On Apr 6, 2010, at 4:52 AM, Krzysztof Kosiński wrote:
I think being able to create multiple desktops for the same document is a huge misfeature. It introduces considerable additional complexity for little benefit. All applications I have ever used work like this:
- You open a document.
- The document stays in memory until you save and / or close it.
- If you open the same document in a different window, those two
copies are not connected in any way. 4. If you save one of them, the second window can complain that the file was modified, and offer to reload in such case (if the app is smart enough). If you don't reload, the document should be considered unsaved, e.g. the Save toolbar item should bring up the Save As dialog.
I'm not sure which programs you are most experienced with, but most that I use and the artists I've seen use do not do things that way.
It is far more common to allow for opening multiple windows on a *single* live in-memory document. Edits in one window are immediately reflected in the other. And yes, I'm speaking of actual windows here, not just split pane views.
Among the software that I know does this are GIMP, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and even Microsoft Word. They all do things the same way that Inkscape currently does. And there are many very strong usability and workflow reasons to allow for this.