On Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 8:41 PM, Andrey Repin <anrdae...@freemail.ru> wrote:
>
> snip
> You must be kidding.
> Who on earth use keyboard for navigation these days?
> Mouse wheel is all you really need.
> Scroll is zoom, hold it down and you pan around.
> The two problems with Dia in this regard are:
> 1. Dia moves zoom focus to the center of viewport on each zoom step, which
> has
> the effect of zooming on the part of the diagram somewhere around the point
> you started to zoom on, so that you either want to move your cursor to the
> center of the screen after first zoom step, or pan viewport. THAT is a
> terrible behavior I've mentioned earlier.
>

As a heavy CAD user I know all about  mouse zooming.  As a repetitive
stress complainant I take issue with any system that puts the load on
mousing for navigation and control.

You may think this is terrible (or am I missing humor), but to those of us
that learned computing 20 or more years ago is keystroke shortcut use is
normal and very effective - as long as you bother to learn it.  I have
probably learned the systems for at least 50 different graphic or office
programs.   Maybe this learning is a lost skill like handwriting.

2. Zooming requires Ctrl key to be held. Which is exceptionally annoying
> combined with issue #1.
>

Exceptionally?  Oh my gosh.  How have I missed that?

Seriously, I understand, but it's just like a conventional CAD program (Dia
has more in common with CAD than the run of the mill office paint style
program - I think the CAD methods are a fine model) with the exception that
the roller zoom resolution is a lot finer in CAD.  Maybe if a roller button
button didn't change by such a great factor we wouldn't get so far afield
when roller zooming.  Guess we will have to learn Ctrl-E for now or learn to
put the cursor of the zoom center.  I have never been to good at that, it
isn't intuitive.   What is the alternative?  Only zoom using the screen
center?  That would be very limiting.


>
> > Maybe a few minutes investigating all the options can help.  I myself
> didn't
> > know I could pan with the middle button alone until just now.
>
> Unfortunatelly, I havent't found a way to reassign any keybinds under
> Windows.
> Although manual referring to such ability.
> In GIMP, it had to be explicitly enabled in configuration, after which I
> was
> able to wrest it's behavior into my needs.


No argument there.  I have been bugging or dear Dia developers for years to
give up control of the keystroke shortcuts.

 > Perhaps this complaint is due to a more modern habit of use?
>
> Not really, just more efficient.
>

Left hand use is a great deal faster, than none; or forcing right hand
keystrokes for high use combinations.  This is a great time to complain
about the QWERTYUIOP system as well.

> Left hand key stroke shortcuts are a throw back to unix and DOS power user
> > days -
>
> I though that is more to the right-hand hotkeys, like copy/paste using
> Ins/Del.
> Left-hand ones are more useful for when your right hand is busy with mouse.
>
> Not for CAD or other graphic program users.  The left hand learns to cover
the whole keyboard.


>  > Anyone that has some repetitive stress to deal with in their mouse hand
> > knows what I am talking about, too.
>
> Not anyone. Some people, unfortunately, straight decline to learn.


Don't make fun, my livelihood depends on my hands.  The only cure for RSS is
less dependence on mousing (or whatever pointing device).  Nothing to do
with learning.  Besides, I already learned Dia.  That is why I am defending,
not kvetching.

-- 
Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain
happiness, or should I help others gain happiness?
*Dalai Lama *

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
Thomas A. 
Edison<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html>

A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.
*Warren Buffet*

Michael E. Ross
(919) 550-2430 Land
(919) 576-0824 <https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones> Google Phone
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michael.e.r...@gmail.com
<michael.e.r...@gmail.com>
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