notes for 0.6.3-beta

[aslj_client]

Current users can use the "Check for Updates..." menu item under the "asLJ" menu to get this update.

DOWNLOAD (This is beta software-while it has undergone months of testing, it may contain bugs with unpredictable results, and is provided as-is. Use with caution and at your own risk.)

NEW:

• fixed bug that caused exceptions when the selected

Comments

[naeko]

My poorly photoshopped idea for the layout:



I was thinking, the posting/cross-posting options and the journal/icon sections might look nicer in the try, too, perhaps under a collapsable heading? I am really not a fan of the drawer. It just looks so unruly, hanging off the side of the application. I sometimes like to just make short entries, and so I try to shrink the update window down to keep as much screen visible (I watch movies in the background a lot), and the inclusion of the tray as part of the window makes that difficult.

No hard feelings if you don't like my ideas; I will continue to use the application no matter how it looks. I really do like it!

[aslj_client]

(I'd written a better/longer reply a few days ago, but networking issues ate it-networking issues that also had me mistakenly thinking something in asLJ was very broken.)

In about 2 years working on asLJ, one of the most important things that I've learned is that whether or not an interface change strikes me as being what I want, it's worthwhile trying to implement it to see if it's doable and to see if it's better. Several key aspects of the interface as it is now were suggestions about which I wasn't particularly enthusiastic, but that turned out to be *far* better than what I'd been doing.

I'm hoping that you'll give 0.7.0.267.84462 a good workout and let me know if/when any issues crop up-the under-the-hood changes with how asLJ interacts with LiveJournal (or other sites) should make it more usable, but might have introduced new problems. I've posted a separate entry for that dev build so you can comment there.

In the mean time, I'm going to see what I can do in the way of a separate floating-window type thing for all the settings that are in the drawer. It's like that it will be in addition to the drawer, as you can always leave the drawer closed if you like the floating window better (or vice versa), and as I think that will ease implementation.

[naeko]

I like the idea of having the option of using either the drawer or the floater.

I use ASLJ a lot at work, where the wireless is absolutely terrible. It's a crapshoot, basically, and causes crashes and lost entries more often than I'd like. I don't know if this is partially the application's fault, or if it's entirely the wireless, but I just wanted to make sure you're not looking for bugs that are just because I don't have access to better internet!

[aslj_client]

I'm willing to bet that unreliable internet connections are far more common than reliable ones. Underlying network issues are one of the bigger reasons for the heavy under-the-hood work in 0.7, and I'm hoping that it leads to fewer crashes and hopefully no lost entries, even with terrible wireless connectivity. (Whether the problems are caused by the network alone or the network and the application together, they ought to be fixable in the application...)

[aslj_client]

The drawer-resizing issue is half-fixed now: as long as the drawer isn't too long for the window, the drawer size does not change when the window is resized (though I'm not going to put out another dev build just for that).

As for the separate floating-palette type window(s), I think I've got a usable floating-palette system and (pending sufficient free time) I think I'll be able to put together a dev build that has all the drawer stuff in rearrangeable floating palettes.

[aslj_client]

[naeko]

Very nice!

[aslj_client]

I shrunk each palette a bit to reduce the blank space border from what's pictured above, and I've got the Date and Time, Comment Settings, Preformatted, Mood, Music, and Location palettes pretty much working.

The palettes can be individually collapsed/expanded, rearranged, moved independently, regrouped into a single unit with other palettes, and closed. Their arrangement is saved when asLJ quits and restored upon next launch.

[naeko]

That is FANTASTIC! No rush or anything, but I'm now almost as excited for this as I am for Christmas presents!