[oXygen-user] Comments about a possible new feature

[Sean Wheller]

On Wednesday 04 February 2004 16:32, Sean Wheller wrote:
> On Wednesday 04 February 2004 09:35, George Cristian Bina wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > > I think we have to try it for real before giving it up. So I will try
> > > to link it to the current line and make that available for tests on a
> > > few
> >
> > days.
> >
> > I created a prototype for this, to get it working you have to replace
> > oxygen.jar with
> >  http://www.oxygenxml.com/update/oxygenFade.jar
> >
> > Make sure you put the old oxygen.jar in some other directory because the
> > jars are loaded at runtime by oXygen an if you leave it there renamed
> > then it is possible to be loaded before the new jar. Also keep the old
> > oxygen.jar to be able to restore your installation.
> >
> > Comments welcome!
>
> Thanks George will test it over the next few days.

I am editing. The fade feature is taking a little getting used to. I am 
accustomed to being able to scan a whole score. When I am looking for a 
particular word, the fade area gets in my way. Where previously I would look 
over the page and the general area in which I think the word is, locate it 
and then insert the cursor to that position using the mouse. I now find 
myself looking at the outline view to identify the para in which the word 
resides, then selecting the node in outline, then locating the word, and then 
inserting the cursor. At this point I am not sure if this is productive or 
not. Is this forced use of the outline view a better work practice? Time will 
tell, but the new outline view features are nothing short of "sexy". Keep it.

I have noted that the fade feature does have the effect of depreciating the 
handling of memory resources. The GUI menus, toolbar and left side pane that 
surround the page pane become plain grey blocks when I toggle back to oxygen 
after using another application. I have 1 GB and I have set oxygen to use 
256MB. This does rectify itself when I starting typing or after a short 
pause. This does not happen with the NON FADE version. The difference is 
really apparent when I constrain mem to 128.

Even at 256MB using the down or up keys to navigate in these directions is 
difficult to control. The FADE seems to delay response and hence I am 
pressing up or down too many times. The result is I am often overshooting my 
mark or losing my whereabouts. I must revert back to the standard version as 
the effect of the FADE is to intrusive on my natural work habits.

I have been using this feature for about two hours now. It is slowing my work. 
I don't think that it is because I just need adjusting. I normally adjust 
very easily to different editing environments.

George, I don't think this feature is worth it. That's my opinion, I have 
tried to keep an open mind on this. I initially thought it would be an aid to 
my work, but in practice I now think that I agree with the positions posted 
by other users.

-- 
Sean Wheller