9.0 diagram enhancements

[skiwi]

We had a constructive and productive thread for 8.0 diagram enhancements, but there is a lot more that can be achieved, so I'd like to again collate suggestions and improvements, with the end goal of a widely supported feature request to Sparxs that hopefully will achieve success and favour in subsequent releases.

Some suggestions for 9.0 that have already been made are

• document white board enhancements
  
• Multiple Instances of an Element in a Diagram
  
• class diagram box resize
  

Some 8.0 enhancements not actioned

• Working with multiple connectors
  
• Label formatting
  
• move connectors using curso keys
  
• element shown multiple times
  
• z-order for connectors
  
• drag elements with shift
  

And earlier

• Bezier lines in a class diagram
  

[skiwi]

When I have selected a group of elements, let me select a handle and drag a size or corner to resize all elements in the group.

not in v11

[Eve]

• drag elements with shift
  

Maybe you should try that again. Shift allows a single dimension of movement, whichever is done first. Has since the feature was introduced.

[skiwi]

Maybe you should try that again. Shift allows a single dimension of movement, whichever is done first. Has since the feature was introduced.

I stand partially corrected.
If I click on an object and start dragging and then press shift I can move the object anywhere (to me this is a bug). This is the way I was trying to get the functionality to work.

If I press shift and then click on the object it is restricted to the vertical or horizontal depending on which direction I move it first, as you say.

Why is this distinction important?

Because If I press shift, then click on an object, often the object I click on is NOT selected, eg I select (click on) an object in the foreground, but (because shift is on, an underlying object is selected (surely this is a bug)).
therefore this functionality is NOT available.

[Eve]

As I said before, try again.

Your selection isn't removed in the you lift the mouse button. (ie. a click) If you hold shift and you can start dragging on an element that is selected.

[skiwi]

Here is what I did, is this what you are saying?

I LMB click on the foreground object (see diagram above), and hold the mouse button down. [no selection highlighting appears around the foreground object]
I press and hold down the shift key. [the object remains un-highlighted].
I drag using the mouse [the foreground object is highlighted as soon as it starts to move], the foreground object then will move without constraint.



I also tried this
I LMB click on foreground object to select it
I press and hold shift key.
I LMB click, hold, and drag using LMB button on foreground object
The underlying object then moves in a constrained fashion.


[timestamp=1393893540] RMB should have been LMB

[skiwi]

Reported as bug/feature request

not in EA 11

[Thelonius]

Thanks for your persistence, skiwi. You're a better man than I am.
 

[skiwi]

A quick reponse from Sparx, thanks

It is not possible to select and shift drag an object when it has a
background object all round it.
Please fix this.
 
We were able to reproduce this behaviour and have logged it as a bug to be fixed.  
Reference Number: 11091224

Effectively it seems the problem is that embedded elements cannot be selected via shift+click.  This also causes problems if you are wanting to select multiple elements via shift+click.  As a workaround in both cases you could consider making the background element not selectable (using the right click "Selectable" option).


Feature request: allow shift key to be selected after drag, causing
object(s) being moved to move either vertically or horizontally only

I will submit a feature request on your behalf so that this is considered for implementation in a future release.

[Michael Rufer]

Effectively it seems the problem is that embedded elements cannot be selected via shift+click.  This also causes problems if you are wanting to select multiple elements via shift+click.  As a workaround in both cases you could consider making the background element not selectable (using the right click "Selectable" option).

There is an easier workaround for selecting multiple embedded elements, just hold the ctrl-key and click to select the elements.

[skiwi]

There is an easier workaround for selecting multiple embedded elements, just hold the ctrl-key and click to select the elements.

The use case is to be able to use the shift key to select because that is required to use the restricted to horizontal/vertical drag feature.

[qwerty]

I never got that shift-thing to work as one Sparxian explained it. EAUI. I still trust my eyes here - and they don't get better these days. Like Paolo cited someone: a genius steals the best ideas from somewhere. Have a look how Apple implemented alignment in Keynote (the better "powerpoint"). That's cool.

q.

[skiwi]

Here is what I did, is this what you are saying?

As far as I can see v11 no change

Pressing shift and the dragging only works in the vertical plane.
Feature request was to have this work in the horizontal plane as well, the first movement of the mouse indicating what plane the constraint is in.

Where an entity is in front of another entity it is as confusing as ever.
Selecting the foreground object, then pressing shift, and then dragging drags the background object, talk about a side effect. (Bug)