Default values on Writer

[RGB ES <rg...@gmail.com>]

AOO 3.4 release notes(1) show that Impress and Draw will have changes
on its default values so I'm wondering if it is possible to change
some defaults on Writer too...

== Context sensitive toolbars ==

Context sensitive toolbars are a really useful feature but new users
tend to not like them because by default they appear on not so useful
places... like on top of the table you are trying to edit. IMHO,
anchoring by default those toolbars on the bottom of the window will
give better user experience.

== Autocorrect options ==

There are several autocorrect options that create confusion among new
(and not so new) users. If you scan the community forums you will see
many people asking how to deactivate autonumbering, how to delete
strange lines that appear after the user typed some dashes or why the
paragraph style changed after they hit Enter twice (that one happens,
to increase the confusion, only when you are using Predefined as
paragraph style...).

After answering lots of question on different OOo boards for several
years now, I firmly believe that the following option under Tools →
AutoCorrect options → Options tab should be *disabled* by default:

- Apply numbering - symbol
- Apply border
- Apply Styles
- Replace Custom Styles
- Replace bullets with
- Combine single line paragraphs if length greater than

(I also disable "url recognition" and "automatic *bold* and
_underline_"... but that's just me ;) ).

== Word Completion ==

Another useful feature that annoys users because of a bad default.

By default the suggestion is presented "in-line". This have a serious
problem if you are editing text in the middle of a paragraph: the text
will jump every time a new suggestion is presented and that's really
annoying when you are near the line edge because the word you are
typing will jump to the next line before its time... in fact, if you
do not accept the suggestion there is a possibility that the word will
return to the previous line. This continuous jumping to and fro is not
pleasant.

Checking under Tools → AutoCorrect Options → Word Completion tab the
option "Show as a tip" provides a far better user experience and make
it more clear that this is a suggestion and not something imposed by
Writer.

== Toolbar buttons ==

Do we need a Zoom button when we have a nice Zoom toolbar bottom right
on the window?

Does "normal people" use data sources enough to justify a toolbar
button by default? Of course that's an important option for many
people but people who use advanced option like databases will for sure
be able to add a button if they need it so why the option is there by
default?

---------------

These are the most important items, I think. Of course there are other
places where defaults can be changed: for example the bibliographic
index that under "Article" do not show the magazine name...

What do you think?

Cheers

Ricardo

(1) https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OOOUSERS/AOO+3.4+Release+Notes

Re: Default values on Writer

[Andrea Pescetti <pe...@apache.org>]

On 08/02/2012 10:29, Gianluca Turconi wrote:
> Il 07/02/2012 23.59, RGB ES ha scritto:
>> 2012/1/29 Andrea Pescetti:
>>> On 22/01/2012 RGB ES wrote:
>>>> == Word Completion ==
>>>> ... Checking under Tools → AutoCorrect Options → Word Completion tab
>>>> the
>>>> option "Show as a tip" provides a far better user experience and make
>>>> it more clear that this is a suggestion and not something imposed by
>>>> Writer.
>>> Indeed, this one should really be changed for better usability.

This is https://issues.apache.org/ooo/show_bug.cgi?id=23261 ; as you 
see, there are conflicting points of view there.

> When the search dialog opens (i.e. pressing CTRL+F on the keybord), the
> "Other options" section, by pressing which the dialog window is extended
> with more available options, is always *closed* by default when the
> dialog is reopened, even when the user previously selected some extra
> search options.

This is https://issues.apache.org/ooo/show_bug.cgi?id=88714 and, at the 
time, it missed by a couple days the deadline for inclusion in 
OpenOffice.org 3.3... very bad timing!

Regards,
   Andrea.

Re: Default values on Writer

[Gianluca Turconi <pu...@letturefantastiche.com>]

Il 07/02/2012 23.59, RGB ES ha scritto:
> 2012/1/29 Andrea Pescetti<pe...@apache.org>:
>> On 22/01/2012 RGB ES wrote:
>>> == Context sensitive toolbars ==
>>> Context sensitive toolbars are a really useful feature but new users
>>> tend to not like them because by default they appear on not so useful
>>> places... like on top of the table you are trying to edit. IMHO,
>>> anchoring by default those toolbars on the bottom of the window will
>>> give better user experience.
>>
>> Yes. Even better would be anchoring them on the right hand side, but the
>> page will redraw when they move out of the object... Anyway, I agree that
>> toolbars that get in the way are a common annoyance for users, so they
>> should be anchored by default.
>>
>>
>>> == Autocorrect options ==
>>> There are several autocorrect options that create confusion among new
>>> (and not so new) users.
>>
>> On this one I'm less sure: there are probably as many (if not more) users
>> who do rely on these features, and if we disbale them by default we will see
>> a lot of requests on how to enable them.
>>
>> Probably the only one that can be safely considered annoying is Number
>> Recognition in tables.
>>
>>> == Word Completion ==
>>> ... Checking under Tools → AutoCorrect Options → Word Completion tab the
>>>
>>> option "Show as a tip" provides a far better user experience and make
>>> it more clear that this is a suggestion and not something imposed by
>>> Writer.
>>
>> Indeed, this one should really be changed for better usability.
>>
>>
>>> == Toolbar buttons ==
>>> Do we need a Zoom button when we have a nice Zoom toolbar bottom right
>>> on the window?
>>
>> Well, not everybody is familiar with the slider, and I don't find it so
>> annoying.
>>
>>> What do you think?
>>
>> Better defaults are indeed low-hanging fruits that can make the difference
>> in usability. If we have consensus in changing at least the items listed
>> here, this would already be nice.
>>
>> Regards,
>>   Andrea.
> Another default that needs a change is the page and column break
> colour (Tools → Options → OpenOffice.org → Appearance). Right now is
> dark blue and it is difficult to see a page break from the text
> boundary. A light red will make easier to identify breaks.
> Cheers
> Ricardo
>

I'd like adding another change to default options.

When the search dialog opens (i.e. pressing CTRL+F on the keybord), the 
"Other options" section, by pressing which the dialog window is extended 
with more available options, is always *closed* by default when the 
dialog is reopened, even when the user previously selected some extra 
search options.

This behavior can cause a usability issue, because the user can't see 
and remember at once what "Other options" are selected, so that the 
search may fail because, for example, regular expressions are selected, 
while the user is now looking for a plain text word or symbol.

The default behavior should be keeping the search dialog window extended 
when it opens and the user has previously selected an extra option.

Here it is how the current default search window always opens in OOo 3.3:

http://www.letturefantastiche.com/romanzi/old_default.jpg

Here it is how the default search window should open when the user has 
previously selected an extra option:

http://www.letturefantastiche.com/romanzi/new_default.jpg

Regards,

-- 
Gianluca Turconi
Lettura gratuita o acquisto di libri e racconti di fantascienza,
fantasy, horror, noir, narrativa fantastica e tradizionale:
http://www.letturefantastiche.com/

Re: Default values on Writer

[RGB ES <rg...@gmail.com>]

2012/1/29 Andrea Pescetti <pe...@apache.org>:
> On 22/01/2012 RGB ES wrote:
>>
>> == Context sensitive toolbars ==
>> Context sensitive toolbars are a really useful feature but new users
>> tend to not like them because by default they appear on not so useful
>> places... like on top of the table you are trying to edit. IMHO,
>> anchoring by default those toolbars on the bottom of the window will
>> give better user experience.
>
>
> Yes. Even better would be anchoring them on the right hand side, but the
> page will redraw when they move out of the object... Anyway, I agree that
> toolbars that get in the way are a common annoyance for users, so they
> should be anchored by default.
>
>
>> == Autocorrect options ==
>> There are several autocorrect options that create confusion among new
>> (and not so new) users.
>
>
> On this one I'm less sure: there are probably as many (if not more) users
> who do rely on these features, and if we disbale them by default we will see
> a lot of requests on how to enable them.
>
> Probably the only one that can be safely considered annoying is Number
> Recognition in tables.
>
>> == Word Completion ==
>> ... Checking under Tools → AutoCorrect Options → Word Completion tab the
>>
>> option "Show as a tip" provides a far better user experience and make
>> it more clear that this is a suggestion and not something imposed by
>> Writer.
>
>
> Indeed, this one should really be changed for better usability.
>
>
>> == Toolbar buttons ==
>> Do we need a Zoom button when we have a nice Zoom toolbar bottom right
>> on the window?
>
>
> Well, not everybody is familiar with the slider, and I don't find it so
> annoying.
>
>> What do you think?
>
>
> Better defaults are indeed low-hanging fruits that can make the difference
> in usability. If we have consensus in changing at least the items listed
> here, this would already be nice.
>
> Regards,
>  Andrea.

Another default that needs a change is the page and column break
colour (Tools → Options → OpenOffice.org → Appearance). Right now is
dark blue and it is difficult to see a page break from the text
boundary. A light red will make easier to identify breaks.
Cheers
Ricardo

Re: Default values on Writer

[Andrea Pescetti <pe...@apache.org>]

On 22/01/2012 RGB ES wrote:
> == Context sensitive toolbars ==
> Context sensitive toolbars are a really useful feature but new users
> tend to not like them because by default they appear on not so useful
> places... like on top of the table you are trying to edit. IMHO,
> anchoring by default those toolbars on the bottom of the window will
> give better user experience.

Yes. Even better would be anchoring them on the right hand side, but the 
page will redraw when they move out of the object... Anyway, I agree 
that toolbars that get in the way are a common annoyance for users, so 
they should be anchored by default.

> == Autocorrect options ==
> There are several autocorrect options that create confusion among new
> (and not so new) users.

On this one I'm less sure: there are probably as many (if not more) 
users who do rely on these features, and if we disbale them by default 
we will see a lot of requests on how to enable them.

Probably the only one that can be safely considered annoying is Number 
Recognition in tables.

> == Word Completion ==
> ... Checking under Tools → AutoCorrect Options → Word Completion tab the
> option "Show as a tip" provides a far better user experience and make
> it more clear that this is a suggestion and not something imposed by
> Writer.

Indeed, this one should really be changed for better usability.

> == Toolbar buttons ==
> Do we need a Zoom button when we have a nice Zoom toolbar bottom right
> on the window?

Well, not everybody is familiar with the slider, and I don't find it so 
annoying.

> What do you think?

Better defaults are indeed low-hanging fruits that can make the 
difference in usability. If we have consensus in changing at least the 
items listed here, this would already be nice.

Regards,
   Andrea.