[oXygen-user] 10 files open is too many

[Oxygen XML Editor Support]

Hi Robert,

You provided us some great feedback about your workflow.
Please see some remarks below:

> Until you have a way of editing a DITA map file in the Maps Manager, while another DITA map in the Maps Manager provides the key links for it, we won't be editing DITA maps in the Maps Manager, because editing the keys without verifying they are spelled correctly causes too many typos.

Yes, we definitely should have a way for users to state that a certain 
map is the main map relative to which all keyrefs are resolved and from 
which all keys are collected.

> Moving things around is more convenient in the Maps Manager, but editing attributes is the biggest thing in map files, and it involves:
> - right-click on the reference you want to change
> - select the right item from a long menu
> - find the right edit field in a massive dialog box
> - check around the box to make sure the field you see is correct, not some other field
>    - this would ease with practice, of course, but editing maps is not a big part of my job.

If you right click a topic ref in the DITA Maps Manager, there are two 
actions "Edit Properties" and "Edit Attributes".
I think you are discussing about the "Edit Properties" action.
Maybe the "Edit Attributes" would be more familiar to you, it opens a 
quick attributes editor + it has an expansion marker which shows the 
same attributes table you are used to when editing in the Author page.
You can also assign keyboard shortcut to both actions.
Would you consider it a good improvement if the regular Attributes view 
would allow you to edit also attributes from the DITA Maps Manager?

> Can you add a setting to hide attributes like "class", "xtrc", "xtrf" that are required in the DTD, but only sort-of editable, that we actually treat as read only?
> This would mean that they would not show up in the Attributes View, unless someone edited them somehow.

We actually have Java API to hide attributes from the attributes view.

Indeed the @class value is not useful for editing.
For a developer who customizes the DITA publishing seeing (and copying) 
the @class attribute helps because it allows him to see what exactly 
should be matched by the XSLT templates.
It also helps me when creating DITA operations as I have to write XPath 
expressions which match certain elements using the class value.
But indeed the specification says:

> The @class attribute should not be modified by authors.

So maybe we could show the @class attribute but as not-editable.

The xtrf and xtrc attributes indeed are for debug purposes and even the 
DITA 1.2 specs says they should be hidden:

> These attributes are normally hidden from authors and exposed only to processing tools or editor macros. Values used in these attributes may be implementation-dependent.

So we should hide them completely for DITA. I added an improvement 
request for this.

Regards,
Radu

Radu Coravu
<oXygen/>  XML Editor, Schema Editor and XSLT Editor/Debugger
http://www.oxygenxml.com

On 8/15/2012 5:42 PM, Echlin, Robert wrote:
> Hi Adrian,
> Thanks for your feedback.
> I can see that making an editor work better with many files (20 or more) is a long term process, especially when you are using third-party libraries. Optimizing it for the way people use your particular editor is important, and not easy.
>
> A bit about how I work:
> As you probably realize, keeping many MS Explorer windows open slows down MS Explorer, even slower if one or more  of them has a tree view open.
> My current attempt at a solution is to keep several links to folders in those approximate areas in a corner of my desktop, and close them often.
> I expect to get a faster machine running MS Win 7, which may help.
>
> As another attempt at a solution, I keep a couple of key files open at all times in Editor, for quick access to different parts of my project that are separated by, for instance, 5 folders up and 6 folders down.
> These files are in key folders related to different work needs:
> - The DITA plugin I am currently working on
> - The DTD's in a separate plugin
> - a "bin" folder where I have an XSLT conversion script
> - generally there is a third one
> - and the latest 10 or 15 files I am working on - Ant, XSLT, CSS, Javascript
>
> I also keep oXygen Author open, with test files for my current work, and DITA files containing documentation for our writers to refer to.
>
> Our current standard for organizing DITA files and maps (thanks Eliot!), is:
> - an Eclipse map for an Eclipse plugin that will probably contain 4 to 8 "books"
> - a folder for each "book" in the Eclipse plugin, with a DITA bookmap, a DITA map with keys for each image and topic file, and an images folder
> - folders in each book for "chapters" in the book, with a DITA map
>
> We have a script that generates the DITA map with the keys.
> We use keys for all links, except those between maps.
>
> Until you have a way of editing a DITA map file in the Maps Manager, while another DITA map in the Maps Manager provides the key links for it, we won't be editing DITA maps in the Maps Manager, because editing the keys without verifying they are spelled correctly causes too many typos.
>
> Some of our writers try to use Maps Manager, because it is hard to find the DITA map in the lists of DITA topics they have open in oXygen. This is why I asked if you could help them identify the DITA map files in the editor easily. Both tabs and the "narrow list" should be colorized, I think.
>
> The other issue with editing sub-maps in Maps Manager is that the process for fixing things if you edit a key manually, can be a pain.
> (Steps below)
>
> Personally, I have not gotten used to editing maps in Maps Manager.
> The attributes view and elements view in the Editor window work the same way in maps as in topics.
> Moving things around is more convenient in the Maps Manager, but editing attributes is the biggest thing in map files, and it involves:
> - right-click on the reference you want to change
> - select the right item from a long menu
> - find the right edit field in a massive dialog box
> - check around the box to make sure the field you see is correct, not some other field
>     - this would ease with practice, of course, but editing maps is not a big part of my job.
>
> Compare to editing attributes in the Editor window:
> - left-click to select the reference to edit
> - double-click in the attributes view on the correct attribute
>     - the attributes in use are at the top
> - select from the drop-down list or edit
>
> Related point:
> Can you add a setting to hide attributes like "class", "xtrc", "xtrf" that are required in the DTD, but only sort-of editable, that we actually treat as read only?
> This would mean that they would not show up in the Attributes View, unless someone edited them somehow.
>
> Thanks,
> Rob
>
> Rob Echlin, 1.613.270.5796 | Skype: rob.echlin.wr
>
> Here are the steps to fix a keyref if you edit it to a value that does not yet exist in the keys list.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> == Creating graphics keys after the keyref is changed or created ==
>
> What to do if you change or create a keyref to a graphics file before the key is set up?
>
> If you use a new graphics key that oXygen does not know about, you get the message:
> 'Could not resolve the target for key reference "foo"'
>
> Note: Normally this will happen when you are editing the dita file in text mode.
>
> This takes several steps to resolve.
>
>      1) Save your DITA topic file.
>      2) Make sure the name of the graphics file matches the name of the keyref in your DITA file.
>      3) Run make-map-files.
>      4) In Maps Manager, run "Refresh References" on the top level map for your book.
>           This is the icon with the curving blue arrow, 6th from the left in the top row.
>           At this point you have set up the information in oXygen so that the correct key is available to resolve,
>           but now you have to tell oXygen to try to resolve it again.
>      5) Revert your dita file, or press "F5".
>          The image should display correctly in the dita file.
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Oxygen XML Editor Support [mailto:support at oxygenxml.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 8:58 AM
> To: Echlin, Robert
> Cc: Oxygen User
> Subject: Re: [oXygen-user] 10 files open is too many
>
> Hello Robert,
>
> Thank you for the feedback.
>
> I'll tackle each of the issues you have raised in turn.
>
> - *narrow list box*
> I can see the problem with this. I've logged an improvement request on
> our issue tracking tool to enlarge the list box to fit the longest file
> name. There will probably still be an upper limit of allowed characters
> in the file name, but it will be significantly increased.
>
> - *closing files*
> - *dragging files to change their order*
> We are aware of both these issues. I've logged your report on both
> accounts. The difficulty in fixing such issues is that they are located
> in the docking framework library that we are using from a third party.
> Fixing foreign code is always a problem, but we're doing everything we
> can to report and when possible also patch the problems by ourselves.
>
> - *select different file, then go back*
> We've tested and this problem has been resolved in the latest version of
> the docking framework library. We've already updated this library to the
> latest version in the current development stream. This means the problem
> will be gone in Oxygen v14.1.
>
> - *ditamap vs. topic file*
> I'd like to clarify here what list of files are you referring to. Are
> you referring to the items listed in the "narrow list box"? Or is it in
> some other location?
> We could use a slightly different color for the bubble of .ditamap files
> and thus make it easier to tell them apart from topic files.
>
> I guess this means you prefer to edit .ditamap files in the editor
> rather than the DITA Maps Manager. If I may ask, why do you prefer the
> main editor to the .ditamap specialized DITA Maps Manager?
>
> In each case we will notify you when the issue has been resolved or
> implemented.
>
> Regards,
> Adrian
>
> Adrian Buza
> oXygen XML Editor and Author Support
>
> Tel: +1-650-352-1250 ext.202
> Fax: +40-251-461482
> support at oxygenxml.com
> http://www.oxygenxml.com
>
>
> Echlin, Robert wrote:
>>
>> Hi
>>
>> I find when I have a few files open in oXygen, that I soon reach the
>> limit of too many files to find the one I want.
>>
>> This is a common problem, that I find in other apps as well. This is a
>> hard problem.
>>
>> However, let's look at some specific irritants that you can probably
>> do something about, most of which do not occur in other apps.
>>
>> - *narrow list box*
>>
>> The icon at the right of the list of files will show the whole list if
>> you click on it.
>>
>> The names of the files are truncated, because that drop down list is
>> too narrow.
>>
>> When this list is open, it doesn't matter if you can't see a lot of
>> stuff under it.
>>
>> Please make it wider, maybe 50% wider?
>>
>> Or variable, so it will be as wide as the widest filename?
>>
>> - *closing files*
>>
>> Let's say I have 20 files open and I want to close the three in the
>> middle.
>>
>> right click on one.
>>
>> select "close", and it closes.
>>
>> But.
>>
>> Instead of seeing the "middle" of the list, where I was just working,
>> I now see the "left" side. (This is the bit I want you to fix)
>>
>> I then see the left most few files, maybe 6, and to get to the next
>> one I want to close, I have to click the scroll button several/many times.
>>
>> Alternatively, I can click the "whole list" icon and find the file I
>> want to next close, then select it. two clicks and some eyeball
>> scrolling. Slow.
>>
>> - *dragging files to change their order*
>>
>> This is a similar problem to closing files.
>>
>> Try to drag a file, and the screen jumps to the left-most items,
>> leaving you with a lot of scrolling to do to find it again, to drag it
>> past one . more . file!
>>
>> - *select different file, then go back*
>>
>> Do this:
>>
>> - If I have currently selected a file that I am viewing in "text"
>> mode, then click on the name of a file that is in "author" mode.
>>
>> Get this:
>>
>> - The number of toolbars open increases (that's OK, by itself)
>>
>> - The file I am now looking at "moves" to the left side of the screen
>> (sometimes the right), instead of staying where it was. This may hide
>> the file I was looking at before.
>>
>> This makes it difficult to move back and forth between two files.
>>
>> - *ditamap vs. topic file*
>>
>> One of our writers pointed out to me that maps open in the list get
>> "lost" in the dita topics.
>>
>> Maybe different file types could have different background colors or
>> some other differentiator in the list of files?
>>
>> Thanks for considering these requests.
>>
>> Rob
>>
>> --
>>
>> *Rob Echlin*, Documentation Systems Architect, *Wind River**
>> *+1.613.270.5796 | Skype: rob.echlin.wr
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
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>
>