I am really liking xournal and the responsiveness of the N900 screen really suits being able to handwrite just like on paper!
I have to echo Jaem's request for a panning that doesn't require switching modes as i find it the only major drawback in using the app so far.
I can see the difficulty in implementing such an option but how about something basic like a setting to remap the volume buttons from zoom to pan up/down?
The "Hand" icon (soon to be remove as it is offensive in some countries in favor of a different one) now switches to PAN mode.
In a near future in PAN mode you will also be able to move between pages by flipping with your finger to the left or the right.
I don't think I will bind panning to anything different than the hardware cursor keys.
I am also thinking at this solution:
I like to hide the toolbar when you are drawing on the screen, so that you have maximum space. When you stop drawing and after a very short timeout (0.2-0.3 secs [configurable]) it will appear again.. I can also make appear two big arrow overlaid buttons (a la PDF reader) so that you can go to next/prev pages and, may be, I can make appear something you can drag to pan around?
The "Hand" icon (soon to be remove as it is offensive in some countries in favor of a different one) now switches to PAN mode.
In a near future in PAN mode you will also be able to move between pages by flipping with your finger to the left or the right.
That sounds useful, but what Cas07 and I were getting at was that the problem is the modality - or more specifically, the time it takes to switch modes. The screen is pretty small to write on, so I personally (and probably others) end up zooming in a bit. If I have to switch modes often (more than once per line, in this case), and pan, it significantly lowers its utility for note-taking where speed is an issue (e.g. lecture notes, as I mentioned). I agree with Cas07 that this is not an easy problem to solve in a way that will make everyone happy, but from what I've seen, this is a fairly common use-case.
I don't think I will bind panning to anything different than the hardware cursor keys.
That's fine by me, but what's wrong my previous suggestion about using the arrow keys to scroll by line, rather than pixel? I'm sorry to bring it up again, but I don't think you answered it very clearly. As far as I can see, it wouldn't adversely affect anyone wanting to pan for other reasons, but it would be a quick fix for the problem I'm having. You mentioned that Ctrl+arrow will pan by a larger amount, but it's still essentially an arbitrary amount, in relation to a unit like page lines. If this isn't practical for some reason, I'll apologize for belabouring it, but it seems like it would be a simple and useful solution.
I am also thinking at this solution:
I like to hide the toolbar when you are drawing on the screen, so that you have maximum space. When you stop drawing and after a very short timeout (0.2-0.3 secs [configurable]) it will appear again.. I can also make appear two big arrow overlaid buttons (a la PDF reader) so that you can go to next/prev pages and, may be, I can make appear something you can drag to pan around?
Good idea, but again - the time delay - whether I have to click a button on the other side of the screen, or wait a few hundred milliseconds for a timeout, it doesn't make much of a difference. That said, I like this idea, and it would be useful - just not as a solution to what I'm thinking of.
Sorry to keep bugging you about this. Hopefully we can find something that works for everyone.
Just some brainstorming:
- line height: it could be customizable in the paper background definition and the be used as a line size
- panning page: i don't see anything else than gestures for that. Since the 900 has a screen smaller than the surface, it should be reasonable to detect a gesture that starts 'out' of the screen. If it happens such a case, the touch can be interpreted as a gesture and not a drawing (as the browser works for the cursor mode). With a gesture from top to bottom or viceversa, the screen could be panned exactly half of its height. Could it be a reasonable solution for note taking?
No biggie; Katana is a bible reader application currently under development for Maemo 5. See details and progress here.
The user flow aspect of the UI is something that I'm taking to task with personally with Katana. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the UI event (or the one in Cali) so that I could learn more about the UI frameworks so that I'd have a tighter control of thoughts in this area. But seeing what has been done with Xournal gives me hope that I'm on the right path, plus some ideas
Might need to contact Patifa and get some homework in.
