[impdev] [kokua-team] Picking good keystrokes for Qarls align tool.

[Nicky Perian]

iirc qarl put up a youtube video detailing usage and there was no mention of shortcut keys.
IMO lets drop the keys. I don't think it is used enough to justify tying up keys.
nicky



>________________________________
> From: David Seikel <onefang at gmail.com>
>To: impdev at lists.imprudenceviewer.org; kokua-team at lists.kokuaviewer.org 
>Sent: Sunday, May 12, 2013 10:30 AM
>Subject: [kokua-team] Picking good keystrokes for Qarls align tool.
> 
>
>I'm opening this up to both teams, since Kokua will have this problem
>to if this align tool is / has been added.
>
>http://redmine.kokuaviewer.org/issues/948 is the original problem.  A
>conflict with the use of Ctrl-A.  Lots of software uses that to mean
>"Select all", and Imprudence is no exception.  So that should stay.
>McCabe added a patch from Ascent viewer that assigned Ctrl-A to Qarls
>prim alignment tool.  This is what caused the bug report, one
>keystroke, two functions attached to it, and both triggering at the
>same time.
>
>McCabe suggested to move it to some other key, but there's a problem
>with that.  Which is why I'm looking for discussion on this one.
>
>The main problem is that the align tool is actually two tools, align, or
>pack.  Align mode means that prims are squashed together so that they
>all start at the same place.  Pack mode is similar, except overlapping
>prims are moved so they are no longer overlapping.  I think, may be the
>other way around, I've never actually used it.
>
>So we really need two keystrokes.  Then there is two modes of
>having the tool active, temporary as you hold down the keys, and
>permanent if you select the radio button at the top of the edit
>floater.  Some of those radio buttons are selected by modifier
>keys, which are in short supply.  So it gets complicated.
>
>Position, rotate, stretch, select face, align.  Each can be selected
>from the radio button group with a mouse click.  No problems there.
>
>Once align is selected, holding down shift changes to pack mode,
>otherwise it's align mode.
>
>Holding down Ctrl puts things into rotate mode.  Holding down
>Ctrl-Shift stretch mode, Alt into focus mode, and any combination that
>involves Alt also is focus mode.  Focus mode is not part of that radio
>group.  Shift by itself is not used, unless a text box is focused, then
>it's used for usual shifted text.  In each of these cases, it does not
>matter which mode it was in, and the previous mode is returned to once
>you let go.
>
>This last one is what the patch from Ascent does, temporarily shift to
>align / pack mode while Ctrl-A/Ctrl-Shift-A is held down.  It should be
>noted that the Select faces radio button in this group has no similar
>hold down method, don't think it makes sense there anyway.  Position,
>the top and default, also has no hold down.
>
>Once in align mode by clicking the radio button, Ctrl and Ctrl-Shift no
>longer temporarily shift to rotate and stretch.
>
>Yes, horrible UI bolted together over the years from various sources,
>but we are stuck with most of it.  Old parts are in peoples muscle
>memory.  My fingers keep trying to use these keystrokes in Blender.  lol
>
>I had thought of the idea of using Ctrl-Shift-A for align, and
>Ctrl-Shift-P for pack.  Ctrl-Shift-P is already used for Advanced menu
>-> UI -> Print selected object info, an obscure debugging option that
>could probably afford to loose it's hot key.  Sticking with shift used
>to switch between align and pack gives us Ctrl-P and Ctrl-Shift-P, but
>now we conflict with Ctrl-P for preferences.
>
>Currently it does not mention anywhere that there's a hot key to
>temporarily switch to align/pack mode anywhere on the UI, though it
>mentions that once you have ALREADY switched.  Not really enough space
>for these things, since there's two of them.
>
>So we are caught between a rock and a hard place if we want two hot keys
>to temporarily switch to align or pack mode.  No available friendly
>mnemonic in both shifted and unshifted modes, or it gets clumsy to hint
>at if using different keys.
>
>What are your thoughts?
>
>McCabe thinks we should have a key.  Though it's two keys needed really.
>
>I want to be lazy and just drop the keys, the radio button works.  B-)
>
>-- 
>A big old stinking pile of genius that no one wants
>coz there are too many silver coated monkeys in the world.
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>
>
>
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