[PyKDE] Eric3 Usability Questions / Feedback

[Stephen Schaub]

Hi, Detlev,

Thanks for your quick reply.

> > > 1. I create a new project and want to add a .ui form. What's the 
>easiest
> > > way to do this?
>
>There are several ways to add a new .ui form.
>
>1) In the Project Forms Browser show the context menu and select "New
>form...". This shows you a selection dialog with the most common form types
>to select from and opens Qt Designer.

As I mentioned in my initial post, the context menu is not enabled for me 
until the first form is manually added to the project. After the first form 
is added to the project, I can access the context menu for the Project Forms 
Browser. Is this a known issue?

> >
> > I second all these remarks on the usability - they are my concerns too.
> >
> > However I can see that point 1 is more complicated than it may seem, as
> > creating a ui file most certainly needs some initial setup like 
>base-class
> > and name and so on, [snip]

Diez is referring to my suggestion that a "New Form" item be added to the 
"File" menu. Let me clarify: this could activate the same feature that is 
activated by the New Form option on the Project Forms Browser context menu 
(it opens a dialog that prompts the user for the type of form to be created, 
then launches Qt Designer). I really feel this would help new users figure 
out how to get a new form added to their project.

>Most of the stuff you expect is probably somewhere in eric3. It's just a
>matter of finding the right place. Or as another user said, I should stop 
>to
>underestimate eric3.
>
>Regards,
>Detlev

I agree that eric3 is powerful and useful. But I feel that it could stand a 
bit of touching up on the usability front. You said "it's just a matter of 
finding the right place" to activate the desired feature. But with a little 
thought and work, eric3 could be far easier to learn to use -- a tool in 
which users don't have to work so hard to "find the right place." Rethinking 
the toolbars, tweaking some of the functionality slightly in ways I 
described in my original post, etc., would all go a long way towards 
shortening the learning curve for this already excellent product.

eric3 is probably the premier Python GUI development environment. I look 
forward to what the future has in store.

Thanks for listening,

Stephen Schaub