[Qgis-developer] standardisation of the editing map tools: modify behaviour of press-pan-release tools

[Andrew]

I also would vote for option 3.  I do quite a bit of digitising/editing in
QGIS.  I am used to the default behaviour though there are times i wish for
the editing tools to act as Denis has proposed.  I think it makes sense for
QGIS' default behaviour to be consistent for people coming from other GIS
software. In my mind QGIS is foremost a GIS and should behave as such.  So
i don't think 1 is a good option.  also, 2 sees like it could be
confusing/frustrating.  I don't think its a matter of being afraid of
change but rather of being consistent with the behaviour of other GIS
software.  That being said there are times that i would appreciate having
the editing behaviour Denis is suggesting and would be very interested in
being able to choose.

Andrew

On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 11:27 PM, Denis Rouzaud <denis.rouzaud at gmail.com>
wrote:

>
> On 25.09.2014 08:02, Nathan Woodrow wrote:
>
> Hey Denis,
>
>  There is a 4th option of course and that is a key modifier for override
> to do click-click.  I was planning on doing that a while ago when I thought
> about the same thing.
>
>  So adding something like shift+click to enabled click-click mode.
>
>  Not sure if that is better but there is not a good way to change this
> kind of thing.
>
>  - Nathan
>
>
> Or we use the modifier for the drag'n'drop, if people like to keep a
> button mouse pressed, they don't mind using one more key... just joking!
>
> Modifiers are a pain when you use the tools a lot.
>
> Anyway, if we do this, this can be combined with the options (solution 3)
> Standard mode: simple click: drag'ndrop, shift: click-click
> CAD mode: simple click: click-clcik, shift: drag'n'drop
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 3:46 PM, Denis Rouzaud <denis.rouzaud at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>  Hi all,
>>
>> I'll try to summarize.
>>
>> *QEP*: I don't mind doing one, but I think it's a bit early since we are
>> still discussing.
>>
>> *Problematic*: Drag'n'drop map tools prevent from enhancing CAD tools in
>> QGIS. For this, it is *required *to add click-click to all map tools.
>>
>> *Other softwares:*
>> CAD softwares use click-click actions while design and GIS (Mapinfo, what
>> about ESRI?) use drag'n'drop.
>> New users or even current users might be afraid of such a change.
>>
>> *Pros of methods:*
>> Advantages of click-clik:
>> * allow other actions to be done in the movement
>> * allow cancelling the action (this was not pointed out yet)
>> Advantages of drag'n'drop
>> * More intuitive (for non-CAD users, which I believe is the majority)
>>
>> I see *3 (and a half) solutions* (thanks to Matthias for pointing some):
>>
>> 1.* Replace current* drag'n'drop to click-click
>> + simplest solution to maintain
>> - need time for new users to get used to this
>>
>> 2.* Enable both* click-clik and drag'n'drop: a short click will free the
>> node/feature while a long click (*) will allow drag'n'drop.
>> + both solutions are here
>> - might be confusing for a "standard" user to make a short click and have
>> a node moving without knowing what to do (although escape would cancel the
>> thing)
>>
>> 3. Provide both behaviours and *choose which one to use in options*
>> (e.g. enable CAD behaviour for map tools).
>> + both solutions are here
>> - behaviour not coherent along the different installations
>>
>> half solution: click-click in map tools, allow drag'n'drop in the main
>> identify tool. Like *Microstation*.
>> - this works only for move features (i.e. not feasible for rotate and
>> node tools)
>>
>> Please comment these solutions, to see if there's a consensus.
>> I'll start and vote for 1. ;)
>>
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Denis
>>
>>
>> * The determination of what should be done is made on the distance in
>> pixels from the press position to the release position. If it's small it is
>> considered as a short. Time might also get into consideration: if you
>> long-click but don't move it could be considered as cancel.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 24.09.2014 10:56, Denis Rouzaud wrote:
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> There is somehow an inconsistency in the behaviour of the current editing
>> map tools.
>>
>> Some, like add features, uses the left click to trigger the action.
>> Others, like the node tool or move feature use press-pan-release mouse
>> events:
>> * mouse press to select the node/feature
>> * mouse mouse to move it
>> * mouse release sets the position.
>>
>> I would propose to standardise this and for the latter tools propose the
>> following work flow:
>> * left click enables the move
>> * left click again to validate at position
>> * or right click to cancel
>>
>> Why changing this?
>>
>> If you look at CAD software, they also use the proposed approach. And
>> there's a reason for doing so, which is valid for QGIS too.
>>
>> We are looking at improving the CAD tools in QGIS. In this area, I
>> recommend trying the fantastic CADinput plugin made by Olivier Dalang. The
>> plugin works on top of any map tool and enables CAD tools for each of them.
>>
>> The problem with the press-pan-release map tools is that you can't truly
>> interact while you are actually in the action of the map tool (holding the
>> click):
>> * you can't click anymore and this prevents from using intermediate
>> points (you have to use the tool several times and repeat the operation as
>> many times as intermediate points you need)
>> * it is not really user friendly to have to press keys while holing the
>> click
>>
>> This is why, changing the map tools behaviour is requested if we want to
>> go further with CAD tools in QGIS.
>>
>> Regarding the future of CAD tools in QGIS, I am quite sure the plugin
>> proposed by Olivier would be a good way to go for QGIS, but it still might
>> be a bit early to integrate it in core. The idea is rather first to extend
>> the API and propose ready to use methods, so it will be easy to implement
>> your preferred solution in a plugin.
>>
>> But first, we need to standardise the map tools.
>>
>> So, the bottom line, any objection to changing the behaviour of:
>> * edit node tool
>> * move feature
>> * rotate feature
>> * move label
>> * rotate label
>> * any other press-pan-release map tool that I am not aware of
>> ???
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Denis
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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