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On that matter, it should be possible to re-package the same product but with different UI configurations. I am pretty sure modern IDEs are quite configurable.
by heavenlyblue 7y ago
On that matter, it should be possible to re-package the same product but with different UI configurations.
I am pretty sure modern IDEs are quite configurable. Why not word processors?
- TeMPOraL 7y agoBecause now every repackaging works differently and you need N copies of the same product if one doesn't contain all features you need.
- gmueckl 7y agoThis is why a lot of applications provide something like workspaces where you get to pick and choose a UI configuration based on the task at hand. I first saw this in Blender and Eclipse (Blender 2.80 has made this feature more prominent, but it's from the old 1.x days). Maya has this to some extent. Adobe has introduced this in Photoshop and some other products. And all of these programs allow you to come up with your own configurations, too. FreeCAD also has this kind of concept, but there the workspaces are actually pretty much corresponding to UI modes, even though you can switch bith independently. The worst outlier here is Visual Studio. It has this kind of concept internally and keeps different UI configurations for editing and debugging. But you get zero control over that as a user. The UI switch when entering/leaving the debugger is hardcoded.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoSure. But workspaces are a way for the user to refocus the UI on particular family of features. But all other features are not gone; they're still there in the program. Depending on the feature type, some may be accessible through menus and could be included into workspace on demand by changing some options.
- heavenlyblue 7y agoSo what's the problem with having those features if we are focusing on the fact that only the presence of them in the UI may make the it more distracting?
- TeMPOraL 7y agoThe article we're discussing argues for removing features, not merely their UI indicators. As for the justification for keeping rarely used features somewhere in the UI anyway, a minimally familiar user will be able to ignore currently unused features faster than they'll be able to find hidden features when they're needed. Human vision has an amazing ability to filter and focus.
- nitrogen 7y agoWord processors used to be. You could drag and rearrange toolbars and icons to reflect your own needs.