Duplicate

See "Take 2" which is the IDEA we will track going forward.

Set free our numeric keypad!

In the old days, when Xyvision moved from proprietary hardware to standard hardware like PC's, it made sense to try to mimic the soft key pad by confiscating the numeric keypad.

But nowadays, how many people will ever get used to the odd soft keypad thing that does not even fit the layout of a normal numeric keypad? People prefer to use the mouse to drive the softkeys or even the X-buttons. The numeric keypad just becomes a total waste of space.

So why not provide a setting in the xyview.ini file so that the user can choose whether to continue using the numeric keypad as a substitute for the old soft keys (for the old die hard users) or just leave the numeric keypad be a normal numeric keypad? (oh and while we are at it, why not a similar setting in the sdedit.ini file)

Whether this setting would be combined with 'restoring' the normal behavior of other keys remains something that needs further discussion...
I am thinking here about things like making the 'page up' and 'page down' letting you move to the next or previous page. And the 'Home' and 'End' keys that let you jump to the start or end of a block.
All in all let the XPP behave like any other application so people do not have to learn new ways of doing things..
Maybe those additional settings require additional entries in the .ini files...I don't know.

First of all if you like the numeric keypad idea, just log in and press the up arrow.
Second don't be shy. If you have your own opinion about this. leave it below in the comments!

Bart Terryn
Parents

  • We've had a lot of discussion about this over the years. People say I need a modern interface and immediately complain about the soft key and ask where are the pull-down menus. Then XPP production users speak up and say, but I know all the soft-menus and can be way more productive tha n any mouse/menu thing you could ever do.

    I would love for the soft-menus to go away but users wont let me. BTW, the "X-buttons" are in reality tied to the soft-menus. All it does it string together the soft-menu commands in the sequence that you press them. So it definitely would make the ability to run without the soft-menus more difficult.

Comment

  • We've had a lot of discussion about this over the years. People say I need a modern interface and immediately complain about the soft key and ask where are the pull-down menus. Then XPP production users speak up and say, but I know all the soft-menus and can be way more productive tha n any mouse/menu thing you could ever do.

    I would love for the soft-menus to go away but users wont let me. BTW, the "X-buttons" are in reality tied to the soft-menus. All it does it string together the soft-menu commands in the sequence that you press them. So it definitely would make the ability to run without the soft-menus more difficult.

Children
  • in reply to Steve Piercey

    Steve,

    There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about my proposed idea (some people even down voted it)
    I am not proposing to do away with the soft menu keys or X-buttons or even the way the numeric keypad is (mis)used to drive the soft menu keys.

    I am just asking that for users, that do not use the numeric keypad as a soft menu keypad, to get a configuration possibility in order to be able to use the numeric keypad as a true numeric keypad.

    So for users who love to do everything through the keyboard (and the numeric keypad) nothing will change (default configuration = keep old behaviour)

    But for people who do not use the numeric keypad as the soft menu keypad, we will get the possibility to change something in the xyview.ini or sdedit.ini file so the numeric keypad becomes a true numeric keypad. Even in that case the soft menu keypad and the X-button window will remain, so that those users can use the mouse to act on it. But the numeric keypad becomes a true numeric keypad that can be used to enter numbers.

    So no, no change in the user interface but a very simple give my numeric keypad back!