Re: Patch for Delete key behavior (for dia-0.96.1)

["Michael Ross" <michael e ross gmail com>]

Without doing an extensive review of entering a text block replace or edit mode,  I think I am accustomed to both.  In many cases the edit starts near where I place the cursor, in others (MySQL CC for example) I have to click several times to toggle through the various modes and VARCHAR is different from Text etc.  Lot's of variety here and I don't assume a convention.  

I think my favorite method is seen in LabVIEW.  This is a graphical programming language the builds documentation into the writing of the code.  The programming environment still depends on text blocks for text explanations, it is just that the text is more flexible than with a text based programming language. MathCAD is sort of similar. 

To create text I simply double click on the background.  Text entry is the default mode if I am not bringing an icon, or wiring icons together.  I think this could work in Dia as a productivity enhancement.  If no other function uses a double click in a blank area then why not start a text block?

With existing text clicking once on the text block puts in into resize and move mode similar to Inkscape.

Double clicking on it when inactive or when ion resize/move mode puts it into replace text mode - entering anything removes the pre-existing text and inouts what ever is typed

To edit I must double click, hesitate, and single click where I wish to enter text.

If anyone has ever been curious about a graphic programming language this is a very cool one.  They have demonstration downloads.  I am not a stockholder BTW, just a happy user.

On 10/1/07, Sameer Sahasrabuddhe <sameerds gmail com> wrote:

On 9/28/07, Sameer Sahasrabuddhe <sameerds gmail com> wrote:
>
>   Rename  F2  Switch the selected item's label into edit mode,
>                        allowing user to type in a new name.
>
> All I am saying is that the "action" here is very very close to
> editing the text in a text object. Replace "label" and "name" with
> "text", and you have the same description.

For what its worth, I just discovered that spreadsheet programs
(Gnumeric and also the one in OpenOffice) also use F2 to edit the
contents of a cell. I have rarely used spreadsheets before, and I
decided to try F2 because it seemed natural in the light of my
arguments so far, and it worked!

Only one fine point ... the Gnome HIG says "allowing the user to type
in a new name". If we were to follow that strictly, we would have to
make the whole text selected by default assuming the user always wants
to replace the existing text with new text. The spreadsheets enter
plain edit mode and not replace mode.

Sameer.
--
Research Scholar, Department of CSE, IIT Bombay
http://www.it.iitb.ac.in/~sameerds/
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-- 
Michael Ross
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