.
They could be self-painting perhaps, or just indicate color.

Re: Ruler/Status bar feedback [message #148658 is a reply to message #148644]

Wed, 25 August 2004 16:24

Eclipse User

Originally posted by: contact.jasperassistant.com

Randy Hudson wrote:
> What if the ruler had StyledRegion support? regions would be pixel-based.
> They could be self-painting perhaps, or just indicate color.
>
>

Perhaps this could solve the problem. In any case it should be easy to
synchronize the model with the presentation. To me the RulerProvider
design seems a bit heavy as it tries to provide a single-entry point to
the model. At this point it works as we have only Rulers and Guides. But
if you add the third layer (Regions) this interface will become even
more cluttered and more difficult to implement. At least this is how I
see it. In my version of rulers I have opted for a fine grained model
represented by the following interfaces:
IRulerProvider
IRuler
IRulerRegion
IGuide

Change listeners can be attached at each level. The developer then can
adapt a concrete model to these interfaces which when are plugged into
generic ruler EditParts. This way the EditPart-Model association remains
simple and follows the classic GEF model. The EditParts can be
eventually extended to provide the possibility to customize the
presentation.

Peter

Re: Ruler/Status bar feedback [message #148693 is a reply to message #148658]

Wed, 25 August 2004 18:15

Eclipse User

Originally posted by: none.us.ibm.com

Our goal was to not require anything of an application's model. So we take
the approach of label providers, content providers, etc., except we had to
extend this to allow interaction instead of just read-only display. I'm
open to the alternative approach, but it's hard to know that a
representation of a ruler is generic and applies to most applications unless
you have everyone agreeing on that model.

> the model. At this point it works as we have only Rulers and Guides. But
> if you add the third layer (Regions) this interface will become even
> more cluttered and more difficult to implement. At least this is how I
> see it. In my version of rulers I have opted for a fine grained model
> represented by the following interfaces:
> IRulerProvider
> IRuler
> IRulerRegion
> IGuide

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