by pbowers » Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:29 am
So all these things have been implemented already in code, but are limited to only when the *timer* hits 0:00 -
* Beep
* Play audio file
* Launch a file
* Raise a signal
* Blink
* Close the program
* Restart
* Reverse direction
And these are implemented in code, but are limited to only the *timer* mode:
* Change background color
* Change text color
* Play a media file
My suggestion is a list of times (like the existing pre-timeout list) that have *all* those options. And the default time is 0:00 when you are in a countdown timer so that people can specify all the same things for 00:00 (i.e., no loss of functionality).
For the UI I think a more standardized list is needed. I've given a couple examples in attached file from other areas of Windows or Chrome or other programs*...
(1) Add button BEFORE entering a time (time is a required field on the resulting dialog)
(2) Edit button that takes you to the same dialog (rather than an edit button it could just be the result of clicking on the list item)
(3) Delete or remove button (rather than a delete button at the list level it could be a button in the dialog box)
Of course having checkboxes and being able to delete multiple at a time, even being able to do a group edit - all these things are nice features, but certainly not essential. What is essential is an Add button that takes you to the edit dialog and a way of getting back to the edit dialog to change things and a way to remove - all of these need to be in an intuitive user interface.
I think if this were implemented in a user friendly way (again, the change to the UI for the list is essential - it's just too hard to understand/learn/teach in its current form) I think this could become not just a good stopwatch/timer but a fantastic alarm as well...
I tried to add attachments but was unable to do so. Look in Chrome settings for the list of pages to open on startup for one example. Look in Chrome bookmark manager for another example (would need an "Add" button). Look in Windows settings where you remove programs (either the old-style that was a more standardized list or the new style that is much more like text on a page. Having the text in the list "live" showing the colors is far less important than having it intuitive and standard. Being able to change the colors at the list level is not important - just keep the color dialogs inside the edit dialog for simplicity.
So all these things have been implemented already in code, but are limited to only when the *timer* hits 0:00 -
* Beep
* Play audio file
* Launch a file
* Raise a signal
* Blink
* Close the program
* Restart
* Reverse direction
And these are implemented in code, but are limited to only the *timer* mode:
* Change background color
* Change text color
* Play a media file
My suggestion is a list of times (like the existing pre-timeout list) that have *all* those options. And the default time is 0:00 when you are in a countdown timer so that people can specify all the same things for 00:00 (i.e., no loss of functionality).
For the UI I think a more standardized list is needed. I've given a couple examples in attached file from other areas of Windows or Chrome or other programs*...
(1) Add button BEFORE entering a time (time is a required field on the resulting dialog)
(2) Edit button that takes you to the same dialog (rather than an edit button it could just be the result of clicking on the list item)
(3) Delete or remove button (rather than a delete button at the list level it could be a button in the dialog box)
Of course having checkboxes and being able to delete multiple at a time, even being able to do a group edit - all these things are nice features, but certainly not essential. What is essential is an Add button that takes you to the edit dialog and a way of getting back to the edit dialog to change things and a way to remove - all of these need to be in an intuitive user interface.
I think if this were implemented in a user friendly way (again, the change to the UI for the list is essential - it's just too hard to understand/learn/teach in its current form) I think this could become not just a good stopwatch/timer but a fantastic alarm as well...
I tried to add attachments but was unable to do so. Look in Chrome settings for the list of pages to open on startup for one example. Look in Chrome bookmark manager for another example (would need an "Add" button). Look in Windows settings where you remove programs (either the old-style that was a more standardized list or the new style that is much more like text on a page. Having the text in the list "live" showing the colors is far less important than having it intuitive and standard. Being able to change the colors at the list level is not important - just keep the color dialogs inside the edit dialog for simplicity.