Remember that failing to properly convert a mm document can lead to loss of
data: if you start working on an old document without converting it, all old objects will report a size in mm which is not the original one but _without_a_visual_evidence_ of this, being the page wrongly sized too. But all new objects _will_have_correct_sizes_, hence will all be in a different scale than the older ones.
It may be that Mairin doesn't realize this, or maybe doesn't understand. I don't understand it myself, although I hope to be able to, so I can help other users.
I'm thinking that a mm has to be a mm, no matter what the dpi is. So if the user does nothing, won't they just keep on working at the same scale?
Why only mm units are affected?
Thanks, brynn
-----Original Message----- From: LucaDC Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2017 3:35 AM To: inkscape-devel@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Inkscape-devel] UX help
Could there be a "do nothing" option? Or is a choice needed for every
file?
If a "do nothing" option is added, it should maybe warn about the consquences. "This or that might happen" (or "will happen") if you don't make a choice.
The first option (digital artwork) is the do nothing option, which is why
it's
also being pushed heavily as the default choice.
I think that having a default option that does nothing completely voids the purpose of the dialog.
Remember that failing to properly convert a mm document can lead to loss of data: if you start working on an old document without converting it, all old objects will report a size in mm which is not the original one but _without_a_visual_evidence_ of this, being the page wrongly sized too. But all new objects _will_have_correct_sizes_, hence will all be in a different scale than the older ones. This means that if the user works a lot before realizing that something is wrong (e.g. when it comes to comparing an old and a new objects that should match or line up or whatever), the solution can be a pain: either correct the page and all new objects or rescale all new objects to the new-old (wrong) scale. This could mean acting by hand object per object, being the wrong intermixed with the correct ones.
Avoiding this situation is the reason for which I tried to stress the need of a warning to the user like "HEY: BE CAREFUL BECAUSE SOMETHING IMPORTANT HAS CHANGED AND IF YOU DON'T CARE YOU MAY CORRUPT YOUR DRAWINGS AND LOSE HOURS OF WORK!".
Now you're proposing a "do nothing" as default option for who doesn't care?!? Really, I'm a bit disappointed thinking that people fail to get the point.
I understand that creating the less stress on hurried users can have its importance. But trying not to upset them by suggesting them the wrong solution could make them angrier and I can't see how this could be thought as a wise decision. IMO it's definitely a short-sighted decision.
My opinion is that there should be a huge warning sign on the dialog, maybe the biggest object in it (better if pulsating :) ) and the user shouldn't be able to go on before understanding that there could be a problem. Maybe a first warning informative dialog with only a "I've read, I'm ready to choose my option" button that opens a second dialog with the conversion option.
And absolutely: no default option already selected or pushed, unless it's something that you're completely sure that cannot harm without possibility of recovery; which does not mean making a backup of the old document, that I assume is obvious, but that means that when the user will realize that the first choice was wrong he must have some alternative (workable) fixing procedure that saves the new work done so far.
And to confirm the choice the button should not say simply "Ok", but "Ok, do convert my document and let me see what comes out! I will check." (of course not this exact wording, which is ugly, but just to give the idea). It should be clear that the document where you'll be working is going to be different from the original so one should check that everything is fine before going on. THIS IS THE MAIN POINT: users must understand that something weird or even bad could happen to their documents and check them carefully after the conversion.
The main purpose of the dialog should be the _warning_, not the _choice_.
And for sure the "do nothing" option is not eligible as default option because it's not always safe. The only cases where it could be useful are: - the document is in px, i.e. no physical units used inside so 90 DPI or 96 DPI or whatever, makes no difference; - the user really doesn't care about the physical size of the document: maybe it has been drawn in mm or inches but no measure is relevant, only the global graphical appearance and proportions matter; - the document has physical units inside but will not be printed nor converted to other formats nor modified nor its object copy-pasted to other new documents and so on (that is, it's being opened just to look at it, without measuring anything and then closed); - the user knows how to deal with the problem so wants to open the original document and fix it by himself. In all other cases that I can think of, the "do nothing" option is harmful if overlooked.
Regards. Luca
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