A small request and a suggestion.

[usonian]

I very often hit the edit button. Can it be promoted from a sub-menu to a big old button I can hit with one click?

Why do I edit a lot?

Partly because I make typo's but also
Because that's how I copy text and image links for new posts.

And especially on the small screen, iOS doesn't let me right click or control click, nor even press and hold to "copy image URL", so I have to edit a post to get an image URL.

Oh, the perils of a small screen.


ALSO OF INTEREST: I use GhostText browser extension to mirror my typing in a text editor, which NEVER LOSES the typing. What a relief this is when the network freezes, when I mistakenly hit the back button , switch tabs (this sometimes loses my typing) or some other goof.

Works on desktop and laptop operating systems, ( Linux. Mac, Windows) but not mobile (ios/android)

I have gotten it to work with Firefox, Safari and Opera (which uses the chrome engine) on MacOS, with SublimeText editor.

But its not a no brainer, since it requires extensions on the browser and your editor of choice.

Helps to be an advanced user.

Details here:
https://ghosttext.fregante.com/

Cheat sheet.



Only nuisance is that previewing a post disconnects the editor and you have to click the GhostText icon to restart the process, but better too many versions (text editor tabs) than too few.

[eppur_se_muova]

1. It used to be that way. I complained (mildly) at the change.

I do a lot of minor edits too, sometimes for typos, sometimes to add a little clarification.

DU's post editor GUI decision tree is not that wide, it does not really need to be deepened.

[usonian]

2. I post a lot, and saving a keystroke means a lot to me.

That's why ...

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Exactly ! interface elements should be designed to suit the end user, not the programmers or the software company.

Last edited Thu Jan 2, 2025, 12:38 AM - Edit history (1)

(Not intended as a harsh criticism of DU4, it's just a general principle).

Forcing one extra keystroke or mouse click on millions of people a day would represent a huge waste, if it could be easily avoided. One reason I have so little tolerance of .... well, Windows, for example.

(BTW, the video I posted is from the nonprofit(?) NN/g, or Norman-Nielsen Group, which specializes in such things as GUI design. The founders are real legends, not only in the UX world, but also for things such as this book:

(which I swear I'm gonna finish reading one of these days, along with Tog On Interface, which I bought back in the Mac OS 6-7 days. Actually I found NN/g by searching for Bruce Tognazzini, who is supposedly a partner, but doesn't show up on any of their Web pages I've looked at so far. Interestingly, the majority of the employees are women -- men write bad interfaces, women clean them up ? Not shocking, if true.)

[usonian]

4. Why, I'm so old ...

I remember the book when it was The Psychology of Everyday Things, and for whatever reason (maybe his 1992 book 'Tog On Interface" ) I corresponded with Bruce briefly.



I recall it now.
Nice guy!

Those were exciting times.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. POET !

I love that cover photo -- sadly, it's been dropped in later editions.

A real shame, because it so beautifully captures what happens when a device has 99% of the right features but they just don't fit together right somehow.