PatC Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 As a long-time InDesign user (and QuarkXPress before that) I have been hugely impressed with Publisher. If I may make a suggestion, it would be about how the Guides Manager works. The process of adding guides is a bit odd. It would be simpler to enter a value and then click on an ‘add’ button rather than adding a guide, trying to find it in the list (especially if there are a lot of guides on the page), double-clicking to select and then changing it. Also in the Guides Manager, it would be useful to be able to click to adjust the number of columns (as in the context bar) and gutter rather than use a slider, especially when trying to set the gutter. I usually give up and just type it in. Apologies if these have been raised before, but I checked and couldn't find anything. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickRose Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Another suggestion - how about double clicking any guide to bring up the Guide Manager? gabriel_komorov 1 Quote Windows 10 Pro, I5 3.3G PC 16G RAM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarryP Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 PatC: Entering a value and pressing “Add” sounds like a good way to add guides. There’s easily enough space to allow for that. I agree that the current workflow is less than optimum. Also, why does the “Add Guide” icon look like a page? I don’t get sliders for number of columns and gutter on Windows. I have spinners and I can enter a value by double-clicking the existing value, which sounds like what you want. Can you attach an image/GIF showing what you mean? MickRose: Double-clicking a guide to bring up the Guide Manager doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me. I haven't put a lot of thought into it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatC Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 GarryP: I'm not sure what a spinner is, but on a Mac when you click on the down arrow beside the number of columns and gutter width in the Guides Manager you get a slider. Setting a gutter using this is at best pot luck. As I said I now just type in the value. Here is what I mean. The first image shows the context bar when a text frame is selected. The two arrows beside 'columns' lets you increase the number with a simple click. The second and third images show what you get if you click the arrow beside the value in columns and gutter width in the Guides Manager. It would be much better if the method used in the context tool bar was also used in the Guides Manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted July 25, 2019 Staff Share Posted July 25, 2019 Hi PatC, Welcome to Affinity Forums Thanks for your feedback. Regarding the number of columns (point 2) you can also use the arrow keys (and shift) to increase/decrease the value in the Guides Manager or the mouse scroll-wheel (if your mouse has one). Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software | Affinity Quick Reference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatC Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 Thanks MEB. I didn't know about using the arrow keys, but I think my point is still valid. If I use the arrow keys to go up and down I have to use the keyboard. I might as well just enter a value, which would be quicker than using the arrows. Most (?) Mac users use the Magic mouse, which doesn't have a scroll-wheel. I tend to use a Wacom tablet, which doesn't have a scroll wheel either Adopting the same method as the context toolbar to increase/decrease the values would be better, and keep the UX consistent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fde101 Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 58 minutes ago, PatC said: the Magic mouse, which doesn't have a scroll-wheel The Magic mouse simulates a scroll wheel, but also lets you scroll side-to-side, using gestures on the surface of the mouse. Modern Wacom tablets with the "touch" functionality let you use gestures like those on a laptop's trackpad (but a more extensive range of them) including gestures that simulate the functionality of a scroll wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatC Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 fde101: Thanks. I know you can scroll with a Magic Mouse, but it's not the same as a scroll wheel and it doesn't work for changing values in the Guides Manager. Wacom gestures can be used if you have a touch-enabled version, and I suspect a trackpad would do the same. However, Wacom's touch feature can be a bit flaky and neither works as well as the already implemented up/down arrows on the context tool bar.. Anyway, it is just a suggestion of something to maybe look at. Perhaps a different way of doing things in the Guides Manager could be better, but I can live with typing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarryP Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 PatC: I’ve attached an image of what the columns and gutter controls look like on Windows. They both use a spinner, the same as in the context bar. And here – just for completeness, and if anyone else was wondering – is the definition of a spinner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinner_(computing) A lot of the existing sliders could be made more useful if they were bound to reasonable limits – e.g. for columns maybe 1 to 8 – and they had ‘magnetic stops’ on them like the Navigator zoom slider (see attached, where the indicator snaps to the stops). Entering a value could override the limits if necessary but most users would just be able to use the slider. P.S. I still don’t know why the “Add Guide” button looks like a page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatC Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 GarryP: Perfect, that's exactly what I was suggesting. Why can't I have that on my Mac. I wonder if the Windows version ever had the slider. P.S. I can only assume it's because guides are used on a page. If you entered a value and clicked an add button you wouldn't need the page icon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarryP Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 7 minutes ago, PatC said: I wonder if the Windows version ever had the slider. Good question. Do any of the 'old guard' know the answer? Attached is my crude mock-up of how the guides areas could look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatC Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 GarryP: Clean and does what it says on the tin. I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabriel_komorov Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 On 7/25/2019 at 10:29 AM, MickRose said: Another suggestion - how about double clicking any guide to bring up the Guide Manager? +1 it's intuitive and logical behavior Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.