Instant apply and explicit apply in KDE HIG

[Ellen Reitmayr]

On OpenUsability, Stefan Monov suggested to promote the usage of instant apply 
instead of explicit apply in certain situations in KDE

see:
http://openusability.org/forum/message.php?msg_id=1991
http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/1.0/windows.html#instant-apply

I replied that while instant apply is a useful thing in certain situations, 
there undoing operations becomes problematic:

<snip>
for example, in kivio, there is instant apply in the docker windows.
when i modify the x location via the geometry docker, i can either enter a 
value manually (no prob here), or i use the spin box buttons. if i use them 
and i want to revert my changes, i have to press 'undo' as often as i pressed 
the button in the spin box. that is crazy!
</snip>

He proposed to remember only the changes that change direction:

<snip>
A possible approach is to remember every change that changes the direction. 
Following your example with the spinbox:

in the beginning - 1
changes to 2
...3
4
5
6
5 (this change saves in history)
4
3
4 (this one too)

This would also be consistent with the current editbox undo/redo behavior: the 
last solid sequence of backspaces/characters (whichever was last done).
</snip>

I'm tempted to think it's a good idea to promote instant apply in certain, 
defined situations - assuming that the history works.

What is your opinion??
And: Won't it be difficult for users if instant and explicit apply are mixed? 

one might also do a work-around and promote the usage of dockers where 
appropriate.


Cheers,
/el


-- 

Ellen Reitmayr
KDE Usability Project
usability.kde.org
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