Color Sampler Points, Info Panel, Magnifier, Instructions

[Meso]

I was initially confused how to add and delete color sampler points. I also find that both the interface and instructions page would benefit from some changes.

First, when an image is opened two sampler points appear in the Info panel but none are seen on the image. That’s confusing. They appear only after their respective crosshairs are selected in the Info panel and it’s difficult to tell one from the other because they lack numbering. It would be very helpful if sample points were numbered, both on the image and in the Info panel. If you are using more than one or two it becomes difficult to keep them straight and it’s a guessing game as to which is which requiring the user to hide and unhide them one by one until they find they one they are looking for. Numbering them would eliminate this problem and the time wasted as a result.

Next, I struggled mightily to figure out how to remove sampler points and it took quite a few forum posts with the involvement of others in order to puzzle it out. If the instructions at <https://affinity.help/photo2/en-US.lproj/index.html?page=pages/Panels/infoPanel.html&title=Info panel> were clearer (and correct) this fiasco would have been avoided. The instructions say "To remove a sampler: Click to select the sampler entry in the Info panel. The sampler will be highlighted in blue.” There are a number of problems both with how the interface works and how it is described.

I had interpreted “sampler entry” in the instructions to mean the crosshairs icon. Why would a person think otherwise, I wonder? The fact is you have to click anywhere other than on the crosshairs icon for the sampler point or any of the other icons in order to highlight the box representing the sampler point. This is just the opposite of what a user would expect. The instructions would be more accurate to say “click just to the right of the three icons…” and I think it’s fair to say that the instructions as given are unclear at best, or plainly incorrect.

It would also save clicks and wrists to allow someone to select Remove Selected Sampler for a contextual menu by right clicking on the sampler point data field in Info panel or the sampler point on the image, and if putting Remove Selected Sampler in a contextual menu in the Info panel makes sense then putting Add New Sampler there would likewise make sense.

I’m also not a fan of the default magnifier tool that appears when first dragging a sampler point from the Info panel to the image in order to place it. It’s easy enough to dismiss the tool and then move the sampler point with the Move tool, but that’s not my point. I think it can be a useful tool but it would be better if the user could switch it off and on as well as control the level of magnification which by default in my very limited experience with Photo 2 is too great. Perhaps adjusting a magnifier tool’s diameter would also be a good feature.