[kepler-dev] New Kepler Menus

[Matthew Brooke]

Laura L. Downey wrote:
 > I'm proposing to make that the default
 > (checked) option so that running with feedback is the default.

There is a potential drawback to enabling the feedback by default: the 
"Run with feedback" option has a user-editable "delay time", needed to 
make the animation visible, or at least slow enough to follow by eye.

Therefore, we would have to create a default value for the delay, which 
would, in turn, slow down the execution of all workflows. Probably not 
an issue with some of the simpler example WFs, but may be a problem with 
bigger/more intensive WFs, especially if users don't realize this is the 
case.

m



Laura L. Downey wrote:
> Matthew has already commented on the toggling issue so there is a way to
> turn on/off the highlighting during workflow execution.
> 
> In terms of the phraseology, I kept "Run" in the "Run with Feedback" item to
> keep all the "run" items associated.  We have Run and Run Window and users
> in some of the early testing really liked the "animation" where they could
> see which actor was executing so I'm proposing to make that the default
> (checked) option so that running with feedback is the default.  Because I
> wanted to keep the "Run" association, I suggested Run with Feedback because
> Run with Animation just didn't sound right to me.
> 
> We can certainly adjust the phraseology if it proves to be problematic.
> Although I suspect that if someone turns it off and sees they don't get the
> highlighting during execution they will easily understand what Run with
> Feedback means.  The use of the term feedback may be a bit human factors
> centric on my part since that is so often used in my field to mean
> communicating with the user -- giving them appropriate visual and textual
> feedback etc. And of course feedback does mean different things in different
> contexts, just as Edward pointed out from his perspective.  But feedback is
> also a very general term that just means give me some indication on what is
> happening.
> 
> Laura L. Downey
> Senior Usability Engineer
> LTER Network Office
> Department of Biology, MSC03 2020
> 1 University of New Mexico
> Albuquerque, NM  87131-0001
> 505.277.3157 office
> 505.610.9657 mobile
> 505.277-2541 fax
> ldowney at lternet.edu
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Matthew Brooke [mailto:brooke at nceas.ucsb.edu] 
> Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 8:43 PM
> To: Dan Higgins
> Cc: Laura L. Downey; Kepler-Dev
> Subject: Re: New Kepler Menus
> 
> 
> Dan -
> 
> thanks - i know about that one. Laura's redesign has a checkbox menu 
> item - click once for on; click again to toggle off - but i have not yet 
> had chance to implement it like that.
> 
> m
> 
> 
> 
> Dan Higgins wrote:
>> Hi Matthew (and Laura)
>>
>>    In using the new Kepler menu system, I can across a problem. In the 
>> old menus (aka Ptolemy menu) there is a menu item named 'Animate 
>> Execution' under the 'Debug' menu. Immediately below the 'Animate 
>> Execution' is a 'Stop Animating' meny item.
>>
>>    'Animate Execution' shows when actors are executing when a workflow 
>> runs by 'hilighting' the actor for a use-set period of time (for some 
>> Directors). 'Stop Animating' turns off the animation
>>
>>    In the new menus, this item has apparently been replaced by the menu 
>> item 'Run with Feedback' under the 'Tools' menu. The problem is that 
>> there is no 'Stop Feedback' menu item. So once the user starts showing 
>> which icon is firing, there is no way to turn off the effect with the 
>> new menus!  Rather that having a seperate 'Stop' menu, perhaps the menu 
>> should toggle from 'Run with Feedback' to 'Stop Feedback' and back?
>>
>>    Incidently. in my opinion, the original menu text of 'Animate 
>> Execution' seems more descriptive than 'Run with Feedback'. Feedback 
>> seems like a term that can have many meanings and is not very helpful to 
>> a new Kepler user.. 'Feedback' could just be some text summary at the 
>> end of workflow execution.
>>
>> Dan
>>
> 

-- 

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Matthew Brooke, Ph.D.
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University of California
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brooke at nceas.ucsb.edu
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