[Libreoffice] LO status bar annoyances

[Friedrich Strohmaier]

Hi Sebastian, *,

Sorry for late answer - I'm scanning the dev list occasionally only..

Sebastian Spaeth schrieb:

>Am I the only one finding the current status bar pretty much useless?

Shure not, but that is not the question in matter.

>About the only thing I actually use there, is the zoom slidebar (and I
>wouldn't use that if I were able to have a single "set 'optimal' zoom
>button in my toolbar which doesn't seem possible).

What You as an individual do use or don't *must not* be a criterium
for UI and feature changes. Even and especially not because You are a
software developer!

Why so?

I come from the other end of user experience with view on the screen
over users shoulders. And be assured: *Every* bloddy feature you hid
anywhere in the UI has a user(base) using it. That's more valid for the
"one click available" as in the status bar.

Whatever You take away it will hit a users foot and without a real
reason understood by him you will leave a user changing the app, or
worse, beeing a user dissapointed and angry with the vendor for
disturbing his workflow.

So decisions like that (UI/features) have to be made by a
mechanism/group trusted by all parts of the community. We suffered from
a developer driven software in the past. I hope we succeed it changing a
community driven one.

The only proper way to have a "Sebastian Spaeth" UI of LibreOffice I
see:
Convince your developer collegues to build an UI framework which allows
such changes without affecting other users. :o))

I'm advocating this since some years:
http://www.documentfoundation.org/lists/discuss/msg00457.html (follow
links)

and recently in ooo-dev list (german, lower part):
http://de.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=dev&msgNo=45171

saying something like:
"To satisfy a widespread userbase will succeed only with an environment,
that enables the possibility to approach user scenarios in a playing
manner. I.e. UI/feature changes must be possible without affecting all
users".

UI/feature Changes require a bunch of accompanying action as is
docu/hints where/how do the task the new way ...

In development area changelogs are very usual to give developers
orientation about the changes. Similar thing is needed in other areas as
well in an adapted way of course.

[.. Want to change status bar ..]

I didn't read all good thoughts about status bar, but as demonstrated I
doubt this is the right place to decide that.

Gruß/regards
-- 
Friedrich
Libreoffice-Box http://libreofficebox.org/
LibreOffice and more on CD/DVD images
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