Smart Shapes – Could the adjustment point handles be better differentiated?

[GarryP]

At present the smart shape adjustment point handles (coloured red-orange) all look the same, which can cause some problems when trying to describe to someone else which one to use.

For example, the Double Star Tool has two adjustment point handles, one which starts further from the centre than the other. However, it’s possible to move the one which was nearer to the centre to be further from the centre than the other one.

This can lead to situations such as:

• “Drag the outside handle further in than the inside handle.”
• “Okay.”
• “Now <do some other adjustments>.”
• “Okay”.
• “Now drag the outside handle a bit further out.”
• “By ‘outside handle’ do you mean the handle which you called the outside handle earlier which is now the inside handle, or do you mean the handle which is now further out than the one you earlier called the outside handle?”
• “Err...”

If they were given different shapes – triangle, square, pentagon, etc. – it would be easier to describe/differentiate each handle in the help, in the forums, in the documentation, and in videos (where someone is only listening to the speech, maybe because they don’t have enough screen-space to have the application and the video on-screen at the same time).

Or maybe someone has a better solution.

I scanned the 300+ results of a search for “shape handle” (without the quotes) but couldn’t find anything relevant.

[thomaso]

In my experience mostly the tool tips at the document window bottom help to detect relevant terms and distinguish them more clearly. For the Double Star they aren't named inner / outer but "inner" and "secondary", unfortunately different to their names in the context toolbar as "Inner" vs. "Point" (which indeed appears oddly unspecific).

[GarryP]

Even “inner” and “secondary”, in this case, isn’t much better as either one can be the ‘inner’ one depending on where they have been dragged to.

Even if they were named better, there would still be the small problem of trying to talk to someone remotely (via the forums for example) when trying to explain:

• “Drag the inner radius adjustment node outwards from the centre of the shape.”
• “Which one is the inner radius node?”
• “It’s whichever one shows you that it’s the inner radius, when you hover the mouse pointer over it and you look at the status bar, by the text at the far left saying ‘Drag to adjust inner radius’.”

Saying “Draw the triangle-shaped adjustment node outwards from the centre of the shape” is simply a bit quicker.

I realise this isn’t a massive problem, but I feel that we could have something which is a bit easier.

[thomaso]

Or colours, as for the 4 triangled text-on-path handles.

[v_kyr]

Hmm personally I've no problem with these adjustment handles, but I'm probably used to them either way. - If I would have to explain more clearly to newcomers then, which one to use here in order to get a certain effect/change, I probably would make a quick screenshot and place some numbers to the relevant ones. So I could tell ... "grab nr. 1 and drag that to left, grab nr. 2 and slightly drag that to ..." ... etc.

[Old Bruce]

Use the names from the Context Toolbar.