[Okular-devel] Okular needs some love.

[FiNeX]

After some testing on okular, I've found a small (?) list of issues.

Pino suggested me to write an email to this ML.

In December I were used to write to Santa Claus, this year I'm writing on 
bugs.kde.org, development MLs and IRC... ;-)

Anyway...

#1 ) Review mode should behave as "BROWSE" "ZOOM", "SELECTION" and "TEXT 
SELECTION" modes.

Actually the "review toolbar" is an "extra mode" added to the 4 main modes. 
When the review toolbar is activated and a tool is selected, it is disabled 
after the first use. It seems that some user wanted it, but this is against 
the standard way of use of okular: when a mode is activated the mouse act as 
expected (browsing, zooming or selecting) until another mode is selected. 
Clicking on a tool of the review toolbar should be the same, not using a 
different paradigm.

The "review" mode should exclude the other 4 modes AND the review tools 
shouldn't autodisable AFTER the first use.

Mostly, softwares use this paradigm (see office automation software or 
graphics editors).

The "disable after first use" was asked because actually there isn't a simple 
way to switch off the tool just used, instead, with my proposal, the user 
will not complain about the behaviour of the tools: them works as expected 
(as all other softwares does).

#2 ) The review toolbar should be improved adding some buttons:

#2.1 ) Move tool.

Actually for move a note, line or any shape, users have to use the CTRL 
modifier. This is not immediate.
It should be better have a "move tool" on the toolbar.
(but NOT removing the CTRL for moving objects)

#2.2 ) Delete tool.

Neither RMB for delete an object is natural, adding a "delete" tool should be 
very useful. Moreover a delete tool should be used for correct a wrong 
highlighting.

#3 ) The thickness of shapes and lines should be editable. Above all for let 
users change the ugly 12pt of the ellipse!

#4 ) Actually the "option" button on popup notes is useless.

#5 ) There is TWO type of notes, why not having only one type of annotation 
and let it be iconified or expanded?

#6 ) The "text annotation" cannot be edited (but you can add on it an editable 
popup note... what? a note to a note? ...funny)


In addition to this "user interface" issues. There is the open problem of the 
portability and the management of reviews/annotations (bug #151614).

The problem is splitted in two part:

1. Local management of notes.
This should be quite easy to solve, using an hash or some other methods should 
be enough for tracking the reviewed files. The main problem is triggered from 
the moving/renaming files.

2. Transferring notes to others.
This will need some further analysis, mainly the idea to have a "package" 
which contains both the file and the XML should be the easyest way to share 
reviewed files between okular users.



Well, this should be all.



Maybe you know all this issues, maybe not. Maybe them are all posted on 
bugzilla, maybe not.

I've preferred write this mail with all my impressions after using okular.

I hope it will be useful for improving it :-)

Thanks for all the patience for reaching the end of this email :-)

Goodbye !!!

-- 
by FiNeX
finex (@) finex (.) org
* * *  www.finex.org * * *
Linux Registered User #306523
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