Staff type edit dlg box
To edit the staff types (including making new ones), one has to:
1) Right click on a staff
2) Select "Staff Properties"
3) Press the "Edit" button
I think there are two potential problems:
1) It is not the obvious place where to look for such an editor
2) A user could easily think he is editing the current staff, while he is actually working on a collection of different objects (staff types rather than staves), which may or may not affect the current stave (according he actually changes the staff type the current stave is attached to or not).
Proposal:
A) Remove the "Edit" button from the Staff Properties dlg box
and
B) Add a new "Staff types" menu item to the "Create" (or "Edit"?) menu to directly calls the staff type editor.
Comments?
M.
Comments
I agree to add a menu item in Edit. (B)
If we remove the Edit Staff Type button from the staff properties, it would be good to have a way to go directly to the Edit -> Staff type dialog anyway. This is somehow similar to Text properties -> Style, where it would be good to have a way to go to the Text styles dialog. We already added something in the contextual menu for a note. As a first try, I agree the button could just be removed.(A)
In reply to I agree to add a menu item in by [DELETED] 5
OK for B: I'll put together a pull request.
About A: I see your point about leaving some sort of 'bridge' from the staff properties dlg to the Staff Type editor; it might be useful occasionally. As well a link from the Text Properties dlg to the Text Style editor.
However, it might be confusing as well: I remember at least one post from a user who clearly had not a clue about what he was doing by pushing that "Edit" button.
At least the "Style" item in the note contextual menu brings to a dlg which actually and directly affect notes (the note the user clicked on and all the other notes of the score): a wider context, but of the same level or type: notes.
OTOH, Staff Props => Staff Type editor or Text Style Props => Text Styles editor bring the user to a different context: he is no longer working on the staff or on the text, not even on staves or texts in general, but on a different level: 'abstract' templates which can then be applied to staves or text.
So, I am not entirely convinced: either we make very clear and obvious the change in level or we remove the 'bridge' altogether.
Thanks,
M.
In reply to OK for B: I'll put together a by Miwarre
Let's a remove the bridge first and think about a better one. Honestly I might be the user you refer to in your post, the one who was lost.
My first thought would be something like a hyperlink instead of a button, and "Go to Staff type editor" or something similar. Will ask chenlung on IRC, he is good naming things :)
In reply to Let's a remove the bridge by [DELETED] 5
I just sent 2 pull requests: one for adding the "Staff Types" item to the "Edit" menu and one for removing the "Edit" button from the Staff Properties dlg box (just to keep things logically separate: of course applying the second requires having applied the first or no way to access the staff type editor would remain!).
I can merge them myself, but I would like an eye on the code invoked by the new menu item: full re-laying out is needed and I am not 100% sure I found the right way to do it.
Thanks,
M.