back button

[jdr]

When browsing through my diagrams by following links (composite elements, diagram references, diagram links), is there a way to navigate back to the diagram I came from?

TIA,

Jan

[«Midnight»]

Just like a browser. If you've got a 'back' button on your keyboard that should work. If not, use alt-left arrow (or right arrow for forward). See the keyboard shortcut list in the EA documentation or from the EA main menu choose Help | Keyboard Accelerator Map.

Remember that you can use the window tabs - but that's confusing if there are a lot of them. You can change their default position using the General tab of the Tools | Options dialog. [You'll need to exit and restart EA for the change to take effect.]

Finally, if there's someplace you need to go often, you can use hyperlinks to open or navigate to a diagram. Check the EA help. You can add these hyperlinks to a customized start page, or set up your own. Once again check EA help. [Look for Default Diagram, then Start Page, and go from there.]

Take a look at the various Save As pages in the EA help as well.

HTH, David

[jdr]

The back functionality you describe is indeed what I am looking for.

But, the keyboard back button (or alt-left) do not take me to the diagram I came from. It takes me to the diagram to the left of the current diagram in the window tabs.

My diagrams contain quite some composite elements and hyperlinks (exactly using the techniques you suggest).
No when I'm explaining/working on a diagram, I often descend into a related diagram, using these links. Then I want to go back to the bigger picture (the diagram containing the link), just like you would do in a browser.
As you mention, you can have many diagrams open and it's always a hell of a search to find the "referring" diagram.

kind regards,

Jan

[«Midnight»]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that limitation.

I know that the 'true' back button function (in the browser sense) has been requested. Somewhere in the back (no pun) of my mind I keep thinking that Sparx did something in this area, but I'm really not sure.

I was going to tell you to set up a keyboard shortcut for the start page, but I simply cannot find any command that will take you there.

Perhaps you'd care to submit a feature request directly to Sparx. You might even submit two: one for the start page and one for a navigation history. You'll find the correct submission form by clicking the Feature Request link below the Support link near the bottom of any forum page.

David

[jdr]

Thanks David, I submitted the feature request.
For the start page: does the home button on the diagram toolbar do what you want?

kind regards,

Jan

[«Midnight»]

(AFAIK) The home button only works (in a useful fashion) if you have set a default diagram for the project. It does not seem to take you to the EA default start page.

Of course you could always build your own start page and set it as the default. That should let you click the home button to reach that page. If you had hyperlinks for your commonly-used pages there you'd have a central traffic switch of a sort.

[Eve]

The problem is that there are plenty of users wanting the current behavior for back/forward and plenty wanting the browser like behavior.  We upset people either way.  (And although an option would be possible, then people still request the non-default way because they don't know that the option exists.)

[jdr]

The problem is that there are plenty of users wanting the current behavior for back/forward and plenty wanting the browser like behavior.  We upset people either way.

If there are plenty of people wanting both features, it would be a good idea to provide both features. They are basic, frequently used, easy to do, and impact user friendliness.

(And although an option would be possible, then people still request the non-default way because they don't know that the option exists.)

If you follow this logic, the option window should be taken out entirely.
I understand it boils down to a matter of GUI design. EA should ask a GUI expert, this is not the first program having this issue.
Personal recommendations:
- copy the behaviour of the program most people are familiar with, it will be the behaviour they expect. The browser has a back button that backtracks and a shortcut for going to the previous tab. It als has a drop down meny to select a tab from a meny, if all tabs do not fit on the screen (which would be a welcome addition as well)
- provide different buttons (left (ALT LEFT) / right (ALT RIGHT); back (BACKSPACE) / forward

BTW: I submitted a "back button" change request as david sugested. I did get a confirmation mail i submitted "a change request", but not an issue identity or even the contents of the request I typed in the form => I have no way of referring to submitted change request in future discussions.

kind regards,

jan

[Paolo F Cantoni]

[size=20]BUMP![/size]

This was a good idea in 2008 and it still is a year later...

Both use cases are needed!  In particular, if we promote the web output to customers they have the right to expect that the EA client also works in the same way.

By all means as Jan said, back then, have different key sets for the two functionalities, with an option to select which set is used for Web browser style navigation.

My preference is to default to Web style navigation for (ALT+LEFT) & (ALT+RIGHT) and another keystroke form movement along the diagram list such as:  (CTRL+ALT+LEFT) & (CTRL+ALT+RIGHT)

I presume I DON'T have to submit another feature request...

Thoughts? Votes?
Paolo

[Geert Bellekens]

I absolutely support this, but I would go even further.
Whenever I close a diagram, I expect to see the previous diagram I had open, not the diagram on the left of the tabs.
I actually don't care about the order of the tabs, I want EA to use the order I've chosen to open diagrams in.
If EA would behave this way that would greatly increase the usability when "browsing" through the model.
An it is not just browsers that behave like this, Visual Studio for example works this way too.

Geert

[Paolo F Cantoni]

I absolutely support this, but I would go even further.
Whenever I close a diagram, I expect to see the previous diagram I had open, not the diagram on the left of the tabs.
I actually don't care about the order of the tabs, I want EA to use the order I've chosen to open diagrams in.
If EA would behave this way that would greatly increase the usability when "browsing" through the model.
An it is not just browsers that behave like this, Visual Studio for example works this way too.

Geert

Absolutely!  

But sometimes, you DO need to traverse the tabs.  So since the functionality is already there, just  put it somewhere "safe"  - where the "punters" won't trip over it.

Paolo
Paolo

[ps_ea]

To keep this topic on the agenda:

I also desperately wait for these features. Navigating through diagrams with multiple composite elements is really annoying!

Brgds, Peter

[RoyC]

Just as a general reminder - if you want changes to EA, you do have to tell Sparx Support specifically by submitting a Feature Request (use the link in the Support column at the foot of the page). By all means raise (and reiterate) the point in Forum posts, to publicise your suggestion amongst the EA user community, but the Feature Request is the official channel to Sparx.

And the more Feature Requests we get on one point, the more likely we are to do something about it.

[Paolo F Cantoni]

[size=18]...[/size]
And the more Feature Requests we get on one point, the more likely we are to do something about it.

So, Roy, does that mean in additon to voting here, we shoudl send in a "Vote" Feature Request/Bug Report?

Paolo

[RoyC]

An independent request would probably be safer. "I want what (s)he's having" might be hard to link to what '(s)he' asked for, and doesn't specifically identify what you want.