Proofer Interface Enhancements

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Proofer Interface Enhancements

Status

Introduction

After the successful, but somewhat bumpy, release of WordCheck, I (User:Cpeel|cpeel) decided to take a look at some possible proofer interface enhancements. This page is designed to be a overview and status page to track the development and provide a central location for things brought up in a forum thread.

Brainstorming

These are the things that I've heard people mention they would like to see changed in the current interface. Because things are in this list doesn't mean they will change but is simply a discussion starting point. Please add your own to this list.

  • The edit box used to proof the text needs to be sized manually via the Preferences panel by specifying a specific number of rows and characters. I'd like for it to be sized automatically based on the size of the frame.
  • I'm spoiled by Google Maps. I love being able to drag the map without using scroll icons (enhanced interface) or scrollbars (both interfaces). I want this for the image.
  • I'd like to be able to resize the image via easy-to-access controls in the image frame rather than fishing around in the editing frame to find the resize controls and use them.
  • The 'arrow' controls for the image in the enhanced interface do weird things if you use them, then use the scroll bars. Others have mentioned that they never use the arrows in the enhanced interface.
  • When running WordCheck, the image in the enhanced interface isn't centered like it is in the standard interface. This is most obvious when running in the horizontal interface with a very large monitor. (Note that this occured for the old spellcheck code too and is not related to the new WordCheck.)
  • When running WordCheck, the image in the enhanced interface is reset to its original zoom and pan, it would be nice if it would retain its state throughout the page editing session. (Note that this occured for the old spellcheck code too and is not related to the new WordCheck.)
  • I find myself many times looking at the previous page to the one I'm editing (e.g. for seeing the beginning of a split word). A convenient way to view the previous page image would be very useful.

Distilled features

These are items that have been distilled into specific, implementable features from the Brainstorming list above. Please allow a developer to edit this list since they will know better how hard it would be to implement the feature in the current codebase. Discussion on if they distilled it right is always welcome and encouraged.

  • Enhanced: Move to a frame-based layout similar to the Standard interface
  • Enhanced: Remove triangle image moving icons
  • Both: Make the image draggable a la Google Maps, with help from scriptaculous
  • Both: Add a box on the image frame to allow the image to be resized. It should be collapseable, moveable, and non-intrusive.
  • Both: For vertical layouts, change the edit box to take the entire width of the frame. For horizontal layouts, change the edit box to take 80% of the height of the frame.
  • I still think that providing a way to "Save and Get Next Page" right from the WordCheck screen would save both time for proofers and save some load on the DP servers. Currently you click either "Submit Corrections" or "Quit WordCheck" and wait for the proofing page to be re-sent, then click Save and Get Next Page there. Allowing both to be done at once will eliminate a couple of trips back-and-forth to the DP server. This was suggested way back in January, but didn't make it into the initial release of WordCheck.

Is there some technical reason that makes this hard to do?

Testing sandboxes

Development is currently taking place in the following sandbox: http://www.pgdp.org/~cpeel/c

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