ProJucer: A few UX snags

A few (very minor) UX snags:

  • "Save project and open in IDE" doesn't save files.
    If I modify a source file in ProJucer, then File -> "Save project and open in IDE", it doesn't save the file before loading up the IDE.
    I can't think of any situation where that would be desirable.
    Wouldn't it be better to first save all dirtied files?
     
  • It would be rather nice to have filenames of dirty files show up in red, or with a * or something.
     
  • I am currently viewing file on the right FileView pane, but nothing is selected on the left Files pane.
     
  • Drag dropping files from one ProJucer window to another shows the 'copy' icon, but actually the files are not being copied.
    It's quite un-intuitive; I have to get Finder windows up for source and destination, perform the copy. Then select the files in the destination folder and drag drop them onto the target ProJucer.
    If only groups and folders were by default one and the same thing...
     
  • TAB & SHIFT+TAB would be nice for indenting
     
  •  It would be lovely if ordering files in ProJucer preserved the order in VS.
     
  • In Files pane, select a group, and the files are listed in the Pane to the right. Each file has checkboxes for compile, Xcode Resource, binary resource.
    Even if I'm in Windows!
    Surely it should say project resource?
     
  • No apparent way to add .dll-s into the target.exe's containing folder

π

Thanks a lot, we'll put that into our backlog! We definitely would like to improve the UX of the Projucer and your suggestions fit in very nicely.

Unfortunately I cannot promise that this will happen very soon, as we are severely understaffed and therefore Projucer development is on hold right now until we can grow the team (btw we're hiring developers! Want to join us and work on the Projucer and other exciting stuff?)

BTW in Visual Studio, I'm pretty sure the IDE always shows files in alphabetical order, and that can't be changed. (At least that always used to be the case, I've not checked whether it's still true in VS2015 or later)

I'm going to apply to join team ROLI as soon as I get my focus back (struggling a bit with flu right now).

I've got a healthy background in math/complex analysis/DSP, audio engineering, C++, IPython, Scipy, Numpy, MatPlotLib, VS, XCode, iOS, .NET, C#, embedded, electronics, HCI, piano keyboard technique, musical theory, classical harmony, tonality, tuning systems, neuroscience, Linux/webServer etc.

I think it'll be a good match.

My field of endevour is acquisition of Absolute Pitch through computer training games; I believe I may finally have a working strategy, I'm in the process of testing it out, which only takes a couple of hours per day.  Beyond that I'm free. I've started to rewrite my training game in JUCE.

π

Yes I can confirm it's still the case in VS2015.

Looking forward to meeting you then! And very interested in your ideas about absolute pitch - that's always been something I've had an interest in, and have tried a few failed ideas myself over the years. All the research I've read seems to indicate that it's not possible to learn it after the age of about 6, but I sincerely hope you can prove that wrong!

Evelyn Fletcher Copp, a pioneering musical teacher around the turn of the 19th century, was able to teach AP to the majority of her students under the age of 10. She charted her results; it appears to be an exponential decay starting around six and petering out around 13. A friend of mine who is borderline autistic acquired AP around the age of 10.

Modern neuroscience has established the concept of critical periods of synaptic plasticity. The brain gates plasticity on and off in certain regions at certain critical time windows. For example for mice, the skill of binocular fusion is acquired ~day26±3. If they are kept in the dark during this period they never learn to focus their eyes. But periods of darkness outside this window do not affect.

So one approach is to identify the signalling pathways responsible for regulating this plasticity, that's an active area of research.

Another experiment involves owls and distorting glasses. The young owls could adapt, the old ones could not. However by introducing stages of increasing distortion, the old owls could eventually handle full distortion.

That's the angle of approach I've settled on.

Jules -- I will drop you a note!

π

A beautiful example of a thread going completely off topic :-)

Fascinating stuff though.

Have a look there too : http://prolobe.com/resources.php