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Qwertie
Junior Member
Canada
17 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 25 2004 : 1:38:18 PM
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The 'insert () and closing ) ] }' option is nice, except that it does too much--more than advertised in fact. The most annoying thing is that if I type ', it inserts a closing '. This is a problem because I often make a mistake and type ' when I meant to type ; or Enter.
I think the options to insert stuff should be split out into about four options:
- Insert closing ) and ]
- Insert closing }
- Insert closing " and '
Actually, I question whether anyone wants a closing ' inserted anyway.
- Insert () or ();
{here I'm actually making another feature suggestion... if you type
Func(
VA could safely complete it with
Func(); -- notice the semicolon
but if you are typing a more complicated expression, VA can't
really tell if the function call is the last thing in the statement,
so if I type
x = Func(
then it should probably complete it with
x = Func() -- No semcicolon
instead.}
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Qwertie
Junior Member
Canada
17 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2004 : 3:48:20 PM
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Along the same vein, I would like to see "Surround selection on / * ( { #" split out into multiple options. I find this feature a handy way to comment out stuff (and surround with { }), but the "surround with ( [" part is annoying, because I often select some text that I want to REPLACE and then I start typing what I want to replace it with, which is often an opening bracket. But instead of getting replaced, the text just gets brackets around it.
In fact, this same annoyance sometimes happens with / * or {, but much less often.
Anyway, in case anyone is curious, there is a nice workaround. There are unassigned keyboard commands defined under customize | keyboard | Addins...
VAssistXSurroundSelectionW...
VAssistXSurroundSelectionW...
DOH! The names are too long so you can't read them, but you can click them for a description...
Anyway, you can assign e.g. Ctrl+{ and Ctrl+/ to these commands and use them instead of the "Surround selection on / * ( { #" option.
Unfortunately, there's no command for "Surround selection with /* */" :(
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feline
Whole Tomato Software
United Kingdom
19024 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2004 : 5:15:48 PM
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if you search the forum, or simply spend some time here, you will find that some people have rather strong feelings on the subject of adding more options to VAX 
support have explained before that each single option is a lot of work, since this option has to be supported in several different IDE's, all of which work differently.
splitting the surround with option into several options has been asked for before, and the official policy is that the current option is a good comprimise between a small and sensible number of options, and enough options to be useful.
what IDE are you using? in .NET 2003 with C++ the star key '*' is used to surround the selected block with /* */ |
zen is the art of being at one with the two'ness |
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Qwertie
Junior Member
Canada
17 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2004 : 5:23:47 PM
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quote:
what IDE are you using? in .NET 2003 with C++ the star key '*' is used to surround the selected block with /* */
If you had bothered to read my post, you'd know that I don't use that option because I would have to enable another option I *don't* want at the same time. |
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Qwertie
Junior Member
Canada
17 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2004 : 5:53:42 PM
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quote:
support have explained before that each single option is a lot of work, since this option has to be supported in several different IDE's, all of which work differently.
splitting the surround with option into several options has been asked for before, and the official policy is that the current option is a good comprimise between a small and sensible number of options, and enough options to be useful.
Well, a lot of people have trouble understanding my vision of how software development ought to be, but I'll give it to you anyway.
In a nutshell, if adding something is a lot of work, then change your system so that it is easy to add a feature. Refactor and redesign if that's what it takes. If you have duplicate code for each IDE, for example, all of which does the same thing, then unify that code.
And then there's the user interface. No doubt some people are worried that the options dialog could become cluttered with too many options. The solution? Redesign the UI so that it's easy to do simple things, and possible to do more complicated things. You speak as though you have to comprimise between few_options_and_annoying_users_who_want_many_options, and many_options_and_annoying_users_who_want_a_simple_interface. With the right design you could do both. You could have many options, AND few options, AND a simple interface. There are various ways of accomplishing this, some of which you can see already in other products, and others that haven't yet caught on.
I'm probably wasting my time here, but I have seen some cool innovations in VA and I hope WT doesn't quit improving their software because of a lack of creativity. UI design is at the core of WT's business--the whole add-in is one big Visual Studio UI makeover. So it shouldn't be afraid to devote some more thought to the UI of the options dialog, too. It would be a shame to decide against any feature purely on the grounds that the options dialog is getting unweildy.
Oh, and if you're looking to deal with the options dialog problem on the cheap, you can always go with the traditional solution: a config file or registry entries that VA affectionos could use to get more than the options dialog is willing to provide. |
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jpizzi
Tomato Guru
USA
642 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2004 : 12:59:28 PM
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As I understand it, a cluttered options dialog is not the issue. The issue is having so many options that users are unable to find the correct one or spend too much time configuring the application.
For an example of a product that goes too far, take a look at I-Logix's Rhapsody (http://www.ilogix.com/rhapsody/rhapsody.cfm). There is an 870 page manual covering just the configuration options! |
Joe Pizzi |
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feline
Whole Tomato Software
United Kingdom
19024 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2004 : 3:31:27 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Qwertie
If you had bothered to read my post, you'd know that I don't use that option because I would have to enable another option I *don't* want at the same time.
i did read your post, but i didnt quite follow this point, that is all. you need to remember that we all use english differently, and that mis-understandings can happen.
since there is a shortcut to surround the selection with // comments, this is a reasonable request.
case=462 |
zen is the art of being at one with the two'ness |
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feline
Whole Tomato Software
United Kingdom
19024 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2004 : 3:36:32 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Qwertie
Well, a lot of people have trouble understanding my vision of how software development ought to be, but I'll give it to you anyway.
what you are saying is sensible, but you are making the assumption that the same options code can be used for each of the IDE's. based on what Support have said it seems this often is not the case.
even when this is the case, each new option adds more code that needs to be checked for each supported IDE. since the IDE does NOT know VAX is there, and does not know about VAX getting in the way, re-painting the screen, eating key presses, etc, you cannot assume that just because a given piece of code works in one IDE that it will work in a different IDE.
note this is just my personal understanding of what Support have said over time, but i believe it is basically correct.
added to this, the general feeling among the long term users at this forum is that they want Support to spend time fixing existing problems, not adding new features. this is a perfectly understandable point of view. it comes down to a balancing act between new features and bug fixes. |
zen is the art of being at one with the two'ness |
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