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TPD4 feature wishlist
VLCNCRZR
Posts: 216
Hello,
I saw some feature wishes for NS2 in another post, so I figured
I might as well start one for TPD4.
Overall, I think this program is a great application.
Here are the lacking features (in my opinion):
1) The ability to scale a graphic/icon image to fit the size of the button. * The program does a very nice job of scaling everything when saving as another panel type.
2) The ability to adjust the transparency of the graphic.
I find myself constantly working with Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop to create and modify graphic sizes and transparency.
I realize to some, this sounds like I am comparing TPD4 to other manufacturers. I am not. I am only pointing out what I feel could be improved.
Who knows, these features may already be in the works.
Thanks for your input.
VLCNCRZR
I saw some feature wishes for NS2 in another post, so I figured
I might as well start one for TPD4.
Overall, I think this program is a great application.
Here are the lacking features (in my opinion):
1) The ability to scale a graphic/icon image to fit the size of the button. * The program does a very nice job of scaling everything when saving as another panel type.
2) The ability to adjust the transparency of the graphic.
I find myself constantly working with Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop to create and modify graphic sizes and transparency.
I realize to some, this sounds like I am comparing TPD4 to other manufacturers. I am not. I am only pointing out what I feel could be improved.
Who knows, these features may already be in the works.
Thanks for your input.
VLCNCRZR
0
Comments
- A multi-line text object
- the ability to lock an object in place (anchor)
Can you expand on the idea of a "multi-line text object" a bit and how it would differ from the multi-line text that is available now? I think I know where you're going, but would like to hear it from the source.
First off, I am not a power user of DesignTP4, so please correct me if I am missing something....
The main issue is not being about to insert line feeds in the text. I've had to use spaces and button width to control layout. From there, I would like to see some minimal markup inside the text including changing justification and text style (bold, italic, etc). Scrolling would be nice, as well as the ability to point the object to a text file and dynamically change the link of the file. Technically you can do this in NetLinx.
I like to provide help pages, popup help, etc. which are mostly text.
Some other niceties would be a list box/drop-down list.
Linefeeds can currently be embedded in button text in two different ways. The first is when editing the State text property in-place (i.e., not using the text entry dialog), use [CTRL]+[Enter] to insert a line break. You will probably not be able to actually see anything in the edit control when you do this, but it is there. To be able to see the line breaks, use the '...' button to bring up the text entry dialog. The same applies here, [Ctrl]+[Enter] starts a new line. This should at least get you passed having to used spaces and word wrapping to get your multi-line text.
Thanks...is there a control character (i.e. $0D) that I can insert into dynamic text to accomplish this?
If your talking about a line break when sending text from the controller you can use the pipe '|' symbol to skip to the next line.
Example:
SEND_COMMAND TouchPanel, "'^TXT-945,1, Line 1|line 2|Line 3'"
In the past I used also the pipe. But I got in trouble with that some days ago. So I simply did
SEND_COMMAND TouchPanel, "'TXT945-Line 1',$0D,$0A,'line 2',$0D,$0A,'Line 3'"
and that works fine.
Another beef I have is the way duplicate bitmaps are handled in the existing copy/paste scheme. All bitmaps are imported, and placed in the target file as "Copy of..." The result can be 3-4 copies of the identical bitmap. If you delete the copies, you then have to go through the entire panel and fix all the references that got blanked out. It's easier and faster just to leave tehm in, but it can also be a big waste of resources. Copy functions need an overwrite/copy flag or prompt for resources with the same name.
I thought the way it handled bitmaps is if a bitmap with the same name is loaded the program will check to see if the bitmaps are the same and if they are it doesn't load the new one. If the bitmaps are different then it adds the copy of prefix to the bitmap. In fact I thought there was some settings some where that affected that but I can't find them anymore.
I have noticed the copy of bitmaps issue. I believe it has something to do if you have a bitmap assigned to a slot. The bitmap will duplicate itself in multiple slots when pasting from another file.
There are options for paste controls (F9) that can be set.
Selecting multiple page to copy from on file to another is definitely needed, good idea.
Now you have to scroll through many frames of the same button animation before you get to where you want.
Also, a replace function would be nice. If you want to change a customer logo from one project to another you have to import the new one, delete the old one and select the new one on the right page... too many mouse clicks
[edit] OH, and how about a 'delete unused resources' function??
Kevin D.
By default, popup pages are positioned based on the x, y coordinates specified for the page in the TPD4 file. There is an option which you can select for a popup page that allows it to be dragged to another location on the screen. There is a second option that determines whether or not a popup page is returned to its original location or the last location it was positioned on the screen. Therefore, it is possible using the drag capability and selecting no for position reset to have a popup page appear in different locations on different standard pages. This might not be the same capability provided by the other guys but it can be useful in certain situations.
I agree however that for most UI applications, having a popup appear in different locations will confuse the user. I use them typically for video windows where I allow the user to move them around the screen and to leave them positioned where they last dragged the popup. If the popup is not dragged by the user, it will of course by default always popup in the same location on the page (or any page it is popped on).
Reese
It is true the "other guys" will let a popup appear on different pages in different locations, but each instance of the same popup must have a unique channel number. This gets to be a real pain after a while. In AMX world, if you need the same popup to appear on 2 different pages in 2 different locations, you simply make 2 different popup pages with the same buttons on them.
If anyone can provide a scenario/files and the Paste Control settings that will duplicate this, it would be much appreciated. There are situations where an image may be assigned to a new icon slot in the target panel, but I haven't been able to cause duplicate image resources. At least not with the source images being exactly the same as the ones that already exist in the target panel. Thanks.
I assume what you're requesting is to replace one image resource with another one that has a different name. A quicker way to pull this off than doing all the replacement on your states by hand is to first import the new image, then use Find & Replace to search for references to the old image and replace them with references to the new image. If you set the scope to 'Entire Panel' and then choose 'Replace All', all the grunt work will be done for you. Then you can go back into the Resource Manager and safely delete the old image.
Otherwise, the import dialog has a checkbox to 'Overwrite resources with duplicate names'. This will effectively remove the current resource and import the new one in its place (as long as they have the same filenames), but without losing references to it on your button states.
Hope this helps you out.
I would like to see page copies use the same resources if the names are the same. Importing a file is all-or-nothing, and to save time I often just re-use single pages.
To clarify my original point, it would be great to be able to merge a file on import - that is, import all the pages, resources used, etc., in one operation, without having to individually copy pages, and going over the entire thing for dupes. Same file, for example - I am in the process of changing the Fireball screens to something that shows all the database operations on a single page. I have two standard pages to replace the current 4, and a dozen popups that go with it. The current mechanics are just awkward and time consuming; I have to cut and paste each one. If merging were available, I could make a file with just my new Fireball screens, merge it into the existing panel, delete the old pages and update my page flips, and I would be done. I could also update all the panels in the project with it - whenever a global change came around, I could edit that single "master" file, then merge it into all the individual ones without having to cut-and-paste pages and buttons like I do now.
Note: I couldn't attach the file, too large; a link is provided below.
Edit: nope, wouldn't let me attach it, still too big I guess. I will have to upload the file to my server and link it, but I have to get running right now, I'll get it later.
The ability to have show & hide effects for individual button entities just as if they were popup pages would be really cool!
I suppose I could just create 300 small popups each containing a single button.
Thomas,
Have you tried using the multi-state bargraphs
and using the tweeners tool to fade the colors?
This works pretty slick.
You could create a multi-state bargraph with 255 states,
then assign any color values at any states.
This way, when you send your levels, you are working
with a 1:1 level assignment.