On Sat, 2005-02-19 at 21:48 -0400, bulia byak wrote:
A typical user goes like this, "I think it must be settable somewhere... OK, let's try Properties... Nope... Maybe Configuration... No. Where did I see it last time? Ah! It also has this Preferences thing, dammit. Yeah, there it is. OK, let's hope it will now remember it and I won't have to set it again." It's more trial-and-error than anything else. And it's frustrating.
That is exactly why such things need to be standardized. Since Inkscape is a multiplatform application, ideally it should follow Firefox' example and structure the menus depending on the platform specifications and usanses. Mac users will be looking for an "Inkscape" menu and "Preferences". Windows and GNOME users are used to "Edit>Preferences" even though it uses a wrong pattern of action>object instead of object>action. These issues have to be tackled globally for the whole platform and not application by application even though I see it's a lot harder change things.
There is so many ways a structure could make sense. To really have a user in mind, have *consistency with the rest of the platform* in mind.
And since I already mentioned Firefox, I have to express my utter amazement by the design of it. The application is stripped down to solve a basic set of tasks, keeping the complexity down as much as possible. Then it has means to extend its functionality with extensions. Specific functionality that is very useful to a group of people doesn't pollute the interface for everybody while making it easy for users to install an extension providing the functionality. Also it lowers the maintenance for the core application. I am hoping to see you guys invest in making a sane API for scriptability since an illustrator app is just screaming for people to write custom scrpits that automa so many tiring tasks.
And last but not least, as mentioned above, while sharing the core, each platform has a specific interface making it feel native on its host system. Users will find it easy to learn to use the application because it will feel "natural" to them.
Adding features surely is a noble goal. Looking back at why the Inkscape project started I hope the interest in usability isn't just marginal.
cheers