I searched the forum for notifications & read what there was to read but I'm still puzzled by what this new pane does or how to use it. Can someone plse help me out?
Comments
[quote=jan_rifkinson]
I searched the forum for notifications & read what there was to read but I'm still puzzled by what this new pane does or how to use it. Can someone plse help me out?
[/quote]
I'm not fully clear about it myself:
In the menu, click on:
View > Notifications Pane
a pane opens & stays open. You can dock it, like the other panes. I think it's to show what would normally go in the item tooltip.
sounds v. interesting but it doesnt seem to be working properly here
[quote=Pierre_Admin]
when the notifications pane is open, all tooltip info goes there.
[/quote]
as tooltip info, should it not change according to where the mouse is (i.e. above which item or field?). Sometimes it shows info here but then doesnt change - I havent tested with sample file / test install as I'm still not sure how it should work **
Just noticed: the top of the box/pane says 'Shift to freeze' you say Crtl...
** EDIT/ works better in test install/file but still erratically - shows some info (changes as mouse passes over items in the grid) but then it freezes (without a key being pressed)
exactly... people asked to super fast tooltips, but these can be disturbing, so when the notifications pane is open, all tooltip info goes there.
[/quote]
Thanks--this is a great solution--I won't be turning tooltips back on!
I docked this to the top of my properties pane--now I can:
1) quickly find out anything about the current fields showing in my grid
2) similarly, quickly find out things about available fields in the properties pane (perhaps for cleanup purposes)
3) the big one for me: help me remember why I made a field, without going into the field management, and looking under description--this notification pane picks that info up under "Note". Very nice.
All this without going into the field management dialog.
> Thanks--this is a great solution--I won't be turning tooltips back on!
^ Agreed!
It took me a while to figure out (/remember) how to get the pane to go above the Properties pane (as in Keith's screenshot above).
In case anyone else is having trouble there:
drag the Notification pane so as it's titlebar is over the centre of the Properties pane. A cross shaped group of icons will appear - hold it over the top icon and a darkened area will appear showing where it will dock. Release.
Hi Jan, I guess there wouldn't be many cases where a user would want to copy the notifications pane's content.
You could simply look at it like : "the possibility to quickly copy the fields' main parameters is handier than having to do it all manually (using the field management dialog)."
it's probably one of those features that doesn't "cost" anything in terms of performance or useability , so... why not implement it.
[quote=Pierre_Admin] exactly... people asked to super fast tooltips, but these can be disturbing, so when the notifications pane is open, all tooltip info goes there.
Plus:
* Press [edit]CTRL SHIFT [/edit] to freeze the information, you can then: * Right-click to copy the content
Currently the info being put there is:
* cell value detailed info * field info
For both the grid and the properties pane. Other views will follow if found useful.
HTH [/quote]
Hello
While I like the idea of the notifications pane -- it's good to have as an option -- here is the main down side for me : Screen Estate
Some have said they wouldn't turn the tooltips back, but after a few days I found that, generally speaking, I have to turn it off : there's no way I can regularly use the Notifications pane, simply because every cm2 on my laptop screen is important, and leaving a pane open "just in case it would be useful" isn't a viable alternative. Whenever I need field info, I can just leave my mouse over something just 1s longer and get the info I need.
It is As personal thing, of course.
Also, the Notifications pane only shows info for Columns (fields) headers and fields names in the properties pane AND for incompletely displayed cells in the grids (if the cell shows all info, notification shows nothing -- at least, that's what I'm observing here).
2 possible enhancements :
1- IMO the notifications pane should show cell details and field details all the time on "mouse over", whether the field content is displayed completely or not in the grid.
2- the grid info tooltips should also appear in the notification pane area (and , why not, any other tooltip?)
Opinions ?
[EDIT 2010 07 05 -- 15 28: I noticed that the notification pane sometimes displayed the info for cells in grids, and sometimes not, whether the cell's content is displayed completely or not. Don't know why. But there seems to be a signifiant problem here]
-- here is the main down side for me : Screen Estate
That's a great comment about something all of us should all keep in mind.
Your IQ needs for a laptop are likely going to be different from my desktop with a 24" monitor placed vertically (alongside a 22" monitor vertically).
That was one of my considerations for showing my use of it, and the docking at the top of the notifications pane . That uses very little estate on my machine, yet could still way too much on a laptop monitors. So a toggle is a great solution for both of us.
I spend a lot of time juggling the various panes around, in search of the perfect layout. It will be really useful to have those layouts saveable someday. At that time, the UI could have presets for desktop, laptop, netbook, etc.
I think there are a few notification pane things that don't quite work perfectly yet, but I will be using it some more to see if I get the same results
Comments
CTRLSHIFT [/edit] to freeze the information, you can then:exactly... people asked to super fast tooltips, but these can be disturbing, so when the notifications pane is open, all tooltip info goes there.
Plus:
* Press [edit]CTRL SHIFT [/edit] to freeze the information, you can then:
* Right-click to copy the content
Currently the info being put there is:
* cell value detailed info
* field info
For both the grid and the properties pane. Other views will follow if found useful.
HTH
[/quote]
Hello
It is As personal thing, of course.