Annoying Undo -> Redo User Experience

[chris.bannu]

Hi guys,

Is it just me, or is the Undo-Redo a bit glitchy? And I think that the problem is that selecting an object (clicking on it) counts for Undos or Redos.

 

For example.

1. I make 10 changes

2. I undo 10 times, and then accidentally click on the screen (basically deselecting any selected objects)

3. There's no way to redo the 10 steps, not even from the History panel, which gets reset to the point where you clicked on the canvas and deselected everything.

 

This is extremely annoying, should selecting an object really matter for Undos Redos? Even if it would, would that be more important than accidentally losing your work progress based on a minor mistake?

 

Cheers,

Chris

[v_kyr]

Well that's usually essentiell to be able to keep track of what object was selected and what not in a chain of operations. Though IMO it only keeps track of the last selection here.

[toltec]

1 hour ago, chris.bannu said:

This is extremely annoying, should selecting an object really matter for Undos Redos? Even if it would, would that be more important than accidentally losing your work progress based on a minor mistake?

 

 

Well if you think about it. It's like going back in time (time travel). If you do something, like shooting your father, you start a new path. If you then went forward in time, you wouldn't exist in the new reality. Even a tiny change could trigger a totally new future.

 

So, the moment you do anything (now matter how small) you have started a new path.

 

The thing to do is make Snapshots. If you make a Snapshot before undoing, you can always go "Back to the Future".

 

 

[R C-R]

7 hours ago, chris.bannu said:

For example.

1. I make 10 changes

2. I undo 10 times, and then accidentally click on the screen (basically deselecting any selected objects)

For anything more than undoing just a few steps, it is much quicker & more goof-proof to do that in the History panel, either by using the slider or clicking sequentially on some of the steps until you find what you want to undo your work to. As @toltec mentioned, you can also create snapshots.

[chris.bannu]

@toltec Yes I agree, I am also fascinated about time travel and quantum mechanics, but this is an app that can easily be manipulated,  not the laws of physics  Maybe it's just me, but from my perspective, selecting an object should not be subject to Undo/Redo. Great tip about the Snapshots though, had no idea about it

 

@R C-R Yeah, I also use the History panel, but like I said, maybe it's my personal preference  It would be great if that would become an option, that way everyone would be happy

[v_kyr]

Not sure what you mean here concrete, since not every plain consecutevely selection per se is recorded into the undo/redo chain. - For example create three rects, then select them one after another and afterwards undo, what happens here for you and how many of the plain selections have been applied to the undo chain?

[chris.bannu]

@v_kyr No no, my problem is not the fact that selections are recorded, my problem is that if you want to Redo something, if you deselect something by mistake, or select something else by mistake, your Redo is killed, because selecting counts as an Undoable action.

[IanSG]

1 hour ago, chris.bannu said:

It would be great if that would become an option, that way everyone would be happy

When were things ever that simple?  As things stand, if you perform an action (e.g. selecting something) it's recorded in the history and you start a new future (for want of a better term) regardless of whether anything's actually changed.  If you make things optional the software's now got to buffer the selection, carry out the next action (which may not effect a change), determine if there's been a change and either write the history or carry on buffering and move onto the next action - it gets slow and messy!  And that's without the overhead of checking which option's been selected! I'd rather keep things simple and try to get into good habits (for once!).   

[chris.bannu]

27 minutes ago, IanSG said:

When were things ever that simple?  As things stand, if you perform an action (e.g. selecting something) it's recorded in the history and you start a new future (for want of a better term) regardless of whether anything's actually changed.  If you make things optional the software's now got to buffer the selection, carry out the next action (which may not effect a change), determine if there's been a change and either write the history or carry on buffering and move onto the next action - it gets slow and messy!  And that's without the overhead of checking which option's been selected! I'd rather keep things simple and try to get into good habits (for once!).   

 

Maybe I'm too used to Fireworks  Which behaves differently.