It would appear that on Sep 7, M Henri Day did say: > I should have nothing against an updating to the OOo GUI, but I can't help > thinking that it's what's under the hood that is most important. Still, we - > the developers - do have to keep in mind that new users to OOo are often > going to have a background in MS Office 2007 and later, rather than in > versions 1997 -2003....
Hello Henri, I don't usually get embroiled in this kind of discussion. But then again I don't usually think the developers of most software would actually listen to me... And I have only just so much time to use my computer before it begins to irritate my sweet lady, thus I really can't spend enough time on it to do it justice... Yes, it seems obvious to me that most new users to OOo are more likely to know more about how to use the current version of Microshaft products than those with more practical UIs like the current OOo Which while it's not by any means perfect, is likely better as it is than anything MS is likely to release in my lifetime. Still even though it's arguably better than Whatever MS is currently doing, many of those new users will blow it off as junk simply because it doesn't feel enough like what they're used to. But there are also a large number of existing OOo users who are just as used to how the current OOo UI works and I suspect many of us will be frustrated by any changes made to make OOo's UI more comfortable for the MS refugees. So I'd like to suggest a few general things. 1) As much as possible make sure any changes to OOo's basic UI concepts include configuration option(s) that allow those users who don't like the changes to revert to the classic UI style. 2) Allow for both item by item (where feasible) toggling of new UI features vs Old style, And an easy quick No brainer UI toggle that's at least as easy to do as the way KDE4 lets you switch back to the classic menu style... 3) Try to avoid changes in the interface just for the sake of eye candy. Aside from that I'd have to say that Lars made a point in his reply from which I quote: It would appear that on Sep 8, Lars Nooden did say: > If you want to make progress on the OOo UI, then find some specifics to > work on. > > It has already been mentioned that full mouseless operation is needed > for the word processor and spreadsheet. That's one of the reasons you > still find WordPerfect word processor floating around. Professional > typists can use it quickly. I'm sure that there are a number of things that haven't been fixed in the old interface yet. (And while I'm hardly a professional typist, I for one would very much like to see ALL software include provision for full mouseless operation, because as bad as my typing is, my rodent skills are exponentially worse.) I really don't know if these two items are already covered or not but: I'd like to see the help documentation include keyboard method instructions for everything that there is a "click on this, right click on that..." type of instruction. There is a useful tool for mouse oriented users called the "format paintbrush" It is possible to define a keyboard shortcut to do the same thing as clicking on the toolbar icon. One can even add a menu item for it. But the act of "pasting" the format info can only be done with the mouse. As a user who has great difficulty getting the mouse to point where I want it to, I would greatly appreciate it if this tool could be configured to use keyboard marking of the target for pasting via a shortcut key rather than a click... But then again, this last item should be covered under the suggestion Lars mentioned about "full mouseless operation"... Well anyway that's my 2 cents worth on the subject... -- | --- ___ | <0> <-> Joe (theWordy) Philbrook | ^ J(tWdy)P | ~\___/~ <<[email protected]>> --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
