Hi,
Michael has made updates to the startup screen.
The current state of the entrance screen can be seen
here:
http://mpa.itc.it/markus/tmp/new_grass61_startup_2.jpg
(also valid for the release branch).
Please comment on further modifications.
Markus
Markus Neteler wrote:
Hi,
Michael has made updates to the startup screen.
The current state of the entrance screen can be seen
here:
http://mpa.itc.it/markus/tmp/new_grass61_startup_2.jpg
(also valid for the release branch).Please comment on further modifications.
There is the issue of translation. See bug #4903. The main question for me is whether it should be up to the translators to make sure the text fits into the buttons, or whether there should be some more automatic resizing ?
Moritz
Markus
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grass-dev@grass.itc.it
http://grass.itc.it/mailman/listinfo/grass-dev
Hello everyone
To be honest I think the wording still confuses things a little. Simply because it takes more than 2 or 3 words to explain the concepts of location, mapset, region, co-ordinate system and GIS database. Perhaps better to have minimal wording in the start-up screen and a more detailed explanation in tool-tip help?
When I started using GRASS I hated how complicated it all was and how much
it made me think about my data and co-ordinate systems but now I really appreciate that---because a thorough understanding of locations, regions etc. is essential to ensuring you get meaningful results out of your GIS analyses.
FWIW I don't think the text in the text-based start-up screen is too bad. Here is my slightly improved version of it:
LOCATION: This is the name of a geographic location. It is defined by a
co-ordinate system and a rectangular boundary. -spearfish- is
the sample LOCATION provided with GRASS.
MAPSET: Every GRASS session runs under a particular MAPSET. Associated
with each MAPSET is a rectangular REGION and a set of maps.
DATABASE: This is the unix directory containing all the GRASS locations.
The REGION defaults to the entire area of the chosen LOCATION.
You may change it later with the command: g.region
Paul
On Mon, 31 Jul 2006, Markus Neteler wrote:
Hi,
Michael has made updates to the startup screen.
The current state of the entrance screen can be seen
here:
http://mpa.itc.it/markus/tmp/new_grass61_startup_2.jpg
(also valid for the release branch).Please comment on further modifications.
Markus
_______________________________________________
grass-dev mailing list
grass-dev@grass.itc.it
http://grass.itc.it/mailman/listinfo/grass-dev
Paul,
you are right - I forgot about that text - it is a pretty good, brief description
polished by years of use. Maybe it could be added like this
Project Location
button ( named e.g. "info", "what it is", or something like that)
and when you click on it - the text from the old interface could pop up in a separate
window if it is possible to do in TclTK, it can even be a more detailed description
if needed.
I too find the new wording somewhat confusing, that is why I asked Markus
to post it for more feedback (it may be just me).
But there may be new users who have a completely different opinion so it would be good
to hear from them.
Helena
Paul Kelly wrote:
Hello everyone
To be honest I think the wording still confuses things a little. Simply because it takes more than 2 or 3 words to explain the concepts of location, mapset, region, co-ordinate system and GIS database. Perhaps better to have minimal wording in the start-up screen and a more detailed explanation in tool-tip help?When I started using GRASS I hated how complicated it all was and how much
it made me think about my data and co-ordinate systems but now I really appreciate that---because a thorough understanding of locations, regions etc. is essential to ensuring you get meaningful results out of your GIS analyses.FWIW I don't think the text in the text-based start-up screen is too bad. Here is my slightly improved version of it:
LOCATION: This is the name of a geographic location. It is defined by a
co-ordinate system and a rectangular boundary. -spearfish- is
the sample LOCATION provided with GRASS.MAPSET: Every GRASS session runs under a particular MAPSET. Associated
with each MAPSET is a rectangular REGION and a set of maps.DATABASE: This is the unix directory containing all the GRASS locations.
The REGION defaults to the entire area of the chosen LOCATION.
You may change it later with the command: g.regionPaul
On Mon, 31 Jul 2006, Markus Neteler wrote:
Hi,
Michael has made updates to the startup screen.
The current state of the entrance screen can be seen
here:
http://mpa.itc.it/markus/tmp/new_grass61_startup_2.jpg
(also valid for the release branch).Please comment on further modifications.
Markus
_______________________________________________
grass-dev mailing list
grass-dev@grass.itc.it
http://grass.itc.it/mailman/listinfo/grass-dev_______________________________________________
grass-dev mailing list
grass-dev@grass.itc.it
http://grass.itc.it/mailman/listinfo/grass-dev
--
Helena Mitasova
Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
North Carolina State University
1125 Jordan Hall
NCSU Box 8208
Raleigh, NC 27695-8208
http://skagit.meas.ncsu.edu/~helena/
email: hmitaso@unity.ncsu.edu
ph: 919-513-1327 (no voicemail)
fax 919 515-7802
I think tooltips, info buttons, and popup message dialogs are a good idea.
The problem is that the TclTk code for the startup screen is perhaps a
decade old and very primitive (at least from my perspective). It doesn't
permit tooltips and new buttons are hard to add, especially formatted to
look nice, be in the right place (next to or below titles, for example), and
not take up an inordinate amount of room.
The intro needs to be rewritten from scratch, with bwidgets added so that
tooltips can be done and the code updated to make it look and function
better. I've started messing with it a couple of times and realized what a
chore it is and dropped it because of other more pressing concerns. After
repeatedly having to explain what was needed to just start GRASS, however, I
finally settled for spiffing up the existing screen as much as possible. But
I'm starting to run short on time as the summer comes to a close, and don't
know whether it's worth the investment to rewrite it from the ground up.
However, if someone wants to take a crack at it...
Michael
__________________________________________
Michael Barton, Professor of Anthropology
School of Human Evolution & Social Change
Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity
Arizona State University
phone: 480-965-6213
fax: 480-965-7671
www: http://www.public.asu.edu/~cmbarton
From: Helena Mitasova <hmitaso@unity.ncsu.edu>
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 13:09:32 -0400
To: GRASS developers list <grass-dev@grass.itc.it>
Subject: Re: [GRASS-dev] startupPaul,
you are right - I forgot about that text - it is a pretty good, brief
description
polished by years of use. Maybe it could be added like thisProject Location
button ( named e.g. "info", "what it is", or something like that)and when you click on it - the text from the old interface could pop up
in a separate
window if it is possible to do in TclTK, it can even be a more detailed
description
if needed.
I too find the new wording somewhat confusing, that is why I asked Markus
to post it for more feedback (it may be just me).But there may be new users who have a completely different opinion so it
would be good
to hear from them.Helena
Paul Kelly wrote:
Hello everyone
To be honest I think the wording still confuses things a little.
Simply because it takes more than 2 or 3 words to explain the concepts
of location, mapset, region, co-ordinate system and GIS database.
Perhaps better to have minimal wording in the start-up screen and a
more detailed explanation in tool-tip help?When I started using GRASS I hated how complicated it all was and how
much
it made me think about my data and co-ordinate systems but now I
really appreciate that---because a thorough understanding of
locations, regions etc. is essential to ensuring you get meaningful
results out of your GIS analyses.FWIW I don't think the text in the text-based start-up screen is too
bad. Here is my slightly improved version of it:LOCATION: This is the name of a geographic location. It is defined by a
co-ordinate system and a rectangular boundary. -spearfish- is
the sample LOCATION provided with GRASS.MAPSET: Every GRASS session runs under a particular MAPSET. Associated
with each MAPSET is a rectangular REGION and a set of maps.DATABASE: This is the unix directory containing all the GRASS locations.
The REGION defaults to the entire area of the chosen LOCATION.
You may change it later with the command: g.regionPaul
On Mon, 31 Jul 2006, Markus Neteler wrote:
Hi,
Michael has made updates to the startup screen.
The current state of the entrance screen can be seen
here:
http://mpa.itc.it/markus/tmp/new_grass61_startup_2.jpg
(also valid for the release branch).Please comment on further modifications.
Markus
_______________________________________________
grass-dev mailing list
grass-dev@grass.itc.it
http://grass.itc.it/mailman/listinfo/grass-dev_______________________________________________
grass-dev mailing list
grass-dev@grass.itc.it
http://grass.itc.it/mailman/listinfo/grass-dev--
Helena Mitasova
Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
North Carolina State University
1125 Jordan Hall
NCSU Box 8208
Raleigh, NC 27695-8208
http://skagit.meas.ncsu.edu/~helena/email: hmitaso@unity.ncsu.edu
ph: 919-513-1327 (no voicemail)
fax 919 515-7802
