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| "Snap to grid" for signals 09/05/2014 at 14:25 #60240 | |
maxand
1637 posts |
When one drags a sticky note around, it can only be placed in fixed locations on the panel, as if there was an invisible grid marking where it can be positioned. This is a very handy feature as it makes it easy to align sticky notes horizontally or vertically. This feature has been termed "snap to grid" in other applications such as painting programs, and can be turned on or off. When off, an object can be positioned with single-pixel precision. When on, the dragged object "snaps" into position at a predefined grid location. The grid spacing can be adjustable. E.g., if it is 10 pixels, the shortest distance an object can be dragged would be 10px horizontally or 10px vertically. If the mouse cursor could "snap to grid" for signal positions there would be less of a tendency to click just outside a signal's zone. When the crosshair cursor is moved into the signal zone it would immediately snap to the centre of that signal. Would this be difficult to implement in the core code? How many of you guys think it might be useful to have? Log in to reply |
| "Snap to grid" for signals 09/05/2014 at 17:00 #60249 | |
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Lardybiker
771 posts |
The screen layout in SimSig is built up using a fixed-width font. I suspect, though Geoff would have to confirm, that the sticky notes simply use the individual character position as it's origin in the track view. As a result, it look like a snap-to-grid function. As for the snap-to-signal feature, while I like your thinking, I am not sure it's a case of whether it's useful or not but instead whether a real IECC would have such a feature. I can't say personally whether an IECC does or doesn't have such a feature. I shall go out on a limb and say the reason SimSig doesn't already do this is because the real thing doesn't either. If that's correct then the interface should stay exactly as it is. Log in to reply The following user said thank you: DriverCurran |
| "Snap to grid" for signals 09/05/2014 at 17:16 #60251 | |
GeoffM
6380 posts 
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Not sure what the point of mouse snapping to grid would be. If you're in the click zone then you're there anyway; if you're outside it then you'll be outside of any snap-to-grid area as well. The click zone is the full 8x16 pixel area of one character, and many things cover more than one character horizontally, plus if nothing is detected in the immediate area then it looks to the side as well.
SimSig Boss Last edited: 09/05/2014 at 17:17 by GeoffM Log in to reply The following users said thank you: DriverCurran, maxand |
| "Snap to grid" for signals 10/05/2014 at 01:06 #60268 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
Quote:If you're in the click zone then you're there anyway; if you're outside it then you'll be outside of any snap-to-grid area as well.Seeing the mouse cursor move to exactly the centre of the click zone, once inside it, would be a helpful cue, otherwise there is nothing to tell us we're within the zone. The only indication at present is to ensure the cross-hairs are over the signal aspect itself. If the mouse cursor snapped to the centre, then one knows the mouse is locked in. However, as Lardybiker observed, it would not surprise me either if real screens lacked this feature, which is admittedly a bit of a luxury. Moreover, it would depend on processing speed. For example, delay in displaying a tooltip can be annoying when one is hovering over its trigger. Similarly, delayed snap-to-grid would be a turnoff. SimSig can be slow to respond when CPU-intensive processes are running in the background. It was just a suggestion. Last edited: 10/05/2014 at 01:06 by maxand Log in to reply |