request for interface changes

I'd like to request a few user interface changes or an explanation for how I can achieve what I am after.

1. I want to expand the thread post list so that I can see more than the usual half a dozen at a time without having to press "more replies...".

2. I'd like to be able to resize that window and the main viewing window independently.

3. I'd really like to able to scroll in either window with my mouse wheel but have it stop when I reach the end without it automatically scrolling the other window too.

4. I'd also like a slightly larger default font size. 2 point is tiny on any normal size monitor and 3 point makes people think I am shouting. Is there some way to let each user make everything bigger or smaller as they wish ?

cheers.

- Alan

Hi Alan,

a couple of quicjk answers to a couple of your queries - on pc

4) ctrl + or ctrl - will alter the viewing size of the text. or play with the font size/style in the reply box, but 'as is' is OK

1) You can also alter how many posts are shown at a time - I'll have to find that, its not on this reply screen afaik

2&3, I think it'll need a software rewrite

1) got to your user profile - i think it is under your 'edit options' menu item, (may be only for us 'mods', not you old 'rockers'. Have a shufty, anyway ;-)

Best wishes,

Ray

Alan T. Price said:

I'd like to request a few user interface changes or an explanation for how I can achieve what I am after.

1. I want to expand the thread post list so that I can see more than the usual half a dozen at a time without having to press "more replies...".

Click to expand...

That, as Ray points out, is already an option. Go to the Control Panel from Quick Links". The fourth item is Edit Options: that allows you to choose up to 1000 posts in a list!

Alan T. Price said:

2. I'd like to be able to resize that window and the main viewing window independently.

Click to expand...

Could you clarify this as I don't understand the request. We can resize windows, at least in Safari and Firefox. You must be referring to something else perhaps.

Alan T. Price said:

3. I'd really like to able to scroll in either window with my mouse wheel but have it stop when I reach the end without it automatically scrolling the other window too.

Click to expand...

Again I don't follow your problem. I can scroll down the posts with my Mac super-mouse using the trackball.

Alan T. Price said:

4. I'd also like a slightly larger default font size. 2 point is tiny on any normal size monitor and 3 point makes people think I am shouting. Is there some way to let each user make everything bigger or smaller as they wish ?

Click to expand...

Does Ray's solution work for you?

Cheers.

Asher

BTW, what season is it where you are?

Alan T. Price said:

I'd like to request a few user interface changes or an explanation for how I can achieve what I am after.

Click to expand...

I'd like to add a change in the way the quote icon works above the editor. The way it is implemented, it can not help when I am breaking up a post to reply point-by-point. It would be nice to have a "break quote" feature, which, at the point of the cursor, inserts a close-quote, 3 blank lines, and then an open-quote, returning the cursor to the second blank line, ready for comment.

John Sheehy said:

I'd like to add a change in the way the quote icon works above the editor. The way it is implemented, it can not help when I am breaking up a post to reply point-by-point. It would be nice to have a "break quote" feature, which, at the point of the cursor, inserts a close-quote, 3 blank lines, and then an open-quote, returning the cursor to the second blank line, ready for comment.

Click to expand...

Great idea John. At present Sean is recovering from a back bruising when someone smashed into his car! So we are behind in programming. However, this is something that is helpful to have articulated as you have.

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

That, as Ray points out, is already an option. Go to the Control Panel from Quick Links". The fourth item is Edit Options: that allows you to choose up to 1000 posts in a list!

Click to expand...

this is not working for me where I want it. Sure, it affects the list of threads within a forum but it does not seem to affect the list of posts within a thread.

Could you clarify this as I don't understand the request. We can resize windows, at least in Safari and Firefox. You must be referring to something else perhaps.

Click to expand...

Perhaps I was not actually referring to a "window" but rather a "box". It has a border around it

Anyway, I see one such box with a list of posts. Its only a few lines tall. Below that is a separate box in which the content of one of those posts is displayed. I want to be able to change the height of these boxes so that I get a better balance between the list of posts (thus giving better context) and the displayed post.

Again I don't follow your problem. I can scroll down the posts with my Mac super-mouse using the trackball.

Click to expand...

Me too, but there are problems with it.

When viewing a thread I see a box in which there is a list of posts. It only shows me a few at a time unless I click on "show more replies". Then the list is too long for the box and I need to scroll within that box. Just hold that thought for a moment.

Below that box is a larger box in which a selected post is displayed. It too may be too large to be displayed and so I need to scroll within that box.

When scrolling in either of these boxes, just as when I am in the edit box for replying to a thread, when I reach the end of what I want to scroll the whole screen content starts to scroll, pushing one or more of the boxes out partially or fully out of view. That is not what I wanted to do.

Perhaps the requirement is to split a single window with several boxes displayed in it into a set of separate windows. I don't know.

Perhaps the problem is just with my mouse driver. Again I don't know. I'm using a Logitech SetPoint mouse manager. It seems to work ok in other software.

Does Ray's solution work for you?

Click to expand...

No, as described above.

Cheers.

Asher

BTW, what season is it where you are?

Click to expand...

It's summer here in Perth (Western Australia) with the traditionally hottest month of February yet to come. And by and large it's been hotter and drier than usual so far. I hate 37C / 100F + days, and the 40-44C / 104-111F days were positively uncivilised. At least our winters generally aren't below freezing.

John Sheehy said:

I'd like to add a change in the way the quote icon works above the editor. The way it is implemented, it can not help when I am breaking up a post to reply point-by-point. It would be nice to have a "break quote" feature, which, at the point of the cursor, inserts a close-quote, 3 blank lines, and then an open-quote, returning the cursor to the second blank line, ready for comment.

Click to expand...

Hi John,

I have passed the request onto the master forum where the real experts are. This is a touchy area due to the portions of the code base being utilized differ from browser to browser* which might make it rather complex. But I have not looked at the code yet and hope to not have too (JavaScript components are nightmares of incompatibility**).

enjoy,

Sean (who is off the damned drugs and now working towards rebuilding some strength in muscles in the mid back minimally used for months)


* Internet Explorer tend to have user interfaces a generation or two older than those found Firefox.

** Albeit, much of the rest of the webs code is too.