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Sticky notes - time for some improvements

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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 03:17 #56783
maxand
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As useful as sticky notes are, they have some annoying features which need fixing IMO.

1) The sticky note always displays an extra, unnecessary, terminating space which often means I cannot place it where I would like to see it without hiding something important like a signal, i.e., the extra space makes it difficult to fit into tight places.

2) On opening a sticky note, the cursor for some strange reason is positioned below the last line of text on a blank line, i.e., the sticky needlessly ends in a carriage return (CR). This means an extra keystroke is needed when backspacing. (Is this linked to the gratuitous terminating space in (1)?)

3) After clicking Reset, the cursor disappears, so it becomes necessary to click in the text area before one can type anything. Since this is non-standard behaviour, I often find myself typing in some replacement text, then wondering why nothing showed up. Surely the cure should be to write an extra line or two of code to restore focus to the text area.

4) Any changes made in text or background colours during editing apply to all further notes created, instead of being local to that note.

5) Once changes have been made to text or background colours, there is no simple way to reselect the default colours (black text on pale yellow background).

6) It is often more convenient to type everything in upper case; I usually have the Caps Lock set On when playing SimSig as I find legibility is improved. There should be a checkbox for toggling upper case On and the state of this toggle should be preserved from note to note. Alternatively, include same checkbox in optional colour formats (see below).

7) It should be easier to copy the contents of a sticky note than at present. My solution would be to include a Copy (or Copy Text) button so that clicking it automatically copies the text to the clipboard, without having to first highlight it, then press Ctrl+C.

The solution to (5) and (6) seems simple. Create a set of optional colour formats for stickies (5 to 10 should be enough), using default colours in each of them to begin with. Then the user could leave Note 1 set to default values but set Note 2 to, say, green on black, Note 3 to white on red, etc. Each option should have a checkbox for Upper Case. The last Note could be reserved by the user for ad hoc changes without interfering with any other presets. There should also be a Default button to restore settings and avoid the need to search the colour palette.

Those conservatives who see no need for improvement need not reply to this thread.

Last edited: 10/03/2014 at 03:52 by maxand
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 03:54 #56784
kaiwhara
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584 posts
Generally agree, can I also ask whether there is any scope to add sticky's to multiplayer sessions as well?

Cheers

Andrew

Sorry guys, I am in the business of making people wait!
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 07:29 #56785
Hugh Jampton
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69 posts
" said:
Those conservatives who see no need for improvement need not reply to this thread.

So you're allowed to express your opinion but certain others aren't? That's not very democratic!

I'm happy with sticky notes as they are. I use sticky paper notes at work (nothing to do with railways) and I find that, in fulfilling their intended purpose of allowing quick notes to be made, they come in one colour - the colour of the nearest pad - and in one colour of pen - whatever pen I have in my hand at the time (invariably black.)

I'd far rather see developer time spent creating new sims than tied up with issues I consider trifling. But that's just my opinion. Others may feel free to differ.

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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 08:27 #56786
maxand
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Hugh, I didn't say others weren't allowed to express their opinion. I was just dropping a broad hint in view of my previous experiences of suggesting improvements in this forum. ;)

I am glad sticky notes work well for you in their present form.

There's design and there's good design. Some of us are so resigned to putting up with irritating interfaces at work, designed by mediocre people, that they become oblivious to minor imperfections. Fine. If no one else points out these obvious but admittedly minor flaws, nothing will ever be done about them. I like interfaces that are so intuitive and seamless that they become practically invisible. This doesn't come easily and usually requires plenty of user feedback.

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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 09:30 #56787
postal
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" said:
Hugh, I didn't say others weren't allowed to express their opinion. I was just dropping a broad hint in view of my previous experiences of suggesting improvements in this forum. ;)

I am glad sticky notes work well for you in their present form.

There's design and there's good design. Some of us are so resigned to putting up with irritating interfaces at work, designed by mediocre people, that they become oblivious to minor imperfections. Fine. If no one else points out these obvious but admittedly minor flaws, nothing will ever be done about them. I like interfaces that are so intuitive and seamless that they become practically invisible. This doesn't come easily and usually requires plenty of user feedback.
Max

I am making no comment about the sticky notes subject matter, but please make sure that your personal preferences are not confusing improvements with changes. All your "broad hint" is doing is reinforcing the impression you give that the only right way is the Max way - I would guess that this view does not have 100% support in these parts.

“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 10:19 #56789
maxand
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Hail, hail, the gang's all here
What the heck do we care


The right way is the Max way. :)

This concludes my input into this thread.

Last edited: 10/03/2014 at 10:20 by maxand
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 10:37 #56792
lazzer
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Blimey ...

The only "improvement" I see necessary for sticky notes is the increase in length of the editing area (currently five lines of text). I mentioned this in another thread a couple of months ago.

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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 11:11 #56794
derbybest
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I have no problem with sticky notes
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 11:23 #56795
AndyG
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" said:
Generally agree, can I also ask whether there is any scope to add sticky's to multiplayer sessions as well?

Cheers

Andrew
Would be useful in multi-player if clients could select private/public (ie visible/not visible to other clients), would be easier than passing a message in a lot of cases.

Might need pubic note creation by a client to be restricted to their logged-on duty area.

I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either.
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 11:24 #56796
headshot119
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" said:
" said:
Generally agree, can I also ask whether there is any scope to add sticky's to multiplayer sessions as well?

Cheers

Andrew
Would be useful in multi-player if clients could select private/public (ie visible/not visible to other clients), would be easier than passing a message in a lot of cases.

Might need pubic note creation by a client to be restricted to their logged-on duty area.
Or the hots being able to "turn off" a players ability to place public notes if they get out of hand.

"Passengers for New Lane, should be seated in the rear coach of the train " - Opinions are my own and not those of my employer
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 11:33 #56797
Danny252
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" said:
1) The sticky note always displays an extra, unnecessary, terminating space which often means I cannot place it where I would like to see it without hiding something important like a signal, i.e., the extra space makes it difficult to fit into tight places.
Yes, the extra space is somewhat annoying.

Quote:
2) On opening a sticky note, the cursor for some strange reason is positioned below the last line of text on a blank line, i.e., the sticky needlessly ends in a carriage return (CR). This means an extra keystroke is needed when backspacing. (Is this linked to the gratuitous terminating space in (1)?)
Never really noticed it, but to be honest. I'd have thought most people aren't too distraught over pressing backspace just once more. I probably prefer it this way, actually, as most edits I make to sticky notes (as compared to just replacing them) involve adding new information.

Quote:
3) After clicking Reset, the cursor disappears, so it becomes necessary to click in the text area before one can type anything. Since this is non-standard behaviour, I often find myself typing in some replacement text, then wondering why nothing showed up. Surely the cure should be to write an extra line or two of code to restore focus to the text area.
Again, never noticed it - I use the aforementioned backspace option, or just make a new sticky note. I can't really see why it's "non-standard behaviour", as most programs act identically if you click buttons away from the editing area.

Quote:
4) Any changes made in text or background colours during editing apply to all further notes created, instead of being local to that note.
This already happens. Colours persist between different sims - heck, they persist even if you close and reopen the loader!

Quote:
5) Once changes have been made to text or background colours, there is no simple way to reselect the default colours (black text on pale yellow background).
Just pick the pale yellow colour from the default set in the colour picker.

Quote:
6) It is often more convenient to type everything in upper case; I usually have the Caps Lock set On when playing SimSig as I find legibility is improved. There should be a checkbox for toggling upper case On and the state of this toggle should be preserved from note to note.
Oddly enough, you've already discovered that your keyboard includes this functionality. It's preserved between notes, even ones outside of Simsig!

Quote:
7) It should be easier to copy the contents of a sticky note than at present. My solution would be to include a Copy (or Copy Text) button so that clicking it automatically copies the text to the clipboard, without having to first highlight it, then press Ctrl+C.
Can you provide any evidence that this is a common enough activity to warrant the programming time? Given that sticky notes are mobile, I can't see too many occasions when you need to copy-paste. Also, as you would still have to move your mouse over to the "copy text" button, I can't actually see any time saving.

Quote:
Those conservatives who see no need for improvement need not reply to this thread.
You really are such a friendly, lovable person.

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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 17:26 #56807
Steamer
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Quote:
Those conservatives who see no need for improvement need not reply to this thread.
...But I will do anyway. I'm mostly neutral on these (never bothered me, but no objection to implementation), with the exception of 6- having two methods of controlling caps lock (Actual computer button and sticky note check box) sounds like a recipe for confusion.

I would, however, like to point out that statements like "Some of us are so resigned to putting up with irritating interfaces at work, designed by mediocre people [my emphasis], that they become oblivious to minor imperfections", "the right way is the Max way" and the one quoted at the start of this post are more likely to provoke knee-jerk reactions than proper consideration. You yourself said that "[good design] usually requires plenty of user feedback." Despite our differing opinions, we're all users.

"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q)
Last edited: 10/03/2014 at 17:26 by Steamer
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 10/03/2014 at 18:05 #56809
Peter Bennet
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To be honest it's a while since I used sticky notes so I don't know much about the proposals or the problem but I've posted to the developer board where the ideas can be taken forward or not in the fullness of time.

Peter

I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 15/03/2014 at 14:03 #57027
belly buster
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I run 2 monitors, with the main in front of me and the additional on the left. When I add a sticky note, the window pops up right over to the left hand side of the left monitor. Could this be fixed to pop up where the mouse is clicked (or at least where the last windows was closed).

Thanks!

Last edited: 15/03/2014 at 14:03 by belly buster
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 15/03/2014 at 15:29 #57032
Peter Bennet
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Added to list.

Peter

I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 15/03/2014 at 22:40 #57062
memorialstingray
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" said:
Blimey ...

The only "improvement" I see necessary for sticky notes is the increase in length of the editing area (currently five lines of text). I mentioned this in another thread a couple of months ago.
In all honesty this is realistic look at a pack of post-it notes when you run out of space it doesn't magically extend you have to use another one.
That said generally I have never had problems with space, but that's just me

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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 15/03/2014 at 23:32 #57076
belly buster
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Just a couple of other usability issues - sort of related to the "can you run SimSig from the keyboard" thread .

I would say 99% of my stickies are one line. I type in "1S10" or "delayed 08:45" hit return hoping it will close the box and add the sticky. But it just goes down to the next line. Can this be worked around, or something like a "return key adds sticky" option added?.

Similarly if you right click a sticky, a "delete sticky" would be great.

Thanks!

BB

Last edited: 15/03/2014 at 23:32 by belly buster
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 16/03/2014 at 00:06 #57078
JamesN
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IIRC Alt+D Deletes a Sticky Automaigcally when the edit window is open

HTH

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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 16/03/2014 at 00:41 #57079
Hpotter
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As does Alt + A for cancel, Alt + O for Ok
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 16/03/2014 at 11:37 #57105
Giantray
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As a full time Signaller in a very busy location I find that I just grab a pen and scrap piece of paper and make a note. I do not have time to consider colour of paper, colour of ink, I just make a note. Sticky Notes in SimSig are fine as they are, in fact better than in real life. I wish I had sticky notes at work, all I get is the backside of used A4 sheets.
Retired Professional Railwayman (1981-2023); Pway & S&T (1981-88); Former Signalman/Signaller/ Signalling Trainer (1989-2023) [AB, TCB, Mechanical, NX, WestCad, Hitachi SARS]; Railway Historian (esp.SER, LCDR); Member of The Permanent Way Institution..
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Sticky notes - time for some improvements 16/03/2014 at 22:29 #57169
dmaze
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" said:
I would say 99% of my stickies are one line.
I will sometimes use them to make mini-simplifiers (at, say, KX) but otherwise it's usually a note about what exactly is in a siding without a berth or when a delayed train says it's going to leave.

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