The New ACP Template Editor

[Brett B]

[quote name='Ryan H.' date='22 June 2009 - 01:37 PM' timestamp='1245692251' post='1812533']
looks fine to me... the only reason it looks like crap is that it's word wrapping on pretty much every line.

which, admittedly, is not the best situation. Would perhaps be better if the editor were wider and the font slightly smaller [and an option to disable word wrap?].

Look at it in comparison to the 2.3 editor. It looks like nothing is properly left-aligned. New lines and statements are just floating in the middle of the editor.

And yes, I think a wider editor with smaller font would help.

[Rikki]

They're tab-indented, although it's difficult to make out since everything is wrapping.

[Brett B]

[quote name='Rikki' date='22 June 2009 - 01:57 PM' timestamp='1245693469' post='1812544']
They're tab-indented, although it's difficult to make out since everything is wrapping.

So can something be done like making the text smaller to combat the word wrapping?

[chasz]

i think i would rather keep scrolling down rather than having to scroll across as well !!

[Brett B]

[quote name='chasz' date='22 June 2009 - 02:18 PM' timestamp='1245694693' post='1812549']
i think i would rather keep scrolling down rather than having to scroll across as well !!

No one said anything about removing the word wrapping, but in it's current form it leaves the editor text with poor readability.

[Matt]

You can click the green plus on a tab to go full screen, if that helps.

[Brett B]

[quote name='Matt' date='22 June 2009 - 02:23 PM' timestamp='1245694995' post='1812553']
You can click the green plus on a tab to go full screen, if that helps.

I'm not really keen on doing that every time I want to edit the skin though.

[bfarber]

Ultimately, the issue comes down to word-wrapping. The only way to "fix" it is to remove word-wrapping.

This is high on my "wants" list because I think word-wrapping when programming is horrible. It's just an opinion though. Ideally in a future release there will be some options so people can set it how they want.

[Brett B]

[quote name='bfarber' date='22 June 2009 - 02:49 PM' timestamp='1245696545' post='1812562']
Ultimately, the issue comes down to word-wrapping. The only way to "fix" it is to remove word-wrapping.

This is high on my "wants" list because I think word-wrapping when programming is horrible. It's just an opinion though. Ideally in a future release there will be some options so people can set it how they want.

A smaller text size would help. Compare the size of the text in the 2.3 editor to the 3.0 editor.

[Wolfie]

Tossing in my 2¢ here...

Obviously won't happen in v3.0.0 and possibly not until v3.1.x at the earliest (if at all).

[*]Options to turn on/off word wrapping. [*]Font options (font face and size) [*]On the left, for the list of templates..

[*]A virtual pop up window (lightbox anyone?) with the editor in it would be nice. This would make it possible to have a wider editing area without using an actual pop-up window.

[*]be able to resize that - for me, on 1024x768, the list of templates wraps a ton so it looks like a complete mess. [*]be able to "minimize" it, just like you can minimize the right column of the main board index by click the "X" and then bringing it back out again with the arrow.
[*]auto "draft" saving feature - if you don't save the changes for some reason, when you go back to the skins, you have the option of resuming the edits.
[*]would require some work but some form of stripped down RTE. Basically, would just do some formatting, such as Bold, Italics, Underline and Strike-through, maybe a couple of other things.
[*]Tag checker - checks to see if certain tags are closed or not (again the idea of bold, italics, etc).
[*]Activity time:

[*]font options here too!

[*]Maybe a clock (based on their local time) for those who forget that they've been skinning for 11 hours straight. [*]If inactive for a certain amount of time, then dim the screen with a message notifying them that they'll need to log back in to resume their work. [*]If they've been skinning for a certain amount of time nonstop, then have a message that comes up (but doesn't steal focus) that says, "Take a break you skinning freak!" <- Okay maybe something different. Sort of like an easter-egg, but also could serve as a reminder if someone is losing track of time.


Where I mention about the templates list, it bugs me but since I don't edit skins too much, it only bugs me when I use it, so its not often enough to be an issue for me. :)

[*]Tells how long they've been working in the skinning section since it loaded.

[Brett B]

A popup with a wider editing area already exists. Click the green plus on a tab.

If not much else can be done to increase the width of the editing area, I do like the idea of being able to collapse the templates list -- that would save some valuable real estate.

[Wolfie]

[quote name='aurorawx' date='22 June 2009 - 10:56 PM' timestamp='1245725815' post='1812757']
A popup with a wider editing area already exists. Click the green plus on a tab.

If not much else can be done to increase the width of the editing area, I do like the idea of being able to collapse the templates list -- that would save some valuable real estate.

Shows how little I edit skins. :)

I like the idea of collapsing the template list but in the same way as I mentioned (similar to the [X] and [<] on the board index page) and if the template list was a fixed width, so it has a more pleasing appearance. Then ditto it for the pop-up editor, with being able to switch between the different bits you are editing.

:D