[KPhotoAlbum] a working photo interface

[Heinz Kohl]

Am Dienstag 20 Februar 2007 20:10 schrieb Shawn Willden:
> > I don't know, what you would need as testing material, but I myself would
> > not work on test material not proofed to show the error.
>
> Yes, I'd want an example that is known to have the problem.  Even better
> would be to have a sequence of steps that reliably create an image that has
> the problem.

I'll look for a possibility to do that.
I'm knowing a Mac which is in reach for me, but I don't know about the 
installed software.
It will take some week.

> > At the moment it's also too expensive in KPA to set even an inexact date
> > manually.
> I *strongly* suspect that you're using the software incorrectly, because
> setting dates with KPA is pretty easy.  Select a pile of images, ..
> If you need to set the same information on multiple images, you can do ..

.. o.k., I've done that for some 300 images.
But, of course, with a KPA which I couldn't set up to get the bounded window 
structure seen in the Demo.

> > For every category one window.
> I've never, ever seen that.  I didnt even know you *could* "un dock" the
> separate category windows.  They're docked by default.
>
> Use the little arrow near the upper-left corner of each category window to
> dock them all inside the "Image Configuration" Window, and drag them 
around ..

When I'm opening the KPA Demo, there is this little arrow near the upper-right 
corner, and it is working pretty.
Out of the demo scenario there is no arrow or equivalent to find, nowhere.

However, there must be a possibility in KDE / KPA to loose this arrow.
Another question is how to get it back.
Of course I've tried "reset layout" repeatedly even before writing the first 
mail - it isn't doing it.

If I create new Archives for other users, which have never used KPA (including 
root), it's the same.

And so there was no trace of a hint to see for me, that it must be a 
configuration problem.
To localize this problem, I've logged in to another user and created an 
(empty) album with KPA (including reset of layout).
The same situation.
Then the same procedure with root to avoid running into a permission problem.
Just the same.

But as the demo is running, it is to expect, that the preset values of my KPA 
installation are defective.

The problem is, having never seen a feature working beside the Demo I can't 
expect such a situation.

I think, the presetting file in the KPA installation is a little defective.
It's not the newest version, identifying itself as
  'KPhotoAlbum SVN (using KDE 3.4.2 Level "b" SUSE 10.0)'
Anyway, I should update.
But this will be together with an update to SUSE 10.2, which I'll make soon.
Could it be of value for anyone to take some further info about the situation 
before that? (If yes, which? For whom?)

> > Think about an older man, who has just done some 500000 clicks in Gimp,
> > roughly 300000 avoidable with work scheduling.
>
> Here's another example of time wasted via misuse of the tool -- How many of
> those clicks can be avoided with shortcut keys?  I use the GIMP quite a
> bit, and I find it requires less mouse usage than Photoshop just because I
> can dynamically reassign shortcuts to avoid having to use menus.  The only
> times I use the menus in the GIMP are (a) actions I know I'm only going to
> take once or (b) to pick an item to assign a shortcut key for it.

O.k, I'm a bit shy to use short keys; for me as an older man never having a 
good memory such things are fading away too soon, even if I have coded them 
myself. An optical reminder is lots better for me.
But beside me, it's generally known by the experts - handling experts, time 
and motion study man, media designer - that the reachability of click buttons 
(flat menu structure, permanent visibility of essential informations, same 
lookout, always the same place for the same button) are known as essential 
for an efficient handling.
Trained CAD designers are finding the buttons without looking at them - if 
it's unavoidable to use the keyboard for them beside of using it as a short 
knob row, this will cut the concentration. There are therefore people 
preferring to click short texts on a display keyboard.
A pull-down menu should be used only for infrequently used tasks, but it was 
setting up an additional and grave handling weakness in XP to show only the 
most recent used entries.
For some university study course this theme is an essential part, it's an 
astonishing fact, but it seems to be rare in computer science courses.

GIMP is a mighty tool, but with the acual handling deficiencies it could be 
never a real competitor to PhotoShop, not with its actual tools, not with 
tools fully equivalent to PhotoShop, but even not with tools twice as good.

I'm knowing some media designers, which are taking time to evaluate every new 
GIMP version.
Result:  dropping, but still resolute head shaking, looking blank because of 
the discrepancy between content and handling.

> I can absolutely see the utility in being able to view images from a single
> scan batch together, and that's quite easy to accomplish with KPA.

Yes, but as a result of work, I'm missing it to do the work

> Honestly, I'm not sure you'll ever approach the efficiency of prints and a
> large desk space for this sort of sorting and relationship identification.

Yes, completely true, at first.
But I don't want to
- make prints from my negatives just for this job
- destroy prints, which are in part damaged and cracked even now
And I would have to do this job more than once.

H. Kohl