[oXygen-user] Comments about a possible new feature

[Sean Wheller]

On Tuesday 27 January 2004 18:37, George Cristian Bina wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I would like to ask you how you feel about adding the possibility to fade
> the lines that are not in the center of the attention in the editing area.
> Do you find this useful ? Please look at the snapshot below to get an idea
> of how this would look like.
>
> Also you may see in the screenshot an actual feature that will go in oXygen
> 3.1 in February: the outliner will be able to show some attibutes and/or
> text content.
>
> http://www.oxygenxml.com/update/oxygen20040127.jpg

Hello George,

First, thanks for requesting user input. It is rare if ever that users get the 
opportunity to do so. SyncRO has been consistent about receiving user 
feedback and I believe that this has in a small way helped to make Oxygen the 
great XML Editor that it is.

I sat and pondered long and hard about the fade feature. As a person who sits 
about 75% of the day infront of Oxygen and uses it to author documents I 
tried to imagine and animate this feature in my minds eye. I did this for 
about twenty minutes and ran through a number of thoughts related to 
usability etc.

I then opened Oxygen and tried the same exercise using a long document. The 
result was amazing. My focus was immediately drawn to the portion of text 
that I would be editing. My focus was cleaner and I was less distracted by 
the on screen surroundings. It almost created a window or view panel inside 
the page. Other parts of the interface were also taken out of focus.

I then left and had a cup of coffee. When I returned I realized just how long 
it took me to locate my position on a screen that on average displays about 
40 lines (I set my font to serif 16 as this is less tiring on the eyes). I 
then went and watch the news, this time when I returned I looked at your 
image. My focus was immediately drawn to the darker area. This is a natural 
neuro-optical reflex described by, I think, Carl Jung but don't ask me for a 
reference.

I know that when I am working, I am intensely focused on a text area. Over the 
years I have learned to filter out desktop items such as the taskbar and the 
menu/toolbars of the editor. Perhaps this would further assist this automatic 
and natural reflex of the mind.

I cannot for certain say whether or not this feature would have a positive or 
negative impact while editing.  I ask myself, will it create a tunnel vision 
and therefore induce eye strain and headache? I would have to try it for a 
day.

>From a pure esthetic perspective it does look good, but looks should not go 
above functionality, preservation of resources and usability.

I don't think that everyone will enjoy using this feature unless they could 
draw some benefit in the way of productivity or an aid thereto. Many years of 
working in an editing interface that is without hue or depth has moulded our 
perception of how an editor page view should look. Some people find it hard 
to author in amongst the tags. In a word processor many people that they 
cannot edit while control characters are shown. Many people report that the 
addition of any feature other than those associated with formatting is a 
distraction. Will this have the same effect? Interestingly, most people do 
become accustomed to having these so called distractions amongst there text. 
There seems to be a point where they cannot work without them. It starts with 
the person having to accept the use for a purpose and gradually becomes the 
norm. Thereafter they find it difficult to work without these controls.

So perhaps it should not be a default, but an option. I for one would love to 
try the effects, it would make an interesting article:-)

Perhaps you could expand on the rational for introducing this feature.

HTH,
-- 
Sean Wheller