Re: [LCtalk] user interface issues in LCedit+

[Paul Carver]

On Fri, Mar 31, 2006 at 10:56:05AM +0200, Fokko van Duin wrote:
> As I explained a some time ago, it's an issue on the Windows version 
> of LCedit+ only. It happens after a dialog, but if you click once in 
> the stage window, and then the control window, it's working fine.

I know you've explained it before, please don't take my comments as 
anything but constructive criticism. I was just referencing a couple 
well known examples to support my opinion that the Lanbox is pretty much 
perfect but LCEdit is significantly less than perfect.

Of course no software is perfect, but in the midst of a live performance 
or even just a stressful tech rehearsal some imperfections really stand 
out.


> >The inablity to adjust fade times directly from the 
> >keyboard/numberpad/shuttle is quite inconvenient.
>
> If you mean purely hand fades, you are correct. From firmware v2.06 
> we added on request of theater customers soft reset and soft back, 
> using the manual fader (see archive). The manual fade time can be 
> changed by keys, and also by arrow up/down (incl + shift for larger 
> steps).

Actually that's not what I was referring to. My main point of reference 
is an ETC MicroVisionFX, though I've used older and newer ETC boards at 
various times in the 10 years I've been doing lights.

On the ETC, while a cue is showing on stage I can change its fade up and 
fade down times by simply hitting the time key, then keying in the times 
on the number pad. This change is automatically saved with the cue.

With my right hand on the keypad and my left hand near the Go and Back 
buttons, I can run through an entire show and fine tune all the fade 
times.

Obviously the Lanbox and LCEdit are capable of far more than a 
MicroVisionFX, but I really hate having to keep alternating between 
mouse and keyboard when I want to take 5-10 minutes to zip through 
50-100 cues tweaking the fade times. Taking my hand off the keyboard to 
steer a mouse pointer is just inevitably slower.


Larry Wall, the creator of the Perl programming language, has a saying 
that's something along the lines of "make the easy stuff easy and the 
hard stuff possible". Well, LCEdit makes the hard stuff possible, but it 
falls a bit short at making the easy stuff easy.

That's not to say that I'd be willing to give up our Lanbox. I've done 
lighting effects in the last 6 months that I could never have done 
before.